All is confirmed the Nintendo Switch is powered by stock Nvidia Tegra X1, same chipset used in Shield TV. The most surprising is the retention of 4 Cortex A53 processor cores, which have no use in the Nintendo switch as they can't be operated at the same time when Cortex A57 cores are running due to the ARM big.little configuration setup.

After subsequent processing of the GPU from the Nintendo Switch, we have determined that the processor is the Nvidia Tegra T210. The T210 CPU features 4 Cortex A57 and 4 Cortex A53 processor cores and the GPU is a GM20B Maxell core.

http://techinsights.com/about-techinsights/overview/blog/nintendo-switch-teardown/

Nvidia Tegra X1 features

• 8 core CPU (4 x Cortex A57 and 4 x Cortex A53)
• GPU is a GM20B Maxell core

A comparison to Shield TV. Switch specs on the left, and Shield TV on the right. The clock speeds are reported from Eurogamer, which are very much true.

• RAM: 4GB vs 3GB
• CPU: 1Ghz vs. 2Ghz
• GPU: 3 modes:307.2Mhz/384Mhz/768Mhz vs 1Ghz

Shield TV is clocked higher initially in both CPU and GPU, but don't forget Shield TV can't keep these clock speeds up for long, it throttles down to the exact switch's dock clockspeeds. Which further supports a stock X1.

 

[linuxares]

So, back on track. It's going to be interesting to see what happens with the X1 on Switch. Giggity.

I'm so curious how SMT will work with it. Hell, I hope I even can do "mouse aim" in Splatoon 2 with one of the remotes and steer with the other.

 

[Mr. Wizard]

I'm so curious how SMT will work with it. Hell, I hope I even can do "mouse aim" in Splatoon 2 with one of the remotes and steer with the other.

I've never played splatoon so I have no idea what you are talking about, but I have grabbed the global test fire and am looking forward to trying it out.

 

[Benja81]

What is going on here? Ha! It's turned into such a shit show. Is asking for a close too much right now?

 

[TheCyberQuake]

So basically tl:dr a majority of this thread:
Switch is essentially the most powerful portable device right now. The shield tablet is close, but sports a k1 chip instead of a x1, meaning it isn't as good. Also the shield tv has the same chip as switch, but isn't a portable device.
The switch's clock speeds match the shield tv when taking thermal throttling into account.
Compared to pricing of shield tv, which uses the same chip, the switch can be viewed as a decent price when you add portability, a good screen, controllers and Nintendo first party games.
Some people think phones are the same or better with higher cpu clock speeds, without realizing the x1 chip has a far superior gpu, giving you a gaming experience you can't get on really any other phone or tablet.
That's most of the notable points for those who don't want to read all these pages

 

[Deleted-401606]

So basically tl:dr a majority of this thread:
Switch is essentially the most powerful portable device right now. The shield tablet is close, but sports a k1 chip instead of a x1, meaning it isn't as good. Also the shield tv has the same chip as switch, but isn't a portable device.
The switch's clock speeds match the shield tv when taking thermal throttling into account.
Compared to pricing of shield tv, which uses the same chip, the switch can be viewed as a decent price when you add portability, a good screen, controllers and Nintendo first party games.
Some people think phones are the same or better with higher cpu clock speeds, without realizing the x1 chip has a far superior gpu, giving you a gaming experience you can't get on really any other phone or tablet.
That's most of the notable points for those who don't want to read all these pages

I found your post to be extremely helpful and you pretty much summarized 34 pages of content. Nicely done.

 

[Nyteshade714]

I love how so many people are surprised by this and the fact that Nintendo doesn't seem to care about screens being damaged out of the box or scratched by the docks. Am I really the only one who remembers how underwhelming the Wii U hardware was compared to its competition when it launched? Or how the O3DS models damaged their own top screens just by being closed because the bottom part dug into the screen, and Nintendo didn't give a damn then either?

And for the record, I agree with comments about Nintendo misleading the public about the Switch before launch, every step of the way. Most people I talked to expected it to work as a reasonably powered home console when plugged into the base, not the equivalent of a tablet with HDMI-out.

 

[Gadd]

hey people were saying for years that nintendo should get out of the home console business. What this means is that Nintendo has done exactly that! They are mobile only, merely providing a way to play on a tv set too (like the old snes gameboy color thingie). So we got nintendo developing for other platforms, dipping their toe in the water with mobile iOS and android. Small steps of course, but there's no doubt where they are heading!

I for one welcome the move, I'm one of these weirdos that played my gameboy in recliners and around the house even though I had a perfectly good game console hooked up to the tv set...

 

[s157]

This thread was moderately civil for like 10 pages. Yeah it had the switch haters (I should call them unhappy customers since they actually bought the console and are questioning their purchase, and that the term "haters" seems to imply to those who rag on the switch out of spite) as well as some of the more fervent defenders, but the discussion was legitimate. For that length of a thread concerning the switch, that's pretty impressive.

On that note, even if the power isn't what we thought, the game Fast RMX showed us the switch's capability. Or, in my hopes, showed us we could get a pretty damn good F-Zero game. We should get a F-Zero game. Nintendo give us an F-Zero game. Please.

