Nintendo NES Overclocking Guide 229
Deven "Epicenter" Gallo writes "I've perfected a process by which to overclock the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) to run games smoother without slowdown. The NES CPU normally runs at 1.79 MHz, I've reached a stable maximum of 4.2 MHz, about a 230% overclock. The games do not run faster than they should, the CPU never overheats, and most games are perfect up to 3.3 MHz!" Here's the guide on how to perform the modification, along with photos and demonstration videos
Why? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Jumpy games? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Jumpy games? (Score:3, Informative)
It certainly wasn't a big enough problem to affect the games' playability. It was noticeable, however, on the rare occasions that it happened.
A nice concept, but... (Score:5, Informative)
1. NES audio is generated within the 'RP2A03G' (CPU) chip and is based on clock cycles, so doubling the CPU clock will cause the audio to go up an octave (assuming it even runs). The site mentioned in the article actually pointed this out, so it looks like it's legitimate.
2. Games which use cycle-timed code will no longer work properly - Battletoads is the first that comes to mind.
3. Some NES cartridges only used 250ns PRG ROM chips, which is only good up to 2MHz; go any higher and the game may not run at all.
Re:A nice concept, but... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Temperature and timing (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Question (Score:3, Informative)
All copper lines on a PCB are traces. This includes power and ground lines, excepting large areas of copper, which are usually called planes. Also, there are things called "ground shields", which are actually not connected to ground - they're electrically isolated continuous bits of copper used to provide electromagnetic shielding.
Anyway.
Traces are the copper lines on a PCB - buses are composed of multiple traces carrying a collection of related signals (for example, an address bus is N traces, each carrying one bit of the N bit address.)
Re:Load times? (Score:1, Informative)
Other than that, SNES loading times should theoritically be shorter than on NES (if the game was coded similarly).
Has everyone forgotten about the Legend of Zelda? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:The main cpu is in the cartridge if I remember (Score:1, Informative)
The first NES carts just had 2 ROMs and the 'lockout chip' (which actually is a little CPU, running in sync with the other lockout chip in the system to thwart unlicensed game publishers).
Re:What else can I overclock? (Score:4, Informative)
If you find that your CPU doesn't work at above 6MHz, try swapping it for an NEC V20 or V30 (can't remember offhand which) - this was faster even for a given clock speed, went to around 10MHz, and 8086 compatible into the bargain.
I used to have (probably still do somewhere) a Compaq 286 with a 6MHz 287 fitted instead of the 8MHz part. Worked just fine.
Re:Warning! (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Blowing is a waste of energy (Score:3, Informative)
The reason that blowing the carts worked (and still does for the most part) is that you're applying moisture to corroded terminals. Moisture = connectivity. That's why after you blow in a cart and put it in your system, sometimes it works for 5 minutes and then the game starts blinking. The moisture has evaporated from the terminals.
Bad thing about blowing in the carts (there had to be a bad thing) is the fact that, by applying more moisture to the cart, you expedite the corrosion. It works better now, but down the line it becomes even harder to get them to work.
You can scrub away all you like on most carts and even buy a new pin connector, but your games are gonna all run like crap. It's not the system, it's the carts.
Now if you REALLY want to try your best to get your carts to work, the real way of refurbing them is to get a nintendo bit for your screwdriver, take off the cover, and scrub (and scrub, and scrub) at the connectors with a white eraser. It's the only thing I've found that will do the trick. Also, if you really want to use a cleaner, an anomia based cleaner (like Windex) does a much better job than rubbing alcohol.
Not necessarily a *good* thing... (Score:3, Informative)
Instead of observing the obvious improvements in fluid animation (and gameplay), listen to the audio differences in both before and after overclocking. The original is exactly how I remember SMB3 to sound, while the overclocked version sounds kind of whacked.
To me, the audio from these classic games is JUST AS important as the video, so I won't be overclocking until a better method is found that won't screw up audio.... but I'd imagine the bulk of people who still have *working* NES units, wouldn't want to mess around with their precious vintage systems anyways
Re:Jumpy games? (Score:3, Informative)