Is there any "official" documentation regarding differences between the Master and Slave bios on the 1080FTW?

I have learned from forum posts, and from looking at settings in Afterburner, that the "power target" maximum is 120% in Master, and 130% in Slave.

Also, the fans are 0rpm up to some temperature (?) on Master, whereas they run at about 1075rpm minimum with Slave. And that 1075rpm seems to be a HARD minimum which cannot be reduced by software (like Afterburner).

Is there some documentation of the specific differences (and full fan curve specs, for example) between Master and Slave bios?

Scarlet-Tech
Slave has a higher RPM fan speed and no 0% as you noted.  
 
Master Bios has the fans at 0% until the 60c temperature threshold has been broken, and then they turn on.
 
As you also noted, the power target is slightly higher on the slave bios.  Those are the only differences though.

Thanks for the reply. What happens after 60c with the Master? Does it just come on and stay at a specific RPM (and what rpm?), or is there a gradual curve as temp goes higher?

Is it possible to override the minimum RPM imposed by the Slave with a lower RPM? (I was unable to do this with Afterburner, but not sure if that's because the bios is not allowing it or if Afterburner doesn't support the lower-rpm override).

I was sort of hoping EVGA has some kind of technical documentation that delineates differences between the two settings. It seems that if they are providing two bios on the card with different settings, they would have some documentation somewhere as to what the differences are. Even if it was some kind of internal engineering document, that would be fine with me.

Thanks. I take it, then, that EVGA doesn't publish any information detailing the fan curves or other differences in the master/slave bios versions? Is it just "word of mouth" via other forum users like you and me?

Really? I always thought the default in Precision was a "program" default. Does it actually read and display the fan curve from bios? Afterburner doesn't, as with the "master" bios it has a default curve that doesn't reflect the 0rpm setting in the bios. I have avoided Precision due to reported incompatibilities with Excel, but if it can read the fan curve from bios maybe I could temporarily install it just to see that.

I still don't understand why the differences between master and slave are not documented as part of the product information provided by EVGA. It's a cool feature (dual bios) and highlighted in the marketing literature, but I can't find any documentation of the specific parameters in master vs. slave.

DSP1
There are 2  programmed settings in Precision.
1 is the default curve
2 is the aggressive curve
Then there is the ability to set a custom  curve.
I don't know why everyone doesn't understand this. Doesn't everyone automatically install Precision when they install their cards to at least see what it can
do? If you don't like the interface or prefer AB ability to give you better voltage/curve control then go with AB. But setting the fan curve to Custom was the first thing I did in Precision, in both Master and Slave.

With respect, your assumption that I "don't understand" is insulting. The "program" defaults are not the same as a the bios defaults. I am asking about the bios curve - not Precision's default or custom curves. I want to know what is in the firmware.

No, not everyone "automatically installs" Precision. That is not the subject here, but since you raised the issue, I will explain that I used Precision with my 560ti, 680, and 980. I stopped using it when Evga embedded the "server" software (equivalent function of old Riva Tuner) such that it had to be installed. I don't need that component, it caused software conflicts for me, and I object to installing it ever again. Also, there are well-documented issues between recent Precision versions and Excel, which is a critical app for me.

But to get back on subject...

Does anyone know if EVGA provides any documentation on the parameters and differences between the Master and Slave bios? I am not looking for suppositions or guesses or opinions. I am looking for DOCUMENTED facts from the manufacturer. Does that exist?

Scarlet-Tech
Scott_W, sorry for the delayed response.  Received a facetime call and it took priority over the forums, lol.
 
As for the documentation, you can get all of the information by looking at the bios in something like pascal bios tweaker.  All of the changes are visible in there.
 
EVGA has put out the information in posts on the forums numerous times, and I am not personally going to dig for it, but they put it out as it is going to be a question that is always asked, answered, and then re-asked.  

"Pascal bios tweaker"? You're kidding, right? I don't know what that is, and I'm not sure I want to know.

Look, all I am asking for is documentation from EVGA as to what parameters are different between the Master and Slave settings. The actual fan curve (temp and rpm thresholds), power targets, whatever.

If you don't know those details, please just say you don't know or stay silent. Saying it has been answered in forums without providing a link is a non-answer. (I have searched and not found anything definitive. Suppositions, guesses, and speculation from other customers is not what I am seeking.)

I'm a loyal EVGA customer. I am NOT attacking the product or EVGA, nor asking for secret design schematics or company financial secrets. ****? Maybe you've become overly-sensitive from all the "exploding vim" threads, lol. I'm not the enemy here. I'm just looking for specific product details for the 1080FTW that I actually own.

