Aging SNES Consoles Show Increased Speed: APU Frequency Rises by 182 Hz Over 35 Years

Security consultant and TASBot administrator Alan Cecil has unearthed a surprising development involving the Super Nintendo consoles — they’ve been running slightly faster due to one of their chips. A report from 404 Media highlights that a critical aspect of the classic gaming system’s inner workings revolves around the Sony SPC700 APU, or audio processing unit, which typically operates at a digital signal processing rate of 32,000 Hz. Back in 2007, however, SNES emulator enthusiasts realized that these console chips seemed to operate a bit quicker, clocking in at about 32,040 Hz. Adjustments had to be made to keep some games from malfunctioning due to this variance.

The SPC700 coprocessor relies on a ceramic resonator functioning at 24,576 Hz to stabilize its frequency, yet this delicate part can be swayed by changes in temperature and external factors.

In February, Cecil took to Bluesky via the TASBot account to propose his theory and crowdsource data from SNES users. Early findings suggest that as SNES consoles age, the SPC700 chip has been nudging up in speed. The highest recorded frequency reported by users is 32,182 Hz. This might seem like a minor increase — less than 1% from the original 32,000 Hz — but it can potentially tweak in-game audio and interfere with some titles.

Potential Impact on Speedrunning

Now, while the SPC700 is solely tasked with managing audio data for the SNES, its increased frequency doesn’t directly alter gameplay — unless you’re a speedrunner or a bot creator where precise timing is crucial. This bump in speed could shorten load times after level transitions, owing to the faster data handoff to the CPU if the audio unit is processing swifter than expected.

For the average gamer, this might sound beneficial, but it could spell trouble for those aiming to set speed records or for bots designed to execute timed commands flawlessly. Thankfully, human players won’t see much effect from this modest speed gain.

Alan Cecil has commented, “We haven’t fully gauged the extent of this effect on lengthy speedruns yet, but we do see it impacting the timing of data transfers between the CPU and APU.”

For TASBot, precision is key, so any deviation down to the millisecond could disrupt its meticulously timed plays. Cecil remains committed to collecting more data to track how time influences these consoles. Understanding how aging affects these components could be crucial for emulating and preserving the beloved classic games of our youth.