I Modded And Overclocked 2 Gp32, All Steps Here

[renejr902]

Me and my father ( electronic technician) took more than 5 hours to got 2 gp32 working at 200mhz and more and perfect stable. YOU ONLY HAVE TO CHANGE ONE RESISTANCE. very easy and safe. you dont have to use a micro resistance, a small one will fit the case easily

Easy Steps ( i dont explain everything only what to do for got your gp32 working at 200mhz and more) PM me if you want more information.

1. I had 2 gp32 ( one nlu and one flu) not overclocked. The nlu work at 166 mhz with any emulators, cpu 1.79 volts. The flu can work only at 150 mhz , cpu 1.79 volts.

2. My father did some tests and the easier way was to replace the R52 resistance (the original r52 resistance is 500k (500 0000ohm approx). ITS NO USE TO CHANGE THE R48 resistance like did cobbleware.

You have to change the R52 resistance for a 220 000 ohm resistance. dont touch the R48. just changed the R52 with a 220 000 ohm. With that i got 216mhz stable speed for the gp32 nlu. For the gp32 flu i got to change the R52 for a 180 000 ohm to got it working at 212 mhz stable. with a 220 000 ohm ( color resistance code is: red, red yellow, if i remember correclty. look for yourself to be sure) the gp32 flu only got 192 mhz stable speed.

so if your gp32 only got 150mhz without overclocking use that 180 000 ohm. But the voltage will be 2.63 volt
So if your gp32 can get 166mhz without overclocking use that 220 000 ohm The voltage will be 2.51 volts.
if 2.51 volts is too much for you, use a 270 000 ohm resistance for a 166mhz gp32 for 2.33 volts and you will got a 200 mhz stable speed, but after many tests, its a fact dr md (genesis emu) with sonic 1 and 2 got nearly 60 fps all the time but only at 216 mhz. i dont know why, but dr. md is really better at 216mhz than 208 or 200 mhz. but great results for 200mhz and more.

with did several tests, we accept the fact to take chance to fry a gp32. but we didnt fry anything So we try the nlu at 2.95 volts. even at 3.30 volts it can access the menu but it got a lot of glitchs. So dont fear anything, even if your soldering fail just power off the gp32 without wasting time and no damage will be done.

thanks for looking at my topic. i tested each gp32 several hours without got any freeze. But you need batteries to be well charged

( sorry for my bad english)

i hope it can help the gp32 community, i must say the small gp32 users, not much users since a few years.

note: i did use the pencil trick several times, but sometime it can be risky, i prefer to change the resistance to choose my speed need

 

[slaanesh]

I'm interested in doing this, however I only have an ordinary solder iron, I hope that this would be "good enough" for such a seemingly delicate operation.
I have collected several GP32 units including my main BLU for gaming and a development FLU.
I will try this out on my development FLU first. However, this unit is semi-faulty as it no longer runs from batteries though works perfectly fine from power adapter.

Can I assume that this mod will work fine from a power adapter?

If I can get a high-speed GP32 working I'd like to make one more release of MAME4ALL for the GP32. I've already applied most of the recent updates from the GP2X version of MAME4ALL, but was wondering if it was really worth releasing (like you say, not many people using GP32 anymore...)

 

[renejr902]

It should work with ac adpater. i see no reason why the batteries are required.

i think, You could do it with normal iron solder , but dont try to solder a micro resistance with it, use a small one. a small one will fit easily in the gp32 case.

i'm 100% sure you can suceed, just use the resistance i recommend. if possible test the voltage when powering On the gp32. But if you cant overclock more than 220 mhz you surely have 2.50 to 2.60 volts.

 

[pcklee123]

great to see interest in the GP32 still.

 

[christo930]

I'm interested in doing this, however I only have an ordinary solder iron, I hope that this would be "good enough" for such a seemingly delicate operation.
I have collected several GP32 units including my main BLU for gaming and a development FLU.
I will try this out on my development FLU first. However, this unit is semi-faulty as it no longer runs from batteries though works perfectly fine from power adapter.

Can I assume that this mod will work fine from a power adapter?

