Topic: Wii U got performance boost rumour - lets discuss!

As highlighted on NL frontpage there's a rumour floating around the web that the latest update for the Wii U bumped it's clockspeeds from
CPU 1,24 GHz to 3,24 GHz and
GPU 500 MHz to 800 MHz.

Lets discuss.

Here's my scoop on it: I think it is total fake. There might have been some slight boost (like maybe to 1,6 Ghz and 600 MHz) to help with the OS but besides that Im really doubtful. What's your experiences. Did game loading times improve, how much faster is the overall feel. Anyone of you could make a comparison in power-draw from your socket?

Im really curious about it.

Marcan (Wii U hacker) tested it before & it can only be overclocked slightly. If you overclock it twice the clock speed it will increase the power consumption & create a lot of heat. It will fry the CPU. It's also unbelievable to get that high as not in any of my past of recent computer memory that a CPU can get double the clock speed with a firmware upgrade much more any overclocking. There's no real truth to it in technical sense. It's just insane.

If they did increase the Wii U's preformance it would be so small that not many people would realize it.

Those kind of increases in speed are highly unrealistic.

I agree, overclockers will laugh at the huge leap. It's impossible. Take for example an Intel Core i7 2600K 3.4 Ghz PC CPU. You can overclocked it the most about 1.5 Ghz more but you also need massive fans (like Noctua) to cool it & it make such extreme noise. You can watercool it for stable overclock but you need a massive radiator probably a quad 120 mm think radiator to cool it. You can't increase the clock speed by just getting a firmware update.

Essentially the Wii U CPU gets fried on that insane clock speed with just a tiny heatsink & a 60 mm fan cooling it.

I agree to both of you, even though IF the CPU was UNDERCLOCKED lots and lots when they released the Wii U I am absolutely sure the figures given are unrealistic. As you sad, with no additional cooling and a significant rise in power consumption: impossible. Also: the confinements of the Wii U's outer shell isn't helping any heating issues...

Xbox 360 runs at 3.2GH. PS3 runs at 4.0GH. This isn't unbelievable. Even the other next gen consoles will supposedly run at 1.6GH or so. Most likely Sony and Microsoft will make sure their console is running full force right out of the gate which will get up to a higher clock rate.
These clock speeds are not always happening either. The devices only call for more clockspeed when they actually need it.
This is very possible, and if true, would mean that Wii U can run a last gen game at 1.24GH that took 3.2-4GH to run on last gen machines.

I think to make a final judgement on this matter we lack the needed information about the architecture of Wii U's cpu.

Go open up your Wii U and Xbox 360 to compare. Report back.
My guess is that you don't want to open your consoles to find out... There's already proof of Wii U's architecture. It basically spreads 1 command over 3 components vs. 1, like last gen consoles.
It's not surprising at all, IMO. We already knew they were fixing the OS, and if this is true, than apparently the operating state of the console gives reference to overall performance.
People were stupid to think Wii U was weak in the first place. Just goes to show people don't know s*** about electronics.

The jump from 1.24 GHZ to 3 GHZ is massive and the system would not be stable with the current cooling it has (I do not even think that the PowerPC 750 series are even designed to run at those clock speeds even if you had a liquid cooler connected to it), if the clock speed increased to 1.4 GHZ then I would say that might be possible but 3 GHZ is far too high. Also, someone above said that the PS3's Cell processor runs at 4 GHZ but I am pretty sure it runs at 3.2 GHZ.

I think this fits in here

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/11/why-you-cant-read-too-m...

This will haunt you.

For once @cheaptrick is right; if you can't understand his explanation that's your problem.

It's possible though. Xbox 360 runs at 3.2GH, and isn't as modern in architecture or components as Wii U is.
It just means that Wii U is a console still in development while being available to consumers.
PS3 and Xbox 360 got updates all throughout their lifetime. Xbox 360 went from 720p to 1080p almost instantly when PS3 came out.
It would be naive to think Wii U is at peak performance this soon.
Nintendo didn't even use both CPU cores in the 3DS, at first, so an improvement like this would make complete sense.
Go ahead and believe whatever you want, but the clock rate being almost doubled in the Wii U wouldn't be out of the question for other consoles out in the market.
AC3 runs at 3.2GH on Xbox 360.
AC3 runs at 1.24GH on Wii U.

3Ghz. Too farfetched. But, OCing the Wii U isn't impossible, considering how little heat it produces right now. Nintendo had done it with the 3DS, and Sony did it with the PSP.

Exactly. I wouldn't consider 3(.2)GH over clocked, though. That might be the Wii U's max clock rate without undesired results.
I mean we know Wii U won't be as powerful as the other next gen consoles, but it's considerably more powerful than last gen consoles, which makes it that much more believable.
If Wii U can run Tekken Tag Tourament 2, AC3, Ninja Gaiden 3, etc. ported games at 1.24GH when they are ran at over around 3GH max on Xbox 360 or PS3, that gives us more insight to how powerful Wii U is.

@People doubting it
Seriously, what do we have to gain by exaggerating in a discussion? It's totally possible. Xbox 360 and PS3 are already clocked out at this rate.

Dang it I wanted to say that!

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. I don't care whether I'm right or wrong. I'm just looking at other things for reference, but the whole "Wii U is weak", and in this case "impossible", it gets pretty old.
There's already other devices arguably weaker already running over 3GH.
Just wait and see, but I don't doubt this possibility at all.

If propaganda is your aim make it so, just not in this thread; it's the facts that matter in this discussion.

Personally, I refuse to read lines and lines of wishful thinking, when the limitations of overclocking are a known commodity.
(And have been reiterated earlier in this thread.)

I share this perspective:

With the caveats innumerated by @cheapskate

Yeah, this is crap. It's not like 3Ghz would be impossible with the sort of cooling the Wii U has or that the clock rate is somehow indicative of performance. That said releasing it at 1.24Ghz and overclocking it to 3Ghz doesn't make any sense.

The only way I can see it actually being "true" is if this was the menu speed. That for some reason they underclocked it during menus and it was running at something like 3Ghz during games anyways. That this update pushes the menu back up to the clock speed the Wii U usually runs at in games. Even if this is the case, which I doubt, it means nothing for game performance.

More likely random rumour site is full of crap... and for once @Cheaptrick is on the right side of skepticism

@Optimist_Prime
Everyone knows you can only clock a device so far before it doesn't work. It's not wishful thinking at all. If you're going to assume I'm wrong in a discussion I didn't bring up, consol the thread starter. This is all speculation, so I can say whatever I want. I never passed any of my speculation off as fact(if it sounded that way, then that is not my mistake)
I rarely make a thread, and merely discuss ones that are there.
Like I said, believe what you want. Wii U running 3GH wouldn't be a surprise based on other consoles performance that are substantially weaker.
How the heck did Xbox 360 and PS3 reach those clock speeds, then?
Fact: Xbox 360 and PS3 have been clocked at 3GH or higher.