Pulse Overclocking for beginners (Tutorial)

[Guest jimmie32]

Disclaimer: I am just posting this little tutorial/guide for who is new to this (like me) and got stuck looking in the many threads in this forum, even with the helpful search button. Sometimes it takes a while to understand this, it took me a few hours of fiddling around, so...

All the resources mentioned below are not by me, and are resources that I've found by searching this section/forum. I won't take responsibility for any damage you do to your Pulse, and I'm pretty sure the respective authors won't either. By mentioning them, I am not representing them in any way, and if the authors do not want those resources to be mentioned, please contact me and I'll remove them asap. Though those are public resources you can easily find in this forum with a little searching....

Again, this is for fun. Nobody will take the responsibility if you mess up, except you.

Very important notice that most people seem to forget:

Backup your things. Don't be lazy and think that "nothing will happen". If you're fine with losing all your data and/or you already have a backup, you can stop reading and skip to the main content, but if you aren't, please, backup your data. Booting up <insert your favorite recovery image here> and backing up using nandroid is not that hard. Right?

If I make any mistake below (remember, I'm new to this), please feel free to point it out. Thanks in advance! :P

Okay, now that I've made everything clear...

What's Overclocking? Doesn't it... fry your phone or do something bad? Will it kill kittens?

Overclocking is, technically, making your (phone/computer/whatever) processor to run on a higher clock speed than originally specified/designed by the manufacturer. In computers, the processors are usually set to a safe clock speed, and overclocking is actually going beyond the limit. In your phone, though, the case is a little different. Batteries are small, therefore the processors are generally underclocked (basically, setting the clock speed to something below the designed speed, to save battery life and avoid overheating, etc.). Not only the battery is a problem, heat dissipation is another. Processors when ran on faster speeds usually produce more heat <citation needed here> (this is more related to the voltage though, I am not experienced in this, so... anyone fill the gap please?), and since there's no cooling system in your phone (you know, there are fans / other systems in your computer to keep it cool), the processor is underclocked.

Why doesn't the manufacturer use a low-end processor and just keep it to the normal speed, you say? Its not because they want us to overclock it. It's just that underclocked higher-end mobile processors are more efficient (in power and speed) when compared to a same-clock speed lower-end mobile processor. It's the relation between Power Needed/Heat Produced/Clock Speed. If you understand me.

So what we're doing is just put it to normal speed?

Yes. The Pulse technically has <citation needed here> a ~720 MHz processor in it, but it's set normally to 580 MHz something like that, I can't remember. But remember, even if you're putting it to a originally designed speed, it doesn't mean it's safe to go up there. It's a phone, it has no fans, it isn't necessarily the best environment for a processor to stay in. So we still put it in an underclocked speed, but slightly higher. This is phone overclocking, atleast for the Pulse, some high-end phones might get higher clock speeds than originally designed <citation needed here, again>

Does it kill kittens?

If you don't backup, yes.

Consequences?

Possibly lower battery life. Possibly your phone will get hot. Processor life *might* diminish. But who will use the same phone for 5+ years anyways.

TL;DR? You don't have to know the above, to be honest, it's just a little bonus here.

So how is this done?

First, you have to know that the Kernel (the heart of an operating system) in the Pulse's default Android restricts the CPU clock, so you can't overclock with that kernel. There are overclock kernels which adjust this restriction to something higher, and that will allow you to overclock.

The best way is to use a Custom ROM like Basic CM61-Pulse0.40 (Froyo, 2.2.1) which has an overclock kernel built-in. For example, the referenced one has a 691 MHz kernel. If memory does not fail me, that's roughly 100 MHz gained. Is that good enough? I don't know, I don't have a comparison. You can't compare a ~590 MHz 1.5/2.1 to a ~690 MHz 2.2. Right.

So flash that custom ROM in, remember to do your nandroid backup, and if it works, congrats, you get Froyo, CyanogenMod, and a 691 MHz kernel in one pack. It's the best solution for me, and it should work for you, I don't know. If it doesn't work, you got your nandroid, right?

What if it didn't work? Can I still overclock?

Yes... But I haven't explored this part yet, sorry. Need someone to guide me through soon. Sorry!

Okay, I'm set.

Now, get SetCPU from either the Android Market (Paid, it's a donation version) or get it from XDA-Developers (Google it, learn to) and install it.

