Intel D975XBX "Bad Axe" modifications for Conroe support and unlocked BIOS

[freecableguy]

Intel D975XBX "Bad Axe" modifications for Conroe support and unlocked BIOS

There is nothing terribly difficult about completing this mod but based on size of the components that need to be added I would rate this mod at an "expert solderer" level. If you feel at all uncomfortable doing this I would highly recommend that you have the actual changes done by someone better qualified or don't do this at all.

Now, onto the good stuff. With the following modifications your Intel D975XBX board will be "Conroe" Core 2 Duo/Extreme ready. Backwards compatability is maintained.


Initial Conditions

BIOS required: 0618 (February 2006) or later. Avoid BIOS 1009....it is broken. I recommend 1304. My experience with 1073 was not good. Best practices, flash to the BIOS before you make any of the following hard changes to the board.


Image 1. Conroe Support - four (4) modifications (of 5 total).

Step 1, 2 and 3 - solder in each open pads shown the following:
SMD 0402 1.0 kohm resistor (I recommend a tolerance of 5% or better). Note: 1.0 kohm = 1000 ohms, be careful.

Step 4 - solder in the open pad shown the following:
SMD 0402 24.9 ohm resistor (I recommend a tolerance of 1% or better).






Image 2. Conroe Support - one (1) modification (of 5 total).

Step 5 - solder in the open pad showing the following:
SMD 0603 0 ohm resistor or simply solder between the pads to short them together.






Image 3. Vcore "Modification" - unlocked BIOS for ALL chips (optional)





Notice the 3-pin header called "BIOS CONFIG" used for flashing and maintenance mode. Now...notice the empty silk-screen locations (OC DEBUG) above that in the picture? Intel has purposefully not shown the through-holes in their pictures as they have been blacked out. (I have shown them with the yellow circles.)

Mod: Short together the holes shown. Use either conductive ink or solder. If you wish, install a header and use an extra shorting bar from your included accessories to make this mod changable!

When you boot and enter the BIOS you will have full control over CPU VID (vcore), Enhanced Power Slope (reduces vdroop to 50% default), and Default Bus Override (533, 800, 1066, 1333Mhz) with the ability to go 30% over your set FSB! ClockGen also works with the ICS 954123 PLL chip. Please donate if you find the program useful.

Note: Some people have reported that this mod is not needed with B0 stepping Conroe ES CPUs on the newer rev 304 MB. Do the mod if you need to, otherwise this gains nothing.