Hardware Nintendo Switch Technical Specifications Discussion

[Yil]

It works well on shield TV if your download and upload is good enough, I expect this to be something similar to a local server within 50 miles of the user in an urban area like London.
(20Mb/s is the requirement for Geforce now ( for 720P60 but this console will be aiming for 1080p30 for sure) and if Nintendo follow through with their P2P network where other switches support others download speeds requirements can be halved due to closer systems (within 10/5/1 miles)
Edit: Did a GeforceNOW test which told me i could stream 1080p60 so i have no doubts streaming with switch requires as fast wifi as GeforceNOW

Those are not done by cuda cores. All of the calculation are on the server side, and the shield tv is responsible for rendering them to the screen. If I get it right, they actually use H.264 and uses Tegra's decoder (software based, I think, but cuda cores are still mostly unoccupied) and the feed it to render unit, which goes to the screen. It doesn't take that much on your end.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

Those are not done by cuda cores. All of the calculation are on the server side, and the shield tv is responsible for rendering them to the screen. If I get it right, they actually use H.264 and uses Tegra's decoder (software based, I think, but cuda cores are still mostly unoccupied) and the feed it to render unit, which goes to the screen. It doesn't take that much on your end.

I was just comparing it to Geforce now, it wont be exactly the same as Geforce now though.

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This guy seems to know very little about tech. Thought id put this up for discussion to see if he has any valid points.

 

[DocAmes1980]

This guy seems to know very little about tech. Thought id put this up for discussion to see if he has any valid points.

Ah good ole' Nate "Blunty" Burr. I wouldn't say he knows very little about tech. His knowledge is probably above average compared to other YouTube gaming/gaming news/gaming opinion channels though that's not saying much. He made a video in the past where he was bitching because Spore didn't run well on his Mac Book and concluded by saying, "PC gaming is for idiots with too much money." Now he makes PC gaming videos so go figure.

As for the general points he brings up in the video, yeah. I'd tend to agree. The Switch is not going to get great 3rd party support because;

-Significantly weaker than even the base model Xbox One
-Only 4GB of unified memory @ 1600MHz
-Devs have to deal with allowing for two different performance modes (unless they just decide to run it at the undocked clock speed regardless)
-Games will be limited to the size of the game cards (16GB? 32GB? It doesn't seem possible for games to come on 64GB cards and sell at $60 retail)
-Likely to have a smaller install base than the Xbox One
-Nintendo have historically been dicks to deal with (not unique to the Switch but worth mentioning)

I see the Switch as being a more successful Wii U 2.0. Good for playing Nintendo's first party games (which are excellent) but not much else. Also, I don't find the portable aspect of it compelling at all. A lot of people are giving the specs a pass because "it's powerful for a handheld." I view it as a home console that has a portable gimmick that most people will use a few times and then the novelty will wear off. They already carry a smart phone that can play games (albeit mostly shitty, casual ones). Most people would probably be fine with playing a simple mobile game rather than carrying something extra that can't even fit in their pocket to play Zelda for 10 minutes while they wait in the doctor's office.

 

[Yil]

Well, I guess we will have to wait for the announcements.
Things to keep in mind:
Hitting higher clock cost a lot more than having a bigger die, and not necessarily better thermally. Further, side cooling plates can be used.
Devs don't seem too negative about them.
Tegra X1 hasn't demonstrated the level of graphical power found in Seasons of Heaven. It was also announced during ces 2015.
It has a usb 3.1 gen 2 controller.

Ah good ole' Nate "Blunty" Burr. I wouldn't say he knows very little about tech. His knowledge is probably above average compared to other YouTube gaming/gaming news/gaming opinion channels though that's not saying much. He made a video in the past where he was bitching because Spore didn't run well on his Mac Book and concluded by saying, "PC gaming is for idiots with too much money." Now he makes PC gaming videos so go figure.

As for the general points he brings up in the video, yeah. I'd tend to agree. The Switch is not going to get great 3rd party support because;

-Significantly weaker than even the base model Xbox One
-Only 4GB of unified memory @ 1600MHz
-Devs have to deal with allowing for two different performance modes (unless they just decide to run it at the undocked clock speed regardless)
-Games will be limited to the size of the game cards (16GB? 32GB? It doesn't seem possible for games to come on 64GB cards and sell at $60 retail)
-Likely to have a smaller install base than the Xbox One
-Nintendo have historically been dicks to deal with (not unique to the Switch but worth mentioning)

I see the Switch as being a more successful Wii U 2.0. Good for playing Nintendo's first party games (which are excellent) but not much else. Also, I don't find the portable aspect of it compelling at all. A lot of people are giving the specs a pass because "it's powerful for a handheld." I view it as a home console that has a portable gimmick that most people will use a few times and then the novelty will wear off. They already carry a smart phone that can play games (albeit mostly shitty, casual ones). Most people would probably be fine with playing a simple mobile game rather than carrying something extra that can't even fit in their pocket to play Zelda for 10 minutes while they wait in the doctor's office.

