Root Those Who Doubt What Droid Can Handle...

[Droidphann]

If you think that the Droid can be harmed by overclocking it to 1Ghz and above, you are wrong. Because the Droids Arm Cortex A8 processor was built to handle those speeds. I found this info while browsing one day, its the manufacturers page of the Arm Cortex A8..This is what they had to say about the processors capabilities..
"The ARM Cortex A8 processor is based on the ARMv7 architecture and has the ability to scale in speed from 600MHz to greater than 1GHz. The Cortex-A8 processor can meet the requirements for power-optimized mobile devices needing operation in less than 300mW; and performance-optimized consumer applications requiring 2000 Dhrystone MIPS."
Here you can see that info were I got this from- Cortex-A8 Processor - ARM
So guys dont worry about overclocking your Droid and hurting it in the process! DROID IS BEAST!!!

 

[anjoga]

Why does it come stock at 550MHz if it can comfortably handle up to 1GHz?

 

[stearic]

Power requirements most likely i suspect. The higher the speed the more power it draws the faster the battery will die. While i don't know this for certain, that's just the nature of the beast in mobile products and cpu's. It's why laptops these days underclock themselves unless the full speed of the cpu is needed. They do this for 2 reasons, battery life and to keep the laptop cool. It's most likely something of the same here to extend the battery life.

 

[bose301s]

The problem with that thinking is that the OMAP 3430 and the CORTEX A8 are not the same chip. The OMAP 3430 is a dual chip solution (technically a Package-on-Package solution) that integrates the CORTEX A8 with the PowerVR SGX chip which may not be able to handle the extra speed and heat.

 

[crankerchick]

The problem with that thinking is that the OMAP 3430 and the CORTEX A8 are not the same chip. The OMAP 3430 is a dual chip solution (technically a Package-on-Package solution) that integrates the CORTEX A8 with the PowerVR SGX chip which may not be able to handle the extra speed and heat.

+1

 

[pinesal]

My droid is running at 1.2ghz. Explain that.

 

[SpecialEd]

My droid is running at 1.2ghz. Explain that.

How is that battery life?

And why don't they offer you a user option to switch this without rooting the phone? it has nothing to do with your network connection or use of the radio?

 

[rjoudrey]

My droid is running at 1.2ghz. Explain that.

My car goes 140+ but I don't drive that fast for extended periods!

 

[rjoudrey]

I think without being an expert that 800 - 900 mhz is a good range for the Droid.

 

[UBRocked]

If you think that the Droid can be harmed by overclocking it to 1Ghz and above, you are wrong.

If YOU think that YOUR droid could possibly be harmed by overclocking and YOU are not okay with that risk...you should not overclock it! While I appreciate the overclocking capabilities (mine is running smoothly at 1.2GHz as well), I feel it's important to point out that the droid ran fine at 550MHz so there is no "real" need to overclock. Is it better at 1.2GHz? Duh...of course! But, running at 1.2GHz WILL shorten the life of my processor...it's a fact and anyone who says otherwise is lying or incompetent. I'm not directing that at you Droidphann...I know what you were saying but there IS a risk and the Droid CAN be harmed.

How much will overclocking shorten the lifespan is the question. This is a risk vs. reward situation and people should only do what they are comfortable with cause it is a $600 phone if you have to replace it!

 

[CRPercodani]

It was scaled to 600mhz when manufactured and underclocked to 550mhz. Yes a A8 is capable of going to 1ghz and above but that requires different applications to the manufacturing process.

 

[messenger13]

My droid is running at 1.2ghz. Explain that.

You're obviously not pushing it hard enough.
1.3GHz here ... pwned.

(just havin fun. )

 

[Wisdom]

How is that battery life?

And why don't they offer you a user option to switch this without rooting the phone? it has nothing to do with your network connection or use of the radio?

Same reason there isn't a user option to take a screen shot without root, or to delete unwanted yet included apps without root. Because it isn't part of their business model. Verizon and Motorola have come a long way with the openness of their architectures, but they still have an overall goal of keeping their phones simple and usable for the average consumer. We are all just the five percenters who choose to push our phones out of that comfort zone.

 

[UBRocked]

You're obviously not pushing it hard enough.
1.3GHz here ... pwned.

(just havin fun. )

Yeah, well not everyone's droid was built that well! Mine craps out at 1.3 cause Motorola messed mine up!...stop bragging cause I'm bitter

 

[rjoudrey]

Joe, hows that cot?

In the back room at Android Forums.

 

[iamloco724]

so does anyone really know the estimated life of the droid untouched not rooted..vs rooted and overclocked at certain speeds..this is probably the most important info thats needed to decided if overclocking is worth it

 

[rjoudrey]

Unrooted it should last at least one year according to the warranty.

 

[UBRocked]

so does anyone really know the estimated life of the droid untouched not rooted..vs rooted and overclocked at certain speeds..this is probably the most important info thats needed to decided if overclocking is worth it

The "unrooted" estimated life span is NewEvery2

The "rooted and OC'd" life span is hopefully NewEvery2!

 

[YankeeDudeL]

1.2 and 1.3 sound grand, but I don't want to ruin the processor in the long run (no prior experience in OCing). I'm quite pleased w/ the performance at 1ghz. 800 almost seems a lil buggy, for me, I did notice.

 

[BigMace23]

Isn't it heat that shortens the life of the processor? If it is, and you keep it at a reasonable temperature, then shouldn't it last just as long as a stock droid? Correct me if I'm wrong...

 

[droidpcguru]

Isn't it heat that shortens the life of the processor? If it is, and you keep it at a reasonable temperature, then shouldn't it last just as long as a stock droid? Correct me if I'm wrong...

Too bad the Droid is so hard to disassemble..a tiny piece of copper attached to the CPU with arctic Silver or the like, maybe even arctic silvered to the shielding could provide more cooling for the CPU resulting in longer life while OC'ed.

Of course goodbye warranty if you do this....

 

[phaze3131]

You're obviously not pushing it hard enough.
1.3GHz here ... pwned.

(just havin fun. )

Joe can u link to where u get the 1.3ghrz one from? Thanks!

 

[YankeeDudeL]

Isn't it heat that shortens the life of the processor? If it is, and you keep it at a reasonable temperature, then shouldn't it last just as long as a stock droid? Correct me if I'm wrong...

I hope that's the case, but I don't know and I haven't heard anything definitive. If that is the case, it sounds like we should be in the clear.

 

[droidpcguru]

Heat and/or over-voltage are the main enemies of any CPU. From what I read in TI's documents, our processor, although normal operating temp is <40C, can run without loss of longevity up to 70C for extended periods of time. Over 70C you might sacrifice lifetime. Of course heating it to over 105C fries it, as with any processor. As far as voltage, we are not changing this by OC'ing. We are simply changing the clock speeds. From what I've read we are all in the clear as far as frying it(Now of course there may be a few defective processors out there). We just need to worry about stability.

The reason some CPU's run fine at high frequencies and some don't is this. Think of how tiny the CPU is, and how many microcomponents it contains. Since any manufacturing process has tolerances in variation between dimensions/content/etc., it only take a difference of a few molecules in a certain area of the CPU's matrix to make it perform better or worse than its neighbor, yet still pass standard tests.

I probably could have worded that better, but I think I explained it well enough