kearley83
Sorry for a little bit of thread revival, but my board is a rev. 1.1, yet for whatever reason, CPU-z lists my board under the mainboard tab as revision 12. does that actually stand for 1.2 and if it does, is that an error? I looked directly at the board and it appears (I think) that the resistor is still on R538.  BIOS is 83, if that changes anything.

altanore
I am happy to report that I successfully did the mod (it was a bit challenging for such a small component) and the motherboard is happily running an Xeon X5660!

jaykayd
I just talked to a tech at EVGA (Dakota?) and he said they couldn't do the Westmere mod. He said something about them not doing repairs anymore. I said "huh?" and he said well, they do repairs but just not that stuff. It's a shame... this MB is like a trusty sidekick after almost 8 years. I'd love to spruce her up with a Xeon, but I'm not going to do the surgery myself. Yes, I know this thread is bare, but I'm sure someone out there will find this useful. 
 
He did suggest I call back again earlier in the day and maybe ask a supervisor, so I think I'll try that.
 
I gotta say it's refreshing to have only wasted a few minutes on the phone so far. Any other company and this could have wasted a good hour. If they had been able to do the mod --on an 8 year old board that's actually still functioning perfectly!-- it probably would have been the neatest thing I could even imagine a company doing.

GameFAQsRolo
I'm a little late to the Westmere Mod party, but I'm hoping it's still active or at least has someone that can share their knowledge or experience with the mod and answer my questions.
 
Main Question(s):
This is in regards to the 132-BL-E758-A1 Rev 1.0 as stated in the topic title, did anyone confirm the value of the resistor? User @andradesgau didn't seem to get a response when he asked in 2016. Any confirmation on whether the resistor is necessary or if the pads (R539) can simply be bridged/shorted and the resistor removed completely like doing the mod on some other boards? If R539 can be shorted, do you still need to remove the resistor from R538 or can it be left in place?
 
Background story:
The system the motherboard is in is still in operation and probably will be for another few months. As I was poking around, looking for a replacement northbridge fan, I came across the Westmere Mod. It sounds like fun for the motherboard's last few months and x56xx chips are cheap, so I figured why not? I contacted support to ask about having the mod done and didn't realize they stopped doing it in about 2016. I was told I could perform the mod and as long as I didn't damage the board, my lifetime warranty would still be valid. I asked around and sent pictures to local electronics and mobile device repair shops, but all the ones in a reasonable distance declined the job. I tried a couple shops that do reflowing/reballing, but the minimum cost for a job was way too much for this mod. I decided I'm going to do it myself since I've always wanted to get into hobby electronics and this is a great excuse to buy some equipment.
 
Follow-up question:
If I do need the resistor, besides needing the value, what size is the package (looks like maybe 0603 or 0402)? I don't have anything with that level of precision to measure it. In the case that I do need it, I want to have a replacement ready since it seems there's at least 2 reports of people losing them when doing the mod.
 
The plan:
This is the first google result for 'evga x58 sli westmere mod' so this is where I'm going to document my experience. If no one has answers to my questions, it'll probably a month before I post a follow up. I'm ordering a TS100 and some SMD practice kits from banggood (hence the month wait). I'll document equipment/tools fully in the follow-up. This is the technique I plan on practicing, youtube video 'Fast soldering of 0402 component' or watch?v=3M5tGf9bY6A . If anyone has any tips or advice, feel free to share.
 
Side note about the NB fan:
I did find what looks like an original replacement for the northbridge fan MGT5012XR-A10 (when I called support they said they no longer had any in inventory to send me). I ordered it from aliexpress and when I receive it and confirm it's the right fan, I'll document it in whatever the first google result is for 'evga x58 sli northbridge fan'. BTW, the listings on ebay appear to be the same seller from aliexpress.

verbstyler

GameFAQsRolo

Gomez99
 
I have performed this mod myself and am currently running a X5650 on my e758. I removed the resistor, and just put a bead of solder between the two pads. Popped the CPU in and everything worked from there!

Cool, thanks for the confirmation. I did continue looking for people's experiences with the mod on other forums, but the posts were rarely definitive, lacked information, or simply failed to mention which motherboard the mod was done on. The 2 things that seemed consistent was the answers to 2 of my questions. First, yes, the resistor does have to be removed from R538. Second, yes, the resistor isn't necessary on R539 and bridging those pads is enough. Having confirmation from you on both of those is all I needed to hear to proceed when I receive the soldering iron.

did you ever do the mod?
Was looking for info so i can do my 132-BL-E758-A1 V1.0

s8er01z

ericshchu
Reviving the thread.  I have a Rev 1.0 x58 SLI board.  Due to the conflicting info I was able to find, I thought I have a board that works out of the box with Xeon processors and bought a Xeon X5675 already.  I've even called EVGA and they said they no longer offer that service.  
 
I live in the Bay area.  Anyone has a pointer to any shops or individuals that can do the mods for a reasonable fee?  Hate to see this board goes to waste.
 
Thanks
Eric
 

Seems I'm not the only one toying with this..  I have a 762 and can't find anything relevant though.  
170-BL-E762-A1  Anyone know if these need modded? Already have the 83 bios

Revision is 1.0 so it looks like it needs the mod but I don’t see the relevant points to modify and my board layout seems to be very different than the pictures I’ve seen posted.

harley262
i dont believe evga will do it, but you can call them.
 
why the 5670? price?