Nintendo Switch Uses Stock NVIDIA Tegra X1 T210 CPU & GM20B Maxwell Core

A Nintendo Switch teardown has revealed that Nintendo’s new platform uses a stock NVIDIA Tegra X1 CPU and GM208 Maxwell GPU.It’s been known for quite a well that the Switch would be powered by a NVIDIA Tegra processor. In October of last year, NVIDIA announced that Nintendo’s new hybrid platform would sport a “custom Tegra processor”. “

[porkChop]

This article could be completely right, but the source doesn't actually claim anywhere that the chip hasn't been customized in any way. The source says it looks to be a T210 and GM20B, and explains what cores, etc, those would have, but doesn't mention stock anywhere. It's only even mentioned in one small paragraph.

Some clarification would be nice so that people could just accept the system for what it is.

[bf000777966]

the customization is that the chip is downclocked.

[bouzebbal]

Who cares, it still can't run 3rd party games without drastic sacrifices..
Just watch dragon quest heroes 2 comparison. Water effect is worse than what we have seen on n64

[morganfell]

Uhm bouzebbal... he was being sarcastic. Did you read what he wrote? You are replying like he said something good about the chip.

[mossman]

I find your response simultaneously stupid and hilarious. Well played!

[corroios]

Not even a custam chip and they want 330 for this? With 720p screen in 2017 . If sony or microsoft did this!

[MRMagoo123]

no no no nintendo dont get free passes remember tut tut tut at least that's what I have been told about 100 times.

[Nu]

MRMagoo what did Nintendo do to you? /s

[higgins78]

Yes, a 720p screen is sensible because a 6inch screen demands little more AND battery life, that is keeping it relatively healthy. Asking for 1080p (for example) would be overkill on such a small screen AND reduce battery life. Don't get me wrong, I've plenty gripes with my Switch, this is NOT one of them.

[CrimsonPheonix]

"If sony or microsoft did this!"

Then you would consider them brilliant for not wasting hardware resources on unnecessary resolution.

[Segata]

Vita has a 540P screen.

[XtreemGamer]

Vita was released way back in 2011... try again.

[Wallstreet37]

As I posted before and debated back and forth with the arm chair analysts and know it all's on here. The neogaf insiders and rumors were true once again! Switch uses the chips we all knew but blind fanboys hyped up as some secret sauce "customized chip" bs. All consoles have customized chips but they vary little from the stock versions. Ppl trying to put the twist "well it's not an x1 Tegra chip because it's modified was hilarious. Here you go, go eat crow like you do on a monthly bases lol

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Most of this is unsubstantiated/unclarified, as Porkchop said above.

[Wallstreet37]

lol some of you never give up. Insiders have been right about this thing over 90% of the time and the defense force just doesn't quit. When it doesn't suit or put Nintendo in a positive light it's always same excuse. Porkchop as a matter of fact as I remember was one of the crusaders trying to paint the Nintendo chip as so highly customized that it couldn't be called an x1 tegra lol haha how hilarious. I tried to tell ppl all consoles have modified chip but they vary little from stock so Nintendos chip would be an x1 tegra and low and behold this news. Unsubstantiated huh? Lol professional have did tear downs already with pictures of the chips,dyes and all (see my other post). This isn't unsubstantiated bro, try again.

We will be OK, I'm enjoying my portable switch all the same.

[_-EDMIX-_]

At the end of the day what does it actually matter? It's not going to be able to run the top third party triple A Properties so I'm not really sure the relevance of just how weak it is really matters , it's not powerful enough so no one really cares just by how much

It's not powerful enough so the specifics it's actually irrelevant to most users.

What's ironic is the same insiders technically leak the entire damn platform before it's released so I'm not sure what's the desperation of trying to pretend that they're wrong on this one thing when some of this damn insiders leaked the platform even it announcement release date

For god sakes you were even commenting on some of the information when it was confirmed but you're trying to pretend that this isn't true suddenly?

LMFAO yes, everything else is already been confirmed to be correct but yes this is the one thing that's a mystery. /s

[Qdog]

@Edmix

https://youtu.be/ZuLJuDJqcW...

