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

Alan Cecil, a seasoned security consultant and the mind behind TASBot, has made an intriguing discovery about the Super Nintendo consoles. It turns out, thanks to one of its chips, these classic systems are ticking a tad faster as they age. As highlighted in a 404 Media report, the heart of the speed boost lies in the console’s Sony SPC700 APU, a unit dedicated to audio processing. Originally, this chip was set to operate at a frequency of 32,000 Hz. Yet, back in 2007, sharp-eyed SNES emulator developers realized the chips were actually running at a slightly zippier 32,040 Hz, prompting them to adjust their emulators to keep the games running smoothly.

The SPC700 coprocessor relies on a ceramic resonator calibrated at 24,576 Hz to determine its frequency. However, this component is quite sensitive, and changes in temperature or other environmental factors can influence its performance.

In a fascinating move earlier this year, Cecil reached out to the gaming community, posting on Bluesky through the TASBot account, seeking data from avid SNES users. The preliminary feedback painted a clear picture: as SNES consoles age, their SPC700 chip seemingly picks up speed. The highest recorded frequency so far is 32,182 Hz. While this boost is less than a 1% increase from the original setting, even such a minimal shift can impact in-game audio and glitch up certain titles.

### The Challenges for Speedrunners with SPC700’s Frequency Spike

Now, you might think since the SPC700 is all about audio, it wouldn’t meddle with gameplay—especially with the sound turned off. However, for speedrunners and those building bots with laser-focused timing, this slight speed gain could indeed be significant. Here’s why: when a player wraps up a stage and the screen momentarily fades to black, the console gets busy loading all the necessary data for the next level, audio included. If the APU delivers this data just a smidgen faster than anticipated, the result is reduced loading times.

For most gamers, this would seem like a bonus; who doesn’t love a quick load? But for the speed-running community, it could throw a wrench into the works, causing records and meticulously tuned bots to wobble. Thankfully, this uptick in performance doesn’t really impact human speedrunners.

“We’re still unsure how much this change might affect longer speedruns,” remarks Cecil. “However, we do know it has at least some impact on the data transfer speed between the CPU and the APU.”

TASBot’s precision playthroughs could feel the brunt, given the meticulous timing required, measured in milliseconds. Determined to get to the bottom of this, Cecil continues to collect data to understand how time impacts the console. As these vintage components—and countless others—naturally evolve, understanding these changes is crucial. It will aid in effectively emulating them, ensuring that the cherished classic games from our youth remain playable for future generations.