Aging Boosts SNES Console Speed: APU Frequency Rises by 182 Hz Over 35 Years

Alan Cecil, a security consultant and the administrator of the TASBot project, recently made an intriguing discovery about Super Nintendo consoles. It seems that one of the chips used in these retro gaming systems is causing them to speed up over time. According to an article by 404 Media, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) incorporates a Sony SPC700 APU, which processes audio at a rate of 32,000 Hz. However, programmers working on SNES emulators realized back in 2007 that the system was functioning slightly faster, clocking in at 32,040 Hz. Due to this discrepancy, they needed to adjust the emulation to prevent issues with certain games.

The SPC700 is not just any chip; it relies on a delicate ceramic resonator running at a frequency of 24,576 Hz to maintain its operations. Being sensitive to temperature and environmental changes, this component can behave unpredictably as time goes on.

In February, Cecil took to Bluesky, posting under the TASBot handle, to share his theory and sought input from SNES users for further data. What he found was a fascinating pattern: the aging SNES consoles are showing a trend where the SPC700 seems to operate at higher frequencies the older they get. The highest frequency clocked so far is 32,182 Hz—a small increase, under 1%, from the original. Nonetheless, this rise could disrupt in-game audio and potentially cause glitches in some games.

For those who are passionate about speedrunning, this frequency uptick on the SPC700 could pose a problem. Although it primarily handles audio processing for the SNES, meaning it shouldn’t impact gameplay directly, for those who work on precision timing for speedruns, this might be significant. As players complete levels and the screen goes dark, the console needs to load new data, including audio, as fast as possible. If the APU can push this information to the CPU even slightly faster, it might shave valuable milliseconds off loading times.

While this might not affect casual players noticeably, it does create challenges for speedrunners and the bots used in these competitions. Luckily, human speedrunners are generally not impacted by these changes.

“We’re still gauging the full effects of this over extended speedruns,” Cecil comments. “All we really know for certain is it’s influential in terms of data transmission between the CPU and APU.”

However, for TASBot’s automated playthroughs—where precision is key—this could result in complications. Cecil is diligently gathering more data to comprehend how these changes might affect the console over time. Understanding how these vintage components age not only helps in accurately emulating them but also preserves the integrity of the classic games many of us hold dear.

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