OVERCLOCKING!!!

Parzival

so... I tried overclocking my raspberry pi 3 in order to play N64 games properly. When I go ahead and select the option to overclocking it lets me know that i cannot overclock it. I dont know what I should do so my N64 games play without a problem. (Or at least to play without much lag)

Floob

This should help:
https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Optimization-for-Nintendo-64

https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/140/how-to-use-overclock-and-mupen-core-options-to-significantly-increase-64-game-playability-quality-and-stability

PetroRie

Make sure you put a heatsink on it.

RetroResolution

@Parzival
Hi
Currently the Raspberry Pi 3 reports that it cannot be over clocked, but it certainly can...
I've written some guides on overclocking and, most importantly, testing which you may wish to try so you'll have a quantifiable view of your machine's stability:

Overclocking and Stability Testing the Raspberry Pi

Parzival

@RetroResolution do you believe it is wise to over clock the retropie ? I want to make sure it doesnt overheat or anything like that...

RetroResolution

@Parzival I have a Pi 1, 2, and 3, all overclocked. The Pi 3 can generate a lot more heat than the earlier models, but whether it is an issue depends in what you use it for.

The emulators in RetroPie are all, as far as I have observed, single-threaded - only one of the four CPU cores is used, which limits the temperature. If you run multithreaded processes, such as compiling software, or transcoding video, the system rapidly heats up. By default however, at 80 degrees Celsius the 'governor' will throttle back the CPU to keep the temperature at or under the threshold.

The pi 3 has plenty of power compared to the earlier models, and all but the really power-hungry emulators (such as n64 and Dreamcast) will be fine without overclocking.

Alturis

This post is deleted!

Alturis

@retroresolution said in OVERCLOCKING!!!:

Overclocking the Raspberry Pi 3: Thermal Limits and Optimising for Single vs Multicore Performance

So would others still agree that this is a good place to start when attempting to overclock a Pi3?

I have these for cooling and power:
CanaKit 5v 2.5A: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MARDJZ4
Flirc Gen2: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07349HT26

Raspberry Pi 3 Stable Overclock Values

arm_freq=1350
core_freq=500
over_voltage=4

I don't have much interest in running N64 games. My primary desire to experiment with overclocking is to achieve playability with certain mame titles that are currently not quite so. Armored Police Batrider, Soul Caliber, and noticeable slowdowns in games like Metal Slug 3 or even Blazing Star.

dankcushions

@alturis said in OVERCLOCKING!!!:

and noticeable slowdowns in games like Metal Slug 3

overclocking won't help here. mslug3 slows down on real hardware, so correct emulation replicates the same slowdown. there are ways of "solving" this: https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/lr-fbalpha#neo-geo-overclocking

any other game with native slowdown (eg many shootemups have this) will act the same way, but the CPU overclock link only works on neogeo games.