get more vcore under load: vdroop pencil mod (pics)

[graysky]

This is one of the easiest mods you can do to your P5B-Deluxe (and probably any P5B although I haven't tested it on any model but the Deluxe) to help you get higher voltages under load conditions and also lower your idle vcore; it is particularly useful for people wanting to get more juice to feed their o/c'ed chip.

Background
As you know, the P5B-Deluxe (and others in the P5B family) has a vdroop built in for some reason (protect processor maybe, I dunno). Vdroop is the term used to describe the voltage drop between idle and load conditions.

Try it yourself right now: (assuming you have your vcore manually set in your BIOS) load up CPU-Z and see what it's reporting as your idle vcore. Now load up a few instances of orthos and have a look. For example, before the mod, mine dropped from 1.280v (idle) to 1.232v (load) which is -0.048v! After you do the "pencil mod" it should drop by a very small amount or none.

The "Pencil" Mod

What do you need? A soft pencil. Look for one with a 2B rating on it. Standard pencils are HB. HB pencils will work, but the softer the pencil lead, the better the results. You can find a 2B pencil at most any office supply store (staples, officemax, etc.); they are usually in the art or drafting section (aisle #7 for my staples). I got one in 4 pack for under $3.

Now, either unplug or switch off your power supply so the LED has gone out and simply shade (gently draw with the pencil back and forth) over the correct surface mount component (it's a resistor maybe?) -- refer to the pictures below... it's the one with the yellow arrow pointing to it.



You can see on the zoom where I colored over the right one.

NOW, boot into Windows and repeat that exercise where you measure the load and idle vcore. Mine went from a drop of 0.048v before I did the mod to a drop of 0.008v after the mod. These are both @ a BIOS vcore of 1.3250v.

I recently lowered the BIOS vcore to 1.2625v and now I have NO vdroop at all: idle is 1.232v and load is 1.232v, and the system is stable to 2x orthos for over 6 h!

Undoing the "Pencil" Mod

You can undo this very easily with a little alcohol and a few q-tips. It is 100 % reversible.

If you found this useful, please post your before/after results in this thread.

Enjoy!

[newls1]

Dude, simply awesome! Very good pictures, and discription. Thank you

[mk5652]

A nice concise, simple explanation of exactly what the pencil mod does as well, thank you

[bobbobson]

Great guide. Can you give us the resistance before and after the mod ? I really like the idear of booting without knowing that im not gonna blow simething up because i used to much pencil .

[derektm]

Great guide. Can you give us the resistance before and after the mod ? I really like the idear of booting without knowing that im not gonna blow simething up because i used to much pencil .

Can you also post a pic of where to put a VR and what value VR to use?

Nice guide!

Edit: Never mind found it here:

[graysky]

I think you guys are a bit more sophisticated than I... I don't have the instruments (volt meter?) needed to measure the resistance nor do I know where to touch it on my board

[Elisha]

this pencil mod is old news......been around for a long time for the P5B-Deluxe.....but your pics are better than the ones in the mobo mod section.

[dnottis]

I did it months ago, works great!

[graysky]

this pencil mod is old news......been around for a long time for the P5B-Deluxe.....but your pics are better than the ones in the mobo mod section.

Thanks man, nothing pissed me off more than a poor quality image when the image is more or less all one has to go on... as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

[newls1]

Thanks man, nothing pissed me off more than a poor quality image when the image is more or less all one has to go on... as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

exactly

[Elisha]

the nice part about your pic is that it shows where the spot is in relation to the mobo itself and not just the the resistor.
so no need to hunt for the resistor as now it clearly shows its close to the first DIMM slot.
iirc there was only one other pic that showed where the mod needed to be applied in relation to the whole mobo but the pic was not as sharp and super imposed as yours.
i hate trying to find an IC or resistor without knowing where it is located in relation to the whole mobo.

[kerryking]

hi guys..
how long do u have to shade it...i am using a 4b pencil..i dun have a voltmeter..
i did my first shade about 10sec-13sec couples of days ago..the result wasnt pleasing..(Commando board)
Bios set : 1.325v
Asus probe2 : 1.27v - idle
1.24v - load

[jimmyz]

why does your board have a different revision??? and deluxe is on a sticker? mine is silkscreened on the board.

[graysky]

why does your board have a different revision??? and deluxe is on a sticker? mine is silkscreened on the board.

You asking me? I have no idea -- that's how it came from asus :p

[xenoasd]

why does your board have a different revision??? and deluxe is on a sticker? mine is silkscreened on the board.

yeah i was wondering why there was a sticker..
anyways indeed nice tutorial, very descripted and detailed.

[GripS]

hi guys..
how long do u have to shade it...i am using a 4b pencil..i dun have a voltmeter..
i did my first shade about 10sec-13sec couples of days ago..the result wasnt pleasing..(Commando board)
Bios set : 1.325v
Asus probe2 : 1.27v - idle
1.24v - load

It would be wise to invest in a voltmeter. They are not very expensive. You can get a cheap one at radio shack. If you are into modding your motherboard or video card(yes it can be done with video cards as well) then it would be a wise investment.

Too much shading can allow for too much voltage to pass through. Not a good thing and not something i would 'guess' at.

edit: SLAYER!!!!!

[Elisha]

Too much shading can allow for too much voltage to pass through. Not a good thing and not something i would 'guess' at.

edit: SLAYER!!!!!

even at 0 resistance there may be a droop just cause of the design itself.
i didn't even take the board out of the tower when i did mine last week and i pretty much did 8-10 strokes and then did another 10 strokes the next day and it didn't change anything from what i did the first day.
so i doubt that you're suddenly gonna open up the flood gates and let unlimited voltage pass trough.
Eva measured the resistance in one of the older pencil mod threads and i think he was at 3.5~4.5 ohms or something like that and there was still a tiny droop.

[adondeeres]

hmm...that board looks just like mine in that I have a sticker and same revision number as well. Did you buy yours from newegg? That's where I bought mine around 4/22/07.

[graysky]

Yep.. NE.com around about that same time frame... I don't understand why people are concerned about this... is that thought that I have a counterfeit board or something?

[Thanh55]

I just wonder anyone do the same on AB9 QuadGT? Or how to do it in both way, pancli and solder? Thanks much for your help.

[jeffyjaixx]

So basically, you just connect the two ends of that resistor thing with the shading of the pencil?

[pranko1]

Yep

[javaneze]

Ok, I followed the instructions given these are my results.

Before the mod:
q6600 G0 @ 9*333, bios vcore 1.2625v reported by CPUZ 1.232v at idle, 1.19v at prime25 smallFFT's load. (not stable)
After the mod:
q6600 G0 @ 9*333, bios vcore 1.2625v reported by CPUZ 1.264v at idle, 1.272v at prime25 smallFFT's load. (testing stability as I write)

Oh, and core temp shows 71C at prime25 smallFFT's, where it showed 68C max without the mod.

Think I overdid it with the shade?