Open SetCPU, choose the second button (Autodetect something) and then you'll see an interface which will show you your current clock speed, maximum speed slider, and minimum speed slider. So this is where the magic is, and you can slide the maximum one all the way through to the right and quit the app. You're set, your CPU can now hit a maximum of 691 MHz.

That's all?

Want to challenge something a little higher? 710MHz Kernel from Starkos.

This will bump 691 MHz to 710 MHz if it works, that's a 19 MHz gain. Not much, but well, if it works, great.

Note that the 710 MHz kernel may not work for some people, if it works, great, if it doesn't, bummer. 19 MHz isn't that much anyway.

Get the kernel by downloading the .zip attached by @Starkos, transfer it to your SDCard via USB, and install it. NANDROID BACKUP ONCE AGAIN. There's no need to wipe /system nor /data, just install the zip directly and reboot.

If Android boots, congratulations, you can go to SetCPU and earn your 19 MHz bump once again. If not... Restore Nandroid, you may want to try again but it usually won't work. Generally you're stuck in a bootloop in this case, so get into recovery and recover in to the 691 MHz kernel-powered 2.2, and done.

This is what I've learned from two days of fiddling around with my Pulse, and well, I'd like to share it, so I've done it now. This tutorial is largely incomplete and based on my experiences only, with two U8220s, and the 710 MHz kernel worked on both.

This might help the new people like me who is just getting into the Custom ROMs and stuff, and I hope you like it. Thanks for reading. Sorry for any grammatical mistakes or misinformation in here, please feel free to point it out and I'll be glad to fix it :D

[Guest Fusion0306]

Disclaimer: I am just posting this little tutorial/guide for who is new to this (like me) and got stuck looking in the many threads in this forum, even with the helpful search button. Sometimes it takes a while to understand this, it took me a few hours of fiddling around, so...

All the resources mentioned below are not by me, and are resources that I've found by searching this section/forum. I won't take responsibility for any damage you do to your Pulse, and I'm pretty sure the respective authors won't either. By mentioning them, I am not representing them in any way, and if the authors do not want those resources to be mentioned, please contact me and I'll remove them asap. Though those are public resources you can easily find in this forum with a little searching....

Again, this is for fun. Nobody will take the responsibility if you mess up, except you.

Very important notice that most people seem to forget:

Backup your things. Don't be lazy and think that "nothing will happen". If you're fine with losing all your data and/or you already have a backup, you can stop reading and skip to the main content, but if you aren't, please, backup your data. Booting up <insert your favorite recovery image here> and backing up using nandroid is not that hard. Right?

If I make any mistake below (remember, I'm new to this), please feel free to point it out. Thanks in advance! :P

Okay, now that I've made everything clear...

What's Overclocking? Doesn't it... fry your phone or do something bad? Will it kill kittens?

Overclocking is, technically, making your (phone/computer/whatever) processor to run on a higher clock speed than originally specified/designed by the manufacturer. In computers, the processors are usually set to a safe clock speed, and overclocking is actually going beyond the limit. In your phone, though, the case is a little different. Batteries are small, therefore the processors are generally underclocked (basically, setting the clock speed to something below the designed speed, to save battery life and avoid overheating, etc.). Not only the battery is a problem, heat dissipation is another. Processors when ran on faster speeds usually produce more heat <citation needed here> (this is more related to the voltage though, I am not experienced in this, so... anyone fill the gap please?), and since there's no cooling system in your phone (you know, there are fans / other systems in your computer to keep it cool), the processor is underclocked.

Why doesn't the manufacturer use a low-end processor and just keep it to the normal speed, you say? Its not because they want us to overclock it. It's just that underclocked higher-end mobile processors are more efficient (in power and speed) when compared to a same-clock speed lower-end mobile processor. It's the relation between Power Needed/Heat Produced/Clock Speed. If you understand me.

So what we're doing is just put it to normal speed?

Yes. The Pulse technically has <citation needed here> a ~720 MHz processor in it, but it's set normally to 580 MHz something like that, I can't remember. But remember, even if you're putting it to a originally designed speed, it doesn't mean it's safe to go up there. It's a phone, it has no fans, it isn't necessarily the best environment for a processor to stay in. So we still put it in an underclocked speed, but slightly higher. This is phone overclocking, atleast for the Pulse, some high-end phones might get higher clock speeds than originally designed <citation needed here, again>

Does it kill kittens?

