Aging SNES Consoles May Experience Up to a 182 Hz Boost in APU Frequency Over 35 Years

Alan Cecil, renowned as a security consultant and administrator for the TASBot (the Tool-Assisted Speedrun robot), has uncovered an intriguing detail about the classic Super Nintendo consoles: they’re running a tad faster because of one of their internal chips. Reports from 404 Media shine a light on this subtle acceleration, pinpointing the Sony SPC700 APU (audio processing unit) as the culprit. The original processing rate for this chip was 32,000 Hz, but a discovery made in 2007 by SNES emulator developers showed the chip actually performed a bit faster at 32,040 Hz. This adjustment was essential to prevent certain games from malfunctioning.

The increase in speed can be traced back to the SPC700’s reliance on a ceramic resonator operating at a frequency of 24,576 Hz. Notably, this electronic component is sensitive to changes in temperature and environment, which can alter its performance over time.

Back in February, Cecil put out a call on Bluesky through the TASBot account, seeking data contributions from SNES users to support his hypothesis. Early findings indicate a trend where aging SNES consoles show a gradual speed increase in the SPC700 chip. The current highest recorded frequency submitted is 32,182 Hz, a modest rise of less than 1% from the initial 32,000 Hz, yet potentially significant enough to affect game audio quality and gameplay in some titles.

Why Speedrunners Could Care About This Frequency Shift on the SPC700

For the average player, the SPC700’s slight uptick in processing speed might go unnoticed, especially if the game’s sound is muted. Yet, for those in the speedrunning community or anyone programming a bot that depends on precise timing, this shift could pose a challenge. The quicker frequency means data needed for the next stage might be loaded faster during the screen transition at the end of a level. This could alter the game’s timing, a crucial factor for speedruns.

While this phenomenon could inadvertently benefit casual players by speeding things up a bit, speedrunning records and speed-running bots could face disruptions. Cecil, however, assures that human speedrunners won’t feel this shift significantly.

“We’re still gauging the overall impact on extensive speedrunning sessions,” Cecil explained. “What’s evident is that it can slightly accelerate the transfer of data from the CPU to the APU.”

TASBot’s precision plays, on the other hand, might experience some disturbances since each move must sync down to the millisecond. Cecil continues to compile more data to grasp how aging impacts the console. This research is crucial, not only for preserving the integrity of these retro systems as their components deteriorate but also for ensuring we can faithfully emulate and sustain the cherished games of our youth in the digital future.