While delving into the enduring legacy of the Super Nintendo, security consultant and TASBot administrator, Alan Cecil, made a fascinating discovery: Super Nintendo consoles are running a tad faster than they used to, thanks to one of their chips. A report from 404 Media highlights that this classic gaming console employs a Sony SPC700 APU, which boasted a digital signal processing (DSP) rate originally clocked at 32,000 Hz. Yet, as far back as 2007, SNES emulator developers noticed these chips were actually humming at a slightly brisker 32,040 Hz, necessitating an adjustment to that specific frequency to avoid game disruptions.
The role of the SPC700 coprocessor is crucial, as it anchors its frequency to a ceramic resonator operating at 24,576 Hz. The catch? This key component is quite delicate, and changes in temperature or other environmental shifts can alter its performance.
Fast forward to this year, in late February, Cecil took to Bluesky using the TASBot handle, to share his intriguing theory and seek contributions from SNES enthusiasts. Initial data collected presents a curious trend: as SNES units age, the SPC700 chip appears to pick up the pace. The highest frequency reported so far hits 32,182 Hz. Although this uptick is under 1% from the initial 32,000 Hz, it holds the potential to tweak in-game sound and disrupt certain games.
### The SPC700’s Growing Frequency: A Potential Speed Bump for Speedrunners
The SPC700’s primary function is to handle audio, meaning, in theory, your normal gameplay should remain unaffected, especially if you’re gaming in silence. But for the speedrunning community and those creating bots that thrive on precise timing, this increased processing speed presents an interesting challenge. Picture this: as the screen fades to black after a stage, the console hastily prepares the data for the next level — audio included. If the APU can zip that data to the CPU quicker than anticipated, the loading times shrink.
While this might spell minor convenience for casual players, it poses a conundrum for speed-running records and the bots relied upon to achieve them. Luckily, the marginal boost in SPC700 performance doesn’t interfere with human speedrunners’ tactics.
Cecil weighs in on the matter, mentioning, “The exact influence on longer speedruns remains uncertain. What we’ve identified so far shows some impact on the data flow rate between the CPU and APU.”
Meanwhile, TASBot’s meticulous operations might feel the strain, given its need for split-second accuracy. Cecil, still in data-gathering mode, continues to explore how aging affects these beloved consoles. Understanding these quirks in technology offers invaluable insights, ensuring we can emulate and preserve the iconic games that marked our youth.
