Overclocking a Raspberry Pi 3 with Retro Pi
Hey what's going on guys it's ETA Prime back here again and today I'm here with the Raspberry Pi 3 running retro p and I want to show you guys how to overclock now this will void your warranty I'm pretty sure it'll void your warranty I take no responsibility for you guys blowing up your house or blowing starting fires or destroying your Raspberry Pi 3 so if you do not want to do this go ahead and close out of the video now if you're not worried about it these are only 35 bucks I mean it's awesome to be able to do this so I don't mind voiding my warranty on a $35 development board at all and I've been trying to push this thing to its limits.
To start we need to boot up our Raspberry Pi 3 and get into the command line. We can do this by pressing F4 or using the keyboard shortcut to switch between modes. Once in the command line we can use the cat command to view the current max frequency of the CPU. This will give us an idea of what we're working with and help us determine how much we can overclock.
Let's take a look at the output of the cat command:
```
Max frequency: ?
```
As you can see, the current max frequency is unknown. This is because the Raspberry Pi 3 doesn't have a built-in way to display this information in the command line. However, we can use the `echo` command to set the max frequency manually.
To set the max frequency, we'll need to use the ` governor` command. The governor determines how the CPU will operate when it reaches a certain temperature threshold. We can change the governor to ` performance` to allow for more aggressive overclocking.
Let's set the governor to performance:
```
echo "vexprmarmm 0" > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/scaling_governor
```
This command will set the governor to performance, allowing us to push the CPU harder and potentially gain more speed.
Now that we've set the governor, let's try setting the max frequency again using the cat command:
```
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/scaling_max_freq
```
The output of this command should show us what our new max frequency is. For example, if we set the max frequency to 1000 MHz, the output would look like this:
```
1000
```
This tells us that we can now run the CPU at a maximum frequency of 1000 MHz.
Now that we have an idea of what we're working with, let's try overclocking our Raspberry Pi 3. We can do this by editing the ` governor` file and setting the max frequency to a higher value. For example:
```
echo "8000" > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/scaling_max_freq
```
This command sets the max frequency to 8000 MHz, which is quite aggressive.
Let's save the changes and exit out of the command line. Once we're back at the desktop, we can reboot our Raspberry Pi 3 and see if the overclock has taken hold.
Rebooting the Raspberry Pi 3
To reboot the Raspberry Pi 3, we can use the `sudo reboot` command or press control-alt-delete. Let's try using the `sudo reboot` command:
```
sudo reboot
```
Once the system has booted up again, let's check if our overclock has taken hold by viewing the max frequency of the CPU.
Viewing the Max Frequency
To view the max frequency of the CPU, we can use the cat command:
```
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/scaling_max_freq
```
If everything went according to plan, the output should show us that our overclock is active:
```
8000
```
This tells us that our Raspberry Pi 3 is now running at a maximum frequency of 8000 MHz.
Overclocking the Raspberry Pi 3 with Retro Pi
Now that we've successfully overclocked our Raspberry Pi 3, let's talk about how to do it. To overclock your Raspberry Pi 3 with Retro Pi you'll need to follow these steps:
1. Boot up your Raspberry Pi 3 and get into the command line.
2. Set the governor to performance using the `echo` command.
3. Set the max frequency of the CPU using the `cat` command.
4. Save the changes and exit out of the command line.
5. Reboot your Raspberry Pi 3.
6. Check if your overclock has taken hold by viewing the max frequency of the CPU.
Tips and Tricks
Here are a few tips and tricks to help you with overclocking your Raspberry Pi 3:
* Make sure you're using the correct governor for your specific needs. The ` performance` governor is ideal for aggressive overclocking, but may not be suitable for all applications.
* Be careful when setting the max frequency of the CPU. Setting it too high can cause overheating and damage to your system.
* Use a heat sink or other cooling solution to keep your Raspberry Pi 3 cool during overclocking.
* Keep in mind that overclocking can void your warranty.
Conclusion
Overclocking your Raspberry Pi 3 with Retro Pi is a fun and challenging project that can help you gain more speed and performance from your system. By following these steps and tips, you can successfully overclock your Raspberry Pi 3 and take your retro gaming experience to the next level.