 

[Xabring]

BACK ON TOPIC

well, they might use the same chip, but yeah, guess software implementations MAKES a diference here...they still make it sound that they also changed the hardware as well when we know it ISN'T the case...interesting.

 

[bennyman123abc]

All is confirmed the Nintendo Switch is powered by stock Nvidia Tegra X1, same chipset used in Shield TV. The most surprising is the retention of 4 Cortex A53 processor cores, which have no use in the Nintendo switch as they can't be operated at the same time when Cortex A57 cores are running due to the ARM big.little configuration setup.

http://techinsights.com/about-techinsights/overview/blog/nintendo-switch-teardown/

Nvidia Tegra X1 features

• 8 core CPU (4 x Cortex A57 and 4 x Cortex A53)
• GPU is a GM20B Maxell core

A comparison to Shield TV. Switch specs on the left, and Shield TV on the right. The clock speeds are reported from Eurogamer, which are very much true.

• RAM: 4GB vs 3GB
• CPU: 1Ghz vs. 2Ghz
• GPU: 3 modes:307.2Mhz/384Mhz/768Mhz vs 1Ghz

Shield TV is clocked higher initially in both CPU and GPU, but don't forget Shield TV can't keep these clock speeds up for long, it throttles down to the exact switch's dock clockspeeds. Which further supports a stock X1.

So in theory, the Nvidia Shield TV could emulate Switch games with little to no issues other than (maybe) RAM?
I say maybe the RAM because we don't know if 2GB is allocated to the game and the other 2GB to the OS (like the Wii U and 3DS) or if RAM is available for the game to do whatever the hell it wants to do with it.

 

[TheCyberQuake]

So in theory, the Nvidia Shield TV could emulate Switch games with little to no issues other than (maybe) RAM?
I say maybe the RAM because we don't know if 2GB is allocated to the game and the other 2GB to the OS (like the Wii U and 3DS) or if RAM is available for the game to do whatever the hell it wants to do with it.

Same SoC != same system. There are other things internally other than the X1 that could be different that could easily prevent that from being easy or possible.

 

[bennyman123abc]

Well this confirms that there definitely won't be a Gamecube VC on the Switch.

Just because the Dolphin team or whatever team made the emulator on the Shield TV cannot run the game perfectly does not mean that the ORIGINAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ENGINEERS can't get the game running correctly. The Gamecube only had a 457 MHz processor and the Switch has a gigahert. However, emulating AMD graphics on an Nvidia chip might prove to be a bit challenging...

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Same SoC != same system. There are other things internally other than the X1 that could be different that could easily prevent that from being easy or possible.

However on the CPU and GPU level, it could be possible, right?

 

[the_randomizer]

BACK ON TOPIC

well, they might use the same chip, but yeah, guess software implementations MAKES a diference here...they still make it sound that they also changed the hardware as well when we know it ISN'T the case...interesting.

How many times do we need to have this pointed out? We get it, the hardware isn't PS4-level, what do people expect?

 

[WiiUBricker]

Just because the Dolphin team or whatever team made the emulator on the Shield TV cannot run the game perfectly does not mean that the ORIGINAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ENGINEERS can't get the game running correctly. The Gamecube only had a 457 MHz processor and the Switch has a gigahert. However, emulating AMD graphics on an Nvidia chip might prove to be a bit challenging...

Except "just because" just doesn't work here. Not happening mate.

 

[Kioku]

Except "just because" just doesn't work here. Not happening mate.

Means a lot. GameCube VC is definitely possible. A third party can get the Dolphin emulator running on the K1/X1. The Switch is definitely not ruled out. Whether it's official or emulation.

 

[WiiUBricker]

Means a lot. GameCube VC is definitely possible. A third party can get the Dolphin emulator running on the K1/X1. The Switch is definitely not ruled out. Whether it's official or emulation.

You can get the Dolphin emulator basically running on anything, but whether you can get it running above slide show level is another question.

 

[Kioku]

You can get the Dolphin emulator basically running on anything, but whether you can get it running above slide show level is another question.

This is true.. But we won't know how it works until we open it up. Even if it's just Luigis Mansion or Double Dash. I still think it's possible to have a playable form of VC.

 

[the_randomizer]

You can get the Dolphin emulator basically running on anything, but whether you can get it running above slide show level is another question.

Nintendo dropped the ball on Snes/NES emulation on the Wii U, what makes people think they'll actually use good emulation this time around?

 

[Kioku]

Nintendo dropped the ball on Snes/NES emulation on the Wii U, what makes people think they'll actually use good emulation this time around?

Hope that Nintendo will try to help this system live? Pessimism is fun and all but this is just ridonkulous. Jeez foxy

 

[WiiUBricker]

This is true.. But we won't know how it works until we open it up. Even if it's just Luigis Mansion or Double Dash. I still think it's possible to have a playable form of VC.

Porting Dolphin over is a difficult task. The Dolphin devs don't consider the Android port a priority, hence why it runs so poorly. And Android has a much larger userbase than Switch. Taking this into account, it's unlikely there will be a Switch port at all.