Sony officially unlocks 333MHz (?!)

[Frances_Penfold]

This appears legit:
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/47564

Neogaf board commentary:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=165663&page=2

I imagine Pulse is in line to take advantage of this :hyper

Supposedly this only will affect new software that is intended to use 333MHz, as opposed to the custom firmware approach that can allow older games to use the additional power.

[lunar]

Nice links.... Pulse deserves it - let`s hope this happens! :beer

[Mad-Ice]

Thanks for the links! If this will happen it will be a good excuse to buy another PSP.

[RJ O'Connell]

:mr-t supports a faster-running Wipeout Pulse.

[Rapier Racer]

Sounds excellent, now I'm waiting for someone to come along and tell us this is nonsense. :(

[q_dmc12]

no, it has been confirmed

[yawnstretch]

Excellent. Just bought my gf a lovely new white psp and was annoyed that 333 would be unavailable.

Yay

[Rapier Racer]

Oh so my 3.50 loaded PSP is ready for 333 then? Sweet

[q_dmc12]

yes, however...only the games themselves can unlock/utilize the new feature - older games can not.:cold

Sorry but no 333 for pure.....unless of course its forced through oh say a custom 3.50 OE.

[Rapier Racer]

I was more interested in Pulse since it will become out main focus soon

[Frances_Penfold]

Here's more information tidbits about the 333Mhz thing. Looking like the real deal here.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3160595

[exarkann]

after updating, i think that pure and GitS:SAC run a little more smoothly.

[Dogg Thang]

Gits...sac?

[RJ O'Connell]

Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex. A TV spinoff of the first movie.

(here comes the resident anime geek to save the daaaaaaaaaaay!) XD

[Dogg Thang]

Ah! Thank you. I had no idea what that was.

[Frances_Penfold]

Quick aside here:

There's a lot of speculation that Sony will reveal an updated PSP model at next month's E3 conference. The feeling is that 333Mhz takes such a load on the PSP battery that Sony must have plans for a hardware revision in place for the arrival of games that actually are programmed for the 333Mhz speed.

Supposedly, games that aren't programmed to use the faster speeds shouldn't actually be affected by the updated firmware. (Not that I have tested this myself or anything :) )

[q_dmc12]

I heard it could be a new battery in dev.

[phl0w]

I really don't care about the battery life. PSP's battery life is actually quite good. At default processing speed it lasts ~6 hours. Running @333Mhz and screen brightness level 4 my PSP's battery lasts 4h17'
Honestly, that's more than enough. Who, I wonder, plays more than 4 hours with a handheld anyway?

Anyway, I'm looking forward to it, with or w/o new batteries. Have been playing Pure at full pelt for some time now and tried to switch back to 266 numerous times- I can't get comfortable with it again, the difference in gameplay is just too huge.

[The Gracer]

um...when i first got my PSP i charged it overnight then ran it completely flat the next day playing pure.

Does that make me a freak or something? :paperbag

[phl0w]

then ran it completely flat the next day playing pure.

At home, I presume? Which is perfectly normal, I guess ;) At home the low battery life doesn't count, because you are able to recharge it anytime- whilst playing.

I meant that I can't imagine someone empty the whole battery while playing on his way or in breaks or whatever.

[Hellfire_WZ]

Nah, I ran down TWO batteries in one day. I'm a sad bastard, I really am :D

[Rapier Racer]

OK so assuming no new battery is coming, read whats been said about how long the current battery would last, but no one has taken into consideration how much the PSPs wireless function guts the battery, I'm going to make a bet that if Pulse runs at 333 you won't get more than an hours worth of online play out an official PSP battery. I know there is a good chance you will be at home anyway when playing Pulse online but what about when you try to play ad-hoc at a mates house?

[G'Kyl]

I really don't care about the battery life. PSP's battery life is actually quite good. At default processing speed it lasts ~6 hours. Running @333Mhz and screen brightness level 4 my PSP's battery lasts 4h17'

PSP batteries are quite alright, plus standy mode apparently runs on very little juice. But THAT good? Are you sure you had it running for that long? Did you use UMDs or were you loading stuff from your memory stick?

