Opinion on overclock settings

quicksilver

@Efriim I thought you said you had a 3b+? avoid_pwm_pll=1 is an obsolete setting (its ignored by current firmware) basically it would "borrow" a pll from the 3.5mm audio so that you could set an individual block of the GPU to a different and unrelated value. But the main takeaway is that its not used anymore and is not needed.

Efriim

@quicksilver
True, I am using a 3B+, OP was using a 3B. I think they're the mostly the same except for the wireless card, and default clocks.
1600 has been stable, I've only run Dosbox and video screensavers for a couple hours with this configuration. It helps in Dosbox; Ultima 8 has significant less bogs, Masters of Orion 2 is quite a bit snappier. Is there a different game,emulator,app, other than quake that you would recommend for use test?

Have you tested any over_voltage above 6? I read that force_turbo needs to be on, basically any value above 6 and I can't boot properly, but I can still SSH.

quicksilver

@Efriim Overclocks are detrimental if unstable. Quake 3 is a good test because it works your pi very hard. You are not going to easily replicate this by running dosbox or other console emulators. The freeware version can be installed easily from retropie setup.

Max over voltage is 1.4v. On older models of pi an over voltage value of 8 was needed to reach this but the stock voltage of a pi3 is set higher which means that you are very likely already reaching 1.4v with an over volt value of <5.

shavecat

So this is my overclock , cant get the force_turbo to work too (it will freeze the retorpie after couple of hours not hot temp' for me just getting it stuck )

Efriim

Raspberry Pi config.txt documentation for default values and definitions.

vcgencmd measure_temp
vcgencmd measure_clock arm
vcgencmd measure_clock core
Is there a way to invoke vcgencmd to monitor and update?

What other commands are known?

quicksilver

@shavecat judging by your recent posts you have had a lot of instability lately. Force_turbo simply disables the CPU governor and makes your pi operate at full speed even when idle. If this is freezing your pi then your overclock is unstable. If you aren't careful you are going to corrupt your SD card or it may be happening already.

@Efriim with current firmware the sdram_schmo setting is automatically changed when you overclock sdram over 500mhz. So really isn't any reason to use that setting anymore unless you really have a good reason.

Over_voltage and over_voltage_sdram are separate settings.

quicksilver

@Efriim yes if you actively monitor the CPU freq you will see that there are slight fluctuations. V3d, isp and h264 freq might return a 0 value if they aren't being used (for emulation isp and h264 aren't needed. Though h264 might be needed if you are also running Kodi)

Dwarfboysim

@shavecat what model Pi are u running these settings on and do you have any heat sinks and fans?

shavecat

@Dwarfboysim
pi B+ all the settings are on no freeze for my side.
and yep i have this heatstink with fans on it and a big fan on it for any way ...
dont get heat more then 44/45 deg'.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Double-Cooling-Fans-with-Heatsink-Cooler-For-Raspberry-pi3-B-Plus-pi3-B/192690471027?hash=item2cdd3f4073:m:mSY14x0VBuJkEiMWH_iVkZQ&frcectupt=true
@quicksilver
and yes i u right i did try lots of time with the overcook until i got it right
sdram_schmo thanks :)

shavecat

This post is deleted!

Efriim

Checking my /var/log/kern.log I have a few warnings

WARN::dwc_otg_hcd_init:1046: FIQ DMA bounce buffers: virt = 0xaf914000 dma = 0xef914000 len=9024
WARN::hcd_init_fiq:459: FIQ on core 1 at 0x805ea470
WARN::hcd_init_fiq:460: FIQ ASM at 0x805ea7d8 length 36
WARN::hcd_init_fiq:486: MPHI regs_base at 0xf0006000
snd_bcm2835: module is from the staging directory, the quality is unknown, you have been warned.
random: 7 urandom warning(s) missed due to ratelimiting

I don't know what any of this means.
I think the FIQ is USB, it could be my case, or the memory card.
I don't know what ratelimiting is.
The bcm2835 is probably normal.

