This may be my final project given my time is running out.

As some may know this motherboard "Z170 Fatal1ty Professional Gaming i7" is shared between me and Fernando coincidentally if you read his computer specs.

However what made this motherboard special was it was the first SkyLake motherboard I successfully used to develop the XP installation process for modern computers.

[Guide] How to install Windows XP OS on Modern Hardware - Z170 Z270 SkyLake Kaby Lake

It happens to be the final generation that I've successfully tested that appears to have worked with DOS, Windows 98SE, Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7-10 all on one system.

At this time it seems Fernando is retiring / almost fully retired but still lurking around the board and is still using this same motherboard. If this works he could use the same modded BIOS to do a Coffee Lake CPU upgrade.

I currently have two of these Z170 motherboards which I can sacrifice and experiment with and both come with dual socketed BIOS chips that are removable so I am not worried about constantly reflashing or testing multiple BIOS flashes as I can swap the BIOS chips or flash it back to default with ease.

I find it strange that no one has modded this motherboard for Coffee Lake yet and the owner or now the previous owner of Win-Raid could potentially use 8 cores / 16 Threads CPU without upgrading his motherboard. Hopefully some people here are willing to assist as I can see no other way to thank him for keeping his board around as long as he has and what better way than a forum based on BIOS modding to work for him finally in return.

Unfortunately, my own BIOS skills are limited so I'm looking to see if there's anyone here who can mod this BIOS for me to support the i9-9900K, i9-9900KF, i9-9900KS, i5-8700K, and i5-8400 minimum CPUs to work on it if that takes less work not supporting the entire Coffee Lake 8th/9th Gen CPU line up while still being able to use a G3900 SkyLake CPU (my original test CPU) and i7-6700K so I need these CPU microcodes present. The CPUs in bold I currently own for testing purposes on the Z170.

The BIOS mod should have the CPU Core Ratio feature still intact so it can still be adjusted down to 8 for 800 MHz or as high as 40 or 50 to support the 4-5 GHz.

The CPU Core Voltage should be allowed to use manual fixed setting if present.

Also the CPU Cores Enabled feature to choose from 1-8 Cores to be enabled should still function.

All other features such as disabling/enabling onboard devices should remain intact.

If anyone here can help modify the BIOS below for testing I would appreciate it and I'm sure Fernando would appreciate it as well if that means a 9th Gen CPU upgrade is possible for him.


Z170 BIOS currently used:
https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Fatal1ty...ming%20i7/#BIOS
Version 7.10

http://asrock.pc.cdn.bitgravity.com/BIOS...i7(7.10)WIN.zip

http://asrock.pc.cdn.bitgravity.com/BIOS...i7(7.10)DOS.zip

http://asrock.pc.cdn.bitgravity.com/BIOS...i7(7.10)ROM.zip

I never upgraded above v7.10 so I have not tested compatibility so would like to have only the BIOS v7.10 modded for testing.

Later if all works then v7.50 could be modded too could be tested to see if breaks compatibility. If a guide could be constructed just for modifying this motherboard would be helpful to reference in the future.


Some questions:
Has anyone successfully used 6 or 8 core Coffee Lake CPUs on Z170 with just a BIOS mod only and not modifying their CPU pins or motherboard?

Can the 6 core and 8 core Coffee Lake CPUs work without modifying the CPU pins?

If someone has gotten 6 and 8 core Coffee Lake CPUs to work would it be possible to install these CPUs to work in the Z170 and run at 800 MHz without needing to tamper/modify the CPU pins?

Is the CPU pins mod necessary due to people using too much wattage on a board made for quad core or can underclocking the CPU down to 800 MHz keep the wattage limits low enough and acceptable without needing to CPU pin mod or alter the motherboard besides just the BIOS mod?

Thanks.

=== Possible Guide Place Holder ===

@XPLives - There is two AIO tools to do this for you now, and yes you do have to modify pins believe. After you are done with BIOS I can check it for you and fix whatever microcodes need re-added
svarmod's tool (CoffeeTime) - [GUIDE] Coffee Lake CPUs on Skylake and Kaby Lake motherboards (57)
Revlaay's AIO Tool - [TOOL] Easy automated Mod tool for Coffee Lake bios