Flashing new BIOS to accommodate GTX970? (P67A-GD53)

FlyingPig

FlyingPig

FlyingPig

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I have a shiny GTX970 on the way but my enthusiasm has been curbed by the realisation that I will probably have to update my BIOS.

My specs:

Motherboard P67A-GD53 (MS-7681)
i5 2500K CPU
OCZ PSU 700W Stealth Xtreme
8GB RAM


Bios version is v.1.19 (used the MSI LiveUpdate a few times over the years, never flashed using a USB key)

From what I can see on https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=79d8d649aae45941a705dd8a7fdd38cb&topic=184286.0 I'm in a similar boat as this guy, and the instructions he was given were:


>>Use the MSI HQ Forum USB flasher<<
A.) Download the attached archive and place it on your desktop. Do not decompress.
B.) Download and install the Forum flash tool.
C.) Insert your FAT32 formatted usb stick.
D.) Make sure that all win 8 options are disabled. (Fast Boot etc) Also make sure the legacy USB is enabled.
E.) Start the forum flash tool and select option 1. Then point the tool at the compressed archive we downloaded earlier. Then to your USB Flash Drive.
F.) Boot to the USB
G.) Now follow the directions and let the tool flash
H.) After flashing reinstall ME drivers in Windows: http://download.msi.com/dvr_exe/intel_amt81_win78_xp.zip
Click to expand...

Does this sound about right? Is there really no simpler way?
 
Why do you need to update your bios ? Sorry just read your thread.
Seems a bit strange and specific in that the motherboard wont work with GTX7xx or above video cards.
There is not a lot of difference between a GTX 680 and a GTX 770 for instance they are basically the same card.

Stranger still a MSI moderator saying it will not work and not saying why.

I would be tempted to try it without the bios update first and if it doesnt work then update the bios. It wont harm anything.
 
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Yeah, it's a bit of a weird one, isn't it. Been googling this for the last few hours but I'm still not really clear on what to do. Might just try without flashing. I created an account on the MSI forum and posted the question there too, so let's see what comes out of this.
 
Hmm the plot thickens. Now it seems flashing to the 4.* bios causes problems for Sandy Bridge CPU's.

Lecture over! Options are to take the system to a pc shop that has an SPI flash programming device, or send the board to an MSI Service Center. If no intention of ever installing an Ivy CPU, DO NOT have the board flashed to an Ivy support UEFI/BIOS.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind in the future never flash to 4.x BIOS for Ivy CPU if you're going to be using Sandy CPU. On that MB with Sandy CPU use only BIOSs 1.x for Sandy as the 4.x with ME8 is only for use with Ivy CPU.
Click to expand...

(from MSI forums in other threads)

If this is true then I'm not sure what to do. This motherboard was pretty decent when I bought, surely it can't be that outdated yet?
 
Think I might have figured out where the confusion lies.
There are two versions.

P67A-GD53 & P67A-GD53 (B3)

Remember when the P67 boards came out and it turned out Intel had cocked up and the SATA performance degraded over time. They then brought out the B3 boards which had the "fix". Well your board has two versions.
So you need to find out which version you have first.
Then if you have the plain P67A-GD53 the 4.1 and higher BIOS updates also update the Intel ME firmware. If you have the P67A-GD53 (B3) version it doesnt update the ME Firmware with BIOS 4.1 or higher.
It could be people having problems with one version and not the other. I would do a bit more digging first just to make sure which version of the motherboard is having the problems, if not both.
Could end up being your version of motherboard is the one thats fine ?
 
As far as I know I have the plain version indeed. Contacted MSI support but they were not much use. However, on their forums the admin is quite clear and is saying:

For P67-GD53 bios 4.3 (covers P67A-GD65, P67A-GD55 and P67A-GD53) will add ME8 firmware and enable the board to use latest gen vgas. With an ME7 bios it will not work. There is no way to run a GTX970 with an old ME7 bios like 1.19.
Click to expand...

Think I'll just try it anyway without flashing and if it doesn't post I'll just have to bite the bullet and hope for the best. He's saying overclocking should still be possible on my version.
 
Update: in the end I decided to just go for it and I flashed the BIOS. Main hurdle to overcome turned out to be making the bloody USB key bootable, but I got it sorted in the end. All went fine and I'm the happy owner of a GTX 970! On an apparently ancient motherboard but I reckon I can squeeze another 3 years out of this rig, which will have been great value.
 
The CPU performance has moved very little the past couple of years especially on Gaming wise. Tweak your CPU to 4.5Ghz ish, then you will be fine for another at least 2 years.
 
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