Motorola Xoom Overclocked: 1.5GHz Dual Core Honeycomb! [v2 2/28]

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coolbho3000

Retired Senior Recognized Developer
Dec 26, 2008
897
785
Please do not flash this on the WiFi only Xoom yet. An update will be coming. In the meantime, you can just recompile the source from my github and it should work on the WiFi only Xoom.

I have successfully brought the Tegra 2 in the Xoom to 1.5GHz. A few kernel modifications make the dual core chip in the Xoom even more powerful than the recently announced Tegra 2 3D! 1.5GHz through two Cortex A9 cores is truly a force to be reckoned with. :D

2/28: Applied L2 prefetching patch. This increases Linpack to about 63 MFLOPS @ 1.5GHz. Flash the kernel and push the wifi module again: http://www.setcpu.com/files/xoom_ocboot_v2.zip (thanks ccfries for the heads up!!!)

Instructions:
1. Make sure you've unlocked your Xoom's bootloader for flashing first, then root it.
2. Grab this zip and extract it. It includes a boot.img with the overclocked kernel and a corresponding wifi module: http://www.setcpu.com/files/xoom_ocboot_v2.zip. Thanks to Koush for the rooted ramdisk in this boot.img!
3. Reboot into the bootloader by running:
adb reboot bootloader
4. Flash the boot image to your boot partition, then boot back into Android by running:
fastboot flash boot xoom_ocboot.img
fastboot reboot
5. Push the bcm4329.ko to your /system/lib/modules folder and reboot to re-enable wifi:
adb remount
adb push bcm4329.ko /system/lib/modules/bcm4329.ko
adb reboot


The usual disclaimers apply here. Only do this if you know what you're doing. Though the long term stability/reliability of similar overclocks on other Android based ARM devices is known, this software is provided with no warranty, and I can't be held responsible if you fry your Xoom or anything.

The kernel defaults to 1GHz max for safety, and also includes 1.2GHz and 1.4GHz steps in addition to the 1.504GHz step. I've also updated SetCPU to support the Xoom, so grab that (I know the interface currently looks bad on the Xoom; a tablet optimized interface is coming soon!). SetCPU versions prior to 2.1.1 will not work for setting speeds on the Xoom.

Source code: Based on Google's android-tegra-2.6.36-honeycomb with some overclock specific modifications by me.

Video:

Screenshots:
7IaG1.png


I get ~47 MFLOPS in Linpack for Android, 35 MFLOPS stock. Linpack seems to hit a wall somewhere and isn't really accurate for the Xoom:
rC9IX.png


I get ~355ms in SetCPU's native bench (C only, the Tegra 2 sadly doesn't support NEON), ~534ms stock. This scaled almost precisely with clock speed, but the native bench isn't multithreaded:
3ES62.png


3105 in Quadrant at 1.5GHz, compared to 2226 stock (though Quadrant tests more than just the CPU):
9P6MU.png


Keep in mind that the benchmarks I tested often aren't multithreaded enough to show a large difference between the Xoom's Tegra 2 and a similarly clocked single core Cortex A8. Some operations benefit more from the Cortex A9's improved architecture and/or the two cores more than others.

Enjoy your even faster Xoom!
 
Last edited:

yosi199

Senior Member
Nov 22, 2009
113
1
Niiiiiceeee work! How about stabilty? is it stable at that speed? good for everyday work?
 

Exador

Senior Member
Jul 23, 2010
160
12
Holy sheep ****! A 50% overclock is very impressive. Nice job, here's to hoping overclocking eventually makes it's way to the Atrix.
 

bishop72

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2010
103
0
I get to step 5:

5. Push the bcm4329.ko to your /system/lib/modules folder and reboot to re-enable wifi:
adb remount
adb push bcm4329.ko /system/lib/modules/bcm4329.ko
adb reboot

and get error: device not found. isn't bcm4329.ko suppose to be in tools folder?
 

coolbho3000

Retired Senior Recognized Developer
Dec 26, 2008
897
785
I get to step 5:

5. Push the bcm4329.ko to your /system/lib/modules folder and reboot to re-enable wifi:
adb remount
adb push bcm4329.ko /system/lib/modules/bcm4329.ko
adb reboot

and get error: device not found. isn't bcm4329.ko suppose to be in tools folder?
ADB doesn't seem to be able to find your Xoom. Sometimes you can just unplug it and plug it back in and run adb kill-server to get it to detect again, and/or re-enable USB debugging.

