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.

 

[wolfmankurd]

We can at least agree that 32GB is pathetic, can't we? I know the Switch has an SD port, but SD's are slower than SSD's or embedded memory *and* they have a capacity cap at this point in time. I don't know why this is a controversial point.

The market is also littered with fakes (with holograms, sold from "reputable" dealers like amazon). Which will crap out on you.

 

[Foxi4]

The market is also littered with fakes (with holograms, sold from "reputable" dealers like amazon). Which will crap out on you.

Pretty much, yes.

 

[Mr. Wizard]

We can at least agree that 32GB is pathetic, can't we? I know the Switch has an SD port, but SD's are slower than SSD's or embedded memory *and* they have a capacity cap at this point in time. I don't know why this is a controversial point.

because there was speed loading test done and the actual switch game cartridge was the biggest bottleneck at 1-3 seconds slower than the SDCard.

Nobody knows why they went with eMMC for internal storage, you could always write an open letter to Nintendo's engineers asking them what prompted that decision.

Are you an engineer? Maybe you could also apply for a job there and show them how it's done.

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

Also according to the test the SDCard is throttled/bottlenecked no matter how fast it is.

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



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

Apparently eMMC was fast enough...

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

Maybe they got a super deal on the eMMC because it was meant for something else and that deal fell through so someone had tons of stock that they needed to get rid of.

On a corporate management level they are going to use the option that makes them/saves them the most money.

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

People that don't seem to understand why manufacturers sometimes do what they do obviously have zero experience in the upper echelon of management or corporate. At the end of the day, it's about making money, period. Sometimes you have to sacrifice speed or functionality to do so. Sometimes it comes back to bite you in the ass and sometimes it works out just fine.

In the Nintendo's case I'm thinking it will work out just fine for this generation of Switch, as long as they keep the games coming.

 

[Deleted-401606]

because there was speed loading test done and the actual switch game cartridge was the biggest bottleneck at 1-3 seconds slower than the SDCard.

Nobody knows why they went with eMMC for internal storage, you could always write an open letter to Nintendo's engineers asking them what prompted that decision.

Are you an engineer? Maybe you could also apply for a job there and show them how it's done.

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

Also according to the test the SDCard is throttled/bottlenecked no matter how fast it is.

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



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

Apparently eMMC was fast enough...

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

Maybe they got a super deal on the eMMC because it was meant for something else and that deal fell through so someone had tons of stock that they needed to get rid of.

On a corporate management level they are going to use the option that makes them/saves them the most money.

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

People that don't seem to understand why manufacturers sometimes do what they do obviously have zero experience in the upper echelon of management or corporate. At the end of the day, it's about making money, period. Sometimes you have to sacrifice speed or functionality to do so. Sometimes it comes back to bite you in the ass and sometimes it works out just fine.

In the Nintendo's case I'm thinking it will work out just fine for this generation of Switch, as long as they keep the games coming.

That worked out real well with the Wii U didnt it?

 

[amoulton]

so basically putting it nicely that its hardware is not capable. unless its dumbed down alot, then it will never see the light of day.

Muh polygons

 

[DeslotlCL]

Muh polygons

Your zelda game is made out of polygons you know p:

 

[Mr. Wizard]

Your zelda game is made out of polygons you know p:

I reject your reality and substitute my own.

Zelda is made from sunshine, lollipops, rainbows, unicorns and fairies.

 

[DeslotlCL]

I reject your reality and substitute my own.

Zelda is made from sunshine, lollipops, rainbows, unicorns and fairies.

11/10 post quality would like again

but you forgot the grass

 

[Mr. Wizard]

11/10 post quality would like again

but you forgot the grass

I've been purchasing that separately... Hmm...

 

[TheCyberQuake]

I have. Have you?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00K...ds=m.2+ssd&dpPl=1&dpID=41-uwWXnXOL&ref=plSrch

128GB from a name brand costs $60, and Nintendo can get them cheaper since they're buying it in bulk - millions of units kind of bulk. They're paying for FLASH memory *already*, it's on the board, the difference would be adding it on an interface instead, that's not that much more expensive. I also wasn't suggesting that they should've used HDD's, I was saying that HDD's are not power hogs, read the actual post.
There's billions of reasons. It simplifies manufacturing in case you have multiple SKU's with different capacity drives but the same motherboard (Wii U) - it's easier to have one line spitting out mobos and a dude plopping in appropriate sticks than to run two separate lines. They offer expandability for the customer - there's a reason why SD's exist and why people shit on the iPhone for not having an SD port. They simplify repairs in case of memory failure - take one out, put new one in, test, refurbishing complete. In an embedded scenario you have to recycle the whole board. I could go on forever.

Technically their current eMMC setup does allow them to change memory sizes easily without a mobo change. Imo Nintendo won't use a standard format like m.2 because they don't want it to be easy to dump. If they did use a standard like that people could potentially just plug it into their computer to get a dump. Where with their proprietary format it makes it a bit more difficult, but not impossible.
Should they have given more than 32gb? Yes. But imo Nintendo would be insane to use a standard, non-proprietary storage interface, especially given what we could do on 3ds with simple raw read/write access to nand.

