Apple Overclocks Our Macs!

[minifish]

Currently the Freescale 7447A used in Powerbooks, ibooks and mac minis, is rated at a maximum operating frequency of 1420Mhz. This means any G4 mac running faster is running on an overclocked CPU. Powerbooks, Powermac G4 upgrade cards.... Is this even supported by Freescale? Anyone have more information on this? Does apple get higher yield chips from Freescale? I know for a fact the 2.0Ghz upgrade cards for Powermacs are overclocked. Kinda makes me mad for one, paying more for chips they pay the same price for? and just clock up....

 

[MisterMe]

Currently the Freescale 7447A used in Powerbooks, ibooks and mac minis, is rated at a maximum operating frequency of 1420Mhz. This means any G4 mac running faster is running on an overclocked CPU. Powerbooks, Powermac G4 upgrade cards.... Is this even supported by Freescale? Anyone have more information on this? Does apple get higher yield chips from Freescale? I know for a fact the 2.0Ghz upgrade cards for Powermacs are overclocked. Kinda makes me mad for one, paying more for chips they pay the same price for? and just clock up....

Apple does not overclock its processors. Just because you can't buy a 1.67 GHz 7447A doesn't mean that Apple can't. As for upgrade cards, congratulations on your discovery that they use overclocked processors. Here's another scoop for you: Soylent Green is people.

 

[mad jew]

So, a genuine question here, what's the problem if they are in fact over-clocked?

Oh, and who's Soylent Green?

 

[ChrisFromCanada]

Oh, and who's Soylent Green?

Read all about it here

As for processors, sure apple is selling overclocked processors but they are also selling the cooling for them and the warranty that should they go bad from heat that you can have the part serviced, where as if you do it yourself and it goes bad you are stuck.

 

[MacTruck]

A genuine 1.67ghz processor from Moto will be faster and less prone to errors than a 1.42ghz processor overclocked to 1.67ghz. That said I believe apple does infact overclock the processors. That is why these faster cpus are not that much faster.

If the voltage of a 1.42ghz G4 is lets say 1.3v and a 1.67ghz is 1.5v its an overclock. That is the definition of overclocking. If the voltages where the same it would be a genuine cpu from the manufacturer. Apple has been doing it for years. But heah if it runs fine without error its not wrong.

All a cpu has going for it is its yield. Some are better than others and they are the same chip. That is why you have different speeds. Some can be pushed others can't. The ones that have a good yield are the higher clocked parts. If they come in bad they are clocked lower and sold for cheaper. It has been going on since the cpu was invented.

I overclocked my pentium 4 chip from 2.5 to 2.85 and it has worked great for years.

 

[mad jew]

A genuine 1.67ghz processor from Moto will be faster and less prone to errors than a 1.42ghz processor overclocked to 1.67ghz.

Okay, thanks for clearing that up. So if the currently over-clocked Mac processors are already relatively error-free, then there's really no problem, right?

Sorry if I sound pretty ignorant here, but I just am.

 

[minifish]

Quite a bit of misinformation here.

First, where are you getting your information about apple being able to buy faster processors from?

Second, over-clocking is not defined by having to up the core voltage, it is just what the name states, Adjusting the computers Clocked frequency at which it operates. Sometimes adjusting the core voltage is also needed to make the computer stable at a higher frequency, mac minis overclock with no bump to core voltage, AMD 64 processors overclock through the roof with no bump to core voltage.

Third, a processor rated at 1.5Ghz will be NO FASTER then a processor rated at 1.42Ghz over-clocked to 1.5Ghz, they will perform identical. however this will degrade the processors life span (which isn't a big deal considering the 7447A's expected life-span is 10 years at 105deg C). Regarding more errors, if you overclock and your processor produces errors, you need to back your clock speed back down as your processor is not stable at that speed.

 

[MacTruck]

Quite a bit of misinformation here.

First, where are you getting your information about apple being able to buy faster processors from?

