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CONFIRMED (POST #59): Free PSP Upgrade! FW 3.5 Unlocks 333mhz for (official) devs!

Oni Jazar

Member
Sweet news:

http://pspupdates.qj.net/Unshackled...-official-games-to-hit-333MHz/pg/49/aid/95634

More power to portable gaming. We've just picked up word via an insider that among the updates that PSP firmware 3.50 carries, one important feature that's apparently been unlisted is that this latest fw release will finally allow commercial games to run at the PSP's full 333mhz CPU speed.

Prior to this, all UMD games for the PSP have been restricted to just 266 MHz - roughly 80% of the portable console's full power.

And while homebrew applications (that means you, intrepid coders!) have already been unlocking this feature for some time now, this move will provide new-found benefits for official UMD games: accelerated frame rates and game load timesare definitely at the top of our wish list, although we'll just have to wait and see if this is indeed the case. Aside from the hopeful speed boost, we're just hoping Sony's also got something planned for the increased power usage expected from turning the proverbial limiter off on the PSP - do we see a new battery in the works?

That aside, the company has yet to give an official statement on this new feature, and whether this unlocked CPU speed is dedicated to post-3.50 UMD games, or will affect past titles as well. Stay tuned for updates on this hot news.
 

Stop It

Perfectly able to grasp the inherent value of the fishing game.
So games created for post 3.50FW will last 20 minutes on battery power then? or is this further confirmation that a newer model is on its way, complete with better battery use?
 

Nino

*LOVES* Bob Marley
Wow, about ****ing time. Hopefully this will result in some extra-impressive PSP1.5 titles sometime next year.
 

quetz67

Banned
Stop It said:
So games created for post 3.50FW will last 20 minutes on battery power then? or is this further confirmation that a newer model is on its way, complete with better battery use?
yeah, 50% clock speed increase probably brings the battery life down to 15%

btw. does that mean no more excuses for GT Mobile?
 

herod

Member
it's not 50%, it's allowed to do 266MHz according to the article.

I haven't noticed any retrospective improvement.
 
Sho Nuff said:
Overclock will not affect load times :(

Or framerates in some cases. It will be too tempting for some devs to put more stuff on screen instead of increasing the framerate. The ones who care about framerate were already making 60fps games.

herod said:
it's not 50%, it's allowed to do 266MHz according to the article.

I haven't noticed any retrospective improvement.

Apparently it was upped from 222 to 266 for Ratchet and Clank.

quetz67 said:
btw. does that mean no more excuses for GT Mobile?

GT5 is the latest excuse for no GT Mobile!
 

spineduke

Unconfirmed Member
Would be nice if Sony actually released a slim 3600 mAh battery already. Games running at 333mhz+UMD drive would butcher the existing battery in no time.
 

Durante

Member
herod said:
it's not 50%, it's allowed to do 266MHz according to the article.
AFAIK, there's exactly 1 (one) UMD game currently out that uses 266 MHz, all others use 222. So it's mostly 50%.
 
Durante said:
AFAIK, there's exactly 1 (one) UMD game currently out that uses 266 MHz, all others use 222. So it's mostly 50%.

222 x 2 = 444, not 333

more like 33.33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333%

edit: i is a dumbdumb and just woke up
 

M3wThr33

Banned
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters used 266 Mhz long before this update. It was why a lot of people with homebrew firmware had trouble loading it, because they had set their PSP to run everything at 333 Mhz.

R&C:SM was the ONLY title not to be 222 Mhz. But this update isn't surprising. The PS1 games that run on the PSP ALSO run at 333 Mhz already. The full video resolution was unlocked recently, too. Sony's pulling out all the stops, finally.
Then in the last update they found a resource file that had an image showing a video-out for the PSP, something a lot of people would dig.
 

Gattsu25

Banned
M3wThr33 said:
in the last update they found a resource file that had an image showing a video-out for the PSP,
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Fatghost

Gas Guzzler
Wollan said:
I would rather think new PSP with better battery. God of War PSP was already running fine at Gamers Day.


Yeah but those PSPs it was running on could have already have the clock unlocked.
 

djkimothy

Member
Hmmm, this with a possibility of a PSP make over (better screen please!) will definitely force me to get one! Make it happen!
 

Steroyd

Member
Oh dear god!!

My PSP is so crippled that not only can I not use my PSP without the charger plugged in, but my charger doesn't charge anymore.

:(
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
So games created for post 3.50FW will last 20 minutes on battery power then? or is this further confirmation that a newer model is on its way, complete with better battery use?
NO. I've been gaming at 333 MHz for a while now and the hit on battery life really isn't more than 30 minutes (so if you were seeing 4 hours, you'd now see 3.5). It's totally worth it. Isn't there a higher capacity battery out there as well? That might help too.

Or framerates in some cases. It will be too tempting for some devs to put more stuff on screen instead of increasing the framerate. The ones who care about framerate were already making 60fps games.
In MANY cases, the framerate is improved. It's a pretty significant improvement and really allows some games that were a bit rough before to become significantly more playable.
 