 

[duffmmann]

Oh but wait, that's not all! This thread is also now featured on the front page for all to know if they didn't. Like i was able To decode two simple letters of N-X.

I hope this isn't off topic, but what did people think the N-X meant in the name before the official name was made? I thought it would be Nintendo X like WII U but just even dumber.

Maybe Nintendo "CROSS" cause usually a X in japan they refer to cross, It could have been like Nintendo X "CROSS" Nvidia like Namco "CROSS" capcom. Street fighter "CROSS" Tekken, Project "CROSS" zone.

FUN FACT: The X Button on playstation Controls is called "CROSS" not x. But on Nintendo and xbox is just X. This is also the reason why in japan the Circle button is commonly the Accept button and X or "CROSS" Is the cancel button. Circle is meant to represent OK and "CROSS" to Cancel or not OK the complete opposite. Square or "BOX" is meant for opening menus which is why is shaped like a square or box, and triangle represents point. Usually reserved for shortcuts or actions. This only applies to Japan as internationally the buttons are switched for X being okay and circle being cancel.

Similar case with nintendo who uses A and B, A to be accept, and be to be Back. The xbox controls use the same letters to represent the functions as nintendo do, but they are all placed different, more like the dreamcast controller. I have no idea why or when this started but is just silly.

Nintendo Cross. As in cross performance: on the go or on your TV. At least thats what I always thought NX means considering how often X is literally translated to Cross for video games in Japan (other examples include Project X Zone and Monster Hunter XX (pronounced Double Cross).

 

[Kioku]

That worked out real well with the Wii U didnt it?

You clearly don't even know why the WiiU failed...

 

[LightyKD]

Somebody call me when all the console war bull shit ends and this thing gets Android. I'm trying to be a "one box per TV" kinda guy so yeah... I require more from my consoles than just games. Hell, if there was a decent Android emulator for PC I'd get rid of my Fire TV.

 

[Molina]

Somebody call me when all the console war bull shit ends and this thing gets Android. I'm trying to be a "one box per TV" kinda guy so yeah... I require more from my consoles than just games. Hell, if there was a decent Android emulator for PC I'd get rid of my Fire TV.

You don't like bluestacks?

 

[LightyKD]

You don't like bluestacks?

I purchased a ton of controller enabled Android games over the years and not a single Android emulator gets controllers properly. Either the emulator has no controller support or the emulator has that stupid touch area mapping crap. BTW Bluestacks is probably one of the weaker emulators in regards to raw power.

 

[Molina]

I purchased a ton of controller enabled Android games over the years and not a single Android emulator gets controllers properly. Either the emulator has no controller support or the emulator has that stupid touch area mapping crap. BTW Bluestacks is probably one of the weaker emulators in regards to raw power.

Well it's harder to deal with controllers I agree. Last time I could do something was with something like that "Bluetooth controller -> Computer Bluetooth -> magic -> Emulator Bluetooth" but it had a lot of flaws.

Well power depend a lot of your CPU power. My regret with android emulators is that the majority of them are detected as root and some games don't like it.
What do you play?

 

[the_randomizer]

I purchased a ton of controller enabled Android games over the years and not a single Android emulator gets controllers properly. Either the emulator has no controller support or the emulator has that stupid touch area mapping crap. BTW Bluestacks is probably one of the weaker emulators in regards to raw power.

I never had that issue with a Moga pro controller, always worked with the emulators on Android =/

 

[Deleted User]

They fucking never will.

Just when I thought they learned a lesson with underpowered hardware.
BRAVO NINTENDO BRA-VO

Really? geese pessimistic much. And you realize that zelda has frame drops more because its a open world game right? Witcher 3 and some other open world games have frame drops. And software wise the switch was made with low power in mind. Infact Nvida, said the put 500 man years of effort into the api and design of the switch. Which then makes sense as why breath of the wild can even run. They are adapting the systems api to the extent it uses bare minim of resource usage. And the reason there a frame drops in games like fast rmx. Its because the auto connect feature in the switch is the cause. And a Inside dev said that they are currently fix it. And if you think about it. They couldn't go for the x2 because that chip is only used in cars at the moment.

 

[TheCyberQuake]

Really? geese pessimistic much. And you realize that zelda has frame drops more because its a open world game right? Witcher 3 and some other open world games have frame drops. And software wise the switch was made with low power in mind. Infact Nvida, said the put 500 man years of effort into the api and design of the switch. Which then makes sense as why breath of the wild can even run. They are adapting the systems api to the extent it uses bare minim of resource usage. And the reason there a frame drops in games like fast rmx. Its because the auto connect feature in the switch is the cause. And a Inside dev said that they are currently fix it. And if you think about it. They couldn't go for the x2 because that chip is only used in cars at the moment.

People complain about battery life, and then complain about console power. Like this is the most power you can get from a portable system while having a usable battery life. I honestly don't know why people seem to expect power like the ps4 and xbone from something much smaller and battery powered. You can't feasibly have much more power in a unit this small without problems with heat and battery life.

 

[Benja81]

One thing Nintendo has done for quite a few generations, is give the market something that does not already exist. Who needs a 3rd version of what's already there?