If I can get a high-speed GP32 working I'd like to make one more release of MAME4ALL for the GP32. I've already applied most of the recent updates from the GP2X version of MAME4ALL, but was wondering if it was really worth releasing (like you say, not many people using GP32 anymore...)


I would love a new release of mame for the gp32. The 2x is faster, but I like the control of the 32 better.

Chris

 

[renejr902]

i always prefer the gp32 than gp2x.

 

[Exophase]

I'm not an EE, but it sounds like you're overvolting it. Might work great on your unit, but could damage someone else's. People should be pretty careful before attempting this.

 

[slaanesh]

I'm not an EE, but it sounds like you're overvolting it. Might work great on your unit, but could damage someone else's. People should be pretty careful before attempting this.

The only reason I will attempt this is because I quite literally have a spare GP32. It's very well used. I bought it as a "job lot" of 3x broken GP32s - all three of them worked to a degree. I fully fixed one - and it's a beautiful virtually new BLU. The FLU was however well used and it's only real fault was that it didn't work with batteries. I attempted to bypass this with some cunning soldering/wiring but did not work. Anyway it still work from power-supply. I used it for developing as I'm always plugging things in and out so if it dies in the upgrade - then so be it.

Just one question (I know very little about electronics):

QUOTE
For the gp32 flu i got to change the R52 for a 180 000 ohm

Are the resistors directional? Ie. Do I need to make sure that the pins are the right way around?
Can you provide a photo of your modification?

 

[Pickle]

Are the resistors directional?

No,

but devices like capacitors(not all) / diodes are

 

[b1ueskycomp1ex]

I'm not an EE, but it sounds like you're overvolting it. Might work great on your unit, but could damage someone else's. People should be pretty careful before attempting this.

I think that's probably a given, but some people do end up learning the hard way...

 

[slaanesh]

I'm going to give this a go this. Sounds like a perfect weekend project.

 

[renejr902]

i wait your result. tell us

maybe this week-end i will push the limit a little more. i will try to get 230mhz stable with one of my gp32. anyway i have 2 gp32. if i fry one, i have the other.

 

[renejr902]

i did some more tests today.

my gp32 nlu now goes to 240mhz perfect stable. 2.76 cpu voltage r52= 180 000 ohm

my gp32 flu now goes to 220mhz perfect stable. 2.72 cpu voltage r52= 156 000 ohm

i tested dr.md. and its a fact that 216 to 220 mhz is a great speed to play the sonic games with it. more than that its not really necessary. anyway at 240mhz like 216 mhz you will get some slow down because the emulator is not enough optimized. so i think 216 mhz is the sweet spot.

For opensnes version 0.3 , im very dissapointed. even at 240mhz ( i have each opensnes version for each speed, so i test different speed), so even at 240 mhz the games are not very playable. this emulator is not optimized very well, sorry to said that yoyofr. ( i know this guy

some stats:

240mhz with opensnes 0.3 with sound ON, but low quality sound
mario world = 30-50 on 60fps very playable (frameskip1)
mystical ninja = 15-17fps on 56 to 58. OR 12 fps on 60. barely playable ( frameskip 1 or 2)
secret of mana = very bad. 11 fps on 55. not playable ( frameskip 2 )( even at 216mhz i got 10 fps on 50, not really better at 240mhz)
final fanatsy ii= near fullspeed on map and overworld but 12 on 60 fps in battle. not really playble.
megaman x= a lot of slow down, but generally 20 fps on 60, slow down = 12 fps on 50. playable

one of the problem is the emulator has no fps limiter, it could help, because when i say on 60fps some games go to up to 70fps.

anyway this emulator is not well optimized. im pretty sure with 240 mhz with a optimized emu the snes couls get great result like gp2x or psp snes emu.


NOTE: When you overclock a gp32 to at least 228 mhz you will need a adaptor to put 3 x AA batteries in it. because two AA battery cant work at 228 mhz with dr. md only with 3 batteries. unfortunately, i need 4 batteries to get 240mhz working, it work very well but the brightness of the screen fade a little because too much voltage in it.

So 228 mhz and more need a battery mod to get it working well.

