Overclocking a non-k Skylake CPU on a Gigabyte H110-DS2 motherboard?
Overclocking a non-k Skylake CPU on a Gigabyte H110-DS2 motherboard?
Hello there. My setup uses a Gigabyte H110-DS2 motherboard with a Pentium Gold 4400 processor. After downgrading the BIOS to F20, I was able to unlock BCLK from 80 to 500MHz, which is quite an unusual occurrence since other brands don’t offer this feature. Previously, I managed to push the G4400 to 4.4GHz with a BCLK of 133.33MHz. However, after updating to BIOS F20, Intel’s changes made it difficult to exceed 100.26MHz BCLK, even though the overclock option remained.
My PC is currently unable to boot and I can’t revert to an older BIOS version. Now I’m limited to running the G4400 at around 10MHz with the H110 board. BIOS versions newer than F20 have removed the BCLK overclocking capability. Intel has started separating PCIe and PCIe/PCI paths based on BCLK settings since Skylake, which means the PCIe/PCH limitations shouldn’t block overclocking as much as before. This should allow higher overclocks before crashes or POST failures due to PCIe issues.
Someone might know how to modify the Intel XTU BIOS and I’m considering using it for direct CPU overclocking. I have a plan to try reactivating BCLK overclock on the H110, adjusting it from 99.5 to 100. It seems the system could still overclock if it’s still running, but overclocking the CPU directly in BIOS isn’t possible at the moment. I’m wondering if there’s a way to trick or bypass the CPU to achieve higher speeds. There’s a need for an application modder or a workaround now.
Why would Intel intentionally disable non-k overclocking when it seems feasible? The warnings about H chipsets being low-end and risky don’t make sense in the context of overclocking. If a major company like Intel wanted to prevent overclocking, they’d likely have safeguards in place. To improve performance without spending much, I might need to hack the BIOS or microcode or use some kind of trick.
You could potentially reduce the BIOS firmware to one that allows overclocking, even though rules prevent downgrading to older versions. I discovered a detailed guide on this topic through some online searches.
[GUIDE] Overclocking a NON-K Intel SkyLake Processor by...
This discussion was created because I struggled to locate an effective method. My motherboard came with the newest BIOS and refused to accept an older version. After updates to CPU Microcode, many claimed it wasn’t possible to overclock my i5 6500—but with some consideration...
www.overclock.net
They outline a procedure for another brand’s motherboard, suggesting it might work similarly for Gigabyte models too. Of course, the file names and installation steps will vary.
The link to the BIOS patching tool is broken, but they point to a valid solution...
Download UEFI BIOS Updater - MajorGeeks
This utility can identify and update the OROM/EFI modules within an AMI UEFI BIOS file.
www.majorgeeks.com
Please note that changing the BIOS may risk booting issues, though most boards include a backup BIOS (DualBIOS) to safeguard against corruption, which could provide some protection. You should check for a chip labeled "B_BIOS" near another "M_BIOS" chip and confirm the backup chip is actually there, not just a placeholder.
Thank you for your message.
There seems to be an issue with UBUTool, it reports that MMTool.exe is missing. I attempted to use MMTool 3.6 but encountered an error reading BIOS information. Perhaps I can look for it in the BIOS mod tool H110 running on a CPU from Coffee Lake.
My BCLK O'Cing is stuck at 104,9MHz, but it doesn't change even though the CPU frequency is reported as 100MHz in CPU-Z. I'm willing to try overclocking despite these problems.
I have to admit, I question the benefits of overclocking a Pentium Gold 4400. The chances of messing with the BIOS are high, especially compared to the availability of i7-6700Ks for just $50 to $60. That seems like a more secure path if you want to push the remaining performance from an older system.
I have the parts to build an i9 9900k, 10/11900k and a z370/490/590 board for experimentation. As an enthusiast who loves pushing components, I'm eager to tweak and squeeze more performance out of my H110 board. I find it frustrating when I can't fine-tune the BCLK settings; testing the i9-9900k on the H110 didn’t cause any issues with its VRM source phase. Now I’m upset because my G4400 stays cool even when under heavy load, which makes me feel like I'm missing out and wasting potential power. Intel has locked overclocking through microcode, so I’m tempted to try and break it, just for a bit of fun.
I'm unable to locate a compatible MMTool.exe for UBUTool. The required American Megatrend International BIOS MMTool v5.0.0.7 for reading H110 AMI BIOS Aptio V is missing. Searching for MMTool 5 appears to yield non-standard or unofficial versions; the BIOS module remains encrypted, preventing downgrade and causing microcode issues when using UBUTool. The official MMTool v5.0.0.7 is unavailable on AMI's website anymore. I'm unsure if modifying Intel XTU or EasyTune is a viable alternative.
I needed to use z170 to boost Skylake, Kabylake and higher BCLK speeds won't go past 103MHz. I understand that sometimes the BCLK frequency can be unstable and reach up to 103.5MHz on the CPU. I figured if the system boots into Windows, non-K CPUs could also be overclocked by unlocking BCLK through mods like Intel Xtu or Easytune.
bad thought, the system can stop working right away if I try to set the clock faster than 100.5 MHz in Windows. There’s no way to overclock higher without Intel ucode blocking it. Only around 102.7 MHz overclock is possible non-K on a Z board in general.