Register Report On Gp2x's New Processor ;)


the company shipping the gadget in the UK has revealed.

It still says that gp2x.co.uk has "revealed" that the cpu has been upgraded. So that means this is a false quote and very misleading.

Also I noticed on gp2x.co.uk, the front page says:

After many requests you can now buy a 275Mhz version of the GP2X.

This is also mis-leading, as it appears as a new version.
It should read...

After many requestes you can now buy a 275mhz overclock tested gp2x.

Although I'm sure no harm was meant by craig, its always wise to make things as clear as possible to avoid future mis-understanding.

Also, to let someone believe something that is not true is just as bad as outright lying.

5c
 
Also, to let someone believe something that is not true is just as bad as outright lying.
Indeed.

Craigix, I'm not blaming you for the article. However, I was led to understand that you are professionally involved with Gamepark Holdings; if I was in that position, I would have contacted this site immediately to correct them before anyone else runs with the "news" and the hole is dug deeper.

Instead, your "all publicity is good publicity" attitude is baffling. Ask Mr. Tom Cruise about the truth in that statement.
 
The tone of the article is a bit tabloid but there's really no difference between a chip capable of running at 275mhz and a 275mhz chip.

In the PC world that's what the difference between most clock speeds is - a 3.2ghz chip is tested to 3.2ghz and a 3.0ghz chip is only tested that fast.. it's been the same way for years and is common knowledge.

Going back into history that was the difference between low density 360kb and high density 1.2mb floppies 1.2mb (most of us just bought the 360kb and got away with it most of the time).

The gp2x site follows this tradition. The 275mhz version is guaranteed to run stable at 275mhz.. for that you pay a little more as stocks are more limited, but it's worth it - in fact I have just bought one on that basis, fully realizing it's the same model but retested.
 
This misconception occurs because Craig/GBAX/Gp2x.co.uk lists it as being a '275 MHz version'. This is coming right out and saying it's a different machine in some way, with an implied faster-rated processor, when in fact it's the exact same machine. This is deceptive and breeds articles like this one, and then arguments about their validity. This article even claims both CPUs are 275 MHz-rated-- the ARM940T is not overclocked at all, only the 920T is! And it's not even done from the factory, it's just an 'assurance', but the site doesn't tell you that.

Craig- you cannot make assertions 'like Magiceyes does' or 'like the PC world does'. CPU clock ratings are determined from extensive testing in conditions that far exceed the real world, e.g. at maximum load in >80C temperatures exceeding operational spec. After tested stable in such an extreme environment, they are backed down a little MORE just to be on the safe side, marked and sold. This level of extensive testing is why a processor certified for, say, 2.2 GHz by AMD bears weight and is trustworthy.

By that token, a processor rated by ARM or MagicEyes, under proper testing, to be '275 MHz' would be a trustworthy assertion. This same assertion made by GamePark Holdings, who did not produce the MP2520F chipset in the GP2X, would be worthless. It is even more worthless to recieve such an assertion from a reseller! Assurance that you tested it to 275 MHz is one thing, but you are in NO Position to rename the processor as you've done.

Would you trust your local computer shop to be 'honest' and 'trusworthy' if they bought 1,000 Pentium 4 2.8 GHz units, tested them to overclock reliably, by their standards, to work at 3.2 GHz, then took them out of their packages, put them in 3.2 GHz P4 packages and sold them for inflated prices on the store shelves, leaving only a bunch of 2.8 GHz chips that are assured NOT to run any faster and are essentially worthless to buy for that reason? This would be a wholly unacceptable business practice and would also be highly illegal. In fact, I recall legal action being taken against PC manufacturers who overclock their processors before sale without informing the consumer.

If you wish to conduct yourself in a professional manner, you'll do the same and make the truth known when you sell your '275 MHz-tested' GP2X units.

PSyMastR posted on Oct 31 2006 at 05:28 PM said:
So, If I were to buy the cheaper version, its guaranteed not to hit 275? That sucks.
It does. It's essentially forcing buyers to get the same product for a higher price, because instead of the 'luck of the draw' overclocking should be, you now have to pay for a decently overclockable unit or accept one that can't be overclocked decently. And if one's been around these forums for a while, they'll know a very large percentage of GP2X software, including most of its 'killer apps' need a significant overclock to reach their potential.
 
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I wonder what % of GP2Xs can reach 275mhz.. mine can :)
Mine runs well at 305 MHz and is 'kind of' stable past 310 MHz. But I got it 'luck of the draw' so I paid a NORMAL price! This is how it should be for everyone.
I definitely agree with you Eric, the only reason why a higher price should be charged for the "275" units would be if they had a hardware mod of some sort done to them, or had a whole different processor than the regular version's. I hope the other resellers won't follow this practice, as nobody should have to pay an extra $30 for cherry pickers to pocket.

- Alex
 
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I'm on the fence about the whole pay-for-more issue, but this:

And if one's been around these forums for a while, they'll know a very large percentage of GP2X software, including most of its 'killer apps' need a significant overclock to reach their potential.

