Version 1.4.0 of the Adafruit SAMD Boards package for the Arduino IDE is available now (Tools→Board→Boards Manager), and if you use any of our SAMD51-based M4 boards (Metro M4, Grand Central, PyPortal and several others) you’re in for a treat…with overclocking, compiler optimization and fine-tuning of other settings.
Performance improvements will vary depending on one’s code and what it’s doing, but some projects (fractals, graphics, that sort of thing) have shown nearly a threefold speed boost with some combinations of these settings! And the best part…it costs nothing and works with the Adafruit hardware you already have, just update via the Arduino Boards Manager.
BUT…remember what Uncle Ben said about great power. There are a few “gotchas” to be aware of, as explained on this page. In most such cases you can dial back these settings a bit and be back on track.
Rawr!
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
