Overclocking Temperatures and Power Questions

[Haiderali360]

Hi there! I'm working on a portable emulation console based on Pi. I'm using the RetroPie 2.3 Image running off an SD Card. I just have some questions!

1. I tried testing A Link To The Past on the Pi, and it was running at a very slow rate. I've heard that running a High Overclock (950 Mhz) should get most games running at a good speed, but SA-1 and Super FX won't work. If I were to use a 3.7V Li-Pol Battery, and use a voltage booster (PowerBoost500C from Adafruit), would I be able to provide enough power to use a High Overclock?

2. Would I require a heatsink/fan for this level of OC when it is in a 3D printed case?

3. I also heard that it isn't safe to OC when your OS in on a SD card, as it can ruin the Card. Is this true? I am using a Lexar Platinum II 16GB SDHC card. Im not sure it matters but it also says 60x.

Thanks for taking the time to answer!

[pluggy]

The difference in power consumption between underclocked in the extreme and overclocked in the extreme is negligable. Which is pretty much the reason you'll never need heatsinks on the Pi, whatever you do with it. The Pi has a pitiful processor whose pretty much only saving grace is how little power it consumes. The processor forms about 5% of the die area of the SOC in the Pi. the GPU is much more signicant but most software doesn't involve the GPU at all. How much you can overclock a Pi depends on the indivdual Pi more than anything. They'll all stand 800 mHz, most will do 900, many will go higher, an exceptional one will go above 1000. But don't expect too much when you have overclocked it, it will improve it, but it doesn't transform it from a slug to a gazelle.

You're always going to have at least part of the OS on the SD card, I doubt it will make any difference.

[Haiderali360]

Thanks Pluggy! I'll try an OC after a few vanilla tests on RetroPie!