[section_title title=Intel Skylake Non-K Unlocked]
A little while ago, I put up a quick story when an amazing thing in the overclocking world took place. As I said in the article, someone who goes by the name of DJ, who works for Supermicro, was able to push past the 103 MHz barrier with a motherboard that Supermicro produce.
Since that article was produced, it turns out that there was no mod in the first place, and that it was simply due to a Microcode update which was perhaps a mistake on Intel’s behalf, but we as an overclocking community appreciate it massively.
Manufacturers such as ASRock, ASUS, BIOSTAR, GIGABYTE and MSI have all released BIOS files for a large majority of their motherboards which allow for some cheaper systems to be built but still pack one heck of a punch. There are however some issues with the whole unlocked BCLK ordeal, though. So far, the professionals have found that the following issues are present when using one of these BIOS files;
– No iGPU as it needs to be disabled for this to work
– No dynamic change of CPU frequency
– No C-states
– No Turbo Mode
– CPU temperature reading is incorrect – often locked at 100c
– AVX instructions have very low performance
– Windows XP ACPI not supported
With those problems ignored and users craving more performance from their locked chips, here’s an extensive list of the motherboards that are currently supported, and their respective BIOS revision numbers. We’ve taken the liberty to download each and every single file, and then to host them directly for you from Play3r.net for your benefit. The motherboards are of course in their respective pages and will be updated as and when more (if they do) become available.
All of the BIOS files which I have uploaded here are sourced from either the manufacturers website, or somewhere like HWBot.org and their forum users. All credit goes to those who originally uploaded them and I’d like to thank them for their efforts too. All I’ve done is put them into one easy to find article for the masses.
**IMPORTANT**
Before we continue with this, I should stress that neither Play3r nor I take any responsibility if something were to go wrong. These BIOS files are an experiment as such, and therefore may not be covered under your warranty agreement with the respective manufacturer of your motherboard. Please understand the risk, and do this at your own risk. Most motherboards can now be flashed back without the need to go into the BIOS, but it is still a risky procedure that you must be made aware of. If you for any reason doubt your abilities and are not comfortable in using an experimental (beta, basically) BIOS, this is not something for you.
**NOTES**
1) In order for this to work, you need to follow these instructions and look for these options in the UEFI BIOS. If you don’t, the clock speed will not be correct. The instructions below are for an ASUS motherboard, but they will be extremely similar on the other brands. They may even be the same, but I am unable to confirm at this point due to me not having one of each product in front of me at this moment in time.
Advanced\CPU Configuration
– Boot Performance Mode -> Turbo Performance
Advanced\CPU Configuration\CPU Power Management Configuration
– Intel(R) SpeedStep(tm) -> Disabled
– CPU C states -> Disabled
2)Â This post will be changing considerably over the coming weeks and/or months with updates from various manufacturers as they solve the issues that are outstanding. I will do my best to keep this as up to date as I possibly can for your benefit.
**REVIEW**
Since we do not have the means and measures to compile a comprehensive review at this time, feel free to check out a review done by a German mastermind who goes by the name of Roman, or his alias “der8auer”. Thank you for your time and efforts, Roman!
Click here to view his review of the non-K overclocking.
Snippet:
Of course it makes no sense to get an ASRock Z170 OC Formula in combination with a Pentium G4400T. However, itâs just a matter of time until we will see unlocked BIOS for cheap Z170 or even H170 boards. In the end this is still the best OC-News since Sandy-Bridge considering the fact that I could gain +75% OC which results in +52% performance.
anything for a z170i pro gaming? they are coming out of the box with 18xx ver BIOS that prevents flashing to any of the non-K OC BIOS I can find out there
Can anyone let me know if I can use any of the BIOS versions for my GIGABYTE Z170X Ultra Gaming MOBO. Thanks
I don’t think so unfortunately đ – Brendan listed every BIOS he could personally get his hands on and although MOST are listed, I believe a couple of models weren’t around…or at least BIOS files weren’t around at the time of this đ
Is there a bios version for GIGABYTE Z170X Ultra Gaming to overclock a non K cpu (i5 6500)
i can’t find ASUS Z 170K
The Z170 unlock was patched after Intel insisted very soon after it was noticed, so you would need to find the specific BIOS version for your board and even then it’s not recommended since it could also mean that security updates introduced later are not going to be available for that patch.
Does anyone have the bios for msi z170 gaming pro carbon
downloaded the bios file for my board but canât lid it to me board itâs there in the M flash but canât select it to load? Do these files still work ?
Please help i have an Asus Z170P motherboard and when i try to use the flash utlitly is say its not a proper bios, is there a work around
Are all of these still working? Building a rig and want to OC my i7 need to know if any are confirmed working
I have the z170a gaming pro running a 7700. Would if still support 7th gen on this bios?
sorry, i tried and the bios says that it’s not a proper bios, how can i fix it?
anyone knows that why couldn’t I download any bios on the list?
Is the download point dead?
As Z170 is EOL (end of life) it’s more than likely that the BIOS files are no longer available.
Good luck finding them.
Dave.