February 20, 2026
Cooler than ice, hotter than takes
Raspberry Pi Pico 2 at 873.5MHz with 3.05V Core Abuse
Dry ice, tiny board, big chaos — fans cheer while pros warn of meltdown
TLDR: A tinkerer blasted the Pico 2 with extra voltage and dry ice to push speeds far beyond stock, revealing limits in its on‑board power and serious headroom. Commenters split between “fun science” and “please don’t ship this,” with some betting on higher official speeds later and others warning of kiosk‑meltdown disasters.
Santa brought dry ice and drama. Maker Mike shoved the new Raspberry Pi Pico 2 past its comfort zone, cranking voltages and clock speeds to chase headline‑grabbing numbers (the banner screams 873.5 MHz) while logs showed real‑world steps from 312 MHz at stock to ~678 MHz with a heatsink and fan. A plot twist: the on‑board power chip tapped out around ~2.2V, even when asked for more. It’s the same chaotic spirit as the earlier 1 GHz Pico dare, with extra holiday frost.
But the real fireworks? The comments. The cheer squad, led by crest, called it “harmless stupid fun,” while whiskers hailed the silicon’s toughness and dropped a blunt compliment: “Mike is a wizard.” The buzzword here is overclocking—pushing a chip faster than the factory says—and the crowd loved the stunt energy and Mike’s live “bleats” on Bluesky. Then the safety brigade rolled in. nottorp warned this is exactly how kiosks die in the sun, saying even stock boards can flake outside comfy air‑con. Meanwhile, pragmatists like moefh predicted official speed bumps later (nothing near 800 MHz), and nostalgics like Tepix toasted bargain‑bin greatness and running FUZIX (a tiny, old‑school UNIX‑like) for the retro vibes.
Conclusion: science fair glory, production‑grade panic—and memes for days.
Key Points
- •The RP2350’s onboard regulator voltage limit can be disabled, allowing requests above 1.3 V.
- •Initial tests without additional cooling reached up to 570 MHz at 1.7 V, with temperatures rising to 53.7°C.
- •With a heatsink and fan, the Pico 2 achieved up to 678 MHz at a measured ~2.2 V, reaching 57.5°C.
- •The regulator provides 0.05/0.1 V steps up to 2.0 V; the next step is 2.35 V, but actual supplied voltage was limited by current.
- •Core voltage was verified via Pico 2’s Test Point 7, showing the regulator couldn’t supply above ~2.2 V under load.