Not powerful enough, eh?

Seems like if the game is optimized and properly compiled, the same hardware in the ShieldTV can run PC ports at 1080p 60fps no problem.

The Switch runs the X1 throttled gpu clock settings of the Shield TV (768mhz under sustained load), and we still don't know for sure what the CPU clocks are. We now know that it has 4x A57 cores and 4x A53 cores, but at what speeds?

So how is it not powerful enough?

[_-EDMIX-_]

@Q- yes not powerful enough I'm not sure why you thought showing me a montage of last generation games was going to change something, do you not understand the concept of something more powerful? It is not a subjective idea it is an objective one for a fact it is not more powerful than the Xbox One or PlayStation 4.

Thus it will not receive games that I have been created with a purpose of maxing out those platforms.

In order for it to receive games on the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 level it actually has to be equivalent to all areas for developers to not have to do shortcuts and workarounds or downgrades.

To my understanding for an objective fact it is not equivalent to an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 and all areas for such a thing to be feasible therefore no it is not powerful "enough" based on that concept.

You're basically asking for all third-party developers to Nerf their games and make them last generation looking....

I mean in that respect sure it could possibly be enough if developers felt that the Xbox one and PlayStation 4 or actually too powerful and did not really serve their needs you would technically be correct. ie last Generation what's inside of the Wii U or the switch could be in theory exactly what developers needed and 8 gigs of RAM and all the GPU power in PlayStation 4 and Xbox One would have been unused and not needed , then sure you could have the argument that the switch is enough but that would only make sense if no one was maxing out Xbox one and PlayStation 4.

That is not the case.

[Qdog]

@Edmix

I perhaps gave you too much credit when I expected a reasonable consideration. Last gen or not, they are still full on PC ports and most of 5hem playing at 1080p 60fps. You're argument that it's too weak to play more modern console games is ironically weak as well. It's no slouch for a mobile and no doubt it will get games third party or otherwise. Come back to my comment in a year and let's continue this discussion. Or are you just adamantly against a console because of the manufacturer's brand?

I own them all every generation, new and used, and before the switch I spent most of my time on steam (recently sold an 18+ Teraflop PC) and Xbox one, regardless I am brand agnostic and play the most on the system that gives me the best experience currently. It's sad that you'll likely miss out on that as a gamer because of your unsupported statements. You aren't fooling anyone, your post history is in almost every Nintendo thread saying derogatory things about anything Nintendo Switch.

Also, no console within a generation has ever been the equivalent of another and they all required scaling and optimizations, it didn't stop any of them from getting games. Every generation going back decades, at least one console was weaker in some aspect than the other.

Even now Xbox one is technically inferior to PS4, and PS4 is inferior to PS4 Pro, and all of them will be inferior to Scorpio, yet all will receive games on a regular release schedule with some things turned down.

So to borrow your own logic, all multi platform developers are already "nerfing" their games to get them to run on weaker systems, why would they say no to Nintendo when they already do it and it's a part of the industry as a whole?

It is my well researched opinion that the switch has ample hardware to deliver solid and memorable gaming experiences on the go, no matter the developer.

[ABizzel1]

@EDMIX

The point of disclosing the details, is to finalize where the Switch is performance wise, so there's no more questioning it's performance by fans who have no grasp on technology and simply spread misinformation regarding hardware. Now people know the ballpark performance. There were still people claiming the Switch had a 1 TFLOP GPU which holds some truth, but not for gaming. The Tegra X1 is only 1 TFLOP in FP16, not FP32 which is what gaming is based on when GPUs are rated by floating point comparisons, with similar processors.

It just ends all that misinformation.

@Qdog

It would be nice if you actually listed the performance of those games. Because considering I have the NVIDIA shield TV, and I've checked performance on several of those games and Eurogamer has it as well, the only AAA game from that montage that runs 1080p @ 60fps is Doom BFG edition. Metal Gear is notoriously bad running on the hardware. Though in your defence it's not fully optimized for the NVIDIA platform. The Switch is capable of running last-gen games at 1080p resolutions, and in some cases 60fps depending on the game, due to a more powerful GPU.

