Help returning an RTX 3080 to it's original BIOS (potentially a mining card) | NVIDIA | Page 1

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 1:33 AM

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I've bought a 3080 that I believe was used for mining, it's a 3080 Gaming Z that currently has a Suprim X Bios, It might not have been a mining card honestly, maybe the previous owner just wanted some more performance out of it but I doubt it ....

can someone point me in the right direction on steps for how to restore the correct bios for the card? I feel confident that I can get this done, I've done this for AMD cards, just looking for pointers or pitfalls from people who have swapped bios on their Nvidia cards, is the process any different from Radeon BIOS flashing? Thanks in advance

WhatsApp_Image_2024-11-27_at_3.19.47_PM.jpeg

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I understand you do this by using nvflash, and finding the correct BIOS matched to the card's serial number. anything else I should know?

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 1:42 AM

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frosty glacier I understand you do this by using nvflash, and finding the correct BIOS matched ...

https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/?architecture=NVIDIA&manufacturer=MSI&model=RTX+3080&interface=&memType=&memSize=&since=

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that's about it

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Find the one that matches and flash away

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 1:43 AM

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swift mirage Find the one that matches and flash away

understood! thank you, I'm about to give it a shot

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no need to uninstall the nvidia drivers or Afterburner or anything?

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 1:56 AM

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frosty glacier no need to uninstall the nvidia drivers or Afterburner or anything?

no

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 2:16 AM

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swift mirage no

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should I hit it?

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Is the "Firmware image PCI subsystem ID" error because of the different bios on the card, or something is wrong here?

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ok, it is a normal message

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here goes nothing

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ayyy, ok that looks good now

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I shall uh, run some benchmarks and see if it's good

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memory temps are toasty so the thermal pads might be cooked already, more of a sign that this was a mining card

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plus it being a non-LHR model

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not quite ideal, but it isn't crashing

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 2:40 AM

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frosty glacier ayyy, ok that looks good now

You didn't get the correct BIOS

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You probably didn't notice that there's also a second row of lines that states what exact model it is supposed to be for

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 2:43 AM

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swift mirage You didn't get the correct BIOS

how do you know?

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and which one should I get then?

winter forge Nov 28, 2024, 2:48 AM

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frosty glacier and which one should I get then?

https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/?manufacturer=MSI&model=RTX+3080

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 2:48 AM

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winter forge https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/?manufacturer=MSI&model=RTX+3080

ty, they sent that already

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and I picked the only Gaming Z Trio non-LHR model there is, how is it the wrong vbios?

winter forge Nov 28, 2024, 2:50 AM

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frosty glacier and I picked the only Gaming Z Trio non-LHR model there is, how is it the wrong ...

Are you sure its gaming z and not gaming x

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the difference between them are the clocks

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 2:50 AM

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I am, did they assume I had the Gaming X maebe?

winter forge Nov 28, 2024, 2:51 AM

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frosty glacier I am, did they assume I had the Gaming X maebe?

Check your model and serial number of the card

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and also, is your backplate metal or plastic? If its plastic its most probably gaming x

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 2:51 AM

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It is a Gaming Z, with the different backplate, and the sticker on the card says so yep

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I did this research already hahah as I wasn't aware a Gaming Z model existed

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the backplate on the Gaming X is plastic indeed, and doesn't have "venting" near the back of the card. this one does

winter forge Nov 28, 2024, 2:53 AM

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frosty glacier It is a Gaming Z, with the different backplate, and the sticker on the card says...

ok, can you download hwinfo and see what chips it is

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so we can determine if its lhr or non lhr

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 2:55 AM

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gotcha, I deduced that one because the sticker doesn't say "LHR", and the LHR models do have "LHR" on them. one sec

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 2:56 AM

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hmm

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once you've figured out that the BIOS is correct, test it around

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 2:56 AM

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but like, how did you figure out it was the wrong bios @swift mirage

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just trying to understand what from the screenshot says that it isn't the correct one

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need to figure out how to change the dang HWinfo from sensors only to system info

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 2:59 AM

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frosty glacier just trying to understand what from the screenshot says that it isn't the correc...

actually nevermind, I think the misdetect is because the card had the wrong bios in the first place

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as long as you can determine what card it should be from the build and stickers you should be fine

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 2:59 AM

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gotcha gotcha 🫡

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 2:59 AM

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all gaming z trios have the same pci subsystem id

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 3:00 AM

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is this the tab I should show you?

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nevermind, got it now

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@winter forge

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ok so I think you were right @swift mirage , as this is a card with Samsung memory, and I downloaded this: https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/232766/msi-rtx3080-10240-210311-2

which mentions Micron

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it's the only one available.... uhm, should I try an unofficial bios?

winter forge Nov 28, 2024, 3:05 AM

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frosty glacier ok so I think you were right <@164935426262433792> , as this is a card with Sams...

