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.

 

[chartube12]

Could they have just reused the casing of the x1 chips or mislabeled them to hide the specs from modders..hmmm maybe they 'replaced' 4 of the cores in the switch version of the 2017 x1 to match the other 4 cores...idk

 

[CathyRina]

Guy in that video was running it at 720p. We're left to speculate how the Shield TV would've handled it at native 480p. (Which nobody would want, but which Nintendo would do without hesitation if that made the difference.) And we can only speculate as to whether Nintendo could write a better optimized emulator. So, still an open question, isn't it?

considering they couldn't make a super nintendo VC on old 3DS happen, while hackers did, kinda makes me believe that Ninty won't write a better one.

 

[Xzi]

considering they couldn't make a super nintendo VC on old 3DS happen, while hackers did, kinda makes me believe that Ninty won't write a better one.

I believe they're using other developers for VC and eShop games that require emulation on Switch.

 

[Qtis]

Could they have just reused the casing of the x1 chips or mislabeled them to hide the specs from modders..hmmm maybe they 'replaced' 4 of the cores in the switch version of the 2017 x1 to match the other 4 cores...idk

Pretty much the only way to mass produce chips is to, well mass produce the same chip. Some may work better than others (case in point, Intel and locked CPUs being overclocked at a point with some motherboards but not for long), but general performance is similar. As such, I doubt anyone in their right mind would take the risk of mislabeling components due to quality control and issues debugging in case of problems (batch, machinery, etc). This coming from industry point of view.

Interesting to see where this will lead to, but I highly doubt we'll see a new X2 based version soon. Maybe after some point, but not in the near future.

 

[osaka35]

Well this is disappointing. I mean, nintendo made games are going to be fine, look at breath of the wild vs horizon zero dawn. This does spell bad news for 3rd party support, though. Porting isn't going to be super quick on the more popular games, like everyone was suggesting. Probably means no ff7hd or kingdom hearts 3 too :\

 

[the_randomizer]

Hey, reading all the bitter comments, regardless of the side they're on, gives me my daily dose of Schadenfreude lol.

 

[heartgold]

@heartgold It did not trace back to anything two years ago.

Isn't there just one type of X1 available?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegra#Tegra_K1

Are you confusing with K1, which the Nvidia tablet had?

The successor of X1, which is X2 uses 16nm. There's no mobile version of it yet, it's being used in cars.

 

[banzai200]

Not surprised, and actually expecting an android port to the switch if that's the case (or a linux, i would be all over that)

 

[hobbledehoy899]

Yeah I thought this guy was telling the truth, but the video clearly shows it's having a tough time rendering GCN games.

It's called a jape.

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

actually expecting an android port to the switch if that's the case (or a linux, i would be all over that)

The Switch's operating system is a proprietary fork of FreeBSD, so you're not too far off the mark.

 

[Xzi]

If it is in fact a Tegra X1 in Switch, here's a good video for putting things in perspective. UE4 elemental demo, TX1 vs PS4 vs PC w/GTX 680 (lol):



Of course the GTX 680 looks better than both, which just goes to show consoles aren't meant to compete with PCs. Ultimately though, the visual difference between the three is pretty minor. TX1 appears darker and slightly less detailed, but doesn't feel like a whole generation back from PS4 by any means.

 

[GerbilSoft]

The Switch's operating system is a proprietary fork of FreeBSD, so you're not too far off the mark.

The presence of the FreeBSD kernel license was somewhat misleading; it's only referring to portions of the FreeBSD network stack. According to plutoo, it's a derivative of the 3DS OS.

 

[Jacklack3]

UMMM DUH! I knew this since they called it NINTENDO NX! NX obviously meant NVIDIA X1.

http://inception.davepedu.com/inception.mp3

 

[the_randomizer]

What did people expect with a handheld? PS4 quality?

 

[GerbilSoft]

What did people expect with a handheld? PS4 quality?

Well, based on the reported Wi-Fi issues introduced with the Switch 2.0.0 update, yes. :V

 

[hobbledehoy899]

The presence of the FreeBSD kernel license was somewhat misleading; it's only referring to portions of the FreeBSD network stack. According to plutoo, it's a derivative of the 3DS OS.

weird

 

[Enteking]

We already knew that the Switch uses a TX1 chip, this was even confirmed by ARM. And it can be modified, even small internal software parameters count as modification, like the docked / unlocked speeds and fan control.

The best thing about this is, that you can easily port existing Android games over because the hardware is the same. And the brand new TX2 chip can be used for future hardware revisions or Switch mini, doubling battery time and improving speed.

The bad thing is that the Switch will not see many PS4 / X1 games being ported at all. And this is why it might fail.

 

[Xzi]

Well, based on the reported Wi-Fi issues introduced with the Switch 2.0.0 update, yes. :V

See? Consoles all have parity with one another now.

 

[the_randomizer]

Well, based on the reported Wi-Fi issues introduced with the Switch 2.0.0 update, yes. :V

*Shrug* Then people should get a PS4 instead. Beggars can't be choosers. Enough of the challenge pissing contests.

 

[GerbilSoft]

*Shrug* Then people should get a PS4 instead. Beggars can't be choosers. Enough of the challenge pissing contests.

*whoosh* (click the link in my post)

 

[the_randomizer]

*whoosh* (click the link in my post)

Lol, looks like Nintendo will have the last laugh.