But overall it's not getting support from AAA 3rd party games, because the performance gap is too far for the majority of western developers to care, making a port means having a completely separate team for Switch versions, and the expense to profit balance in not in their favor based on history.

[Qdog]

@Abizzle

Thank you for the intelligent reply. I posted A link to a video of PC ports running on the Shield TV, because if a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth even more. The reasoning behind being vague is that nobody knows how modern of a game will run on the switch. The Switch is a solid platform that uses arguably the highest performing mobile hardware that was available to Nintendo at a competitive price when they decided to go forward with the Switch. Nobody is saying it's going to max the Witcher 3 at 4k 60fps like my former PC did, but it has a lot of appeal to people who want to play console quality games on the go, which I'd argue touches the Vita crowd as well (dwindling though they may be). I just wish people would stop knocking the system long enough for Nintendo to show us what can be done with it. Word of mouth can be very very damaging and folks around here play it really friggin fast and loose in that regard.

I myself had the k1 tablet, and I loved it. It played a host of demanding games and I spent many an hour with it in console mode. The Switch has better hardware than the K1 and I am of the distinct opinion that with NVidia as a partner, the stable of AAA titles available on the switch could grow exponentially. Really, how hard would it be to port games that run well on Shield TV to the Switch? Has nobody considered this little tidbit?

I'm one of the people that wanted an X1 tablet, and Nintendo was the company to make it happen.

[babadivad]

Yup, I called this months ago. It's X1 and it's Maxwell. Got down voted to oblivion.

[Wallstreet37]

http://m.neogaf.com/showthr...

Teardowns have been done and the chips are as stated.

Next time instead of being know it alls and letting your blind love of a corporation take over your every response (always in defense of it) , try to investigate and not dismiss insider info :)

By the way I'm a proud owner of the portable console switch.

[blady_man]

Thats right, i knew when i bought it it didnt have the power of a ps4, but then again thats why i bought a ps4 pro!! I am loving the switch and loving even more zelda, and horizon dawn is damm good too!!!

[Wallstreet37]

I agree. I love the build and the switch for what it is, a great portable with option to play on big screen.

[DrJones]

You're a rare breed

[UltimateOwnage]

Same for me. I have a Pro for the stuff Switch will never be able to run, and I love the switch just the same regardless of it's specs. They're entertainment, and the switch entertains me extremely well at the moment on my TV or wherever I'm at in the house. I'm satisfied, because I never expected something so small to be on par with a PS4 and still be mobile when I bought the thing. Hell, I still play my PS1 and SNES games and don't give a damn about pixel count, I care about being entertained and that's where I get my sense of value in the product.

[girevik]

Yes! I can't stop switching (pun intended) between Horizon and Zelda! Both are amazing games.

[Razuel]

well that was lazy.

[Einhander1971]

Worse than N64 textures think you need glasses. Obviously you don't own a switch and probably never will so why does it effect you anyway go away and troll some where else.

[Sirk7x]

I think people either forget, or are too young to remember what most games looked like. For me, the biggest jump and revelation in graphics was the difference between the SNES/Sega and PSX/N64 generation. Groundbreaking leaps were made in video game design. Microsoft also changed the game with the Xbox, and having PC/online features in a console, which are standard these days. From experience, I know games that look fantastic now will seem incredibly dated in less than a decade, in both visual quality and gameplay. The games that have always stood the test of time are those with fantastic game/level design, gameplay, and art direction.

[DrJones]

Wind Waker

[WickedLester]

So essentially they took the Wii U, shrunk it down to a quasi portable form factor, and added more RAM. Got it!

[Segata]

It's about 2x the Wii U and having that in your pocket is pretty insane.

[WickedLester]

LOL that thing ain't fitting into anyone's pocket. Which is my biggest problem with it. Too big to be a handheld, too weak to be a console. It's a jack of all trades, master of none machine.

[XtreemGamer]

Well then I got a monster portable in my pocket since last year... its called galaxy s7. Its at least as fast as a switch and has way better quality and higher res screen. And this year s8 will be even much faster... So if you really think the switch is amazing,think again.