The Master/Slave switch is prominently mentioned in the product literature, so it doesn't seem unreasonable to expect some documentation of the differences invoked by that switch. If you don't have an answer, don't make one up. I'm not looking for an argument. I'm looking for product specifications from the manufacturer. If that doesn't exist, that's the way it is. If I have to contact EVGA support with a custom request, that's the way it is. I hoped it already existed, but maybe it doesn't.

Is there any EVGA documentation of differences between the Master and Slave bios on the 1080FTW?

Well, here is a suggestion..........
 Maybe, just maybe CONTACT TECH SUPPORT (like you stated in post #111) and get it from the "horse's mouth" instead of relying on a forum for the answers you require.

Scott_W, this is a USER based forum, so you are going to get the answers that users have gathered from EVGA.

I don't know of any manufacturer that hands out their bios documentation.

As for Pascal Bios Tweaker, use Google.. It is very easy to use. You save the bios using GPU-Z to save the current bios, and the bios tweaker to look st the bios. You can not make changes, because Nvidia doesn't allow unapproved bios' to be loaded to the gpu, so you can only view what the bios has. This is exactly what you are asking for EVGA to provide, and you don't need evga.

Scarlet-Tech
...this is a USER based forum, so you are going to get the answers that users have gathered from EVGA.

Your implication that I don't understand the forum is insulting. When did this place become so toxic?

The question was, and still is:
"Is there any official documentation regarding differences between the Master and Slave bios on the 1080FTW?"

I asked the USERS here, hoping another USER already had a link to some EVGA documentation, or could link to a previous forum post by EVGA (who does participate in this "USER" forum which EVGA hosts). Apparently nobody here knows of any such documentation, and that's OK! No need to get defensive, or tell me I don't need it, or tell me I can use other utilities to investigate, or imply that I do not know what a USER forum is. I will ask EVGA support and wait for them to answer.

Scarlet-Tech
As for Pascal Bios Tweaker, use Google.. It is very easy to use. You save the bios using GPU-Z to save the current bios, and the bios tweaker to look st the bios. You can not make changes, because Nvidia doesn't allow unapproved bios' to be loaded to the gpu, so you can only view what the bios has.

Whoa... Wait a second... "You cannot make changes, because Nvidia doesn't allow unapproved bios' to be loaded to the gpu." Really? Isn't that the published purpose of EVGA's dual bios feature?

The "Features" section of the EVGA 1080FTW product listing states: "A secondary BIOS allows you to experiment with custom BIOSes without risk of breaking the card, and allows easy BIOS recovery with just the flip of a switch." So, can 1080FTW owners "experiment with custom BIOSes" as stated in the 1080FTW Features List? If that cannot be done, as you stated above, then what does EVGA mean by "allows you to experiment with custom BIOSes"?

Scott_W

Scarlet-Tech
...this is a USER based forum, so you are going to get the answers that users have gathered from EVGA.

Your implication that I don't understand the forum is insulting. When did this place become so toxic?

The question was, and still is:
"Is there any official documentation regarding differences between the Master and Slave bios on the 1080FTW?"

I asked the USERS here, hoping another USER already had a link to some EVGA documentation, or could link to a previous forum post by EVGA (who does participate in this "USER" forum which EVGA hosts). Apparently nobody here knows of any such documentation, and that's OK! No need to get defensive, or tell me I don't need it, or tell me I can use other utilities to investigate, or imply that I do not know what a USER forum is. I will ask EVGA support and wait for them to answer.

Scarlet-Tech
As for Pascal Bios Tweaker, use Google.. It is very easy to use. You save the bios using GPU-Z to save the current bios, and the bios tweaker to look st the bios. You can not make changes, because Nvidia doesn't allow unapproved bios' to be loaded to the gpu, so you can only view what the bios has.

Whoa... Wait a second... "You cannot make changes, because Nvidia doesn't allow unapproved bios' to be loaded to the gpu." Really? Isn't that the published purpose of EVGA's dual bios feature?

The "Features" section of the EVGA 1080FTW product listing states: "A secondary BIOS allows you to experiment with custom BIOSes without risk of breaking the card, and allows easy BIOS recovery with just the flip of a switch." So, can 1080FTW owners "experiment with custom BIOSes" as stated in the 1080FTW Features List? If that cannot be done, as you stated above, then what does EVGA mean by "allows you to experiment with custom BIOSes"?

IFrom you are so inclined, you can find the tools necessary to mod the hips. This of course risks a failure and the bios switch gives you an out unless the bios causes physical damage to the card. This is helpfully for liquid nitrogen overclockers.
If you are not doing that, the secondary bios eliminates the 0db fan option and gives you 130% power headroom for aggressive overclocking.
I'll agree that putting that info in a faq page instead of the product page makes it harder to find, but these forums help with that.

