Although HP's new iPAQ H1910 model comes with a processor speed factory setting of 200 MHz, its processor can in fact run at a full 300 MHz - and now there's a tool to handle it.
Despite recent debate as to whether the increased speed of Intel's new XScale processors versus the older, StrongARM-based SA-1110 really does make a difference for most users, there is now a tool to speed up the HP's new iPAQ H1910. Through making use of built-in speed stepping features, the application lets owners of the H1910 run their handhelds at the same speeds as Dell's Axim X5 Entry and ViewSonic's V35.
 | HP's iPAQ H1910 can be overclocked to run at 300 MHz
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The iPAQ H1910 is, as delivered from the factory, set by Hewlett-Packard to operate at a processor speed setting of 200 MHz. Its processor is however able to operate at speeds from 100 to 300 MHz, as part of the built-in speed stepping features of XScale processor. Why HP decided not to include tools to allow H1910 owners to scale their handhelds to run at 300 MHz is unknown, although a likely answer could be that not all components of the H1910 are capable of supporting the processor when running at more than 200 MHz.
Deciding to address the issue, Seattle-based Revolutionary Software Front (RSF) has come up with an application called ClearSpeed for the iPAQ H1910. By allowing users of the iPAQ H1910 to scale their processor speed up to 300 MHz, the company found that it could increase the handheld's general performance, experiencing only a 7% drop in battery life.
The Clear Speed application achieves the increase in speed through editing control registers relating to the CPU core speed, causing the processor's power consumption to increase to 1.1 v, or 10%. Despite generating noticeable performance improvements, however, it is still unknown whether running the processor at 300 MHz over a prolonged period of time would have a negative impact on the processor or any of the H1910's other internal components - a suspicion based purely on HP's omission of a speed scaling tool of its own making.
Meanwhile, RSF said it had conducted extensive testing of the H1910 by running the processor of the device at greater speeds than what Clear Speed offers for a long period of time, stressing the device with extensive loads on the processor and other components such as the display and audio, and discovered no problems as a result of the process.
Other recent low-end Pocket PCs, such as the Dell Axim X5 Entry and Viewsonic V35, offer users the option to scale the speed of their processors with tools pre-installed by the manufacturers.
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