Software-only OVERCLOCK for LC475, LC575, Quadra 605
- Thread starter JDW
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Ah, extra fun. 80MHz should be easier than usual then.
A 66 card is better because they just clock double. I assume the 100 detects the speed and switches between 3x and 4x. Or perhaps runs asynchronously? Ah well, anyhow. 66 is better for now to see if that works, because we know what it is doing.
Anyone got some time to do a bit of testing?
You need a... P475, P476, LC475, LC575, P575, P577 or a Q605
Awesome if you have a PowerPC upgrade.
Latest version :
Edit - actually, now like this, because I realised the sliders were sort of pointing the wrong way. Also I used a top secret trick to make the PPC bit enable for the screenshot :
You need a... P475, P476, LC475, LC575, P575, P577 or a Q605
Awesome if you have a PowerPC upgrade.
Latest version :
Edit - actually, now like this, because I realised the sliders were sort of pointing the wrong way. Also I used a top secret trick to make the PPC bit enable for the screenshot :
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I managed to get permission to share the Control Strip Module from the original author of the Control Strip example code I based it on.
Its only 8k in size (larger on big HFS drives). Have fun. It has a ReadMe, but seriously, you don't need instructions. Just remember that Norton and TattleTech lie about the current clock speed - use Clockometer if you want to know how fast your computer is.
Its only 8k in size (larger on big HFS drives). Have fun. It has a ReadMe, but seriously, you don't need instructions. Just remember that Norton and TattleTech lie about the current clock speed - use Clockometer if you want to know how fast your computer is.
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This is seriously cool - and it's making me re-re-re(I could go on)-shuffle my priority list to finish the 475 sooner rather than later so I can try this out!
i know what you mean, i recently found 4 LC475 boards that all chime when powered on but need VRAM and recapping!
Where can I download this version?Anyone got some time to do a bit of testing?
You need a... P475, P476, LC475, LC575, P575, P577 or a Q605
Awesome if you have a PowerPC upgrade.
Latest version :
View attachment 18173
Edit - actually, now like this, because I realised the sliders were sort of pointing the wrong way. Also I used a top secret trick to make the PPC bit enable for the screenshot :
View attachment 18174
It isn't publicly available yet, I've been struggling to get testers to finalise it.
Seriously? “Here’s a free system extension that makes your Mac 475 faster. Want to try it out?”
-“No thanks, I’m good…”
Said nobody, ever…
How is it that you haven’t found testers for it???
You'd be suprised. There has been almost no interest. I've only been able to get two people to do any testing, and only one of them has a PPC card... after posting here, a friend posting on reddit, it being on my website, and on youtube. Plus I directly contacted everybody I could think of that had a 475. I didn't even manage to get my own dad to install it.
People don't seem to be that interested.
Also, I've discovered that people don't read instructions, and also blame the software for their computer not being able to overclock as high as they'd like it to.
Well, I'll just say for one: it's not that I'm uninterested, it's that I don't know how my Mystic Colour Classic would react.
I feel very sad.
Folks, APATHY is our worst enemy. Think of someone in this hobby you dislike profoundly. Now consider this: APATHY is worse than they are!
I started this thread to INFORM and FIGHT APATHY. As such, I can't help be feel a deep pain in my heart when I hear that "people don't seem to be interested."
Another important thing for our community to realize is that if we don't share new info and knowledge on a regular basis, a large number of people don't learn about it. And proper sharing of something means sharing it more than once and on different platforms (here, the MLA, FaceBook Groups, Reddit, YouTube videos, etc.) VCF is another great venue for sharing, but I've not had the opportunity and privilege of attending one yet. Even so, I try to do my part by participating in multiple online platforms so I can spread the word about new things I think are fabulous and need supporting. Therein lies the key problem. If we ignore something, it will wither and die at some point. And who stands to benefit from that?
I hold @phipli in the highest regard. He crafted incredibly easy to use software for the community to OVERLOCK a host of machines, based on the fabulous work of Mustermann, but it appears that few have expressed interest. It makes me wonder: WHY EVEN BE IN THIS HOBBY? Merely to buy, recap and hoard? I say a big NO to that!
We need to be in this hobby for better reasons. Repair/Recapping is a sad, troublesome and tiresome fact of life in this hobby, but it needs to be done so you can actually start using your machines. Once you use and enjoy your vintage Macs, you'll want to take it further.
Making innovative new software and hardware in order use old computer technology is the single best way to get the most from the hobby.
