Re: Overclock
 

The "600MHz" SOC in the BeagleBoard, which is according to rumour is essentially same as the one in N900, its documentation has a table of CPU frequencies and expected lifetime in ideal situations. The current 600MHz is already overclock, with lifetime (in ideal conditions, which the N900 isn't) <3 years, and higher frequencies than that cutting lifetime even more drastically.

IIRC, at 500MHz there's no longer any practical lifetime concerns..

Re: Overclock
 

. . . and not possible thanks to Nokia's powersaving, thermal interlock and failsafe arrangements. :) The only way you can fry it like this is by actively locking it to 550MHz+.

Re: Overclock
 

Totally agree

Re: Overclock
 

Maybe we should request a Fry Test from tehkseven ?

Re: Overclock
 

Manufacture processor lifetime estimates will be based on stressing a processor and extrapolating conservatively to cover their asses.
The whole issue of dying processors is being blown out of proportion here, pardon the pun.

Heat is the biggest likely killer of electrical components and as with all overclocking as long as it is monitored and corrected for there is no issue.

I decided to bring some links to facts about the processor to the discussion:

Ti processor rated Mhz listing from Wikipedia OMAP:
OMAP3530: RISC 720Mhz
OMAP3430: RISC 600Mhz
OMAP3440: RISC 800Mhz

The OMAP3530 that is used in the Beagleboard, & Pandora is apparently a non-oem version of the OMAP34x0.

Found this useful titbit about the OMAP3430 hitting 900Mhz in the lab: link

Overclocking a Palm Pre OMAP3430: link

Ti Smart Reflex

Ti Power Management

OMAP3530 PDF Since no public OMAP3430 documentation exists this is the best alternative

Re: Overclock
 

A manufacturer wasn't the one saying this'd kill your tablet, it was Igor Stoppa, one of the absolute geniuses of the platform. Who, if he knows anything, knows this. :)

I think it's actually overvoltage in this case, not heat.

The OMAP3530 is a larger package, and thus able to dissipate heat more easily. It's also, now, speed-sorted.

Anyway, feel free to test for us. ;)

Re: Overclock
 

There is only one way to know it it will overclock and that is to try it. When I had the JasJar ( which was amazing at the time, and I would kill for meamo in that form factor ) when others where overclocking it an extra 100Mhz I was only able to get a modest 50. Still it was stable. So the real issue here is YMWV your milage WILL vary. Same for AMD and intel CPUs if you are one of the overclocking elite you usually test more than one CPU and pick the one that OCs the most.

Still If this will give me 15% more speed when i need it, via toggle and will make it live 2 years instead of 3 ( 1.5 years is when I would replace it anyway max ). Then ok.

Please someone create this and we can try in 10mhz increments. Every HTC model out there can be overclocked, my G1 was overclocked all the time.

http://www.elmotaheda.com/
http://www.mashy.com

Re: Overclock
 

That may be so but among other things he still represents Nokia who would not want the N900 overclocked.

voltage = heat

Not sure what you mean by speed-sorted but i do have concerns as to the heat dissipation capabilities of the processor within the N900 packaging.

More than willing if someone writes an app, i would do it myself if had enough coding knowledge. :)

If i have read the documentation correctly it looks like the Ti OMAP processor is meant to last for at least 5years of Power on Hours (always on) under worst conditions (between -40c and 105c die temp) and at least 11years under normal conditions. It makes sense since these are embedded processors that usually have a long operating lifetime once deployed in industry.

Re: Overclock
 

No, power is IIRC proportional to the square of the voltage and that would be similar to the heat produced, but it only takes one second for overvoltage to fry a chip. In fact, the most dangerous thing about the heat is that it promotes faster breakdown of the barriers to shorting within the chip; it's the voltage that eventually pushes a short through the insulator and fries the chip.

Speed binning is a common practice in microprocessor manufacturing. It means that the chips are individually or batch tested and given a speed rating based on the outcome.

Ist possible to Over-Clock the N900?
 

Hey

As a PC gamer i always try to push the hardware to the limits, and thats by overclocking...

So, Naturally i thought what about the N900?

I know its already very powerful as it is...

In PockectPC days (when i had one...years ago) there was a program to Overclock the CPU

I remember i had the Imate with 400MHz and when i felt the need for speed I would usually overclock it to about 500MHz

Its really nice to push the limits of the hardware
I know it will hurt it and might even break it in the future....But

I think its worth it....To squeeze the last bit of performance

Anywaaaaaaaaaaay....

Do you think its possible to overclock the N900 CPU??!!

The clock speed is 600MHz, so it might go up-to maybe 700MHz?!

Would be awesome....

Peace :D