As for stability, I did not have crashes at 1.5GHz on my Xoom.
 
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bishop72

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2010
103
0
ok did that now when I try to push the file it says there is no such file or directory

adb push bcm4329.ko /system/lib/modules/bcm4329.ko

I looked and I do not have a modules folder. Is there suppose to be one in the android/tools/lib folder on my pc?
 

Elysian893

Senior Member
Jan 27, 2010
539
92
ok did that now when I try to push the file it says there is no such file or directory

adb push bcm4329.ko /system/lib/modules/bcm4329.ko

I looked and I do not have a modules folder. Is there suppose to be one in the android/tools/lib folder on my pc?

You need the bcm4329.ko to be in the same directory as adb, Program Files (x86)/Android/android-sdk/platform-tools/

The modules folder is a folder on the actual Xoom itself, it's just where you're copying the file to, and it most certainly should have one.
 

bishop72

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2010
103
0
ok finally got it to work! no when I look in setcpu the max is 1504 and min is 216 but the numbers up top (big, bold and in white) keeps changing. From 312 Mhz, 216Mhz, 1504Mhz and so on. Is that suppose to happen? I thought the number was suppose to stay the same. And is the set on boot suppose to be checkmarked?

thanks for all your help
 

Elysian893

Senior Member
Jan 27, 2010
539
92
ok finally got it to work! no when I look in setcpu the max is 1504 and min is 216 but the numbers up top (big, bold and in white) keeps changing. From 312 Mhz, 216Mhz, 1504Mhz and so on. Is that suppose to happen? I thought the number was suppose to stay the same. And is the set on boot suppose to be checkmarked?

thanks for all your help

What CPU Governor are you using? I use On Demand, it's going to scale if it doesn't need all that horsepower... I always set it on boot myself, I actually found after first boot it was defaulted to 1504mhz instead of 1ghz... I set up profiles for good power saving.

p.s. I'm still using SetCPU 1.4.4 from a LONG time ago when I originally got it on my Droid, works perfectly on the Xoom.
 
Last edited:

coolbho3000

Retired Senior Recognized Developer
Dec 26, 2008
897
785
ok finally got it to work! no when I look in setcpu the max is 1504 and min is 216 but the numbers up top (big, bold and in white) keeps changing. From 312 Mhz, 216Mhz, 1504Mhz and so on. Is that suppose to happen? I thought the number was suppose to stay the same. And is the set on boot suppose to be checkmarked?

thanks for all your help

Yes. Change the scaling to performance if you want to see it at the highest value all the time, but leave it at interactive for battery life, because it will only scale up based on need.
 

Flaunt77

Senior Member
Jan 31, 2011
71
3
how does this affect video play back speed? Likely software mode rather than hardware mode.
 

tassadar898

Senior Member
Nov 25, 2008
356
22
a visitor from the atrix forum! i was just wondering anyone with this kernel if they could test HQ flash performance over at gomtv.net for SC2 GSL games. I know super nerdy but I watch these often and on the atrix at qHD there is some noticeable stuttering (about ~20fps) i estimate where a overclock to tip that over to around~25fps would be really helpful. does the OC help alot from stock with flash performance?
 

Elysian893

Senior Member
Jan 27, 2010
539
92
a visitor from the atrix forum! i was just wondering anyone with this kernel if they could test HQ flash performance over at gomtv.net for SC2 GSL games. I know super nerdy but I watch these often and on the atrix at qHD there is some noticeable stuttering (about ~20fps) i estimate where a overclock to tip that over to around~25fps would be really helpful. does the OC help alot from stock with flash performance?

There is no Flash on the Xoom, not until Adobe gets off their ass and pushes out 10.2...
 

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  • 22
    Please do not flash this on the WiFi only Xoom yet. An update will be coming. In the meantime, you can just recompile the source from my github and it should work on the WiFi only Xoom.

    I have successfully brought the Tegra 2 in the Xoom to 1.5GHz. A few kernel modifications make the dual core chip in the Xoom even more powerful than the recently announced Tegra 2 3D! 1.5GHz through two Cortex A9 cores is truly a force to be reckoned with. :D

    2/28: Applied L2 prefetching patch. This increases Linpack to about 63 MFLOPS @ 1.5GHz. Flash the kernel and push the wifi module again: http://www.setcpu.com/files/xoom_ocboot_v2.zip (thanks ccfries for the heads up!!!)