Ben

[phl0w]

but what about when you try to play ad-hoc at a mates house?

Don't know about the others, but all my mates' houses have the luxury of electricity ^^


Are you sure you had it running for that long? Did you use UMDs or were you loading stuff from your memory stick?
Both, purE from stick, Virtua Tennis 3 from UMD. I had my screen brightness remembered wrong, though. It's on 3. On 4 it costs about another hour.
Another note: I turn off my display everytime longer loading times occur, like when starting a game, loading a tournament in VT3, ... and have the PSP muted pretty much anytime I navigate through menus or do other stuff than actually play.

[Rapier Racer]

Yes, but then you are telling me I need to remember to carry my power adapter with me? Cables? What happened to it being portable..

Also one adapter between 2 PSPs doesn't work so well that was tested on Kai lol

[phl0w]

Fine, it's no power plant, sure. But seeing a PSP's abilities as a handheld (this is quite important for my apologia ;) ), its battery performs very well. Also, my experience was based on spontaneous cumulated handheld gaming. You on the other hand described gaming behavior that's beyond simple portable pick up and play on the bus or where ever, but tells of something you planned. When I know I'm gonna play for hours with my mates I can be expected to bring some cables.

[Task]

I had my screen brightness remembered wrong, though. It's on 3. On 4 it costs about another hour.Yeah, my PSP only goes up to 4 when it's plugged in. You had it at "max" anyway, and that's the important point. 8 )

I have no idea how long my battery will last, it's never even gotten to the "low" stage. If I could find 4 consecutive hours for gaming where I couldn't plug in... well, I probably wouldn't be a dad. 8 D

[RJ O'Connell]

If I know I'm staying somewhere I just leave the thing plugged in my room, car, etc. So it shouldn't be a terrible issue for myself...

[Roz]

Fine, it's no power plant, sure. But seeing a PSP's abilities as a handheld (this is quite important for my apologia ;) ), its battery performs very well. Also, my experience was based on spontaneous cumulated handheld gaming. You on the other hand described gaming behavior that's beyond simple portable pick up and play on the bus or where ever, but tells of something you planned. When I know I'm gonna play for hours with my mates I can be expected to bring some cables.

I beg to differ kind sir! :pirate

Compared to other handhelds, it's not that great. I have a DS, and all GameBoy's and all of them are capable of lasting 10 hours straight. Of course, they don't have Wipeout, but that's not the point ;)

I love the PSP. It's sexy, it has good games (should have more...) and the screen blinds me with pleasure. But really, I hate it's battery life. I like carrying my handhelds anywhere I go, and I really can't do that anytime I want with the PSP. I turn it on just to find it only has 17 minutes of sexyness to give me. Nah. I need sexyness for MORE consecutive time.

Of course, I'm young (20), always on the move, living life at it's fullest! I'm not going to carry that big charger and cables around. It's just not healthy for my status quo.

Jokes aside, PSP = good. 5000mAh PSP = better. DS = even better :D :D :D

Cheers!

[Sausehuhn]

And then there's always the option to buy a 2nd battery :)

[Roz]

Which I've been considering for some time now. Didn't do so already because I live in a dream where Sony is going to release a truly powerful PSP battery and not just a 200mAh increase.

[infoxicated]

I don't really mind the battery life, but then I always seem to be near a power outlet. Either that or I don't exhaust the battery in the time I'm away from one.

Still, it'd be nice not to have to even think about it - charge it every few days and just forget about it. Unfortunately, I wouldn't want to sacrifice anything my PSP gives me for greater battery life.

I leave it on standby permanantly because it's set to download a bunch of podcasts at 7am every morning, and I play it every day, so for the demands I make of it I'm happy enough.

[Frances_Penfold]

And then there's always the option to buy a 2nd battery :)

So what happens when you swap out to a second battery? Do you have to reset the date and time?

I'd happily purchase a second battery but I'm wondering how much hassle is associated with actually using it...

