Any hacks to speed up Grahpics card on SJ-20?

[Unregistered]

I own an SJ-20 and noticed thats its HORRIBLE for fast action games that require the screen to refresh alot.

My questions is, are there hacks that speed up the grahpics chip AND ONLY the grahipics ship?

My current grhapics chip runs at 12 mgz (as apposed to M500 which runs at 20 mgz and has a vast improvemnt). I've tried power CPU but that speeds up the whole game as well.

Also note: Battery life doesnt matter to me. I just wanted to get the most i can out of this PDA becuase i regret buying it.

[minnaarpieters]

You can try the LATEST version of Quickbits, it speeded my SJ 20's graphics up quite abit. Do not download a old version, as they are incompatible with Clie's.

[palmgeek]

You can also try getting a hardware device called "Game Boy".

It's specially designed for playing games, unlike your PDA, which is designed for organizing your life.

:-)

[hherbzilla]

Try FastCPU (http://www.megasoft2000.com/palm_division/fastcpu.htm). Personally, I had problems with QuickBits crashing my SJ30.

Here's a new thread on overclocking, btw:
http://www.cliesource.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9956

[orol]

well sj20 is actually not the right palm do play games with :)
you better go for sj22/30 ..

[NJL!2016]

does the sj-20 have a graphics card? i thought the high-end clies have that. isn't it called MediaQ?

[Magicster]

Well when i meant Graphics Card i meant the type of processor that operates how fast the screen of the SJ-20 can refresh.

[Atomsk]

In a word, no. AFAIK there is no special dedicated graphics-processing component for the SJ series (which is now considered "entry-level" pdas), and especially not for the SJ20 which was already a budget device when it was first released. The horrible ghosting on the SJ20 was originally what made me return mine for an SJ-30.

[palmgeek]

Funny... I hear folks crying about the "ghosting" all the time. My SJ20 has it, but it has never bothered me. I never notice it much when looking up a phone number, or checking my calendar. I use QuickOffice, Tinysheet, ThoughtManager, Mapopolis, MyBible, SmartList to Go, and several other apps, and the "ghosting" has never once appeared objectionable to me. I've got a great Greyscale unit, with 16MB RAM, HiRes Screen, EXCELLENT Backlit Display, Memory Stick, Jog Dial, Rechargeable LiI Battery, and Small Form Factor... all for $149. It does everything I would expect a high end PDA to do.

Are folks just too fussy? What applications do folks see "ghosting" on, to a degree which makes the device un-usable (or appears objectionable)?

[swagner]

Fast CPU wont help much either. It is simple... the screen refresh capabilities are poor. All other new clies have a chip that handles the video. Not so on the SJ20. I have a 20 and a 22. If games are that important and price is also a big issue I would recommend the 22. There is no ghosting and the screen is much faster.

[Atomsk]

Are folks just too fussy? What applications do folks see "ghosting" on, to a degree which makes the device un-usable (or appears objectionable)?


For me, it wasn't necessarily the ghosting so much as the fact that the model simply had a very cheap quality display especially compared to the other higher-end models, hi-res or no. If you've ever taken a really close look at the screen you might notice that certain shades of grey tend to "pulsate" or move around (i.e. their consistency isn't static), which, besides hurting my eyes, is an annoying distraction. This actually happens on the SJ30 too, though it's much less noticable for some reason. Honestly, I can't recall ever seeing a device where I would change from one screen to another and could literally see the imprint of the previous screen superimposed over it, taking up to 2 seconds to fade away. This also makes the unit more susceptible to "burn-in" problems if you like to keep it on for long periods of time. Since there's no color, the majority of the time you'll be staring at the bright flourescent-white backlight of the unit which, again, feels unconfortable after prolonged exposure for me. The low refresh rate also makes action games unplayable since it tends to look like the graphics are melting all over the screen.

[Magicster]

Originally posted by Atomsk


For me, it wasn't necessarily the ghosting so much as the fact that the model simply had a very cheap quality display especially compared to the other higher-end models, hi-res or no. If you've ever taken a really close look at the screen you might notice that certain shades of grey tend to "pulsate" or move around (i.e. their consistency isn't static), which, besides hurting my eyes, is an annoying distraction. This actually happens on the SJ30 too, though it's much less noticable for some reason. Honestly, I can't recall ever seeing a device where I would change from one screen to another and could literally see the imprint of the previous screen superimposed over it, taking up to 2 seconds to fade away. This also makes the unit more susceptible to "burn-in" problems if you like to keep it on for long periods of time. Since there's no color, the majority of the time you'll be staring at the bright flourescent-white backlight of the unit which, again, feels unconfortable after prolonged exposure for me. The low refresh rate also makes action games unplayable since it tends to look like the graphics are melting all over the screen.


Atomsk I agree completely with you, too bad its too late to return my SJ 20. Oh yeah, do you guys think a 415 clie was better?

[palmgeek]

Well, I looked at my screen with an eye loupe. I can see the pulsing in the darkest part of the WA Clock "globe" icon. It does pulsate - rippling like small waves. Cool! I've never seen that, and I certainly couldn't have, without the 8x eye loupe. The worst ghosting I ever see is when Smartlist to Go first starts up, and runs the "applying filter" status bar. The bar fills from left to right, and takes about 2 seconds total to sweep across the entire screen. The lag is only a small fraction of a second, where you can see some ghosting. It is very minor, and barely noticeable - you really have to be looking for it, or you won't see it. Even when playing Vexed, the blocks drop quickly, with only a very slight 'tail' trailing behind. When Mapopolis loads something, and shows the little (mac-style) clock with the second hand spinning, the display keeps up fine, with only a very slight trailing shadow.

I've read where others had this "horrible ghosting problem", and I thought they were either too picky, nuts, or both. I have to re-think that, based on what you had to say. I honestly think you had a bad unit. If my SJ20 behaved like what you described, I'd have returned it long ago.

As for the backlight, I struggled for at least 4 years with various versions of dull-green Palm screens. They weren't good in *any* light, backlit or otherwise. I hated them, but I loved the Palm platform! I'll admit that the CLIE's white backlight is somewhat bright for reading in a dark room - but I still think it is the best display I have ever seen. Color screens tend to wash out, and they're of limited use in bright sunlight. In my opinion, the paper white is awesome. Ever try to read a dull-green display in your car, especially a Mapopolis map? I wouldn't trade the bright white for anything.

Also, the SJ20 is an entry model, so comparing it to $400 models isn't really fair. If I paid $400 for a handheld (which I would never do), I'd expect to get a premium screen. The fact is I only paid around $150.00 (with tax) for my SJ20. I think the screen is *very* high quality, given the overall price of the unit.

[swagner]

Absolutely right! Comparing it to a $400 device is not a valid comparison. I traded my m130 for an sj20 due to the hi-res. I read too much and use databases and spreadsheets both indoors and out. The 16mb and the white backlight along with the hi-res make the comparison to any other sub $200 device pretty good.. that is until the 22 came out. I just got my wife the SJ/22 and it is great as well.