Overclock for G1\Dream & MT3G\Sapphire now available

After the overclocking rumor that was spread a few months ago, I was quite hesitant when I saw another overclocking patch for the Dream\Sapphire. However, being the techie that I am, I couldn’t resist taking a closer look. After a few days of testing on Cyanogen’s recently released 5.0.7-DS (Eclair) builds, I am thrilled to report that it not only works, but it works REALLY well.

A little bit of background on the CPU inside the Dream\Sapphire: It’s a Qualcomm MSM 7201A processor clocked at 528mhz (only if you are rooted, stock T-Mobile builds run at 384mhz to save battery). The previous overclocking rumor stated that the CPU was running at approximately 780mhz, which equates to an almost 47% overclock over the stock speed. If you ignore the fact that the rumor ended up being untrue, a 47% overclock on a mobile CPU would not only destroy our battery life, but also significantly increase the heat output, possibly even to the point of permanent damage.

This new kernel patch, by pershoot, allows you to clock the CPU manually using SetCPU 1.5.2. In essence, we can now dynamically overclock our CPU up to 576mhz (when needed). Many users have attempted to go as high as 600+mhz, however it is not advisable to go above 576mhz due to the possibility of a significant decrease in battery life, increase in heat, and possibility of permanent damage to the chip. That being said, I have been running at 576mhz) for several days without issues, and I notice a nice increase in responsiveness and speed in Cyanogen’s newly released test2\test3 eclair build for the Dream\Sapphire.

WARNING: This mod\hack is forcing your phone’s CPU to run faster than originally intended. Neither myself nor AndroidSPIN are responsible for any issues arising from using this modification (Bricked phones, fires, death, etc). Please read the instructions carefully.

The latest kernel update.zip is available below or on Pershoot’s website as well as instructions for installing and setting up SetCPU 1.5.2. Its quite easy and shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to get everything up and running.

EDIT: Images updated for test3, correction made – Fender MT3G & MT3G 1.2 are not supported

EDIT2 : Updated links again, newer version that includes the hotfix by Cyanogen and Zinx

Huge thanks to Daproy, Dumfuq, coolbho3000 and Pershoot from the XDA forums for getting this working.

Instructions:

- Flash the .zip through recovery (make sure you choose the correct version)
- Install SetCPU 1.52 (by coolbho) – Download Link
- Change the following in SetCPU. Min: 128, Max: 576, onboot, ondemand

Do not enable or setup Advanced

Optional: You can setup profiles, but if you receive lag, please be sure that your device is not stuck on a low frequency due to one of the profiles you have set and or due to cpufreq and SetCPU ‘oddness’.

Download the Kernel for your device below: (UPDATED 5/9/2010 )

Overclocked Kernel for 32B: HTC Dream or the Original HTC Sapphire.

- Download: boot-cm_2633.3_ds_32b-oc-uv-fp-050910.zip

Overclocked Kernel for 32A:

- Download: boot-cm_2633.3_ds_32b-oc-uv-xtra-fp-050910.zip

Information can also be found in the XDA Forums.

About the Author

Jason Bowdach

Jason is a technology and media enthusiast. He loves the Android OS, although his interests go far beyond the cell phone platform. He enjoys keeping himself up-to-date on the film and cinematography industry, as well as the ever-changing world of personal computers and gaming. He studied Communications - Media Studies and Organizational Psychology at San Diego State University, and is pursuing a career within the broadcast media industry. In his free time, besides playing with the never-ending supply of custom Android builds or theming, he enjoys caring for his 60-gallon aquarium, training his white-golden retriever puppy, catching up on quality films and TV shows, and playing the occasional video game.