Hardware Nintendo Switch Technical Specifications Discussion

[Yil]

The dock as it's being shipped with the initial production run of the Switch is just plastic and wiring.

What's stopping Nintendo from releasing a GPU upgrade dock 2-3 years down the road?

Limited bandwidth.

 

[GerbilSoft]

Is it confirmed that USB Type C is the only way the dock connects to the main unit? Previous Nintendo docks (e.g. Wii U Gamepad, 3DS charging cradles) used a separate set of pins for power instead of plugging into the main charging port, so it's entirely possible that there's an extra connector that provides a high-speed connection. (Maybe it isn't visible in the trailer?)

 

[Yil]

Is it confirmed that USB Type C is the only way the dock connects to the main unit? Previous Nintendo docks (e.g. Wii U Gamepad, 3DS charging cradles) used a separate set of pins for power instead of plugging into the main charging port, so it's entirely possible that there's an extra connector that provides a high-speed connection. (Maybe it isn't visible in the trailer?)

That's definitely possible. Well the unveil will come soon enough.

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@TheDarkGreninja Just checked k1 denver is twice as fast as a57 and as fast as a Jaguar core. x2 Denver will be much faster than that.

 

[TEINDTPA]

8gb on a handheld is ridiculous. A portable OS is always small and im sure nintendos wont be large either.

Maybe 3gb undocked 6go docked? ex: Nvidia 980N undocked nvidia 1080N docked . Maybe the switch will come with a special edited GPU differently from what we know and Nintendo did a choice for the ram to have enough place for cooling system and not make the system heat when undocked , so my theory is that it is a custom geforce 1080N with 4 go, 8go ram total 2 go os when docked and lower the power to a 980 or lower and low the ram used to half , it would mean that maybe nintendo have made 2 motherboard inside the switch ,so they can intereact easly like the cpu on 3ds arm11 and arm9 cpu interact and need each other for working around it would be for doing less heat as the cpu is on other mother board so the heat is distributed here a paint i did for quick show! it is only a theory!

http://imgur.com/a/uY0K4

Srry for my bad English hope you all understand!

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

The dock as it's being shipped with the initial production run of the Switch is just plastic and wiring.

What's stopping Nintendo from releasing a GPU upgrade dock 2-3 years down the road?

source? Right now if there is no hardware acceleration that dock better be thinner and smaller because its a bit too large to just be plastic and wiring.

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That's definitely possible. Well the unveil will come soon enough.

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@TheDarkGreninja Just checked k1 denver is twice as fast as a57 and as fast as a Jaguar core. x2 Denver will be much faster than that.

That was what I was saying.

 

[Yil]

Maybe 3gb undocked 6go docked? ex: Nvidia 980N undocked nvidia 1080N docked . Maybe the switch will come with a special edited GPU differently from what we know and Nintendo did a choice for the ram to have enough place for cooling system and not make the system heat when undocked , so my theory is that it is a custom geforce 1080N with 4 go, 8go ram total 2 go os when docked and lower the power to a 980 or lower and low the ram used to half , it would mean that maybe nintendo have made 2 motherboard inside the switch ,so they can intereact easly like the cpu on 3ds arm11 and arm9 cpu interact and need each other for working around it would be for doing less heat as the cpu is on other mother board so the heat is distributed here a paint i did for quick show! it is only a theory!

http://imgur.com/a/uY0K4

Srry for my bad English hope you all understand!

No need for dual board, just dual protocols.
The only thing I had against your theory is the 1080/ 980 part. They use different manufacture, both have huge dies to fit in the tablet and going with down clock is as feasible. But the correct metaphor expect ram does not need to be halfed.
My theory: Dual Denver or quad a73 with gp206 (gp204 suggest much better efficiency and lower cost compared to 1070/ 1080. Check gtx 2070) that has a bios for mobile and a bios for high power mode, being vastly different. This is achieved by a huge boost in power with a high power usb c controller.
@TheDarkGreninja 's theory is that there is another setup with hot-swapping egpu.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

I guess you are one of those in denial. The dock doesn't contain a gpu or cpu of any kind. It's there to charge the unit, controllers and display. And being super cheap means like 25-50 dollar range. No way they are going to put a processor in there at that price. The idea we may be able to buy more for addtional TVs also puts the finale nail in the external processor coffin

You haven't provided any sources stop with the weak arguments. You act like this machine is expensive to produce ($130 for the main console) so they have another $170 to work with just to make this machine forgetting that Nvidia might be selling their chips at a loss.

