Topton N100 Reporting 402 MHz
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Super useful post, thanks for the details guys, i managed to get my cheap Chinese N100 BIOS flashed with 'Power & Performance' unlocked which then allowed me to set PL1 and PL2 and finally get some decent performance out of the box (was getting stuck at 402 Mhz on all cores like the OP).
So I have written up exactly what i did including photos from 'thys' forum post over on servethehome.com and the modified BIOS with full instruction on how to flash it and bundled it up into a zip HERE.
IMPORTANT - Please ensure you read the ENTIRE readme.txt (included in the zip) before considering flashing the BIOS.
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Greetings, guys!
I have 6-port CWWK N100 box (CW-AL_6L), no PL settings in bios as well, although mine boost fine, but gets quite hot (around 50C doing basically nothing as it's not yet configured for things i want it to do, and that's after I changed thermal paste to smth decent). So I'd like to lower power limits (I belive they are set to 25W by default, but have no way to confirm it).
I've managed to find and flash newer BIOS for this box on CWWK site, thinking that it would unlock it. But no.
How exactly do you mod the bios for your 4 port version?
Or should i even bother and better to look into SpeedShift tunables and try to adjust power consumption that way?
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@alirx I have that CWWK 6 port box (the version with the tall heat-sync fins) running PFSense and yea it got hot because the settings are locked-down and not visible on the bios provided by CWWK. Not set optimally by default, that's for sure. There has been at least one 'third party' bios mod for this found on the Serve the Home Forums, (https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/cwwk-i5-1235u-6-port-i226-report.39341/) by user 'fta', you really have to read through the posts and be 100% positive that it is compatible with your board revision before making the attempt. I read through it, opened the case of my router, compared what i had to his and others there and decided to take the chance. Thankfully in my case it worked. With the settings exposed via the modded bios, I was able to apply the recommended settings from that long thread and mine now idles in the mid-upper 20s' c. I've got the 8505CPU btw. But 'out of the box' mine was disappointing, to say the least.
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@binhex01 Are you able to provide a link to the ISO? link for that is dead.
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@chrcoluk said in Topton N100 Reporting 402 MHz:
@binhex01 Are you able to provide a link to the ISO? link for that is dead.
The google drive zip i uploaded works for me (tested incognito), not sure what you mean by ISO?. this is a BIOS hack.
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@binhex01 The servethehome instructions say to use the bios you uploaded inside another ISO, that ISO is to be downloaded from another link (which is now dead), sorry I just checked the readme again and that doesnt use the ISO, so I will try that after I verify I have the right board.
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@chrcoluk said in Topton N100 Reporting 402 MHz:
@binhex01 The servethehome instructions say to use the bios you uploaded inside another ISO, that ISO is to be downloaded from another link (which is now dead), sorry I just checked the readme again and that doesnt use the ISO, so I will try that after I verify I have the right board.
Yes, just to confirm the ISO was only used as a means to extract the utilities required to flash the bios (not the bios itself), this has been done for you and is all included in the zip, so you should be good to go (once verified you have the correct board).
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@binhex01 is your N100 still running stable with these settings? I've flashed the unlocked bios succesfully, but I haven't changed any settings. My N100 from Topton keeps freezing/rebooting every +- 24h...
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@sammyke007 said in Topton N100 Reporting 402 MHz:
@binhex01 is your N100 still running stable with these settings? I've flashed the unlocked bios succesfully, but I haven't changed any settings. My N100 from Topton keeps freezing/rebooting every +- 24h...
Yep 100% solid, no crashes or hangs whatsoever, of note i am using OpnSense not pfSense.
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Me too
May I ask what RAM brand/type you are using?
I'm running with Crucial and memtest shows 0 errors on multiple runs, but the freezing and/or rebooting keeps happening daily. -
@sammyke007 said in Topton N100 Reporting 402 MHz:
Me too
May I ask what RAM brand/type you are using?
I'm running with Crucial and memtest shows 0 errors on multiple runs, but the freezing and/or rebooting keeps happening daily.I went with a prebuilt box with RAM included, no idea what the brand or type it is, sorry, all i can tell you is i have 16GB.
Edit - Looks like i can use 'dmidecode' to extract some of the info you want:-
Memory Device Array Handle: 0x003B Error Information Handle: Not Provided Total Width: 64 bits Data Width: 64 bits Size: 16 GB Form Factor: SODIMM Set: None Locator: Controller0-ChannelA-DIMM0 Bank Locator: BANK 0 Type: DDR5 Type Detail: Synchronous Speed: 4800 MT/s Manufacturer: Crucial Technology Serial Number: E8FE397C Asset Tag: 9876543210 Part Number: CT16G48C40S5.C8A1 Rank: 1 Configured Memory Speed: 4800 MT/s Minimum Voltage: 1.1 V Maximum Voltage: 1.1 V Configured Voltage: 1.1 V Memory Technology: DRAM Memory Operating Mode Capability: Volatile memory Firmware Version: Not Specified Module Manufacturer ID: Bank 6, Hex 0x9B Module Product ID: Unknown Memory Subsystem Controller Manufacturer ID: Unknown Memory Subsystem Controller Product ID: Unknown Non-Volatile Size: None Volatile Size: 16 GB Cache Size: None Logical Size: None -
@binhex01 tnx, that's exact the same as my RAM.
Are these the only changes you've made in BIOS to make it run stable?
- Go to Advanced/Power & Performance/CPU - Power Management Control/ set Platform PL1 Enable [Enabled] set Platform PL1 Power 9000 set Platform PL1 Time Windows [28] Set Platform PL2 Enable [Enabled] Set Platform PL2 Power 25000 - Go to Advanced/Power & Performance/CPU - Power Management Control/HDC Control/View-Configure Turbo Options/ Power Limit 1 Override [Enabled] Power Limit 1 9000 Power Limit 1 Time Window [28] Power Limit 2 Override [Enabled] Power Limit 2 25000 - Go to Save & Exit/Save Changes and Reset - Boot into OPNSense/pfSense - Disable Powerd (in OPNSense - go to System: Settings: Miscellaneous: Use PowerD (untick) and Save) -
@sammyke007 said in Topton N100 Reporting 402 MHz:
@binhex01 tnx, that's exact the same as my RAM.
Are these the only changes you've made in BIOS to make it run stable?
- Go to Advanced/Power & Performance/CPU - Power Management Control/ set Platform PL1 Enable [Enabled] set Platform PL1 Power 9000 set Platform PL1 Time Windows [28] Set Platform PL2 Enable [Enabled] Set Platform PL2 Power 25000 - Go to Advanced/Power & Performance/CPU - Power Management Control/HDC Control/View-Configure Turbo Options/ Power Limit 1 Override [Enabled] Power Limit 1 9000 Power Limit 1 Time Window [28] Power Limit 2 Override [Enabled] Power Limit 2 25000 - Go to Save & Exit/Save Changes and Reset - Boot into OPNSense/pfSense - Disable Powerd (in OPNSense - go to System: Settings: Miscellaneous: Use PowerD (untick) and Save)From memory, that looks about right, yes, I did try and document what i tweaked exactly in the doc that i included in the zip, and i assume the above is taken from that, so that should be what i have set.
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@sammyke007 Maybe you are seeing thermal issues, temporarily stick a fan upside down on the top of the unit and see what happens, if it cures it then reapply thermal paste and perhaps buy a fan and strap it to the top (what i did - didn't want thermal throttle).
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@binhex01 I already have a 120mm fan attached. Idles around +- 25° so that can't be a problem. I've PMed you with an offtopic question.
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