    Instructions:
    1. Make sure you've unlocked your Xoom's bootloader for flashing first, then root it.
    2. Grab this zip and extract it. It includes a boot.img with the overclocked kernel and a corresponding wifi module: http://www.setcpu.com/files/xoom_ocboot_v2.zip. Thanks to Koush for the rooted ramdisk in this boot.img!
    3. Reboot into the bootloader by running:
    adb reboot bootloader
    4. Flash the boot image to your boot partition, then boot back into Android by running:
    fastboot flash boot xoom_ocboot.img
    fastboot reboot
    5. Push the bcm4329.ko to your /system/lib/modules folder and reboot to re-enable wifi:
    adb remount
    adb push bcm4329.ko /system/lib/modules/bcm4329.ko
    adb reboot


    The usual disclaimers apply here. Only do this if you know what you're doing. Though the long term stability/reliability of similar overclocks on other Android based ARM devices is known, this software is provided with no warranty, and I can't be held responsible if you fry your Xoom or anything.

    The kernel defaults to 1GHz max for safety, and also includes 1.2GHz and 1.4GHz steps in addition to the 1.504GHz step. I've also updated SetCPU to support the Xoom, so grab that (I know the interface currently looks bad on the Xoom; a tablet optimized interface is coming soon!). SetCPU versions prior to 2.1.1 will not work for setting speeds on the Xoom.

    Source code: Based on Google's android-tegra-2.6.36-honeycomb with some overclock specific modifications by me.

    Video:

    Screenshots:
    7IaG1.png


    I get ~47 MFLOPS in Linpack for Android, 35 MFLOPS stock. Linpack seems to hit a wall somewhere and isn't really accurate for the Xoom:
    rC9IX.png


    I get ~355ms in SetCPU's native bench (C only, the Tegra 2 sadly doesn't support NEON), ~534ms stock. This scaled almost precisely with clock speed, but the native bench isn't multithreaded:
    3ES62.png


    3105 in Quadrant at 1.5GHz, compared to 2226 stock (though Quadrant tests more than just the CPU):
    9P6MU.png


    Keep in mind that the benchmarks I tested often aren't multithreaded enough to show a large difference between the Xoom's Tegra 2 and a similarly clocked single core Cortex A8. Some operations benefit more from the Cortex A9's improved architecture and/or the two cores more than others.

    Enjoy your even faster Xoom!
    1
    1
    I get to step 5:

    5. Push the bcm4329.ko to your /system/lib/modules folder and reboot to re-enable wifi:
    adb remount
    adb push bcm4329.ko /system/lib/modules/bcm4329.ko
    adb reboot

    and get error: device not found. isn't bcm4329.ko suppose to be in tools folder?
    ADB doesn't seem to be able to find your Xoom. Sometimes you can just unplug it and plug it back in and run adb kill-server to get it to detect again, and/or re-enable USB debugging.

    As for stability, I did not have crashes at 1.5GHz on my Xoom.
    1
    Could someone run webkits sunspider javascript benchmark @ 1.5GHz. Wonder if it can beat my Atom powered netbook? (~1400) :)

    Running stock 1000ghz
    on demand scaling

    http://www.webkit.org/perf/sunspide...date-input":[73,74,73,164,73,84,74,73,81,74]}

    Running OC@1.5
    Performance
    http://www.webkit.org/perf/sunspide...idate-input":[81,78,78,78,79,78,78,77,78,77]}


    Glad to assist....
    1
    As far as your Galaxy S benchmarks, how does it fare in Linpack? My Xoom is right at 66MFLOPS. Linpack tests pure computational power, your Fascinate won't compare.

    Not exactly. Linpack tests only floating point operations for the java compiler and these resalts vary greatly depending on software like JIT. If you want to compare two devices for raw processing power at the core without having any software factor in run Nbench on both and compare those numbers. It takes 10 minutes to run but it will give a much more fair comparison as to the raw procoessing power of the two devices. Of course the tagra 2 will blow the hummingbird to little sad peices even on one core, untill we get a decent multi-core capable benchmark then.... Even more sad littler pieces.

    Sent from my SPH-P100 using XDA App