ASIC here means the chip

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all 3080 memory is from Micron

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as they are all on GDDR6X

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 3:05 AM

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oh, derp

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 3:06 AM

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winter forge as they are all on GDDR6X

gotcha, so how does one define what chips it is?

winter forge Nov 28, 2024, 3:06 AM

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frosty glacier gotcha, so how does one define what chips it is?

So video chipset says its GA102-200

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that means non LHR

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LHR ones are GA102-202

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 3:07 AM

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fatfrognoted noted

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learning a lot here lol, y'all are awesome

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so it means I have the correct vbios then, thankfully

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and this card probably needs a repaste and thermal pad change... do you have any recommendations for those?

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 3:10 AM

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frosty glacier and this card probably needs a repaste and thermal pad change... do you have any...

first you'll need to know the pad heights. once you know that, buy that set of pads

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as for the paste part

ptm7950 phase change pads for the main gpu?

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(different from the usual thermal pads)

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 3:15 AM

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darkhawk is the absolute OG

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I doubt LHR - non-LHR makes a difference in regards to pad sizing

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so I'll just use those sizes

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oh man, that's such good info

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 3:35 AM

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aight, thanks y'all

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 3:37 AM

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remember, even the hottest cards should not see the hotspots going to triple digits so use that as reference

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ideally the difference between the hotspot and the main GPU temp is below 20

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 3:44 AM

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fatfrognoted noted!

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any thoughts on the TG carbonaut pad? I'm aware it's conductive, but it's easier to source where I am. would you use that or still PTM7950 @swift mirage ?

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I can also get Kryonaut Extreme, the pink stuff

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 3:48 AM

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frosty glacier I can also get Kryonaut Extreme, the pink stuff

This won't last

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 3:50 AM

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👍

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 3:51 AM

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frosty glacier any thoughts on the TG carbonaut pad? I'm aware it's conductive, but it's easier...

If you can find thermal grizzly products, look for the kryosheet (semi reusable) or phasesheet ptm (is ptm7950 variant/rebadge) instead

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both will be better than carbonaut

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ptm is cooler but not reusable

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kryosheet is a bit less cool but reusable even if not recommended

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 3:52 AM

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wicked, I do have Phasesheet available 🤘

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 3:52 AM

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then you're getting that instead

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 3:53 AM

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I shall go get that tomorrow, and the thermal pads

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 3:53 AM

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just be aware that the size

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 3:56 AM

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oh ok crap, PTM I can only get locally in 50x40mm, Kryosheet has a bunch of sizes available

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gotta look up the die size

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 3:56 AM

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you'll need to cut down larger sizes if you need to but you get the idea

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you can't embiggen a smaller pad obviously

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 3:57 AM

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no issues with cutting ptm?

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 3:57 AM

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got a cutter?

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the kind that you find with stationery should be fine

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 3:57 AM

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I've read it's delicate and can break ahah, but yes I do

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so just slice it clean. cool

swift mirage Nov 28, 2024, 3:59 AM

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if you're still not sure you can google how to handle ptm7950

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but ignore any sponsored or ai results

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 3:59 AM

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👍 got it got it

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 4:11 PM

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we are doin

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some live action

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they didn't have all the pads I needed unfortunately, but at least the most important ones (vram) are here

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 5:22 PM

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already looking much better

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14-15C core to hotspot delta

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lolol

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previous owner was here already it seems, and the pads were the wrong size... weren't even making contact

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 5:44 PM

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sooo much better at idle

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 6:02 PM

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something is wrong though...

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I am not seeing the same thermal performance other people are reporting....

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nor fan speeds

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oh... only one fan is spinning...

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thoughts @swift mirage ?

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could it have been the bios flash

frosty glacier Nov 28, 2024, 6:33 PM

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nvm..

swift mirage Nov 29, 2024, 12:34 AM

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frosty glacier nvm..

so it was a damaged product in the first place

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at least fans are fairly easy to fix or jury rig

frosty glacier Nov 29, 2024, 12:48 AM

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swift mirage so it was a damaged product in the first place

nope, I bent this the wrong way sadly when assembling it ahah

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Phasesheet PTM worked like a charm btw

swift mirage Nov 29, 2024, 12:23 PM

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now give it a good workout for a few days for the sheets to set and see what temps you get on one last check

frosty glacier Nov 29, 2024, 9:55 PM

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aye aye, will do 🫡

frosty glacier Nov 29, 2024, 10:23 PM

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this is where it settles now roughly after 15 mins of Valleybenchmark

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considering my ambient temps are 26C currently, and this is a pretty power hungry card, not bad

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happy with it, highest I've seen the core-hotspot delta go is 16C

swift mirage Nov 30, 2024, 1:03 AM

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perfecto

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no more triple digit hotspots or memories

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everything is nice and chilly

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fans at low rpms

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frosty glacier Dec 2, 2024, 8:52 PM

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yerrr, as good as this card is going to get pretty much

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since the GPU contact is direct contact heatpipe, not a plate so core-hotspot is higher than in other cards

#Help returning an RTX 3080 to it's original BIOS (potentially a mining card)