[Hellfire_WZ]

The only problem with a second battery is that you lose anything saved in sleep mode when you swap them. I always make sure I save up when I see the low battery light before swapping over. No problem with the date/time though

[Roz]

Indeed. I just found out that one has to input the time and date when batteries switch. That's actually a good thing for me since I really never know what day it is. The PSP forces me to remember or at least it forces me to go check it.

Nice feature. Take that DS.

[Frances_Penfold]

Ok, now I'm confused ;)

You do need to reset the date and time when you swap batteries, or you do not?

Not that re-entering the date/time is that hard but I am curious about this.

[q_dmc12]

no(the message you have wrote is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 5 characters)

[Rapier Racer]

I can however confirm that you do need to reset it when your PSP falls out your pocket and bounces down the stairs.

[Roz]

no(the message you have wrote is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 5 characters)

Are you sure? I could swear I had to do it when I took my battery off. Will confirm this though. I could've been dreaming.

[Mad-Ice]

At RR: Oeps it bounced down the stairs!! And you only had to reset it and then it work again?! It's just like Fisher Price!!!

[Rapier Racer]

Yes it's a tough bit of kit is the PSP, everything fell out of it battery, memory stick, UMD but it is in good working order :D it better stay that way it was the green one that I need for Pulse :o

[G'Kyl]

On the issue of having to reset time and date: Early versions of games (legal preview data, mind you) tend to hang up rather often, so I had to do a full restart (take out battery, put it back in) a couple of times. I never had to reSET anything. The PSP remembers time and date.

Ben

[infoxicated]

It depends on how long you starve it of power, though - I know guys who have not charged their PSP for months and it does forget the time and date.

[Frances_Penfold]

^^
That's my experience as well-- on several occassions over the last couple years I have had to re-enter the date and time, even when the PSP has been sitting for just a few weeks.

The fact that this doesn't happen when the battery is popped out suggests that it matters what the PSP's status (sleep mode, in game, etc.) is when the juice goes out-- or else, there is some sort of residual charge that allows the PSP to remember date/time but that this charge doesn't last very long.

That's how some of the electronic water valves in our greenhouse work-- if you change the batteries, you have about 30 seconds to pop in a new set before the settings are forgotten.

[G'Kyl]

Hehe, a ten seconds countdown timer while changing batteries comes to mind, telling you when you'll lose your entire PSP settings - and another one of five seconds until all your saved games will be erased. ;-)

I never had my PSP turned off for more than a few days, so I didn't know about the loss of time and date, sorry.

Btw, Rob: Those guys you know - they HAD to be punished for that! ;)

Frances:
The fact that this doesn't happen when the battery is popped out suggests that it matters what the PSP's status (sleep mode, in game, etc.) is when the juice goes out-- or else, there is some sort of residual charge that allows the PSP to remember date/time but that this charge doesn't last very long.

I'm pretty sure the last is what matters. I changed batteries during various states of sleep/off/running modes.

Ben

[q_dmc12]

Are you sure? I could swear I had to do it when I took my battery off. Will confirm this though. I could've been dreaming.

removing the battery only flushes (deletes) the data stored in RAM, date and time is *AFAIK* stored in flash mem (registry?) with the OS (fw) which has its own internal power supply - most likely a lithium ion button cell or something to that nature.

...Have you ever had the feeling that you know too much - too much for your own good even:blarg

[Roz]

Yeah, you guys are right. Removing the battery doesn't reset the clocks. My PSP did spend allot of time without being recharged, it must be because of that. Thanks for clearing that up.

[RJ O'Connell]

...Have you ever had the feeling that you know too much - too much for your own good even:blarg
Yes. I remember when I was casually strolling through the CIA Classified Documents room without - ooh, what's that red dot doing on my forehead? :D

As long as Pulse won't take an age and a half to load if you download every game pack, that's my only real concern. I have the Gamma, Delta and Classic 2 packs, and once I boot the system I have to wait roughly two minutes until the Language Selection prompt appears - I honestly thought my PSP had locked up at times. X_X