Sony Confirms Full PSP CPU Speed (Updated)

A Sony Computer Entertainment representative has confirmed to Shacknews that developers can now take full advantage of the PSP's CPU following the late May release of the system's version 3.50 firmware.

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Update: The availability of the PSP's full CPU speed only affects in-development titles, a SCE representative has told Shacknews. Previously released PSP games continue to operate at the speed they were originally programmed for, and do not see any sort of change in performance or battery life.

Original story: A Sony Computer Entertainment representative has confirmed to Shacknews that developers can now take full advantage of the PSP's CPU following the late May release of the system's version 3.50 firmware. Rumors of the unlocking were initially reported by fansite PSP Updates via an unnamed source.

Previously, developers were only able to run the CPU at 266MHz rather than its full potential clock speed of 333MHz, though most games ran at only 222MHz. High Impact Games' Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, released in February, is said to run at 266MHz. Hackers long ago discovered methods to run the PSP's CPU at full speed, the benefits of which include a smoother framerate for certain games, at the cost of reduced battery life. There is no word yet if this update enables previous PSP releases to run at 333MHz, something hacked PSP firmware has enabled in the past.

It is widely believed that the PSP CPU was underclocked to increase the portable's battery life. Some speculate that the availability of the portable's full CPU speed affirms recent rumors of an upcoming redesign, which supposedly includes a brighter screen, a slimmer profile, and increased battery life. Such a system would be better equipped to deal with the greater power demands of the unthrottled CPU.

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
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    June 22, 2007 10:09 AM

    It seems silly to me for Sony to throttle it's potential, especially given how underwhelming it has been compared to DS.

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      June 22, 2007 10:11 AM

      I still think it's a good platform, developers have just been lazy.

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      June 22, 2007 10:12 AM

      I'd buy it if it was $99.

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      June 22, 2007 10:14 AM

      Power hasn't really been its problem relative to the DS.

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      June 22, 2007 10:33 AM

      It makes sense though as battery life, one of the most important things with anything portable, is already bad to begin with.

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      June 22, 2007 10:40 AM

      The first reports about it said it had about a 2 hour battery life with the max clock speed. They throttled it for a good reason, not becoming another sega nomad.

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      June 22, 2007 10:58 AM

      LOL! Underwhelming in your opinion. My PSP gets all my playtime compared to my DS. I'm pretty disappointed in my DS to be honest.

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        June 22, 2007 11:07 AM

        I think I play them both about equally, but the PSP games hold my attention span a little bit longer then the DS titles, which kind of equals out with the slightly less amount of games.

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        June 22, 2007 12:23 PM

        To be fair, it's been underwhelming in sales as well compared to the DS.

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      June 22, 2007 11:23 AM

      PSP was definitely a better handheld than the Nintendo DS could ever be especially in terms of games IMO. Power wasn't even a factor.

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