It was much debated on the Internet what SoC Nintendo's Switch is using. Some say it is powered by Nvidia's 2 years old Tegra X1, others say it is powered by a custom Tegra Pascal chip. It seems we finally have an answer as ARM claimed the Switch will be powered by 4x ARM Cortex-57 cores. For reference, the X1 also uses four ARM Cortex-57 cores. While Nvidia's Pascal based Tegra P1 chip utilises four Cortex-57 cores as well, it also has 2 additional Denver2 cores that are lacking in the X1 and ARM's announcement. That means it's very likely that Nintendo went with the X1, although with some sort of possible customization.

Source

Update

Someone asked ARM via email about the facebook post and ARM says it was 'not an official statement' and removed the post. Whether it was posted by mistake or if there is any other reason behind it is anyone's guess. ARM notably didn't deny the truthfullness of the post, but at present the Switch's SoC remains unconfirmed.

 

[Deleted User]

Can anyone with a facebook account access this post? Don't know if ARM has since deleted its post or if it's only accessible with a facebook account.

Nope, got removed

 

[KingBlank]

I'm surprised they got the X1 running so long on battery... Nobody thought it was possible.

 

[arianadark]

you guys care too much bout the graphic capablities

 

[Deleted User]

you guys care too much bout the graphic capablities

No, people just want to know what heat this thing is packing

Also *capabilities

 

[raystriker]

you guys care too much bout the graphic capablities

Suppose they had used Pascal or A72/73 ARM cores, they could have got better performance for lesser battery usage. This would have led to more power accessible to game devs to make even better looking games. For virtually no trade-offs. It's true, the Switch looks as good as it is, thanks to an acute abundance of control given to the devs, but if they had more powerful hardware available, the Switch could have run 1080p in handheld mode with possible higher res while docked. Wouldn't that have been wonderful?

 

[6adget]

Everyone keeps talking about the Nvidia shield as if it's a piece of outdated junk. I have the original one with the K1 tegra proc, and it is one of the fastest tablets I have used. It runs DS emulators really well, and the dolphin emulator was showing real potential until the project was dropped due to not enough people owning the tablet. It's plenty powerful. people complain that it's using tech from two years ago. that's how it works. you take the latest tech, and by the time you are done designing, testing and building it, it's a couple of years down the road. Nintendo is known for being able to squeeze everything they can out of their systems. I think everyone needs to stop predicting doom and gloom until it's released and we actually know what they have made. I for one am very excited to be a few weeks away from playing a new zelda game on something that i can take with me to where ever I go.

 

[RevPokemon]

you guys care too much bout the graphic capablities

Agreed as I buy consoles only for paper weights and decorations so being able to play video games in anything above 480 30FPS is trival to me.

 

[Deleted User]

Agreed as I buy consoles only for paper weights and decorations so being able to play video games in anything above 480 30FPS is trival to me.

Wait you didn't buy the Wii U as a pillow and the Xbox as a step-stool?

Pleb

 

[WiiUBricker]

I honestly see a 'New Nintendo Switch' with a pascal SoC happening.

 

[raystriker]

I honestly see a 'New Nintendo Switch' with a pascal SoC happening.

I think it would be an upgrade over the cpu rather than the gpu, because speaking on PC terms, maxwell to pascal was an architecture jump. Did Nintendo use the DMP Pica 200 in the n3ds too?

Anyway, its a long ways from now if at all. I hope the Switch is all what Nintendo wants it to be.

 

[weatMod]

I honestly see a 'New Nintendo Switch' with a pascal SoC happening.

lets speculate on names, i give it 2 years to 18 months before we get rumors of it
super nintendo switch is too good
how about U switch ,U just have to switch out the tablet portion and use the old joycons and dock ,U just have to open your wallet again and give N another $200

 

[linuxares]

I guess the only way we ever will know is when I Fix It pops it open

 

[weatMod]

I guess the only way we ever will know is when I Fix It pops it open

no you won't, you won't know till someone decaps the chip most likely

 

[gman666]

At least we know that gamecube is more than possible.. Nintendo has the expertise to tweak the Cortex A57 and create solid gamecube emulation or ports. Overall, I won't be purchasing this, and I hope Nintendo fails in this ordeal. It's not acceptable anymore! If graphics didn't matter, we'd still be playing 8 bit. Both graphics and storytelling are important.

 

[weatMod]

At least we know that gamecube is more than possible.. Nintendo has the expertise to tweak the Cortex A57 and create solid gamecube emulation or ports. Overall, I won't be purchasing this, and I hope Nintendo fails in this ordeal. It's not acceptable anymore! If graphics didn't matter, we'd still be playing 8 bit. Both graphics and storytelling are important.

we already knew GC was possible even N3ds has wii ports ,essentially the same HW as the GC anyways

 

[WiiUBricker]

no you won't, you won't know till someone decaps the chip most likely

Decapping is overkill. There is a chance to figure out the exact chip used simply by having access to the motherboard. And if not, any experienced hacker can figure it out regardless.

 

[chrisrlink]

Still, it's gonna be a big deal for Nintendo if they even use the A57, seeing as how underpowered the 3DS and NDS was from a tech point of view.

I think the Switch could be more hacker friendly as A57 is a well documented arch throughout the android community(which might not have a very direct use tho)

your thinking a processor exploit? if it's well documented hacking (maybe) a walk in the park Nintendo you probably F*cked up worse this time you should've asked ARM to build a custom processor you might've sacrificed security for cost (again)

 

[kumikochan]

Everyone keeps talking about the Nvidia shield as if it's a piece of outdated junk. I have the original one with the K1 tegra proc, and it is one of the fastest tablets I have used. It runs DS emulators really well, and the dolphin emulator was showing real potential until the project was dropped due to not enough people owning the tablet. It's plenty powerful. people complain that it's using tech from two years ago. that's how it works. you take the latest tech, and by the time you are done designing, testing and building it, it's a couple of years down the road. Nintendo is known for being able to squeeze everything they can out of their systems. I think everyone needs to stop predicting doom and gloom until it's released and we actually know what they have made. I for one am very excited to be a few weeks away from playing a new zelda game on something that i can take with me to where ever I go.

Why do people forget it has to run till 2022. Maybe it's still acceptable now but def won't be in 2 years time

 

[Pokem]

Lol, I'm just going to wait until the Switch releases then decide. If it seems like something developer would ditch (aka second coming of the wii u)
but ugh, nintendo still have 52 years worth of fuck ups. who knows when they'll learn. even with a new president, they still produce an underpowered console
ffs
I would still buy it somewhere during black friday if not on launch, but i know my friends aint buying it. so sad to see they're going to miss out such an amazing, ambitious looking zelda game cuz of nintendo's weak console

 

[Hells Malice]

It's cute when console peasants worry or mock the power of a console.
Nintendo has never been hindered by their underpowered hardware, I doubt it'll be an issue this time around either.

If you want good specs, get a PC. It's really not all about the specs despite that being what most people jerk off to.