MSI Titan GT77HX: driver packaging and Cooler Boost at 85C

[andyholst]

Hardware

Component	Detail
Model	MSI Titan GT77HX 13VI
CPU	Intel i9-13980HX (24C/32T)
dGPU	NVIDIA RTX 4090 Laptop (AD103M, hybrid Optimus)
iGPU	Intel UHD (display pipeline through iGPU)
Ethernet	Killer E3000 (RTL8125B, 2.5GbE, PCIe)
WiFi	Intel Wi-Fi 6E (CNVi, soldered)
Storage	Samsung PM9A1 NVMe x2
Card Reader	Realtek RTS5261
Thunderbolt	Maple Ridge 4
EC	MSI Embedded Controller (msi-ec-dkms-git)
Boot	Limine (UKI) on Arch Linux

Problem

Cooler Boost — a binary EC flag for 100% fan duty — is never enabled by Silent or Auto fan curves. The EC keeps fans on a quiet RPM curve even when CPU/GPU exceed 85C. CoolerControl cannot PWM these fans (RPM-only), so it has no way to flip the flag.

Result: thermal throttling under sustained load (rendering, gaming, compile) because the firmware never escalates cooling.

What This Issue Needs

1. Driver Packaging (install/hardware/msi.sh)

Triggered by omarchy-hw-msi (detects MSI laptops via DMI):

Driver	Package	Why
EC sysfs	msi-ec-dkms-git	Cooler Boost, fan control, battery thresholds
Ethernet	r8125-dkms	Killer E3000 — r8169 has stability bugs, needs blacklist
Fan daemon	coolercontrol	Replaces thermald; can't PWM but can trigger Cooler Boost
GPU config	nvidia-settings	NVIDIA DPMS, power management
Battery thresholds	via msi-ec	Start 60% / end 80% for battery longevity

Design notes:

• PCI detection reads from OMARCHY_PCI_DEVICES_PATH (sysfs), not lspci — avoids waking suspended GPUs on hybrid laptops (see PR Avoid lspci in favor of sysfs #11259)
• r8169 blacklist is only written when r8125 is already loaded — avoids leaving the system without network

2. Cooler Boost Watcher (Titan GT77HX only)

omarchy-hw-msi-titan gates a dedicated systemd unit:

Threshold	Action
CPU or GPU >= 85C, sustained >30s	Cooler Boost ON (Extreme 100%)
Both <= 70C	Cooler Boost OFF (Silent floor)
In between	Hysteresis — no change (prevents rapid toggling)

• A short spike above 85C does not enable Cooler Boost: the temperature must stay at or above 85C for more than 30 seconds (7 consecutive 5s polls). The sustain counter resets on any dip below 85C.
• Verified live on a GT77HX 13VI: first >=85C under 32-thread load at t+13s, flag flipped off -> on at t+44s (31s sustained), all four EC fans ~2,100 -> ~4,900 RPM; flipped on -> off at the first poll at/under 70C during cooldown.

Polling: 5 seconds (configurable via MSI_COOLER_BOOST_INTERVAL)
Sustain window: 30 seconds (configurable via MSI_COOLER_BOOST_SUSTAIN)
EC path: /sys/devices/platform/msi-ec/cooler_boost
Unit: omarchy-msi-cooler-boost-watch.service
Guard: ConditionPathExists=/sys/devices/platform/msi-ec/cooler_boost

3. MSI Detection Coverage

The omarchy-hw-msi detector covers 14 MSI laptop families:

Family	Segment
Titan	Flagship gaming
Stealth	Thin gaming
Raider	High-performance gaming
Vector	Creator/gaming
Crosshair	Budget gaming
Summit	Business
Creator	Content creation
Modern	Mainstream
Katana	Budget gaming
Cyborg	Budget gaming
Pulse	Mid-tier gaming
Bravo	AMD gaming
Alpha	Entry gaming
Prestige	Ultrabook

Excludes: Desktop boards (MEG, MAG, MPG) that report "Micro-Star International" as vendor but have board names in product_name only, not product_family.

Verification Checklist

Hardware-verified on GT77HX 13VI (the only MSI model available; 2026-09-16):

• omarchy-hw-msi returns 0 on MSI Titan (GT77HX 13VI)
• omarchy-hw-msi-titan returns 0 on GT77HX
• r8125-dkms installed, r8169 blacklisted, r8125 in modules-load.d
• coolercontrold running, thermald disabled
• omarchy-msi-cooler-boost-watch service starts after multi-user.target (active + enabled)
• Watcher flips Cooler Boost ON only after >=85C sustained >30s, OFF at <=70C (verified live: 31s sustained, fans ~2.1k -> ~4.9k RPM)
• All tests pass: bash test/shell.d/hw-msi-test.sh && bash test/shell.d/msi-cooler-boost-test.sh (45 + 27 assertions)

Covered by stubbed unit tests only — not verifiable on the available hardware (no other MSI/non-MSI machines):

• omarchy-hw-msi returns 1 on non-MSI laptops — stubbed DMI tests: ASUS, Dell, Lenovo, HP, Acer, Framework rejected; MSI desktops (MEG/MAG) rejected
• omarchy-hw-msi-titan returns 1 on Stealth/Raider — stubbed DMI tests
• install/hardware/msi.sh triggers only when omarchy-hw-msi passes — code read + stub tests
• Watcher exits cleanly on non-Titan MSI hardware — stubbed DMI test (ASUS); verified it does not touch the EC
• r8125 behavior on other MSI models — same driver path as this machine, not re-verified on other hardware

Scope Exclusions

• RGB — Cherry MX keyboards on GT77HX are not supported by msi-perkeyrgb. The tool exits 0 with no effect. RGB must be a separate issue with explicit model support.
• Other MSI laptops get driver packaging; only GT77HX gets the Cooler Boost watcher (specific EC layout).
• GRUB — Omarchy uses Limine. No GRUB work in this issue.

Related

• PR Add MSI Titan GT77HX driver wiring and Cooler Boost after 30s sustained 85C #12003 (implementation)
• PR Avoid lspci in favor of sysfs #11259 (sysfs PCI detection pattern)