Z170 Extreme 6 SkyOC

I updated the UEFI to latest 2.6 on Extreme 6, after downgrading to 1.8 SkyOC is still not there and won't come back because of Intel's ME. Would getting the UEFI chips out of MB and flashing with an external programmer downgrade the ME so I could use SkyOC again?

My cpu is i7 6700 engineering sample, they're not BCLK locked so lack of SkyOC is not a big problem, but I can't get past ~160 BCLK without SkyOC (multiplier is max x24 so I need over 160 BCLK to even get close to 4GHz)

b0rys wrote: I updated the UEFI to latest 2.6 on Extreme 6, after downgrading to 1.8 SkyOC is still not there and won't come back because of Intel's ME. Would getting the UEFI chips out of MB and flashing with an external programmer downgrade the ME so I could use SkyOC again? My cpu is i7 6700 engineering sample, they're not BCLK locked so lack of SkyOC is not a big problem, but I can't get past ~160 BCLK without SkyOC (multiplier is max x24 so I need over 160 BCLK to even get close to 4GHz)

Was it the IME firmware or a CPU microcode update (or both) in a UEFI update that killed Sky OC?

Add to that the apparent Windows update that did either or both. Are you aware of that?

So the IME firmware version remained the same after the change to 1.80? What about the CPU microcode?

Regardless, your basic theory should be correct. Actually, what UEFI version is in your board's backup B UEFI chip? The B Backup UEFI chip should be untouched from any UEFI updates AFAIK. That of course depends upon the UEFI version that came with your board. I have an early Z170 Extreme7+ with the 1.00 or 1.10 UEFI, so I still have Sky OC on the backup chip. Or, unless an owner moved the UEFI chips around themselves.

I've read at a UEFI/BIOS modding website that the IME firmware in ASRock UEFIs is "locked", and cannot be updated with the UEFI modding tool they use. If an external programmer can overcome that, I don't know, and their is still the question of CPU microcode vs IME firmware.

http://www.win-raid.com/t154f16-Tool-Guide-News-quot-UEFI-BIOS-Updater-quot-UBU.html

Are you sure it's the lack of Sky OC that is preventing you to set the BCLK beyond 160MHz? I recall an option in the UEFI that I think will do that. That's the FCLK Frequency option in OC Tweaker, which I see in your board's manual. I could be wrong about that...

Awesome to hear. Thanks for the info Parsec.