Second, over-clocking is not defined by having to up the core voltage, it is just what the name states, Adjusting the computers Clocked frequency at which it operates. Sometimes adjusting the core voltage is also needed to make the computer stable at a higher frequency, mac minis overclock with no bump to core voltage, AMD 64 processors overclock through the roof with no bump to core voltage.

Third, a processor rated at 1.5Ghz will be NO FASTER then a processor rated at 1.42Ghz over-clocked to 1.5Ghz, they will perform identical. however this will degrade the processors life span (which isn't a big deal considering the 7447A's expected life-span is 10 years at 105deg C). Regarding more errors, if you overclock and your processor produces errors, you need to back your clock speed back down as your processor is not stable at that speed.

The name OVERclock is when you clock the cpu OVER its intended rating. This will require a voltage pump to attain. If the cpu overclocks with no voltage jump then you basically got a better chip for cheap. Like if you got a 2ghz chip and it overclocks to 2.5ghz with no voltage jump and its totally stable then you basically got a 2.5ghz chip that was labeled wrong. Happens every day. With moto chips it doesn't happen every day because they are maxed out from the factory and apple tests them each to see which ones they can succuessfully voltage pump to get a faster speed.

As far as the processor lifespan, I have NEVER heard of a processor going bad. Has anyone?

 

[homerjward]

The name OVERclock is when you clock the cpu OVER its intended rating. This will require a voltage pump to attain. If the cpu overclocks with no voltage jump then you basically got a better chip for cheap. Like if you got a 2ghz chip and it overclocks to 2.5ghz with no voltage jump and its totally stable then you basically got a 2.5ghz chip that was labeled wrong. Happens every day. With moto chips it doesn't happen every day because they are maxed out from the factory and apple tests them each to see which ones they can succuessfully voltage pump to get a faster speed.

As far as the processor lifespan, I have NEVER heard of a processor going bad. Has anyone?

no, when you raise the voltage it's known as overvolting. i undervolted my pentium m; that doesn't mean i underclocked it, although i know what you mean. however, i disagree with you when you say "if you got a 2ghz chip and it overclocks to 2.5ghz with no voltage jump and it's totally stable then you basically got a 2.5ghz chip that was labeled wrong." when intel and amd badge chips, their rated clock speed is what they were designed to run at and what they were tested at--that's why the much higher clocked chips (670, 660, 570J, 4k+, etc. etc.) cost so damn much more. a much smaller percentage of chips are stable at that speed than at lower speeds. a few exceptions, of course, are things like when intel used to underclock/reduce l2 cache on old p3s and sell them as celerons. that's why the old celerons overclocked so well. i hope i made sense, and if i come off as confrontational or w/e i dont mean to be, and sry if it sounds like i am.

 

[MacTruck]

no, when you raise the voltage it's known as overvolting.

Did you just invent that term? I never heard that used.


Look, its a cpu that you can change the voltage and clock. If you buy a 2ghz chip and put it into a computer at 2.5ghz its overclocked as the term applies.


That said the name overclock has 2 meanings. The one above is true but I don't consider a chip overclocked unless the voltage is pumped up there and the heat index increases. You know?

 

[Mord]

freescale sells cpu's for use at certain voltages speeds and temperature, there are a few difference version some rated to run at 70 degrees for use in desktops and some rated at 105 degrees in laptops, apple has never sold a mac clocked higher than the speed written in gold/silver ink on the die by more than 20-60MHz and that is to do with bus multipliers not coming out right (the 1.42GHz MDD used a 1.4GHz rated 7455B) also motorola rates the safe voltage to run the chip at for those speeds, and that is different for different speed chips sometimes, AMD and intel have done it. as for weather the 1.67GH powerbook is overclocked i doubt it i know for a fact that motorola sells a cpu rated at 1.6GHz so at worst case it's overclocked by 67MHz,

overclocking is just raising the speed determined stable by the manufacturer.