Kinan

Member
Just came to mind - so PSP is now officially faster than PS2.

[well, if you just compare CPU and GPU MHzes. :)]
 

M3wThr33

Banned
dark10x said:
NO. I've been gaming at 333 MHz for a while now and the hit on battery life really isn't more than 30 minutes (so if you were seeing 4 hours, you'd now see 3.5). It's totally worth it. Isn't there a higher capacity battery out there as well? That might help too.

ONLY buy the official Sony batteries. The other ones don't work as advertised.
 

Fafalada

Fafracer forever
Steroyd said:
My PSP is so crippled that not only can I not use my PSP without the charger plugged in, but my charger doesn't charge anymore.
You do realize that a new 2600mAh battery costs like, 8$ or something.

Stop It said:
So games created for post 3.50FW will last 20 minutes on battery power then?
1) last I recall measuring it, the power drain from 333mhz is less then 20% of base.
2) the mhz is under Application control, 3.5 won't magically force you to use 333mhz if you don't need it.

There's a 3) also but that's the job for whoever is leaking the original info.

Kinan said:
Just came to mind - so PSP is now officially faster than PS2.
If developers could use both CPUs, 333 would make it roughly on par with PS2 (as far as CPU power goes). Since they can't...
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
M3wThr33 said:
ONLY buy the official Sony batteries. The other ones don't work as advertised.
Yes, I'm aware of this. I believe that Sony released a higher capacity battery (a while ago) than what you would find in the original PSP models.
 

Lain

Member
This is good.
I don't have a custom firmware on my PSP and playing Daxter I've got to hate ReadyAtDawn and Sony for all the slowdowns that game has.
With this maybe Devs will be able to make good looking games that don't have huge slowdowns unless you mod your PSP.
 

kaching

"GAF's biggest wanker"
Fatghost said:
Yeah but those PSPs it was running on could have already have the clock unlocked.
Sounds like some of the same things said when everybody saw Daxter in action. They weren't running at 333Mhz then either.
 

Amir0x

Banned
dark10x said:
Yes, I'm aware of this. I believe that Sony released a higher capacity battery (a while ago) than what you would find in the original PSP models.

yup

PA.47743.001.jpg
 

Mmmkay

Member
Well that is officially the final piece of the puzzle confirmed. It has long since been theorised that in the eventual introduction of a redesigned PSP which consumes less power and produces less heat, a 333MHz firmware update would precede it. Star of Bethlehem eat your heart out.
 

Fafalada

Fafracer forever
With this maybe Devs will be able to make good looking games that don't have huge slowdowns unless you mod your PSP.
You mean like all the PC, 360 and PS3 games which never experience slowdown issues whatsoever? :p
 
God, when everyone catches wind of this, theres gonna be a whole new round of everybody making "battery life of only 10 minutes" jokes for another 3 months.
 
Sho Nuff said:
Overclock will not affect load times :(

It does actually, as strange as it might seem, they do improve a little, anyone with a OE firmware can tell you that.


Anyway this is great news, i'll just have to buy a new battery :S
 

kaching

"GAF's biggest wanker"
Mmmkay said:
Well that is officially the final piece of the puzzle confirmed. It has long since been theorised that in the eventual introduction of a redesigned PSP which consumes less power and produces less head, a 333MHz firmware update would precede it. Star of Bethlehem eat your heart out.
A redesigned PSP just isn't worth it if this is one of the tradeoffs!!!!
 

djkimothy

Member
Mmmkay said:
Well that is officially the final piece of the puzzle confirmed. It has long since been theorised that in the eventual introduction of a redesigned PSP which consumes less power and produces less head, a 333MHz firmware update would precede it. Star of Bethlehem eat your heart out.

I know kaching already quoted this, but... :lol Maybe I don't want the new PSP.

I can't believe people are actually bitching about the extra speed unlock. Sheesh.

GAF doesn't like upgrades.
 

Pimpwerx

Member
I got a non-Sony 2600mAh battery from Play-Asia, and it works as advertised. Ran it back to back with my stock battery, and the bigger battery definitely lasts longer. Fairly cheap, and while I'm not certain it represents the full increase that's advertised, it's definitely better than using the stock battery ta 333MHz. PEACE.
 
So do all games run at 333MHz automatically on official firmware, or is there some way to choose?
PS Somebody with official firmware try R&C, if you tried playing it at 333 MHz on custom firmware it wouldn't play any music
PPS Gaf server LOL
 

quetz67

Banned
dino1980 said:
How do some people count?

Its 25% increase in power.

333/266=1.2519
Sorry, I used 222 and 333.

The reduction of battery time should easily be compensated by the new battery. UMD, screen and WiFi consumptions dont change, so the change in battery life is probably only about 10-20%
 

mrpogi23

Member
it just means, it helps the new games better performance.. esp God of War :D

also it might be a possibility the redesign PSP will have less power consumption!
 
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