I WAIT YOUR RESULT slaanesh

 

[slaanesh]

I'm not going to do a three battery mod as the GP32 I am modding doesn't work with batteries! I'd need a different power adapter. Anyway, the stores were shut around AustraliaVictoria, so I couldn't get the resistors I needed. I am getting them today. If it's successful than I may also mod my good BLU in the hope that it works okay with that.

However, it's not been tested with a BLU has it?

EDIT: Got the resistors today. 6c each. So I bought 10x. <_<

 

[renejr902]

no, i only had a flu and nlu.

i suppose it could need a lot of battery power.


if you have difficulty to find resistor, the 220 000 ohm with code: RED RED YELLOW is very easy to find. if you have a old broken electronic device you can open the case to see if you can find the resistor in it.

And, if you really want it, i can hex edit your mame emulator to 200mhz or more. im able to overclock any emulator in hex edit ( with help of geepee32 too). i know all the trick to do it. if it can save you time to recompile another mame at different speed clock. i dont play mame much, but i can do it for you. i overclocked all my emus to 200mhz and more without any problem. i modded: ljnes, sms32, fsms, opensnes, fgb32...


I FORGET TO TELL YOU A IMPORTANT FACT WHEN MODDING A GP32 for OVERCLOCKING.

always tested with Dr Md with sonic 1 and 2: 1. If a game freeze while playing, the reason is because you dont have enough cpu voltage, it seem the only reason. But
2. If the gp32 reboot while playing , the reason is your batteries are not fully recharged OR you need 3 or more batteries to get it work at this speed. very important to take fresh full batteries, it make a world of difference.

 

[slaanesh]

I ended up getting some Brn-Gry-Yel (180K) and Red-Blk-Yel (200K) resistors, 5x of each.

I'll do the mod in the next few days.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[renejr902]

Great, First, i suggest to try the mod with the 200 000ohm (200k) . With 200k you should have enough power to get 220mhz easily and stable. dont forget, change only r52 resistor. dont touch r48.

note: i tried to change r48 with another, but its not worth it at all.




( in the case you have problem with soldering and mess everything, you can always send me yours, my father can repair any soldering. and just tell me the mhz you want, we have almost all type of resistor. i cant believe how good hes with micro soldering. he can solder anything. im 20% as good as him for soldering. in the case you want to send me yours, maybe, i will have to ask you a small fee for my father trouble. i think my father will not do it for free. Me i will, but 20% as good as him. LOL )



( sorry for my bad english)


GOOD LUCK !!!!

 

[christo930]

This seems like a lot of hassle for something that doesn't work very well anyway (according to your results) and may cause the backlight/frontlight to burn out, not to mention destroying the cpu. Running the cpu a little faster than stock is a lot different than making engineering changes and running it nearly double. It wouldn't surprise me at all if someone tried this and fried their machine (especially by increasing the voltage into the gp32 by adding batteries in series). What good is a (very slightly) faster gp32 if it doesn't work very long or becomes unstable or just fries it before you can shut it off?

Chris

EDIT: Why does this even work? Is it because the amps are lowered by the higher voltage? That would seem to slow down the "heating" of the cpu by lowering the amount of amperage in it, but would also greatly increase the likelyhood of frying individual pathways within the cpu with the higher voltage.

 

[Exophase]

Chris

EDIT: Why does this even work? Is it because the amps are lowered by the higher voltage? That would seem to slow down the "heating" of the cpu by lowering the amount of amperage in it, but would also greatly increase the likelyhood of frying individual pathways within the cpu with the higher voltage.

It's not because it lowers the power dissipation, actually the power dissipation goes up. Higher voltages allow transistors to switch more quickly, allowing them to still operate correctly at higher clock frequencies.

 

[christo930]

Chris

EDIT: Why does this even work? Is it because the amps are lowered by the higher voltage? That would seem to slow down the "heating" of the cpu by lowering the amount of amperage in it, but would also greatly increase the likelyhood of frying individual pathways within the cpu with the higher voltage.

It's not because it lowers the power dissipation, actually the power dissipation goes up. Higher voltages allow transistors to switch more quickly, allowing them to still operate correctly at higher clock frequencies.

Thanks for the reply, I didn't know that their speed was so sensitive to small voltage changes.

Chris