Overclocking AC68U? Lost Cause?

[Dezzo]

Hi everyone,

What is the current status on overclocking the AC68U? Is it a lost cause now?

I've read discussions on the subject and it appears there was a working method involving scripts (which I didn't understand) but a followup said it was no longer working.

Is there an optimal bootloader/firmware for this router if you want to overclock?
I know flashing the bootloader is more dangerous than flashing firmware, so I've never attempted, but I've read that this can impact ability to overclock due to ASUS interference in newer versions.

I'm using an older Merlin firmware so I can change the "clkfreq" manually in the putty app and it appears to stick as long as I don't reboot, but I've also read that just because it shows a certain clockspeed doesn't mean that it's actually running at that clockspeed... so I don't really know if it's overclocked or not in the end.

I would prefer to have it running at about 1100mhz instead of the default 800mhz... especially since it's been proven the hardware can certainly handle it.

My router:
AC68U (A2)
Bootloader (CFE) 1.0.2.0
Merlin 380.58

 

[joegreat]

Hi everyone,

What is the current status on overclocking the AC68U? Is it a lost cause now?

I've read discussions on the subject and it appears there was a working method involving scripts (which I didn't understand) but a followup said it was no longer working.

It works like a charm - if you UNDERSTAND the scripting!

 

[Dezzo]

Your response was clearly not intended to be helpful.

 

[Chrysalis]

this is the first time I have heard of having to use scripts, on my ac68 its just a one off nvram command which sticks on reboot.

The increased temperature as well as higher performance numbers are the two giveaways that it is actually working.

I forgot the relevant nvram command now tho as I havent had to manually set it for ages sorry since if I change firmwares I migrate the already existing settings, and even when wiping the settings I restore using johns nvram-save tool which restores the overclock.

try nvram set clkfreq=1200,800
commit

then reboot.

 

[RMerlin]

try nvram set clkfreq=1200,800
commit

then reboot.

That gets overwritten by recent firmware versions, and no longer works. This will only work with older versions, or forks based on those older versions.

 

[Chrysalis]

ok, didnt know sorry, as I am using john's fork I was not aware.

 

[joegreat]

That gets overwritten by recent firmware versions, and no longer works. This will only work with older versions, or forks based on those older versions.

You can still make it work if you set the nvram value on very reboot (via service-stop script) - as outlined here.

 

[snakebite3]

You can still make it work if you set the nvram value on very reboot (via service-stop script) - as outlined here.

Does it still work with 380.6x FW? I've been avoiding the new FW because of OC uncertainty.

 

[MarkyPancake]

I'm on 380.59 and rarely reboot my AC68U, so what's the quickest way I can overclock?

 

[joegreat]

Does it still work with 380.6x FW? I've been avoiding the new FW because of OC uncertainty.

It should, just give it a try...

I'm on 380.59 and rarely reboot my AC68U, so what's the quickest way I can overclock?

As outlined in my posting above!

 

[nfshp253]

I'm sorry for bumping such an old topic but I tried to access /jffs/scripts and it was empty. Do I have to create the init-start and services-stop files? If so, what file format do I use?

 

[joegreat]

I'm sorry for bumping such an old topic but I tried to access /jffs/scripts and it was empty. Do I have to create the init-start and services-stop files? If so, what file format do I use?

Yes, you have to create the User Scripts in Linux text format - use nano editor for your convince in the telnet session.

 

[nfshp253]

So I create an init-start with this:

#!/bin/sh
nvram set clkfreq=1000,800

and a services-stop with this:

#!/bin/sh
nvram set clkfreq=1000,800
nvram commit

And place those two files (saved in UNIX script format ".bash"?) into /jffs/scripts. Is this correct?

 

[Vishnu Rao]

On Merlin build 380.63_2, I tried

nvram set clkfreq=1200,800

and

nvram commit && reboot && exit

The overclock seems to stick. I have tried multiple reboots. The overclock is happening. I don't know why a script is required!

 

[jeff3820]

What was the change in radio and cpu temperatures when you changed from 800/1000 to 1200?

 

[Vishnu Rao]

Default clkfreq was 800, 666 and overclock is 1200,800.

Default no load temperatures for CPU, 2.4, 5 were: 71, 48,49 and overclock is 78, 52, 53.

All temperatures in degree Celsius.

Edit:
With load, in about 30 minutes, I could hit about 80C in the overclock mode. I had incorrectly reported as 90C in my original post. This is with a winter room temperature of about 19-20 C. So summer temperatures may be about 5-10 degrees warmer, so expect the router to also go propotionally higher or if not scale higher. I will be monitoring the temperatures in this coming summer. For now my overclock settings seem to be working fine.

 

[nfshp253]

Can someone help me? I created those scripts (above) but the overclock does not apply. I tried using WinSCP to execute the init-start but it returns "-sh: ./init-start: not found".

How can it not be found when I'm executing the script by right clicking and selecting Execute?

 

[sfx2000]

Just as an FYI - there were a couple of steppings that behaved oddly - one would say ok on the overclock, and report back the clock speed but actually do nothing - the other glitch was some would jump the clock down to 100Mhz instead if pushed too hard..

 

[sfx2000]

So note the bogomips in the system logs before, and then apply the change, and look at bogomips after - bogomips will at least give some indication that things are running faster (or not, or slower even)