They have lived through 3ds, they can handle the switch.
So in the mean time we should focus on the features.
Is anyone still interested in Motion control coupled with entry-level vr?

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Also f*** specs. I am getting a Vega 11 or 10 anyway.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

Ah good ole' Nate "Blunty" Burr. I wouldn't say he knows very little about tech. His knowledge is probably above average compared to other YouTube gaming/gaming news/gaming opinion channels though that's not saying much. He made a video in the past where he was bitching because Spore didn't run well on his Mac Book and concluded by saying, "PC gaming is for idiots with too much money." Now he makes PC gaming videos so go figure.

As for the general points he brings up in the video, yeah. I'd tend to agree. The Switch is not going to get great 3rd party support because;

-Significantly weaker than even the base model Xbox One
-Only 4GB of unified memory @ 1600MHz
-Devs have to deal with allowing for two different performance modes (unless they just decide to run it at the undocked clock speed regardless)
-Games will be limited to the size of the game cards (16GB? 32GB? It doesn't seem possible for games to come on 64GB cards and sell at $60 retail)
-Likely to have a smaller install base than the Xbox One
-Nintendo have historically been dicks to deal with (not unique to the Switch but worth mentioning)

I see the Switch as being a more successful Wii U 2.0. Good for playing Nintendo's first party games (which are excellent) but not much else. Also, I don't find the portable aspect of it compelling at all. A lot of people are giving the specs a pass because "it's powerful for a handheld." I view it as a home console that has a portable gimmick that most people will use a few times and then the novelty will wear off. They already carry a smart phone that can play games (albeit mostly shitty, casual ones). Most people would probably be fine with playing a simple mobile game rather than carrying something extra that can't even fit in their pocket to play Zelda for 10 minutes while they wait in the doctor's office.

Ill cover each and every point you made, have fun reading my blocks of paragraphs

1. Significantly weaker is a weird term when comparing two machines running on totally different architectures. Maxwell is by far better than the architecture found in the PS4 and XBONE (Keeping in mind those architectures were developed in 2011.) In terms of clock speed and CUDA cores, thats where its lacking. As for CPU power the A57's found in the X1 are much faster than jaguar which is found in the XBONE and PS4. We also have to remember that this chip is custom so it will be better than X1, probably even 16nm since its a portable.
2. As for 4GB of memory thats close to the amount of RAM that the PS4 has available for Games (4.9 GB) and usually mobile OS's are smaller than console OS's so RAM most likely wont take up much space on the console's RAM.
3. Scalability; No issues there at all keeping in mind developers have to make sure their games are scalable on PC's.
4. As for game cards, they are much better than their disc alts and can be compressed so games that would take much more space on a disk require a lot less on Game Card.
5. Likely? Well the XBONE has been around for 3 years so thats obvious.
6. Thats something they quite obviously have learned from, its obvious theyve left all the dev tools with Nvidia to tinker with.

The last paragraph of yours is a pretty subjective one. Ill give an example of a game that requires 100's of hours to complete; Xenoblade X which makes a lot of sense on portable as most people have busy lives that they cant waste their time playing this kind of game at home with the hopes of completing but once they take it on the go, it becomes an entirely different story as people can play games that require the time to complete home anywhere. As for time retention most people wont bring a gaming laptop to an airplane to play skyrim. This console is for people who travel a lot, thats why nintendo said this is replacing the WII u not the 3DS.

 

[AtlasFontaine]

http://nintendoeverything.com/diffe...able-switch-modes-spotted-in-unreal-engine-4/

A file in Unreal Engine 4’s master branch shows names for Switch, SwitchConsole and SwitchHandheld. As the developer points out, “the SwitchConsole settings are a notch lower than the UE4 defaults used on PC, PS4 and XB1.” It’s thought that the settings “serve as a good starting point to get a PS4/XB1 UE4 game to run acceptably on the Switch.”

