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Switch CPU is over clocked in BoTW 1.6.0 (read OP, load times reduced)

cucholix

cucholix

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Oct 30, 2017
935
In recent 8.0.0 update it was confirmed that Nintendo officially added 1.7Ghz speed for the CPU, they even called "boost mode"

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I thought it was some kind of placeholder for the eventual Switch Pro, but it's not case it seems.

Beta tester ZachyCatGames checked CPU speed during loading screens:
ZachyCatGames said:
In botw v1.6.0 (and maybe mario odyssey 1.3.0) the game seems to switch over to 1.7ghz CPU when the game is on loading screens, then switching back to 1ghz once they're done

Very interesting. This may be how they improved loading times in the new update
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See post

Haven't tried myself but apparently the loading screen speed improved in BotW 1.6.0. It's the first time Nintendo over clock the CPU to that speed. The stock CPU speed is 1Ghz in both handheld and docked mode.
 

Deleted member 3038

Oct 25, 2017
3,569
FiXalaS said:
Did Smash get affected in anyway?
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Most likely not. The Switch uses clock profiles that Devs can utilize on a per-case scenario in their titles, and 1.75Ghz was just added. The last title I can recall that uses a higher clock speed is MK11 IIRC (I'd have to fact check).

EDIT: Yup MK11 uses the highest GPU speed possible (Source)

The normal maximum GPU speeds for Switch are:


  • Portable: 384 MHz
  • Docked: 768 MHz

Users with modded Switches, able to see system performance information while running games have noticed the Switch runs at 460mhz in portable mode while running Mortal Kombat 11.
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DarkLordMalik said:
Will this fix the pixelated resolution of XB2?
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XB2 already uses the highest GPU clock IIRC

EDIT2: here's all the Perf profiles available on the switch:
wsUt4en.png
 
.exe

.exe

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Oct 25, 2017
22,804
They should do this for Xenoblade to improve the aggressive resolution scaling in portable mode.
 
DrROBschiz

DrROBschiz

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Oct 25, 2017
16,998
I wonder if running it at almost double clock speed presents a thermal risk to the hardware

Or is it mostly just battery considerations at this point?
 
pepone1234

pepone1234

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Feb 19, 2018
107
DrROBschiz said:
I wonder if running it at almost double clock speed presents a thermal risk to the hardware

Or is it mostly just battery considerations at this point?
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I have seen some people with the switch overclocked while gaming an it dind't have any major thermal problems. The battery life while playing in handheld mode and overclocked is another story.
 

Deleted member 3038

Oct 25, 2017
3,569
pepone1234 said:
I have seen some people with the switch overclocked while gaming an it dind't have any major thermal problems. The battery life while playing in handheld mode and overclocked is another story.
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DrROBschiz said:
I wonder if running it at almost double clock speed presents a thermal risk to the hardware

Or is it mostly just battery considerations at this point?
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My switch has crashed due to overheating before (Though I was purposefully OCing it) so it's definitely possible.
 
OP
OP
cucholix

cucholix

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Oct 30, 2017
935
Also, people read OP
It only goes 1.7Ghz during loading screens, it goes back to normal in gameplay!
 
Charamiwa

Charamiwa

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Oct 25, 2017
6,220
Are the loading times now faster than the ones on Wii U? Would be interesting to see the speedrunning community switch platforms.
 

Nuclear Muffin

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
4,721
Interesting that they're now allowing selective use of the full CPU clocks... This has potential positive ramifications for emulation-based releases; like the SEGA AGES games; or potential VC releases of GCN/Wii titles!

Might also mean improved loading times across the board for all future titles!

I doubt that they'll allow full CPU clocks in normal, typical-case use scenarios though; due to the risk of overheating the console. Probably only in cases where the GPU is basically sitting mostly idle (like for emulation, or for loading screens).
 
memoryman3

memoryman3

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Oct 26, 2017
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I tested Mario Tennis Aces at 614MHz with homebrew and it runs amazingly! 720p locked in handheld mode!
 

Deleted member 2791

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Do we have a comparison on the loading times ? They were a good 15 seconds long when fast travelling before.
 
wrowa

wrowa

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Oct 25, 2017
4,632
cucholix said:
No, the resolution in that game is handled by the file lib_nx.ini which contains the resolution parameters. It's perfectly doable at 460mhz GPU if you edit that file, I tested it myself :)
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You don't have by chance any comparison pics handy between XB2 unmodded in handheld mode and with an overclocked GPU?

What resolution can you achieve by overclocking the GPU? I suppose 720p would still be too demanding without crashing the FPS?
 

Deleted member 18161

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cucholix said:
No, the resolution in that game is handled by the file lib_nx.ini which contains the resolution parameters. It's perfectly doable at 460mhz GPU if you edit that file, I tested it myself :)
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What kind of results did you achieve. Are 720p handheld / 900p docked a mess framerate wise even when the GPU is overclocked?

Also have you checked if the CPU is overclocked when Zelda and Mario are in VR mode?
 
TeenageFBI

TeenageFBI

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Oct 25, 2017
10,872
This is the first I'm hearing about improved loading in BOTW. Does anyone have a comparison?
 
OP
OP
cucholix

cucholix

Member
Oct 30, 2017
935
wrowa said:
You don't have by chance any comparison pics handy between XB2 unmodded in handheld mode and with an overclocked GPU?

What resolution can you achieve by overclocking the GPU? I suppose 720p would still be too demanding without crashing the FPS?
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File edited:
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Normal
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Even editing the file it doesn't look as nice like in dock mode, but there's an improvement :p
 
LuigiV

LuigiV

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I have to admit, this is a pretty clever way to use boost mode. Offers a tangible benefit to the user without impacting battery life or thermals too heavily.
 
Skittzo

Skittzo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
41,037
That's actually a brilliant implementation of a CPU overclock. It doesn't happen enough to affect battery life I'd imagine but it makes loading times noticeably smaller.

That's something they should suggest to all developers whose games have long loading times.
 
memoryman3

memoryman3

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Oct 26, 2017
4,146
cucholix said:
Only 460mhz I'm using sys-clk and handheld mode is capped at 460 unlike freebird
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If you use a USB charge you can get handheld clocks up to 768MHz. Works pretty well using my Apple 12W charger. BOTW doesn't lose charge in Korok Forest but the fans become noticeably louder (this is paired with a CPU overclock to 1.5GHz)
 
Charamiwa

Charamiwa

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Oct 25, 2017
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LordKano said:
Do we have a comparison on the loading times ? They were a good 15 seconds long when fast travelling before.
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The one thing I know looking at the speedrunning discord is that entering shrines on the Great Plateau is now 1 second faster than Wii U when it was 4 seconds slower before. So a 5 seconds improvement there.
 
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