Is utter nonsense. The only apps that require going over 240mhz to hit full speed are:

Quake
SNES emulation
Amiga emulation
a small percentage of games under MAME and NeoGeo

(note: PSX emulation not included because it cannot reach fullspeed period)

Out of hundreds of emulators, games and apps, 3-4 programs is a staggeringly small proportion. Where does this "very large percentage" come from?

Am I missing any others?
 
There are a few more but it's still hardly a large percent.

I have no problem with someone being able to pay a bit more to get a unit that is 'guaranteed' to oc higher.

What I have a problem with is the fact that those that want to pay the actual retail price are guaranteed to NOT get one that will oc higher. (I would love to be informed that this is not the case)
 
What I have a problem with is the fact that those that want to pay the actual retail price are guaranteed to NOT get one that will oc higher. (I would love to be informed that this is not the case)

They can always go to Play-Asia or gp2x.de, etc. I guess that's the risk gp2x.co.uk has to take.

Remember, many of those sub-275mhz will probably still reach up to 260mhz.
 
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Yes but unfortunately the way it's marketed suggests that it's a different version of the GP2x. So people who aren't in the know will go to Play Asia or whatever and see that it's just the regular version and think that it won't be as fast.
 
Good point.

I remember when the same thing happened on the GP32, although the misconceptions weren't as pronounced (but then they had the whole NLU/FLU/BLU/BLU+ thing to confuse everyone!).
 
Out of hundreds of emulators, games and apps, 3-4 programs is a staggeringly small proportion. Where does this "very large percentage" come from?

Am I missing any others?
3 or 4? Haha. Not quite. Let me rattle off the tasks I normally use (well, used)..
NES emulation-- not full speed without a small overclock. Some games need a large overclock because the emulator is highly unoptimized (I'm looking at you, armadillo).
MD Emulation, needed a 240 MHz overclock for full speed on most games, 280 MHz+ with half-accurate sound in DrMDx. PicoDrive may be faster, I haven't used it yet.
NeoGeo emulation, very very choppy below 280 MHz.
MAME emulation, of the games I played (M68000 based like Aero Fighters), laggy til 266 MHz+.
SNES emulation, pretty much unplayable in all but Mario World, until 266 MHz+.
Wolfenstein 3D cannot achieve 60 FPS except with a 250 MHz+ clock ... same for Doom.
Quake doesn't run well until 280 MHz+.
Amiga emulation is pretty much slow no matter what.
PSX Emulation is always slow but to get even close to playable you need some huge overclocking.

That's a pretty substantial list. It's definitely not '3 or 4' out of 'hundreds'..
 
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Okay, I'll just say this for browsers deciding whether to buy a GP2X ro not -- Epicentres last post is full of several out and out lies.
 
Heres my take on it. What gp2x.co.uk is doing is pretty much insuring there product to reach a certain speed. Which is 275 in this case. However the article is clearly hinting that it has some kind of major change such as a new processer or some hardware mod that makes it that fast. I understand that this is going to bring buisness to them but how much of it is misleading the consumer. I at first thought it meant it had a more powerful processor. Though even after learning about it I still went with the 275 version as it was only a little more anyway I figured better safe then sorry. Form a marketing stand point it is a great move as it has seemed to bring sales up. But If I were craig id make it clear before someone who didnt do there research won't take it the wrong way. cause in all fairness it is confusing when on one page it says 200mhz another it says 240mhz and yet another 275 mhz. As others have said before it is true that processors are tested and binned all the time(example: celeron's are pentium 4's with lower clock speeds and lower L2 cache) But unless it is tested under the conditions that are needed in order to rate a processor then you are in no position to change the processor spec. Even to add to this it said that both processors were clocked at 275mhz. Well as we all know thats completely wrong and correct me if im wrong I believe that the video decoding processor is not overclocked and is not utilized by any of the emulators or programs anyway. except for a select few. So to sum this up I think that the article should be revised so that this is made clear and more importantly on the buy page ogf the gpx2.co.uk website so that this is again clarified so that people understand what there buying and one last thing I believe that people would buy it anyway if thats of any surprise to anyone as theres nothing wrong with buying one clocked to 275mhz. It gives the buyer peace of mind to know what he/she is getting.
 
MD Emulation, needed a 240 MHz overclock for full speed on most games, 280 MHz+ with half-accurate sound in DrMDx. PicoDrive may be faster, I haven't used it yet.
I always used DrMD at 200Mhz, and now Picodrive at 180Mhz with the sound handled by the second core. I never had to overclock DrMD/Picodrive to obtain full speed with sound.

NeoGeo emulation, very very choppy below 280 MHz.
I run it at 250-260Mhz, with sound, and get it going fairly well most of the times. Some choppiness does occur, but is negligeable, at least to me.

Wolfenstein 3D cannot achieve 60 FPS except with a 250 MHz+ clock ... same for Doom.
Are you sure? Well, 60fps or not, it does not diaply any lag obvious to me, and is a hell of a lot of fun to play. I haven't played Doom yet.

Quake doesn't run well until 280 MHz+.
I play it at 240-250Mhz and it runs great, it's a lot of fun to play. Sure, it has minor slowdowns when there are a lot of ogres on the screen, but again, nothing to make it any less fun.

out of 'hundreds'..
Please consider homebrew games, not just emulators :)

- Alex
 
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