PPC Fanatic
12-08-2003, 05:44 PM
Some help about overclocking...
courtesy...PocketPCMag
Intel's XScale processors have spawned a cottage industry in overclocking software. The XScale CPUs are designed to be able to run at more than one speed. The benefit is that CPU speed can be scaled to the task at hand: higher speeds for graphics-intensive or multimedia applications, lower speeds for spreadsheets and word-processing. Overclocking software overrides the built-in governors on the speed, pushing the processor to the max at all times. In theory, this won't hurt anything, but manufacturers are warning that it may in some cases:
"When Intel cuts usable chips from a silicon wafer, known as the yield, it tests and validates those chips at certain frequencies. If a PXA250 processor fails to achieve 400MHz during a test, it is often tossed back in the testing bin and retested at 300MHz. If it works at that frequency, it is labeled a 300MHz processor, and released for sale, Rogers said.
"This doesn't happen very often, but there are 300MHz processors in handhelds that didn't work at 400MHz and will cause significant problems if the user attempts to increase the clock speed, he said. Intel does not release specific yield statistics or details."
Overclocking can void your warranty as well. You may still weigh the risks and decide to overclock, but you should read this article first.
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http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/02/25/HNoverclock_1.html?hardware
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For another opinion, we went to Mack Baggette of PocketPCTechs.com. Here's what he had to say:
"My basic take on overclocking is to give the option to the users and let them decide, knowing the possible risks involved. In overclocking a handheld unit there is almost no risk in physically damaging the unit. The extra power consumption doesn't come close to the power consumption of things like the screen, backlight, memory chips, etc. In regards to the heat, it is negligible as there is much more heat generated from the power circuits for things such as charging and backlighting than anything else. The worst thing that can happen is that you will have to hard reset your unit and lose all your data and programs. If you are playing with overclocking just make sure you have good backups."
courtesy...PocketPCMag
Intel's XScale processors have spawned a cottage industry in overclocking software. The XScale CPUs are designed to be able to run at more than one speed. The benefit is that CPU speed can be scaled to the task at hand: higher speeds for graphics-intensive or multimedia applications, lower speeds for spreadsheets and word-processing. Overclocking software overrides the built-in governors on the speed, pushing the processor to the max at all times. In theory, this won't hurt anything, but manufacturers are warning that it may in some cases:
"When Intel cuts usable chips from a silicon wafer, known as the yield, it tests and validates those chips at certain frequencies. If a PXA250 processor fails to achieve 400MHz during a test, it is often tossed back in the testing bin and retested at 300MHz. If it works at that frequency, it is labeled a 300MHz processor, and released for sale, Rogers said.
"This doesn't happen very often, but there are 300MHz processors in handhelds that didn't work at 400MHz and will cause significant problems if the user attempts to increase the clock speed, he said. Intel does not release specific yield statistics or details."
Overclocking can void your warranty as well. You may still weigh the risks and decide to overclock, but you should read this article first.
--
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/02/25/HNoverclock_1.html?hardware
--
For another opinion, we went to Mack Baggette of PocketPCTechs.com. Here's what he had to say:
"My basic take on overclocking is to give the option to the users and let them decide, knowing the possible risks involved. In overclocking a handheld unit there is almost no risk in physically damaging the unit. The extra power consumption doesn't come close to the power consumption of things like the screen, backlight, memory chips, etc. In regards to the heat, it is negligible as there is much more heat generated from the power circuits for things such as charging and backlighting than anything else. The worst thing that can happen is that you will have to hard reset your unit and lose all your data and programs. If you are playing with overclocking just make sure you have good backups."