One setting – specifically ScreenPercentage – is set at 66 percent and matches up with talk about Switch displaying at 1080p while docked and 720p when being played as a portable (66 percent of 1920 x 1080 is 1280 x 720). However, instead of only reducing the resolution to 720p in handheld mode, the engine also reduces graphical settings. Unreal Engine 4 is set at “FXAA” in console mode, but changes to “faster FXAA” in handheld mode. It’s also worth mentioning that Switch uses the full Unreal Engine 4 deferred renderer path rather than the “mobile” renderer.

This could mean that the switch will be more close to the Xbox 1 than to the WiiU

 

[DocAmes1980]

Well, I guess we will have to wait for the announcements.
Things to keep in mind:
Hitting higher clock cost a lot more than having a bigger die, and not necessarily better thermally. Further, side cooling plates can be used.
Devs don't seem too negative about them.
Tegra X1 hasn't demonstrated the level of graphical power found in Seasons of Heaven. It was also announced during ces 2015.
It has a usb 3.1 gen 2 controller.

They have lived through 3ds, they can handle the switch.
So in the mean time we should focus on the features.
Is anyone still interested in Motion control coupled with entry-level vr?

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Also f*** specs. I am getting a Vega 11 or 10 anyway.

I'm definitely buying a Switch so I certainly hope it doesn't suck. I think I'm in a good position though. I'm expecting it to be a potato so it will be hard to be disappointed.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

http://nintendoeverything.com/diffe...able-switch-modes-spotted-in-unreal-engine-4/



This could mean that the switch will be more close to the Xbox 1 than to the WiiU

KH3 on switch confirmed?

 

[KingVamp]

Is anyone still interested in Motion control coupled with entry-level vr?

Sure. Tho I'm more interested in the Motion Controls themselves.

 

[Xzi]

Woot, new info courtesy of UE4 changes!

Basically what this says is that Switch targets 1080p in docked mode and 720p in portable mode, and that graphics settings change between the two modes as well. In terms of presets what we're looking at is 0-3 (low to epic settings). Where the XB1 often reaches about a 2.7 with 30 FPS, Switch is aiming for a 2 in console mode and 1 in portable mode.

Worth noting that these differences are only really noticeable on-screen when we're talking about 0 vs a 3.

(edited for accuracy)

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

Woot, new info courtesy of UE4 changes!

Basically what this says is that Switch targets 1080p in docked mode and 720p in portable mode, and that graphics settings change between the two modes as well. In terms of presets what we're looking at is 1-4 (low to ultra settings). Where the XB1 often reaches about a 3 with 30 FPS, Switch is aiming for a 2 in console mode and 1 in portable mode.

Worth noting that these differences are only really noticeable on-screen when we're talking about 1 vs a 4.

So medium when docked? Not bad, i definitely think this might change once released.

 

[Xzi]

So medium when docked? Not bad, i definitely think this might change once released.

Yeah, right in line with about 85% of XB1's power like the other numbers suggest. Depending on optimization it can probably do a ~2.5 in a lot of games.

EDIT: I'm wrong about the numbering of presets in UE4. It goes 0-3, low to "epic." Which means Switch will probably see high settings in docked mode and medium settings in portable mode.

 

[DocAmes1980]

Ill cover each and every point you made, have fun reading my blocks of paragraphs

...

The last paragraph of yours is a pretty subjective one. Ill give an example of a game that requires 100's of hours to complete; Xenoblade X which makes a lot of sense on portable as most people have busy lives that they cant waste their time playing this kind of game at home with the hopes of completing but once they take it on the go, it becomes an entirely different story as people can play games that require the time to complete home anywhere. As for time retention most people wont bring a gaming laptop to an airplane to play skyrim. This console is for people who travel a lot, thats why nintendo said this is replacing the WII u not the 3DS.

1. I can't argue that because I lack the knowledge about the respective architectures to do so. I would still be shocked if the Switch isn't significantly less capable in terms of gaming performance (significantly being subjective).
2. True, but the PS4 uses DDR5. The Switch's memory is clocked at 1600MHz.
3. True, it wouldn't be that difficult. But it is one more thing they have to deal with.
4. What if the game cards are 16GB like rumors have suggested? Would a GTA V fit on that without reducing the fidelity of assets or cutting content? Would decompressing on the fly cost significant CPU resources?
5. Sure but I meant that the Switch won't sell as well as the Xbox One. I don't think one year in it will have the same install base as the Xbone did one year in.
6. I love their games but Nintendo still seems like a dick company to me.

