CPU/GPU speed bumps in consoles???

[crypto1300]

I was wondering what effect increasing the CPU & GPU speeds in current consoles would do to software without any other modifications? Would the majority of software still work properly?

PC software designed 10 years ago still work today, but you'll usually get better performance from it on faster computers.

Would the same be true for consoles if the only difference was clock rates or is game console software to sensitive to clockrates?

For instance would a 33% boost in PS2's EE to approx. 400MHz & GS to approx. 200MHz, given all other spec's remain the same, affect current software?

Would software run smoother, faster, slower, or not at all?

 

[akira888]

The short answer is no. Console games are hard-coded to work with the exact timings of the console hardware. This is what is referred to as "coding to the metal" and allows console titles to take full advantage of the hardware. More simply, a game on a console with X specs can look much better than a game on a PC with the same spec.

In fact, if a console had a component overclocked the result would almost certainly be a fatal crash due to the internal clocks being desynchronized with each other. On a PC where you have an API layer and an OS layer between software and the processors handling data transfers and inter-processor communication these are of course non-issues. Another point is that consoles are hard-wired to scan-out at 60Hz and a given resolution (usually 640x480), so it's not at all clear that even if speed improvements were possible at the console level what those improvements could do for you.

 

[Megadrive1988]

well said, akira.

 

[Chris123234]

Another point is that consoles are hard-wired to scan-out at 60Hz and a given resolution (usually 640x480), so it's not at all clear that even if speed improvements were possible at the console level what those improvements could do for you.

Ive played games that go so low in the framerates it unplayable. Jedi Knight:Jedi Outcast is really choppy when you just try to play 2 player...

 

[akira888]

Ive played games that go so low in the framerates it unplayable. Jedi Knight:Jedi Outcast is really choppy when you just try to play 2 player...

True, forgot about that, but in any case there's virtually no abstraction in console software that would allow you to leverage faster processors or busses. Everything is compiled to take advantage of the given speed of each processor/bus/DRAM chip, so all timings must be kept exactly the same in order not to get horrendous interconnect communication errors.

 

[swaaye]

I overclocked my N64 once. The result was that all the games ran too fast. Like an improperly coded old game running on today's hardware. I think it may have also locked up.

Restoring it to original state was pretty tough too (killed it)

 

[DeadmeatGA]

...

A way to beat console obsolescence is to clock double a few years after the launch. Say you release a console X at 500 Mhz today, then release the X++ version running at 1 Ghz. This way, the later generation of games will run at 30 FPS on original console, while running at 60 FPS on updated version.

 

[zurich]

Re: ...

A way to beat console obsolescence is to clock double a few years after the launch. Say you release a console X at 500 Mhz today, then release the X++ version running at 1 Ghz. This way, the later generation of games will run at 30 FPS on original console, while running at 60 FPS on updated version.

What if the bottleneck isn't clockspeed?

 

[notAFanB]

Re: ...

A way to beat console obsolescence is to clock double a few years after the launch. Say you release a console X at 500 Mhz today, then release the X++ version running at 1 Ghz. This way, the later generation of games will run at 30 FPS on original console, while running at 60 FPS on updated version.

hang on what about timings (on data and what not) that are not related to an exteernal clock? won't that throw the whole thing out of whack?

 

[akira888]

Quite possibly the only way it wouldn't break everything would be if you could overclock every single component of the system by the exact same factor.

swaaye, I'm curious how you managed to overclock your N64...

 

[zsouthboy]

I overclocked my N64 once. The result was that all the games ran too fast. Like an improperly coded old game running on today's hardware. I think it may have also locked up.

Restoring it to original state was pretty tough too (killed it)

I am very curious... links, pics, fish-length stories?

 

[akira888]

Heres a link on oc'ing your N64. However this individual said that his machine didn't have any outward symptoms that would indicate any meaningful change in internal operation...

OC'ing your N64

 

[DeadmeatGA]

What if the bottleneck isn't clockspeed?

There is no reason why the game will not double in framerate if everything was clock doubled; CPU, GPU, RAM, Audiochip, etc.

 

[London Geezer]

yeah i guess if EVERYTHING is clock-doubled, then the game would run at double the framerate.....
but i think that would still require some code rewriting for the video output. i could be wrong but TV's only take in a certain signal, and if u double that it aint gonna work... :?