Nvflash: what is it and how to flash your graphics to get more performance?

If you've ever dreamed of squeezing the performance of your Nvidia graphics cards a little more, today we present you a method to achieve it. It is somewhat risky, so you will have to be very careful with the steps to avoid breaking the graph, but it really is a fairly simple process. If you are still interested, stay, because we will explain what is and how to use NVFlash .

Index of contents

What is flashing a graphics card?

Before we get to work with the software, we have to explain what we are going to do. Therefore, we will review the base of everything: flash a graphics card.

Perhaps the term BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) sounds more familiar to you . In simple words, we could define it as the software that the motherboard has, generally, and it helps us to give support and compatibility to certain components.

Well, it turns out that motherboards are not the only ones with BIOS , since graphics cards also carry. However, these second ones do not have support to retouch and customize them, so for users they simply have them.

The BIOS of a graphics card determines how this component will work in much more internal sections. Away from fans and more, the different BIOSes control the maximum frequencies, the limit temperatures and other important parameters.

As you will understand, a more powerful graphics, for example the RX 5700 XT , also has considerably higher limits than an RX 5700 . This is why it is beneficial to exchange certain BIOS pairs to empower the weaker ones. With this we get that caped graphics uncover a little more by squeezing its limits to the maximum.

The dark side of this is that it is a delicate process. Many graphics do not have compatible BIOS even if they have the same PCB or the same power, so you need to do some research first.

On the other hand, if we interrupt the process unexpectedly we will 'brickeare' the component (we will leave it as a brick, a brick) .

Graphics with artifacts

That is why we recommend you confirm all the steps before taking any action. Two RTX 2060 graphics from different brands may just not be compatible.

What is NVFlash and how to 'install' it ?

If the thing is to flash BIOS of graphic cards, obviously NVFlash is a program dedicated to this work.

In this case, this software allows us to install the BIOS of some graphics (downloaded from the Internet) into others. However, this process is only for the Nvidia brand. To flash AMD graphics we have another tool that, if you want, we can do another tutorial one day.

Regarding NVFlash , we have to admit that it is a very rare program to use. It is not like other applications that have graphic interfaces and colorful options, here it is rather the opposite.

When you download the main file (you can do it from this link) , you will download a compressed file. Within this, you will have the three parts of the program, of which only one will serve to flash your graphics card.

We recommend you create a folder called NVFlash in the 'root' of your computer (that is, C: /) and unzip the three files there. You could do this process with the files on the Desktop , but the steps would be a bit more complicated than we like.

And before we get to touch things of the system, we touch the most important part of the installation: secure, investigate and download the important things.

First make a backup copy of your graphics BIOS . You can do it with a few clicks on the GPU-Z program .

Then you need to find your exact Nvidia graphics model and see what other graphics it is compatible with. Once you have a font that confirms your compatibility, look for the BIOS in Tech Power Up , download it and save it as ' BIOS.rom' . So save this file inside the 'C: \ NVFlash' folder .

Use NVFlash, a peculiar task

If you have reached this point because you do not know how to use the executable, do not worry, it has happened to all of us. What happens is that, despite being an executable, NVFlash cannot be used like ordinary day-to-day programs.

First of all, we warn you that you will have to find out how many bits your computer is. If it is 32 bits we will use the NVFlash program and if it is 64 bits we will use NVFlash64 . To find out this, we recommend you open File Explorer and on Computer right click> Properties .

With all this already clear, here are the steps (in the commands do not write the '' and respect the upper and lower case) :

• The first thing we will need to do is open the 'Command Prompt' . You can do this by typing ' cmd ' or ' msdos' in the Start search bar, although you will have to open it using ' right click> Run as Administrator' .

• Next, you have to 'go' where the folder with the executables is. If you have followed our recommendation it will be at the root of the main disk, so you only have to write 'cd C: /'.

• Then, you will have to 'enter' the folder that we have created by typing 'cd NVFlash' . If you have given the folder another name, write that other name instead of NVFlash .

• The next step is important, as it will unlock the security of the graphics card. Write on the screen 'NVFlash / NVFlash64 –protectoff' and once the screen stops flashing the computer is ready for installation.

• Next, we will install the BIOS using the 'NVFlash / NVFlash64 -6 BIOS.rom' command, at which point the process will begin.

Here the screen will turn off a few times, but don't worry. The most important thing is that you do not interrupt the process or you will permanently break the graph.

Results

After doing this delicate process, your screen may flicker a little, but this may be due to the new BIOS guidelines. The most recommended is that you restart the computer as the program indicates at the end.

If it still happens after restarting, it is probably because the BIOS is not compatible. On the other hand, if you have done this process cleanly, you should be enjoying better performance, in most cases.

Normally, the installed BIOS should be a higher model, so the frequencies and so on should go up. Although this can be easily verified with a program like RTSS Rivatuner Statistics Server or by viewing the fps of a game that you already know beforehand.

At best, you'll experience something like the RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT , which some models have been found to be compatible with. A wccftech user tried this combination and the result was a 20% performance boost for the RX 5700.

Things to watch out for with NVFlash

In previous versions, the graphics card had to be manually disabled. However, this process has been added in newer versions, so we can save ourselves. Not surprisingly, if you do it before the other steps, it should not cause any problems.

Also, it is worth noting the slight change when you have more than one graphics card.

By writing the command 'NVFlash / NVFlash64 –list' we can see the identifier of each component. They usually start from 0, and each consecutive graph will have a neighboring number (1, 2, 3…) .

So, we will have to add the short line '-i' to the other two commands, where is the identifier number. We will repeat these steps for each installed graphics card. In other words, we will have to write:

And when the first installation is finished we repeat but with the identifier of the second graph.

As you can see, the process does not change, so the only thing that happens is that it increases the time you will need to flash the graphics.

Final words on NVFlash

The truth is that it is a program that we cannot not recommend. Unlike other applications, we have no alternative that allows us to do this delicate action (that we know of) .

However, its failures are not invisible. It is impossible not to emphasize that it totally lacks a graphical interface, something that will confuse most users (both experts and novices) . The point of using the 'Command Prompt' is something that, while not complicated, will scare some people.

For everything else, we have to say that it is a fairly simple process to complete. It has no variations, no different variables, so it 's pretty hard to go wrong. The only bad thing is its strange way to start the process.

Not surprisingly, we have to mention again that this process is dangerous for your component.

We highly recommend you to be very scrupulous when looking for information, since the security of your graphics is at stake. We are not responsible for any graphics card that is harmed by erroneously following this process.

Regarding the article, we hope that you have understood it easily and that you have learned something new. If you have any comments to highlight, feel free to comment them in the comment box.

Do you think NVFlash is worth using despite the risk of 'brickeying' your graphics? Have you done something equal or more dangerous on your team? Share your experiences in the comment box.

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