I'll definitely use mine on the toilet. The Wii U gamepad loses connection before I get to the bathroom so I will at least be using the portable feature on some level.

 

[Yil]

Yeah, right in line with about 85% of XB1's power like the other numbers suggest. Depending on optimization it can probably do a ~2.5 in a lot of games.

That's considerably faster than Tegra x1, over twice even. Switch will have a massive, massive die.
Edit: Actually I think the switch might be as fast as X1 on portable mode.
@TheDarkGreninja Also if you bothered to search "tegra x1 overclock nx" you will find something rather interesting.
1. Maxwell is far more capable than 2011 tech even clock for clock.
2. That actually hinders cpu performance with some serious lag. But Jaguar weren't that good to begin with. LPDDR4 can hit over 50GB/s with 128-bit.
3. Not all dev will even bother with console mode.
4. Nands are whole lot cheaper and faster than blueray. They can also be manufactured directly in China or India since the nanotech is used is behind cpu for the sake of lifespan.
5. I am willing to trust the big N. Also PS4 is slowly becoming more and more 'bro'.
6. Cannot argue with that one.
That why it's better than the wii u.

 

[Xzi]

That's considerably faster than Tegra x1, over twice even. Switch will have a massive, massive die.
Edit: Actually I think the switch might be as fast as X1 on portable mode.

Yeah either they're using 4 SMs in a custom Tegra based on X1 and layering them on top of each other, or they've somehow managed to get double the performance out of X1 with just 2 SMs. Former seems more likely.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

Yeah, right in line with about 85% of XB1's power like the other numbers suggest. Depending on optimization it can probably do a ~2.5 in a lot of games.

EDIT: I'm wrong about the numbering of presets in UE4. It goes 0-3, low to "epic." Which means Switch will probably see high settings in docked mode and medium settings in portable mode.

Ah thought those numbers were a bit off.

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That's considerably faster than Tegra x1, over twice even. Switch will have a massive, massive die.
Edit: Actually I think the switch might be as fast as X1 on portable mode.
@TheDarkGreninja Also if you bothered to search "tegra x1 overclock nx" you will find something rather interesting.
1. Maxwell is far more capable than 2011 tech even clock for clock.
2. That actually hinders cpu performance with some serious lag. But Jaguar weren't that good to begin with. LPDDR4 can hit over 50GB/s with 128-bit.
3. Not all dev will even bother with console mode.
4. Nands are whole lot cheaper and faster than blueray. They can also be manufactured directly in China or India since the nanotech is used is behind cpu for the sake of lifespan.
5. I am willing to trust the big N. Also PS4 is slowly becoming more and more 'bro'.
6. Cannot argue with that one.
That why it's better than the wii u.

Ill make sure to research it

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1. I can't argue that because I lack the knowledge about the respective architectures to do so. I would still be shocked if the Switch isn't significantly less capable in terms of gaming performance (significantly being subjective).
2. True, but the PS4 uses DDR5. The Switch's memory is clocked at 1600MHz.
3. True, it wouldn't be that difficult. But it is one more thing they have to deal with.
4. What if the game cards are 16GB like rumors have suggested? Would a GTA V fit on that without reducing the fidelity of assets or cutting content? Would decompressing on the fly cost significant CPU resources?
5. Sure but I meant that the Switch won't sell as well as the Xbox One. I don't think one year in it will have the same install base as the Xbone did one year in.
6. I love their games but Nintendo still seems like a dick company to me.

I'll definitely use mine on the toilet. The Wii U gamepad loses connection before I get to the bathroom so I will at least be using the portable feature on some level.

5. Switch will probably sell better if marketed like the 3DS.

 

[Yil]

Ah thought those numbers were a bit off.

Now that's the monster Nvidia is so big about.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

Now that's the monster Nvidia is so big about.

Indeed, very surprising to say the least.

 

[Yil]

Ah thought those numbers were a bit off.

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Ill make sure to research it

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5. Switch will probably sell better if marketed like the 3DS.

Also according to multiple devs the development for the switch is a lot easier than 3ds, which they manage to push plenty of graphics.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

Also according to multiple devs the development for the switch is a lot easier than 3ds, which they manage to push plenty of graphics.

That brings me to my next idea, do you guys think this console will get a lot of 3ds ports that are just upgraded for switch? The basic code wont require much changing thanks to ARM.

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@Xzi Where did you get this info? Cant find it anywhere.