All current devices (tablets and MiniPC) using a Rockchip RK3188 quad-core CPU are currently limited to 1.6 GHz frequency. The CPU was initially marketed to run at 1.8 GHz, it’s not clear if current limitation comes from the hardware on the first processors production batches or if it is a choice by the manufacturer’s to limit the speed for better stability and battery life.

A few months ago, we successfully overclocked (with proper fan cooling) an RK3188 based MiniPC to 1.92 GHz as you can see on the video below.

Overclocking perspectives on tablets are probably more limited because of the modest cooling possibilities on the tablet case and the diminution overclocking would bring on battery life. 

Our funding of a development PiPO M9 Pro tablet is now almost complete, thanks to everybody for your support. I'm currently experimenting with kernel overclock on the M9 Pro while I don't have the device yet to test the settings. Overclocking parameters are related to CPU speed, GPU (Graphical Processing Unit) and DDR (memory) speed. My current experiments on kernel binary modifications are based on both my own methods and rkpatchomatic by phjanderson.

At first, I am relying on the community if anyone wants to try an overclocked kernel. Basically what is expected is testing the effect of the overclock on the tablet performance with benchmark applications (make sure there is no performance regression), test the tablet battery life and the stability of the device. I am currently doing some tests on another RK3188 tablet (U23GTC4-W). I will take care of processing all these tests again on the PiPO M9 Pro in a few days after I received the device I ordered.

For the moment, the test phase is open in priority to people who supported the project, then it will be available to everybody if the test results are good. Supporters, please post in the forum and we'll get back to you.

A word of warning: Please note that overclocking, uses the processor at a faster speed than the manufacturer’s recommendation, it may cause overheat, which may lead to lower your processor life or completely fry it if you’re not careful. We recommend that you provide proper cooling (heat sink and or fan) for your processor and memory for smoother operations. You are overclocking at your own risk, we cannot be held responsible if you damage your hardware.