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

Alan Cecil, a security consultant and the brain behind TASBot, an automated speedrun robot, has stumbled upon a fascinating development in the world of Super Nintendo consoles. It turns out that one of the chips inside these classic machines has started to speed up over time. According to 404 Media, this charming piece of retro gaming nostalgia runs on a Sony SPC700 APU, which initially had an audio processing rate set at 32,000 Hz. Back in 2007, emulator programmers detected that these chips were actually operating a tad faster at 32,040 Hz, a discovery that necessitated a tweak to prevent any game disruptions.

The SPC700 chip functions through a delicate ceramic resonator, playing its tune at 24,576 Hz. However, this finicky piece of technology is susceptible to changes in heat and other environmental elements, potentially altering its performance.

In late February, Cecil took to Bluesky, via his TASBot account, to air his theory and call for SNES users to chip in with their data. The findings so far suggest an intriguing trend: as these consoles age, the SPC700 chip’s pace seems to pick up. The top frequency recorded has hit 32,182 Hz, which is just under 1% faster than the original 32,000 Hz. While this might seem minor, it has the potential to tweak in-game audio and disrupt some older titles.

### Potential Speedrun Challenges with the Faster SPC700

Now, you might think that a faster SPC700 chip wouldn’t impact gameplay since it only handles audio — turn down the volume, and problem solved, right? Well, not quite. If you’re a speedrunner or crafting a bot requiring pinpoint timing, this extra speed could be significant. The reason? When the screen fades to black between stages, the console hustles to load the needed data for the next level, audio included. Should the APU relay this data to the CPU quicker than anticipated, it could trim down loading times.

While this might sound like candy to the casual gamer, it could cause chaos for speedrun records and precision-dependent speedrun bots. The silver lining is that this slight boost doesn’t really mess with human speedrunners.

Cecil comments, “We don’t yet know how much of an impact it will have on a long speedrun. We only know it has at least some impact on how quickly data can be transferred between the CPU and the APU.”

As for TASBot’s meticulous playthroughs, they could face challenges since every move needs to be clock-perfect. However, Cecil is on the case, gathering more data to understand how the console’s aging process plays into all of this. Unlocking these secrets will not only aid in emulating these consoles in the future but also help preserve the legacy of the classic games many grew up cherishing.