[Segata]

Fits in my pocket.

[WickedLester]

Not unless you wear cargo pants with pockets a foot deep.

[Prince_TFK]

@XtreemGamer
Oh and what great AAA games do you play on your super powerful Galaxy s7 and soon to be Galaxy S8? Oh thats right! Super Mario Run!

[mastiffchild]

Also, a new Sammy S7 costs what new? 600 quid? Sure, its a nice phone and if anyone made half decent android games it would play them well(as long as they were properly supporting the controller you need to carry as touchscreen can never be AAA)but it lives miles away from Switch in price and after just BotW ive already played more good game hours than I ever have on my Pixel or P9. That said both phones AND.Switch are waaaay too dear but when.you look at the prices for Wii U im.not shocked at Ninty charging seventy.quid for a bloody pad.

[feraldrgn]

Not looking good going forward.

[Qdog]

So it's an octacore that functions as a quad core? Interesting to say the least. I saw the chipworks x-ray of the chip, and honestly I'm psyched to see what they can accomplish. As a mobile device it is very powerful, but as a home console its only triple the Wiiu and less than Xbox one if I understand correctly.

Still, considering that the shield TV can run PC ports at 1080p 60fps (with higher cpu clocks), I'm stoked to see the switch runs not only popular APIs but a custom NVidia one as well. It's evident that if the game is properly optimized for the Tegra/NVN fork, it can do some pretty good gaming.

I don't use a launch title as an indication of all limitations present, because let's be honest, what console didn't improve vastly as it's development process matured? If Naughty Dog could pull off Uncharted on the PS3 with the incredibly difficult CellBE (one general purpose processor core), underpowered (severely outdated) GPU, and 512mb of split ram, it's safe to say the switch has a lot of room to grow.

To the people saying it's not powerful enough, you are entitled to your opinion as I am to mine, and in my opinion, it's the most powerful portable console ever mad, so far. Please prove me wrong, I dare you.

https://youtu.be/ZuLJuDJqcW...

[_-EDMIX-_]

"can run PC ports at 1080p 60fps"

Why are you remaining vague? You're basically saying PC ports so that way people would assume you are referring to what is the current in latest and regards to the generational standard in terms of Technology.

The link that you actually showed was representative more of last generation titles as well as lower base games.

Yes Uncharted could do amazing things on the PlayStation 3 but what you're not focusing on is it cost Millions upon millions of dollars to produce that game.

Did you just think that over time having a system more powerful with somehow I mean it would still not cost Millions?

So you're basically asking a developer to make a game equivalent to it literally a 10 year old game that's going to cost them millions for Less return?

Uncharted 1 makes sense for when it released on the PlayStation 3 I'm sorry but something like that doesn't make sense 10 years later.

You're asking them to spend Millions on something that's clearly going to be a lesser than Uncharted 4.

I don't disagree with you that it is feasible because that is objectively true simply that it is improbable that you're going to have a developer spend that type of money on dated Hardware.

The only company that's going to do something like that it's going to be Nintendo themselves.

But even if so I'm not sure what's the praise of a company making a game that looks 10 years old, yet you're paying the price of a current generation platform in return.

Good luck finding any developer to make their base game a last generation game simply to support the switch.

That is like asking Rockstar to make their game look like GTA San Andreas last gen while their competitors are making their games look equivalent to GTA V.

So I asked you in that same respect , what does Uncharted 1 looking game releasing Ten Years After uncharted mean to something equivalent to Uncharted 4?

I mean that might be suffice for you but it doesn't make sense for most developers to spend all that money on something that is lesser.

I'm not even sure how that's something to even be proud of. Lol

The people that want games that look equivalent to the Uncharted series already on those platforms for such technical Marvels I don't think they're going to be running around looking for dated hardware for such experiences.

Those people that bought a PlayStation 3 10 years ago for something like Uncharted bought a PlayStation 4 for something like Uncharted 4 they're going to go with where this series is progressing.

[Qdog]

Seriously dude, self important much? Really, who are you? PC doesnt have a generation for games so stop trying to console-ize PC. I can play games released 15+ years ago without an HD remake, simply because games dont have generations. Man, you make alot of very flawed arguments based solely on your ill-informed opinion and nitpicking semantics. I'm being nice right now.

