Concern about OCing

[mr.wizard]

I recently loaded faux123 latest kernal with the latest BB release and noticed that I could OC to 1.8ghz and I haven't crashed yet. Before, if I OC to anything more than 1.4ghz (using many various roms and kernal combos) my phone would reboot.

Other than the possibility of my phone melting, is there anything wrong with OC to 1.8ghz? And what could be different about my current setup that would allow this? My hardware hasn't changed, so..?

 

[Paul627g]

I think the melting part is enough of a scare not to do it...

I just had this discussion a few minutes ago, I've done 1804 Ghz for a few minutes to toy around but then returned back to a normal setting.

 

[mr.wizard]

Better set a profile to tame 'er down if it gets too hot..

 

[dmmarck]

I think the melting part is enough of a scare not to do it...

I just had this discussion a few minutes ago, I've done 1804 Ghz for a few minutes to toy around but then returned back to a normal setting.

Yup. Remember, our processors are underclocked. They are rated at 1.5 yet are tuned to 1.2. While anything between those two figures should be okay, anything past 1.5 is a risky proposition.

Please, if you go past 1.5 do it sparingly and never ever ever set it on boot.

Sent from my Overly Suspicious Robotic Grouper

 

[digitalslacker]

The Gnex has a Thermal Throttle set to 110C.

When the CPU gets that hot, it'll start to spin it's self down to cool off. If it can't (cuz you can disable that feature in Franco's kernel app or are using a kernel with it turned off) then it just reboots.

Generally speaking you can start to do damage when things get to around 100C at least I've read that. So if you are concerned get something to monitor the temp. I think around 60c is normal.

CPUs are typically rated for a certain speed (1.5GHz in our case) and at that speed the manufacturer believes that the vast majority of the devices be fine for their life. They work in some tolerance levels so pushing it a bit is relatively safe. Some devices are lucky and can go beyond those built in tolerances. If you are hitting 1.8 and stable then you probably have a good one. But make no mistake, any amount of overclocking will shorten the life of the device. The question is really by how much and do you care.

I don't bother overclocking. At face value it sounds like a good way to get better performance out of stuff but for day to day use that performance is at the expense of battery and device life and you probably won't notice the nominal gains.

But we all like tinkering so at least know there are some measures in place that should mitigate the risk.

 

[mr.wizard]

Thanks for the info.
My understanding was that some chips could handle higher clock speeds than others. It's just luck of the draw (manufacturing wise) if yours can or not. And, that it was solely hardware based.
So, how come a change of software has allowed higher clock speeds? Mind you, I haven't used a kernal that allowed 1.8ghz, but I've tried 1.6ghz to no avail. This has me most baffled.

 

[TabGuy]

I recently loaded faux123 latest kernal with the latest BB release and noticed that I could OC to 1.8ghz and I haven't crashed yet. Before, if I OC to anything more than 1.4ghz (using many various roms and kernal combos) my phone would reboot.

Other than the possibility of my phone melting, is there anything wrong with OC to 1.8ghz? And what could be different about my current setup that would allow this? My hardware hasn't changed, so..?

I can think of at least two issues.

1. Heat is the enemy of electronics. Expansion, just a little, caused by heat causes electronic parts to malfunction. Over time it will cause them to fail. I've had my phone shut off because I left it in the car on a hot day and it gets a thermal check.

2. Battery life. With a 1.8ghz CPU the battery life will be dramatically reduced.

I do the opposite of you. I set my maximum CPU to 1ghz on purpose for the two reasons above. I want my Nexus to last a long time and I want my battery to go distances between charges. But, I don't have a compelling reason to pump up the juice as I'm not a gamer or use CPU intensive apps.

 

[digitalslacker]

Thanks for the info.
My understanding was that some chips could handle higher clock speeds than others. It's just luck of the draw (manufacturing wise) if yours can or not. And, that it was solely hardware based.
So, how come a change of software has allowed higher clock speeds? Mind you, I haven't used a kernal that allowed 1.8ghz, but I've tried 1.6ghz to no avail. This has me most baffled.

That's correct. They are rated for a certain speed with some tolerance. That's why you can always overclock them a little.

There's more to just overclocking than turning up the dial. You have steps, voltages and a slew of settings that can be tweaked. The 1.8GHz and stable could be caused by very optimal tweaking of those things OR it could be caused by removal of something like the thermal throttle or other safety nets so you are able to push that high. I don't know enough about that kernel or the dev to say one way or the other.

Personally, if i could never run well on multiple other kernels at 1.6GHz and now I'm using a kernel that lets me roll at 1.8Ghz just fine, I'm probably going to be concerned and turn it down until i can figure out why.
When it seems too good to be true, it usually is

 

[mr.wizard]

^^ I appreciate the insight. Thanks

 

[mikestorm]

Question to those in this thread that do OC: why do you do it? Are there specific applications that benefit or is a faster = better proposition?

I ask because the last time I overclocked I was running GB on my TB. With the Nexus (and especially with JB) things are so snappy I no longer see much of a need.

 

[digitalslacker]

Question to those in this thread that do OC: why do you do it? Are there specific applications that benefit or is a faster = better proposition?

I ask because the last time I overclocked I was running GB on my TB. With the Nexus (and especially with JB) things are so snappy I no longer see much of a need.

Things like games are where you'll see most of the benefits from OCing.

There is a governor on our devices that handles when to spin up the CPU to full power and when to not. Depending on the type of governor you select most of the time you'll only get to the highest clock speed when you are really pushing the device, like in a game.

Overclocking doesn't really equal more snappiess, at least not now. Maybe back in the TB days it did because the CPU was slower and there was more to gain. 200Mhz then meant way more than 200Mhz now because you were talking a slower overall CPU.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2

 

[dancing-bass]

I do the opposite of you. I set my maximum CPU to 1ghz on purpose for the two reasons above. I want my Nexus to last a long time and I want my battery to go distances between charges. But, I don't have a compelling reason to pump up the juice as I'm not a gamer or use CPU intensive apps.

The other day I set my max to 729 for a day (Franco Milestone 5). The battery life from 1228MHz was pretty good, but anything other then simple apps would cause it to lag and stutter. Too bad on this kernel there isn't an option between 729Mhz and 1036MHz. I think something in the 950 range would be a sweet spot for better battery life iand overall usability (other then gaming or other apps that really tax the processor).

I've only ever tried Franco kernels. What else have you people run that you're happy with (stability, options, good battery life)? I was surprised to see this build no longer supports "hotplug" -- where it shuts down one core completely until it's needed.

 

[digitalslacker]

The other day I set my max to 729 for a day (Franco Milestone 5). The battery life from 1228MHz was pretty good, but anything other then simple apps would cause it to lag and stutter. Too bad on this kernel there isn't an option between 729Mhz and 1036MHz. I think something in the 950 range would be a sweet spot for better battery life iand overall usability (other then gaming or other apps that really tax the processor).

I've only ever tried Franco kernels. What else have you people run that you're happy with (stability, options, good battery life)? I was surprised to see this build no longer supports "hotplug" -- where it shuts down one core completely until it's needed.

There were issues with hot plug. I think he's looking at something called CPUQuiet now.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2