That's why I praise the web stores and inventions of Zane Kamenski, Kay Koba, Yianni K., Kai Robinson, Eric Helgeson, Steve Chamberlin, Mark Jozaitis, Willem Jacobs, and Joakim Larsson so much. These folks offer some amazing new things for the community! There are others I mention less but who are no less important, such as Downtown Doug Brown, Rob Braun, Gabriele Gorla, and Dr. Antoine Bercovici. Jeff Walther and Gamba (who is no longer with us) have made big impacts on our hobby (fathers of what years later came to be known as the Custom ROM SIMM). There are so many other names too of equally great value who I've not named so as to avoid writing too much, but hopefully you get the point. It is very important for us to continuously share knowledge and our experiences with the handiwork of contributors in the vintage Mac community. It would be a lesser place without these great people! And we must not overlook newer contributors of significance, such as @phipli who have incredible knowledge, advice and work to share! This thread is dedicated to him and his handiwork, which we all need to support.
"Taking it further" is what overlocking and this thread is about. Yes, I really do think it's safe, fun and worth doing. You can always go back to stock slowness whenever you like. It's not a permanent change or something that will destroy your Macs! (Even so, heatsinking the CPU is recommended, especially at 40MHz and beyond.)
I do understand that not everyone has the machines supported by this particular overclock, but there are several compatible machines, and I think a good number of people have them:
- LC 475 / Performa 475 / Performa 476.
- Quadra 605.
- LC / Performa 575 / 577 / 578.
- Apple Set Top Box (STB).
- Hardware overclocked versions of the LC 475, Quadra 605, LC 575 and variants.
- PowerPC upgraded versions of the LC 475, Quadra 605, LC 575 and variants.
Newly reading this thread?
CLICK the links below to get started:"Soft-475-Overclock" INFO:
Overclocking the LC 475 in Software
Overclocking the LC 475 in Software A little while ago Mustermann posted on the 68kmla forums that he was doing some experiments relating to overclocking the LC 475 without any hardware modificatio…
stuffandnonsense.elephantandchicken.co.uk
DOWNLOAD:
GitHub - Phipli/Soft-475-Overclock: Based on the discovery and code from Mustermann that it is possible to change the clock speed of the LC 475 and similar Macintosh computers, from software alone. This project is a user controllable extension that e
Based on the discovery and code from Mustermann that it is possible to change the clock speed of the LC 475 and similar Macintosh computers, from software alone. This project is a user controllable...
github.com
It seems the current Beta hasn't been made Public yet.
@phipli can anyone PM you here and on the 68kMLA to obtain the link to the Beta?
The chipset was designed to work at 40MHz, the only limiting parts are the exact speed of the RAM soldered on the board, the CPU grade, VRAM grade and the type of MC88916/88920 fitted. If you have an MC88920DW70 fitted like I anticipate you have, 40MHz is a fairly mild overclock (it is rated for 35MHz, so 40 is a 14% exceedance). Generally most things will happily run 20% above base speed, especially in this case because you're not just pushing faster, but updating the timings to suit the new speed.
CPU - 040s will generally overclock well. Like, I accidentally ran a 25MHz part at 40MHz for hours once because I got mixed up over which chip I had fitted. I only realised after I finished my experiments for the day. My 50MHz experiments here have been done with a late issue 40MHz rated part with a heatsink fitted.
I expect you have 70ns soldered RAM? I believe that the 40MHz setting is timed for 60ns RAM, but again, this is a fairly mild overclock. VRAM should technically be 70ns at 40MHz, but most 80ns stuff I have happily runs much faster than that.
The consequence of pushing too far is a fairly tame lockup. Your computer crashes. Restarting brings everything back up.
It will generate more heat though. Long term heat reduces the life of chips, but we're not running these daily, so I'm happy to run a 20% overclock on something like a CPU, but I'd always add a heatsink to pull the temperatures back down into normal ranges.
These overclocks are actually less hard on the hardware than something like a spicy-o-clock because it reigns the timings in and doesn't just push the RAM and VRAM proportionally faster.
This is just FYI - I completely understand if you don't want to mess with your computer. It is yours after all.
I appreciate the enthusiasm, but take care that not everyone is the same type of collector or person, as much as I'd like to see some testing done and people to enjoy using the software, it is up to people to use their computers as they want. Truth is I just want to get some testing done so I can put it out of mind and release it. The way it is going, if I release it I'll be dealing with random bug fixes months after I forget what I was doing, and I really don't want that.
Some people like originality others are modders - I'm a modder, but even I never cut plastic / metal which probably puts me in a weird non-group between the people that preserve and the people that hack (sorry CC owners). I didn't share the hobby outside my family until the isolation of the lockdowns. Before that my dad and I just played with old macs and kept ourselves to ourselves.
I'd imagine a lot of people with vintage macs don't live and breath it. It might be something that they mess with on an infrequent basis, and they might not even check online groups very often. Nostalgia and the calming affect of a slow machine (I quite enjoy using a 16MHz machine to de-stress) might be what they love about it.
There is always the argument, if you want a faster machine, buy a faster machine. I've even made that argument in this thread over spending a small fortune on upgrade cards. Although I usually make that argument in the context of cost of rare upgrades, rather than a free speed boost!
