Re: [NTLK] MP2100 homebrew overclock

From: Laurent Daudelin (nemesys_at_cox.rr.com)
Date: Sun Jan 27 2002 - 03:03:21 EST


on 27/01/02 00:49, speedy2 at speedy2_at_dag.net wrote:

>> Ok, maybe that's only 'Really Bad'. It was still embarrassing, and
>> induced a bit of stress, and certainly you don't want to have that
>> happen in routine use, where you have to take the darn thing apart to
>> get it going again.
>
> A lot of people are overclocking their Newtons without realizing the
> possible repercussions. The CPU used in the Newton wasn't spec'd to
> 220MHz, so running it that fast can create a lot of problems. At 162MHz it
> already blows 500mW, at higher speeds it could use upto 1.2W and become
> damaged due to heat! Power (dissipated) was a HUGE factor that was
> considered when the SA110 was designed, so this isn't a minor issue. The
> lifetime of a semiconductor is roughly inversely proportional to the heat,
> so more heat, MUCH lower lifetime.
>
> Secondly, the internal memory controller on the SA110 is running faster
> than the Newton designers intended; all the timing parameters in the
> Voyager chipset are now invalid. As a result, all sorts of problems can
> occur since the 110's memory controller interfaces to the ROM, the Voyager
> chipset, etc. The least harmful is a lockup because invalid data was
> fetched from ROM, and among the most harmful is that writes to "Internal
> store" will leave the FlashROM in an undetermined state since the FlashROM
> isn't being written to properly.
>
> These are your Newtons, feel free to do what you wish, but as an
> Electrical Engineer and a hardware designer, overclocking is like playing
> Russian Roulette. Also, for the record, I've worked as a design engineer
> along side the StrongARM 110 and 1100 designers, and I can tell you first
> hand overclocking is not something they suggest.

That's a real good comment, Speedy2. It just throws opposing arguments in
the balance, so people can make a more educated decision.

-Laurent.

-- 
=====================================================================
Laurent Daudelin            <http://home.cox.rr.com/nemesys>
Logiciels Nemesys Software         mailto:nemesys_at_cox.rr.com

droid n.: [from `android', SF terminology for a humanoid robot of essentially biological (as opposed to mechanical/electronic) construction] A person (esp. a low-level bureaucrat or service-business employee) exhibiting most of the following characteristics: (a) naive trust in the wisdom of the parent organization or `the system'; (b) a blind-faith propensity to believe obvious nonsense emitted by authority figures (or computers!); (c) a rule-governed mentality, one unwilling or unable to look beyond the `letter of the law' in exceptional situations; (d) a paralyzing fear of official reprimand or worse if Procedures are not followed No Matter What; and (e) no interest in doing anything above or beyond the call of a very narrowly-interpreted duty, or in particular in fixing that which is broken; an "It's not my job, man" attitude.

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