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WTF?! Previous {hardware} usually slows down over time as newer software program turns into much less optimized and parts degrade with age. Nonetheless, speedrunners and researchers have found the alternative impact on the SNES. Whereas the phenomenon is intriguing, its impression on gameplay stays purely theoretical.
Tinkerers and speedrunners have just lately discovered that the audio processors in lots of growing old Tremendous NES consoles at the moment are working at barely larger clock frequencies. Whereas the distinction is at the moment just some hundred hertz, analysis suggests the impact might develop into extra pronounced over time.
Alan “dwangoAC” Cecil, a developer of speedrunning instruments, first raised consciousness of the anomaly final month. To analyze additional, he collected data from over 100 SNES house owners utilizing a flash cartridge and a diagnostic ROM. The outcomes point out minor however constant velocity will increase, which can be influenced by warmth.
Primarily based on 143 responses, the SNES DSP price averages 32,076 Hz, rising 8 Hz from chilly to heat. Heat DSP charges go from 31,965 to 32,182 Hz, a 217 Hz vary. Due to this fact, temperature is much less vital. Why? How does it have an effect on video games? We have no idea. But. See docs.getgrist.com/fpwWkqDcnxXR… for extra.
– TASBot (@tas.bot) March 6, 2025 at 6:10 PM
The SNES’s SPC700, a secondary CPU that controls the console’s Sony audio processor, formally runs at 32 MHz. Nonetheless, Cecil’s examine found frequencies reaching as much as 32.3 MHz, with proof suggesting this phenomenon has been steadily intensifying for over 20 years.
Third-party documentation from 2003 recorded the SPC700 working at 32.04 MHz, which matched the velocity utilized by SNES emulators within the early 2000s. Cecil notes that the typical frequency has since risen to 32.076 MHz. The probably trigger is the SPC700’s ceramic resonator, which might fluctuate primarily based on temperature.
For many collectors nonetheless utilizing growing old, yellowed SNES consoles, the impact is minor – probably inflicting solely a slight change in audio pitch if the processor runs round 200 Hz quicker than anticipated. Nonetheless, the implications for emulation accuracy and speedrunning stay a subject of debate.
A quicker sound processor may save gamers just a few frames every time a sport masses audio or different knowledge, probably shaving fractions of a second off lengthy speedruns and placing longstanding data in danger. Whereas Cecil doubts the impact is critical sufficient to impression data, variations between consoles may complicate the event of emulation instruments striving for excellent accuracy.
Analysis into the phenomenon continues to be in its early phases. As extra SNES models are analyzed, researchers will probably achieve a clearer understanding of its causes and results. Moreover, uncovering extra historic knowledge may determine whether or not the console is steadily accelerating or if the SPC700 has at all times operated inside these frequency variations attributable to its low-precision design.