I'd argue that creating art, for example music and paintings / drawings is the greatest use of old technology
I have to admit I'm in awe of their and other's bravery. The cost of developing hardware is vastly higher than people anticipate and there is no way that these people achieve fair renumeration for the time they put into developing and supporting their products. Plus consider for every product that happens, there will be some that have been worked on at the developer's cost, and never seen the light of day. Remember what products like these cost in the 90s? While manufacturing costs have come down, the cost of people's time hasn't and so these things should cost more, while they often cost the same or less. The only way this is possible is for people to be giving their time next to nothing. Even getting to break-even on the material costs is a challenge. I've missed that target almost every time I've ever tried to make something physical.
On this point, you all should be more enthusiastic about PCI beige macs. They're almost 30 years old! I'm worried the lack of enthusiasm in the hobby will mean they'll almost all be scrapped. They're good (mostly, and some times not in a physical sense) solid machines! A 9500 will basically run System 7.5 through to 10.4! They'll play games from about 1988 through to 2005! Where are all the PCI mac mods and hacks? Where are all the modern cards for them (not a complaint, such things need to come from demand, which isn't really there).
PCI Mac Amore
Long and short - enthusiasm is great, but the vocal collectors with extreme machines are only the very tip of the iceberg when it comes to the hobby. There are a lot of people that don't even have accounts on the forums. I know I was just "guest" browsing the forums for existing answers for most of two decades. The majority of the community aren't as visible... and I think that is ok
Hi, my name is Phipli, and I'm a Mac user. My favorite mac is a IIci. I haven't used my IIci in several months now <clapping>.... thank you... but sometimes, I think... what harm is there... perhaps I could just play a couple of rounds of Swoop and nobody would know right? I could turn the sound off and the monitor brightness down? Nobody would know? It isn't even a real problem....
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But just to be clear, I am absolutely amazed how little interest there was because to me it is a really exciting awesome thing to discover you can do!
To give an idea of the lack of enthusiasm... want to guess how many people followed the link to my blog post out of the first 1400 views of the reddit post my friend made....
18.
That is... a 1.2% conversion rate. That isn't how many people downloaded the software, that is just how many people actually followed the link to my page in the post 
To give an idea of the lack of enthusiasm... want to guess how many people followed the link to my blog post out of the first 1400 views of the reddit post my friend made....
18.
That is... a 1.2% conversion rate.
That isn't how many people downloaded the software, that is just how many people actually followed the link to my page in the post
And on that note, I would say it's best to avoid YouTube if you ponder the numbers because unless you're a lovely and scantly clad lady, you won't be pleased with view counts and subscribers. My YouTube work is a labor of love, which is also why I keep Ads switched OFF for a better viewing experience for everyone. With that said, a video on YouTube that is set to Public does garner more interest overall than even the best written and most attractive forum post, especially if a lot of people find your YT channel.
Anyway, I wrote my previous post because I want you and everyone else here to see my passion for your work. To me, it's yet another case of the Insanely Great.
Do you want people to send you a PM to request the Beta?
Also, if you are a toad. My most watched video by far is just a 30 second "I found a TOAD!" video of this cutie :
Not saying it has that many views, but it has more than anything else I've uploaded.
Note my channel is a sort of video notes I share with friends, family and people that might be interested, and not a proactive channel aiming at views. Basically it is easier to email a youtube link than share a 50MB video file.
Yeah, that works. I'm super in need of people with a PowerPC card because I don't have one so no amount of my testing is going to show me what issues there are. There is a complication that the PowerPC card seems to use different register settings. I need to find out about the various settings.
I'm busy today and tomorrow, but I'll make a short test procedure to test the basics and then if people could just use it, the former makes sure things work as I expect, the latter hopefully catches things I didn't think of.
If it makes you feel any better, what you have done here is super cool and I would be interested in testing it out if my LC575 existed as more than a board only. I don't have a chassis harness or the other bits 'n bobs for it, nor a PPC upgrade. Perhaps some day I will get the needed parts to run it.
Interesting - how have you connected into the edge connector? Or is that the problem?
You can find the schematic for the 575 here : https://www.macdat.net/files/pdf/apple/schematics/apple/lc_575.pdf
If you want to just get it running, most Macs will boot with only 5V, so you can probably carefully inject 5V (and gnd) at the hard disk connector bit of the edge connector (solder onto the pins on the reverse. Page 14 of the schematic. Serial and sound wont work but it should boot.
It sounds a bit like my Q610
(the bodges are my repairs after the previous owner damaged the board trying to recap it)I don't have a case or anything - it arrived as a non-working board only. I've managed to get it to run reliably at 40MHz and it will boot at 50, but it crashed during the benchmark I ran at 50MHz. I do have some ideas for making it more reliable at 50MHz though, funnily enough, based on some of the code from this thread.
Edit - to get video out is a challenge though. You could potentially find an LCPDS Video card, but that isn't easy. Its easier with the LC 580 board because you can pick up a video adapter that goes in the GIMO port for not too much money, but there isn't a GIMO port on the 575.
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