Dwarfboysim

@shavecat how does the large double fan fix down does it have adhesive strips? How much noise does it make and can it fit in an official Pi 3 case or is there a case more suited to it?

shavecat

@Dwarfboysim
the double fans (i cut them on the middle really gently) and put them inside...
i just order that.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NESPi-Case-for-Raspberry-Pi-3-Retropie-Nintendo-NES-SNES-N64-Sega-PS1/202048309281?hash=item2f0b048821:g:a14AAOSwE8daUFeM
before that just had something printed on 3d .
i will let u know when i will get that one if i remember :)
and got a small fan from pc and just add on it (on the case made holes and on it the fan) dont really think u need that ... it was just to check :)

Efriim

@shavecat
I combined our two overclock models... I don't know.
I kept gpu_mem=512, ES crashed at 256. ES was set to use 120 and now to 140.

I use the Switch theme.

I got force turbo to work again, it must have been my configuration because I was experimenting a lot and it sets all the clocks to the max frequencies set.

I don't know about the PSP game halting, if you change buffer mode back and forth in the middle of a game, I guess can lead to bad pages that you need to emulator reset to clear.

Last night, I set up openmsx to use a gamepad, half satisfied that I can play metal gear 2 now.
This morning I tried to get better latency responsiveness in retroarch, for playing rhythm games/super mario world..
Anyway what was I getting to? I don't think I want to watch quake III play for an hour, if you get force_turbo to work, it will set all your clocks to max and that should be a near equivalent test.

Spread32 Download
Here is a tiny spreadsheet program for compiling data.

quicksilver

@Efriim said in Opinion on overclock settings:

Anyway what was I getting to? I don't think I want to watch quake III play for an hour, if you get force_turbo to work, it will set all your clocks to max and that should be a near equivalent test.

Not even close! Your pi runs at max frequency while playing games even with force_turbo off. All force turbo does is set your pis GPU/CPU to max frequency when idle as well by overriding the CPU governor. By your logic you could stress test your pi running Gameboy games. This obviously will not work. Just being set to max frequency is not a proper test if the pi isnt under full load. Proper stress testing is very important and does take time. You don't have to sit and watch it for hours, set up a test and do something else while it's running. In the end you'll have to decide if a stable overclock is something you care about.

Efriim

@quicksilver
There is more data from the sdram and gpu for it to be a stress test. Given that most crashes are memory leaks, will sequential inconsistencies occur because of the timings, regardless of the raw data or temperature? I don't know, but I do know I can get to crashes while in force_turbo that I won't get to without.

EDIT: Though it is surprisingly easy to set up QIII, and at least I'm not in a middle of a game when I'm testing and it crashes, even if I'm not really playing it can be kind of demoralizing. I look at QIII and I feel less demoralized when it crashes.

quicksilver

@Efriim said in Opinion on overclock settings:

even if you're not really playing it can be kind of demoralizing

Haha that I can agree with. Just remember to test one component at a time so you know what it is that made the test fail.

Efriim

@quicksilver You're absolutely right though, I think you would reach a system halt quicker under a heavy load, so maybe force_turbo it is not comparable. I have to test it. Also do you know if the force_turbo setting actually changes the CPU governor or if it just removes min_freq? or handles things it's own way; can its active part be changed during uptime?

quicksilver

@Efriim force_turbo makes it so there is no CPU governor. You're just running max frequency all the time, pretty pointless and uses more power, makes more heat, and wear and tear. Better to just use the performance mode for the CPU governor.

Efriim

@quicksilver That makes sense.

What do you think of this post by the crudster? I think I want to borrow the sdcard deadline scheduler, but do you think it will improve stability? Use scenario if someone connected to my network and tried to pull a file from my retropie while an emulation is running, or if I tried to push a file, will it not 9/10 times crash my system?