AC68U Bootloader Verison vs. DDR Clock Speed?

[mtrains]

I got a second AC68U today and it says its bootloader version is 1.0.1.6. Does anyone know whether Asus sets the DDR clock speed to 666MHz by default for newer bootloader versions? The router came with firmware version 374.379.

 

[RMerlin]

I got a second AC68U today and it says its bootloader version is 1.0.1.6. Does anyone know whether Asus sets the DDR clock speed to 666MHz by default for newer bootloader versions? The router came with firmware version 374.379.

If it shipped with 1.0.1.6, then it should already have the new DDR clocks implemented - this is at the bootloader level.

 

[jsc3iii]

How do I determine which bootloader I am using with the stock firmware (3.0.0.4.374_501)? I tried looking through the system log but I didn't see the boot loader info there, and I couldn't find it elsewhere in the GUI.

 

[RMerlin]

How do I determine which bootloader I am using with the stock firmware (3.0.0.4.374_501)? I tried looking through the system log but I didn't see the boot loader info there, and I couldn't find it elsewhere in the GUI.

Run the following command over Telnet:

cat /dev/mtd0ro | grep bl_version

 

[Smedley]

If it shipped with 1.0.1.6, then it should already have the new DDR clocks implemented - this is at the bootloader level.

As the new production AC68U's are shipping with the updated bootloader, is it recommended to run the Asus utility to upgrade older units to obtain the higher memory speed?

 

[RMerlin]

As the new production AC68U's are shipping with the updated bootloader, is it recommended to run the Asus utility to upgrade older units to obtain the higher memory speed?

Up to you. If you run my firmware and want to use the overclock button, this button will stop working with the upgraded bootloader. Otherwise, it's probably a good thing to gain the performance boost of running the DDR at its (higher) rated speed.

Keep in mind also that upgrading the bootloader always carry a certain risk (like upgrading a motherboard BIOS). If a power failure happens in the middle of the upgrade, you might brick your router.

 

[wifi_reef]

Up to you. If you run my firmware and want to use the overclock button, this button will stop working with the upgraded bootloader. Otherwise, it's probably a good thing to gain the performance boost of running the DDR at its (higher) rated speed.

Keep in mind also that upgrading the bootloader always carry a certain risk (like upgrading a motherboard BIOS). If a power failure happens in the middle of the upgrade, you might brick your router.

It make no sense to use automatic DDR upgrade and loose a possibility to make performance tunning. You can set DDR manually.

 

[drywolf]

I got a second AC68U today and it says its bootloader version is 1.0.1.6. Does anyone know whether Asus sets the DDR clock speed to 666MHz by default for newer bootloader versions? The router came with firmware version 374.379.

Was the unit new or a returned unit?

 

[RMerlin]

It make no sense to use automatic DDR upgrade and loose a possibility to make performance tunning. You can set DDR manually.

For advanced users, manually adjusting clkfreq is definitely ideal. But for less experienced users, the benefits of going through the updated CFE route is 1) easy to revert back in case of a soft brick - just depress the button, 2) Any other fixes/improvements that might have been included in 1.0.1.6 (while the CFE source code is included in the GPL, I never pay much attention to it beside looking at new models that get added there before they get added to the target.mak profile list).

 

[mtrains]

Was the unit new or a returned unit?

It was a new unit.