 

[GerbilSoft]

source? Right now if there is no hardware acceleration that dock better be thinner and smaller because its a bit too large to just be plastic and wiring.

The source is Nintendo saying it's only for charging and TV output: http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/21/13356760/nintendo-switch-dock-functionality-tv-output-power

That implies it's just plastic to hold the system and wiring to connect the system's outputs to a separate charging port and HDMI output.

 

[Saiyan Lusitano]

Battery life is between 3-4 hours

This was an issue the Wii U GamePad so I hope it's not that miserable amount of battery life.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

This was an issue the Wii U GamePad so I hope it's not that miserable amount of battery life.

That battery life is ok for such a powerful machine, im just hoping they release some sort of power bank seeing as how rumours say it uses USB Type-C

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The source is Nintendo saying it's only for charging and TV output: http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/21/13356760/nintendo-switch-dock-functionality-tv-output-power

That implies it's just plastic to hold the system and wiring to connect the system's outputs to a separate charging port and HDMI output.

They said its MAIN function was to provide power and throughput, not all its functions since they didn't even talk about the USB ports. Also
I should point out that Laura Kate Dale reported the dock would have additional power and she was the one who reported the Switch name before nintendo announced it and she got the controller near enough correct.

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Also please read the OP regarding the dock because those three ideas are the most widely discussed.

 

[KingVamp]

Maybe it getting more power, goes beyond just giving it a stronger power supply.

That battery life is ok for such a powerful machine, im just hoping they release some sort of power bank seeing as how rumours say it uses USB Type-C

If Usb charging is true, it probably why they trying to stop selling as much chargers. If they don't release a power bank, third party will.

I wonder if a gray Usb will ship with it. Also wonder if it can sent data to the computer and back.

 

[Yil]

Maybe it getting more power, goes beyond just giving it a stronger power supply.

If Usb charging is true, it probably why they trying to stop selling as much chargers. If they don't release a power bank, third party will.

I wonder if a gray Usb will ship with it. Also wonder if it can sent data to the computer and back.

Probably not. That would be asking to be hacked.

 

[Futurdreamz]

I guess you are one of those in denial. The dock doesn't contain a gpu or cpu of any kind. It's there to charge the unit, controllers and display. And being super cheap means like 25-50 dollar range. No way they are going to put a processor in there at that price. The idea we may be able to buy more for addtional TVs also puts the finale nail in the external processor coffin

that's not what he was saying. He was saying the difference would be analogous to a gaming laptop in power-saving mode when on battery, and when it's plugged in and sitting on a cooling pad it goes into a power mode that bumps up the clocks and such. If it ran in power mode while on battery it would only last for two hours and would overheat.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

You haven't provided any sources stop with the weak arguments. You act like this machine is expensive to produce ($130 for the main console) so they have another $170 to work with just to make this machine forgetting that Nvidia might be selling their chips at a loss.

Yes, ish, but they need to make at least a little bit of profit so I'd estimate only another ~$150 at most, assuming we're running with the example of the tablet costing $130 to produce

 

[Yil]

that's not what he was saying. He was saying the difference would be analogous to a gaming laptop in power-saving mode when on battery, and when it's plugged in and sitting on a cooling pad it goes into a power mode that bumps up the clocks and such. If it ran in power mode while on battery it would only last for two hours and would overheat.

The question is how much of a difference.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

Maybe it getting more power, goes beyond just giving it a stronger power supply.

If Usb charging is true, it probably why they trying to stop selling as much chargers. If they don't release a power bank, third party will.

I wonder if a gray Usb will ship with it. Also wonder if it can sent data to the computer and back.

I this uses type-c it means charging will also be quite fast which is a nice possibility.

 

[Yil]

I this uses type-c it means charging will also be quite fast which is a nice possibility.

Definitely. My x1 tablet has a 45w charger.

 

[TheDarkGreninja]

Yes, ish, but they need to make at least a little bit of profit so I'd estimate only another ~$150 at most, assuming we're running with the example of the tablet costing $130 to produce

Software sales are what can gain them profit, both ps4 and XBONE are sold at a loss but they make that money back through software sales.

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The question is how much of a difference.

id say 500 Gflops portable and 1.1-1.3 in dock. This is with the idea that the dock doesnt have an egpu which if the dock does could bump up to about 1.6-1.9 so as powerful if not more than a PS4.

 

[Futurdreamz]

The question is how much of a difference.

At least enough to hop from the 720p internal screen to the 1080p external screen with no loss of quality.

 

[Yil]

At least enough to hop from the 720p internal screen to the 1080p external screen with no loss of quality.

I am talking about jumping from tegra to gtx.