If you don't backup, yes.

Consequences?

Possibly lower battery life. Possibly your phone will get hot. Processor life *might* diminish. But who will use the same phone for 5+ years anyways.

TL;DR? You don't have to know the above, to be honest, it's just a little bonus here.

So how is this done?

First, you have to know that the Kernel (the heart of an operating system) in the Pulse's default Android restricts the CPU clock, so you can't overclock with that kernel. There are overclock kernels which adjust this restriction to something higher, and that will allow you to overclock.

The best way is to use a Custom ROM like Basic CM61-Pulse0.40 (Froyo, 2.2.1) which has an overclock kernel built-in. For example, the referenced one has a 691 MHz kernel. If memory does not fail me, that's roughly 100 MHz gained. Is that good enough? I don't know, I don't have a comparison. You can't compare a ~590 MHz 1.5/2.1 to a ~690 MHz 2.2. Right.

So flash that custom ROM in, remember to do your nandroid backup, and if it works, congrats, you get Froyo, CyanogenMod, and a 691 MHz kernel in one pack. It's the best solution for me, and it should work for you, I don't know. If it doesn't work, you got your nandroid, right?

What if it didn't work? Can I still overclock?

Yes... But I haven't explored this part yet, sorry. Need someone to guide me through soon. Sorry!

Okay, I'm set.

Now, get SetCPU from either the Android Market (Paid, it's a donation version) or get it from XDA-Developers (Google it, learn to) and install it.

Open SetCPU, choose the second button (Autodetect something) and then you'll see an interface which will show you your current clock speed, maximum speed slider, and minimum speed slider. So this is where the magic is, and you can slide the maximum one all the way through to the right and quit the app. You're set, your CPU can now hit a maximum of 691 MHz.

That's all?

Want to challenge something a little higher? 710MHz Kernel from Starkos.

This will bump 691 MHz to 710 MHz if it works, that's a 19 MHz gain. Not much, but well, if it works, great.

Note that the 710 MHz kernel may not work for some people, if it works, great, if it doesn't, bummer. 19 MHz isn't that much anyway.

Get the kernel by downloading the .zip attached by @Starkos, transfer it to your SDCard via USB, and install it. NANDROID BACKUP ONCE AGAIN. There's no need to wipe /system nor /data, just install the zip directly and reboot.

If Android boots, congratulations, you can go to SetCPU and earn your 19 MHz bump once again. If not... Restore Nandroid, you may want to try again but it usually won't work. Generally you're stuck in a bootloop in this case, so get into recovery and recover in to the 691 MHz kernel-powered 2.2, and done.

This is what I've learned from two days of fiddling around with my Pulse, and well, I'd like to share it, so I've done it now. This tutorial is largely incomplete and based on my experiences only, with two U8220s, and the 710 MHz kernel worked on both.

This might help the new people like me who is just getting into the Custom ROMs and stuff, and I hope you like it. Thanks for reading. Sorry for any grammatical mistakes or misinformation in here, please feel free to point it out and I'll be glad to fix it :D

The Pulse has 528 MHz processor. And the kernel has to support overclocking to use SetCpu. And the official kernels (dec. update, hu_2.1, uk_2.1, and de_2.1) don't support that.

Most of the roms here on the Pulse MoDaCo thread have overclock enabled. So I don't quite understand why you opened this thread. The Rom descriptions are in the rom threads, and you don't have to repeat that.

NHF, just my opinion

[Guest i am not a hacker]

Thanks for this. One question, I am going to get the CM61 that you referenced. Once you have installed that ROM, will you have to use SetCPU to overclock, or will it be at 690MHz anyway?

[Guest Fusion0306]

Thanks for this. One question, I am going to get the CM61 that you referenced. Once you have installed that ROM, will you have to use SetCPU to overclock, or will it be at 690MHz anyway?

See what you did, jimmie32?

Now nobody will read dev's instructions. Hurray for you

Post-installation settings:

[*]691 mhz kernel installed and set to auto-throttle up to 614 and down to 245 with SetCPU (I could go higher, but I prefer some battery savings; and I have added one profile set to throttle things way down when the screen is off, but this does make it a bit slow to wake back up)

Edited February 8, 2011 by Fusion0306