Scott_W

Scarlet-Tech
...this is a USER based forum, so you are going to get the answers that users have gathered from EVGA.

Your implication that I don't understand the forum is insulting. When did this place become so toxic?

The question was, and still is:
"Is there any official documentation regarding differences between the Master and Slave bios on the 1080FTW?"

I asked the USERS here, hoping another USER already had a link to some EVGA documentation, or could link to a previous forum post by EVGA (who does participate in this "USER" forum which EVGA hosts). Apparently nobody here knows of any such documentation, and that's OK! No need to get defensive, or tell me I don't need it, or tell me I can use other utilities to investigate, or imply that I do not know what a USER forum is. I will ask EVGA support and wait for them to answer.

Scarlet-Tech
As for Pascal Bios Tweaker, use Google.. It is very easy to use. You save the bios using GPU-Z to save the current bios, and the bios tweaker to look st the bios. You can not make changes, because Nvidia doesn't allow unapproved bios' to be loaded to the gpu, so you can only view what the bios has.

Whoa... Wait a second... "You cannot make changes, because Nvidia doesn't allow unapproved bios' to be loaded to the gpu." Really? Isn't that the published purpose of EVGA's dual bios feature?

The "Features" section of the EVGA 1080FTW product listing states: "A secondary BIOS allows you to experiment with custom BIOSes without risk of breaking the card, and allows easy BIOS recovery with just the flip of a switch." So, can 1080FTW owners "experiment with custom BIOSes" as stated in the 1080FTW Features List? If that cannot be done, as you stated above, then what does EVGA mean by "allows you to experiment with custom BIOSes"?

The dual bios has always been for experimenting. Previously, Nvidia locked users out but the users and promodders found ways around the limitations. I am sure someone has found a way around the limitations at this point. The thing is, Pascal bios tweaker is only used for editing, not loading bios. Nvflash is for loading the bios, and that was what Nvidia locked out. With Maxwell, there was a Joe dirt unlocked Nvflash that was used to load third party bios. The last I had heard, they were working to unlock the Joe dirt version for Pascal.

If you want to see the official numbers, save the two bios with gpuz, and view them with bios tweaker. You can't get more official than the numbers that come directly from evga. The documentation that evga provides has been posted. Unfortunately, I am on a cell phone and can not browse the FAQ section to find the answer you are looking for until I get home.

As for how the forum works, many users do not understand. It wasn't meant to insinuate that you don't understand how this forum works. With thousands of entries happening every day, many people come in demanding "official responses only" which are not possible every day.

Scott_W

DSP1
It means you are not able to make alterations to the bios but you can flash different bios's to the card.
Some people have used the T4 bios from Asus on their cards, flashing it to the one bios while retaining the factory one on the other.

Ah, ok. Thanks for the answer. I will do some additional searching and try to understand what other bios versions are being loaded, and why.

I was hoping the Feature List statement meant that "individuals" (i.e., card owners, with appropriate skill) could create an experimental bios. For example, one that had a custom fan curve (rather than relying on software control). What keeps someone from doing that? Do all the files require a digital signature from Nvidia or something?

Those using the T4 bios were trying to get more than the locked voltage to their cards to increase clock speeds. It is risky as it disables the built in safeguards for over voltage.
Not used it myself and am not familiar with the protocol that enables it to function on other manufacturers cards. I know some EVGA users and other manufacturers versions cards wouldn't work with it. 

DSP1
Those using the T4 bios were trying to get more than the locked voltage to their cards to increase clock speeds. It is risky as it disables the built in safeguards for over voltage.
Not used it myself and am not familiar with the protocol that enables it to function on other manufacturers cards. I know some EVGA users and other manufacturers versions cards wouldn't work with it. 

Agree, using a bios from a different manufacturer / different card sounds risky at best. Not something I'd want to try.

I would like to try setting a custom fan curve... I hate relying on software for that -- as I have had cases where the software (Precision or AB) was accidentally closed or crashed, leaving the card with the default bios curve, which I find too conservative.

I believe Scarlet-Tech already posted it.

The only difference from 970 to now is the protection switches. Not sure why they put them on the 970, but that is really the only difference overall.

Dual bios is nice, because if you brick one of the switches, you can boot on the good switch, switch over in the operating system, and refresh the bad switch sometimes. It is so helpful.

Take a glance on Google, and see if you can find a Pascal NVFLASH. If there is a Joe dirt version, it will work wonders. I use it on my 980ti's still.

Nvidia is trying to protect their name, so they lock out NVFLASH so that someone without a clue what things do what doesn't go in and set the PCI draw to 100w and then melt their motherboard. I am not comfortable with bios tweaker after years of trying to figure out what all of the settings do. I do know that changing the fan is very easy in there, and just goes off of rpm's and percentage assigned to each rpm.