275 Mhz Gp2x's At Gbax

[Jarska333]

Pencil mod.

 

[Epicenter]

Highly unlikely to be a pencil mod from what I've seen of how the MMSP2 is powered. There is a distinct ARM920T vcore line that can be attached to a higher voltage source-- but I doubt it runs through any resistors. Something better done at the factory, really, but I'm sure GPH would never bother. I do worry, though, if you raised ARM920T voltage from 1.8v to say, 1.95v which I believe is its spec'd maximum, if you'd also be raising its signal levels. The rest of the MMSP2 is operating on 1.8v logic and it might cause some things to go haywire. I don't expect MagicEyes' SoCs to be robust enough to tolerate very much abuse.

 

[Draken]

Also we are working on a voltage mod... more info on that soon.

Damn, I was finally gonna get a gp2x next week. Guess I'll wait now.

 

[bacteria]

or try http://gp2x.allack.co.uk/

Any good?

 

[antaresuk]

or try http://gp2x.allack.co.uk/

Any good?

The guy running the site is friendly enough and very responsive to questions. I haven't ordered from there yet so I cannot say more.

 

[kevcal]

So if you now buy a standard one from craigix, it's almost guaranteed not to overclock very high
Don't know how people would feel about that..?
Mine only does 266 on fresh batteries - but always 250.

 

[Aninhumer]

Well mine already goes to 275Mhz, if I return it due to a hardware failure and I get given a replacement, will it be a 240 or a 275?

 

[Epicenter]

Well mine already goes to 275Mhz, if I return it due to a hardware failure and I get given a replacement, will it be a 240 or a 275?

Well, far less people buying GBAX's GP2X units are getting high-overclocking units than when the system first came out and there were only MK1s. I've also heard reports of people returning broken GP2X units that got to >280 MHz and their replacements can barely pass 230 MHz. So it seems safe to assume the more overclockable units are being filtered out. There's no telling what you'll get, but I'd wager it won't make it to 275 MHz. At any rate the models don't have differently rated CPUs, so it's not a '240' or '275' MHz part, that's just the clock it happens to tolerate.

 

[spyhunter]

or if CUstomer A goes to Store B, or if Customer C doesn't go to any store and wants to buy online at OnlineA or OnlineB - still with me? LOL

 

[EvilDragon]

So if you now buy a standard one from craigix, it's almost guaranteed not to overclock very high

If he does it like me, it won't be so.

I checked them with a special test app which does some prime number calculation and raises the clock speed every 5 minutes by 5 MHz, writing a log to the SD Card.
Most gp2x I had reached 275 - 285 MHz, only a few ones were below that.
The ones below were the ones I used to send out as press kits, as most magazines most unlikely don't overclock

When there were no orders for overclocked ones, I simply sent them out untested - so you could be as lucky as before if you placed your standard order.

BTW: Overclocking also depends on the batteries. I found out that good, stable rechargeables usually run more stable at higher clockspeeds than cheap ones (makes sense, as overclocking needs more power, and if the batteries can't provide it, then the unit crashes)

 

[Epicenter]

ED's approach is absolutely the right one. However, Craig described to me that he tests every unit, so I imagine it's going to end up divided to where you must buy an overclocked unit or get a very intolerant one, unless he ceases this practice, or at least does not overclock them when he tests them.

 

[kevcal]

BTW: Overclocking also depends on the batteries. I found out that good, stable rechargeables usually run more stable at higher clockspeeds than cheap ones (makes sense, as overclocking needs more power, and if the batteries can't provide it, then the unit crashes)

Yeah, that makes more sense
I was thinking it was whether I tried overclocking with fresh batteries or ones that had been used for an hour or so (nimh though generally generally give out the same power until the very end from what I understand - but I guess it's not a 'flat curve'), but now I suspect that I was using different batteries.
So it makes sense, as you say, that different batteries give different overclocking capabilities.
Worth people trying some better batteries then if you can only do 250.

 

[numb]

Mine generally runs quite happily at 280mhz, I can run 300mhz fine in Mame but if I increase past 280mhz and use GnGeo, after a while it crashes and I'm back at the menu.

 

[Aninhumer]

I have no clue what I'm talking about, but with my extracted knowledge...
Maybe Mame doesn't use one specific proccessor instruction, and that is what causes it to crash!

Please explain why this is bollocks.

EDIT: What's more this information is less "extracted" and more "made up"

 

[DavidBeoulve]

I checked them with a special test app which does some prime number calculation and raises the clock speed every 5 minutes by 5 MHz, writing a log to the SD Card.
Most gp2x I had reached 275 - 285 MHz, only a few ones were below that.
The ones below were the ones I used to send out as press kits, as most magazines most unlikely don't overclock

This is what Evil Dragon did to test my GP2X (I live in the USA). I'll note that the process isn't a burn-in, because while running the same app my GP2X hits 300MHz, reliably in nearly any emulator it likes 280MHz just fine, dislikes 285, and hates 290 and above.

Regardless, I have smooth NEO GEO emulation with all those sound options turned on that Epicenter warns against and Quake 1 is pretty smooth, considering what it's running on.

 

[Epicenter]

Regardless, I have smooth NEO GEO emulation with all those sound options turned on that Epicenter warns against and Quake 1 is pretty smooth, considering what it's running on.

Warns against? Only if you can't overclock acceptably. I usually run Gngeo2x at 305 MHz, with 22050 or *44100hz* audio. Sounds very pretty. A little 68k/z80 clock adjustment gives things a hand in staying around 60FPS though.

 

[DavidBeoulve]

Ha ha ha! I'm being funny, Epi. Most people can't overclock as high as we can, so more often than not, you end up having to "warn against" running with the default sound settings. But no, we can boldly go where a (apparently) decreasing ratio of GP2X owners can go.

 

[Cervante]

Isint it bad overclocking the GP2X, wouldnt it shorten its lifespan?

 

[Epicenter]

Isint it bad overclocking the GP2X, wouldnt it shorten its lifespan?

Even overclocked heavily, the processors should survive for much longer than we'd have any use for them. ARM processors are extremely low-power and no voltage modifications are being performed, so the cores are not running far out of spec. I wouldn't worry about it at all.

 

[EvilAlex]

Can we change the processor, is it thinkable or just a really stupid question.
Like cutting the chip legs off then take the same arm process but faster. Like a big mod chip job!


btw: i'm actually serious!