How much ware and tear does rooting really do to your phone.

[kermitdfrogdroid]

Rooting itself shouldn't be doing to much in terms of harming the phone hardware, but what bout the other things rooted users love to do, like over-clocking? The Droid is clocked at 600mhz and were getting it all the way up to 1.25ghz now...

I know these cpu's are designed to run at more than 600mhz and are under-clocked for safety and longevity reasons, but what is the cpu's life expectancy after keeping it over-clocked at 1ghz for a while? It gets really hot running at 1ghz and using flash.... Can I expect to see some damage later down the line?

 

[SixStringTheory]

You'll replace your Droid long before your CPU burns out from OCing. It DOES reduce lifespan, no doubt about it. But unless you plan on using your Droid for 5 years it probably won't matter.

Can, probably, etc... used generously. There's of course no guarantee you won't run at 1 Gig for a day and see smoke coming out of your pocket.

From my experiences OCing desktops, low voltage overclocks are more likely cause problems because of bad ripple suppression, which is why a good PSU can be the most critical component in any high end rig. Basically, (simplified) if a transistor inside the CPU needs to see 1.3 volts, and your clock is ticking too fast for the voltage to rise to that level, it will crash.

That's mostly a stability thing. But the other side of OCing is dealing with heat, which is relatively easy to deal with in a desktop. Not so much on a phone. And heat is what will cause extended damage over time. Can't avoid that one.

But still, there's a very good chance it won't affect us in any meaningful way before we upgrade to a new Droid.

 

[hemorrdroid]

Well, each processor is unique in what it can survive, but many have had them overclocked to 1Ghz+ for almost a year with no issues. Mine never reaches critical temperatures, even though it feels very warm/hot to the touch. Of course heat is the enemy, and the more you generate, the shorter the lifespan. But really, if my droid lasts 5 years instead of 10 i really dont care, i wont have it in 2 years let alone 10. I have no worries whatsoever of overclocking it if it is below the temp threshold.

 

[jntdroid]

Check this thread for some great info: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/hacking-faqs/47871-overclocking-101-a.html

 

[montyboy]

From what I've read (which is a lot because I OC my desktops) it really depends upon how much voltage you throw in to the overclock that wears down the processor "paths" over time. Considering many of these overclocked kernels are ultra-low to medium voltage I wouldn't imagine that you would encounter problems over your device life cycle. I wouldn't suspect that any of us will be using our Droids for more than a few years. Then again, everyone's mileage will vary.

 

[SGTiger]

I have to question any theories on reduction of longevity. There is no anecdotal evidence. When using the overclocking utility, setcpu, profiles reduce the speed based upon temperature and/or whether it is charging. Also with the profiles, you underclock when the screen is off or when battery gets low. I'm not saying the cpu's life may or may not be shortened, but I highly doubt anyone will ever know before an owner moves on to another phone.

 

[SixStringTheory]

I have to question any theories on reduction of longevity. There is no anecdotal evidence. When using the overclocking utility, setcpu, profiles reduce the speed based upon temperature and/or whether it is charging. Also with the profiles, you underclock when the screen is off or when battery gets low. I'm not saying the cpu's life may or may not be shortened, but I highly doubt anyone will ever know before an owner moves on to another phone.

Well this is the key point. There's no doubt that OCing reduces the overall life span of the CPU. Whether you'll see this effect is largely dependent on how harsh you are with your profiles and how long you have your device.

I've had desktop CPUs fail after 4 or 5 years of fairly heavy overclocking. In the desktop world you will almost certainly have a component long enough to see the end of its life.

I doubt many people will have their Droids 5 years from now.

But these mobile CPUs are a bit more delicate. I'd worry more about stability than end-of-life but you're still pushing a component past its rated designs and have to accept that there ARE risks.