Also, there is no need to be specific when I posted a link to a video showing.... wait for it... 25 PC games running on the X1 hardware, I know right, whodathunkit? If you or anyone else is interested in what titles specifically have been tested, my response to you is to take the jump and research it, I mean it's not exactly hidden or anything.

Please by all means, continue this argument in my absence, I have not the time to argue with nonsense nor the inclination to train a future shill, when Breath of the wild is at my fingertips. Please go get your tree fiddy elsewhere.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@q- I'm sorry but you can't say stuff like

"can run PC ports at 1080p 60fps"

Without being specific about what PC games are actually talking about , another user actually made the same statement because I know I'm not the only one that caught that discrepancy.

No one saying that you can't or shouldn't play PC games that released 15 years ago , that's actually not the point, it's the fact that you just said "PC ports" and essentially left the rest of it very vague and ambiguous as to lead people to believe you're referring to current generational PC titles, I'm sorry but even though PC does not have a generation the way consoles have it there are clearly levels to performance.

Both levels of performance and regards the games actually coincide third party games that released on consoles just like there is a significant leap from Assassin's Creed 4 to Assassin's Creed Unity that seem leave actually still happens on PC so at the end of the day we still specifically need to know what you're talking about.

If I told you I'm making a handheld that could play "console games" that doesn't automatically necessarily mean I'm talking about Battlefield 1 or Final Fantasy 15 level games.

I simply stated "console" and if you take what I'm saying literally I technically could be referring to any console for all you know I'm talking about the Super Nintendo.

I'm simply saying because we're talking about technology specs in things that are very specific you just cannot throw around that term without specifically designating what you're talking about.

I'm sorry but the point that I'm making is 100% Justified you have to be specific on what you're referring to.

Hurling insults is not going to help your case what I'm bringing up is specifically stating that you have to be specific and logical in your argument.

So when you say "PC ports" you have to explain what you mean by that.

Trust me I understood very quickly what you were trying to sneak by, I own a gaming PC that I built myself.

You wanted people to hear PC ports in to assume the latest and greatest in regards to the threshold of performance and the biggest problem I have is you have to be specific based on what you're talking about an order for people to gauge an understanding of what you're referring to.

Those PC games are talking about are also games that released last generation and regards to the performance you're referring to they are not current generation titles that were on Xbox One or PlayStation 4.

They are titles that are ports from last generation games.

Just like I couldn't just say I have a handheld that's coming out that can run console games and not specifically tell you the consoles are referring to.

I'm not sure how that would not be of relevance to the consumer.

So I agree that PC does not have a generation similar to how you see Xbox and Playstation, but they actually still have a migration of titles in regards to shift of performance.

Just like people need to know if you're talking about playing Final Fantasy 15 or Final Fantasy 10.

Would it be fair to advertise that this mysterious handheld I was working on could play the console Final Fantasy but not say which one?

🤔🤔

So my point is extremely simple to what benefit is it to hide transparency and not be specific? Did you really think you were going to sneak that by and people weren't to question what you were referring to?.

[girevik]

Right on! I've got a ps4 pro and I don't need nor care if the switch is as powerful. Two different devices and purposes.

People love to make mountains out of molehills.

[girevik]

@Qdog

Since the Switch has partnered with Nvidia and it's basically a shield, do you think we might get GeForce Now service on the switch?

[Qdog]

I really don't know, but it's possible. Also it would be really cool if it happened.

[mcstorm]

I really could not gone a c### about what co is inside the switch Xbox one or ps4. All i want is fun and memorable games to play. Do they all offer this? Yes in my book

[girevik]

Honest question here. Does the Nvidia Shield tablet have a fan? I was surprised to see such a beefy vent on the Switch. If the shield tablet doesn't and the Switch does could that mean the Switch is indeed customized and more powerful than a stock X1?

[porkChop]

The Shield Tablet uses passive cooling from what I understand. No fans. The Shield TV (console) uses an active cooling system with fans.

[girevik]

Thank you!