What the Raspberry Pi 2 Overclocking Settings Mean
The Raspberry Pi 2 is much faster than its predecessors , but you can still overclock it for the best performance. Blogger Hayden James breaks down what each overclocking setting does and shares some configurations to improve performance.
In /boot/config.txt you’ll find all sorts of overclocking options as well as ways to tweak GPU memory allocation (which is useful if you’re using Kodi or RetroPie). Here’s a breakdown of each of the overclocking options:
- arm_freq – ARM frequency in MHz.
- core_freq – GPU processor core frequency in MHz. This affects ARM performance as it manages the L2 cache. Sdram_freq – SDRAM frequency in MHz.
- over_voltage – adjust the voltage of the ARM / GPU core. Values higher than 6 are allowed only if force_turbo or current_limit_override is specified (which sets the guarantee bit).
- force_turbo – Disables the dynamic cpufreq driver and minimum settings below. Will void the warranty.
- initial_turbo – Turns on turbo from boot time for a given value in seconds (up to 60) or until cpufreq sets the frequency. Default 0
- arm_freq_min is the minimum arm_freq value used for dynamic synchronization.
- core_freq_min is the minimum core_freq value used for dynamic synchronization.
- sdram_freq_min is the minimum sdram_freq value used for dynamic synchronization.
- temp_limit – Overheating protection. Sets the default clock speed and voltage when the SoC reaches this Celsius value. Setting this value higher than the default will void the warranty. Default 85
- disable_splash – If set to 1, the splash screen is not displayed on boot.
- boot_delay – Wait x seconds in start.elf before loading the kernel. Default 1
- gpu_mem – GPU memory in megabytes. Sets the memory sharing between ARM and GPU. ARM gets the remaining memory.
What you change depends on what you will be using your Raspberry Pi for. For example, if you are using Kodi or RetroPie, you should increase gpu_mem to 320 for better performance. Likewise, if you’re overclocking, you’ll probably want to turn up the voltage to ensure stability. James has a breakdown of the various scenarios and offers them on his blog.
Overclocking Raspberry Pi 2 | Hayden James