• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Digital Foundry: Nintendo Switch CPU and GPU clock speeds revealed

Status
Not open for further replies.

Trago

Member
If handheld clock speeds are so low, then why the heck is the screen 720p? It should's been 540p like a bunch of people originally suggested.
 

Neoxon

Junior Member
I was nothing short of crucified last time I brought it up that I called it that this machine would be about on par with a Wii U. So many people still expecting a portable PS4. Boy are you guys going to be disappointed...
Not many of us expected the Switch to be PS4-level, but this is definitely below most people's expectations.
 

Xater

Member
Wtf is wrong with y'all. 199 is where this needs to be! This is great news. I think it needs to even be lower, honestly. A portable Wii U isn't so bad and this is probably more modern than that.

Only great at that price tag though and latest rumor pricing has been higher than that which would be preposterous by Nintendo.

If handheld clock speeds are so low, then why the heck is the screen 720p? It should's been 540p like a bunch of people originally suggested.

You can probably expect a lot of games looking blurry running at less than native res. Nintendo will probably make sure to always hit the target but third parries not so much...
 
I haven't been posting all that much in Switch threads lately, but who the hell thought it would outcompete with the other two consoles in any real manner?
 

RexNovis

Banned
Wait the iPhone 7 is 730 gflops ffs. That would mean the thing is equivalent to 80% of an IPhone 7 gpu while docked. Wow. Nintendo is seriously cheaping out on the HW. I mean the damn thing is basically an underclocked Nvidia Shield for crying out loud. What a shame.
 

Shahadan

Member
Man if these specs are correct, yeah I would be totally willing to shell out $199 for it. But if it cost $299 I would be so disappointed.

But god damn those portable specs are low...

It's supposed to be 250 and 300 with splatoon. Rumored at least.
Now Nintendo has an history of changing prices at the last moment according to the hype or lack of it.
 

Rolf NB

Member
DQXI is not based on the 3DS version, that's almost certainty. Skyrim is way too demanding to run in any way on a last-gen console.

It's even running Dark Souls 3 based on LKD. Seriously.
Can't tell if serious.


43448-the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim.png
 
What the fuck? Really?

How would this be even compared to the Wii U?

Jesus. It better be no more than $200. I don't even know if I could bring myself to pay $250 for that.
 
They confirm that it's 256 cores.

Where? I thought they explicitly said one of the things still missing is the number of CUDA cores.

Performance at lower clocks could be boosted by a larger GPU (ie more CUDA cores), but this seems unlikely - even if Switch is using newer 16nm technology, actual transistor density isn't that different to Tegra X1's 20nm process - it's the FinFET '3D' transistors that make the difference.
 
Let's all jump to conclusions without having seen the games.

Why not?

Mostly my thoughts. The recent upheaval in news about the Switch's power has left a sour feeling because everyone's tripping over themselves to make the case for why it shpuld matter over the actual games.

Software sells hardware.
 

18-Volt

Member
If it is a Wii U portable and a pumped up Wii U while docked, I'm totally fine with it. As long as the price is good, obviously.

How are you happy? Are you guys expecting good and plenty first party games on this thing? That's not happening Wii U proved that Nintendo isn't capable making games on HD hardware. At best you should expect one new Mario game, one new Monolith game and one Animal Crossing game. Rest will be Wii U ports and filler software. Quality of first party Nintendo is dropping constantly and Nintendo NEED second and third party stuff.
 

zelas

Member
Well i guess its clear that Nintendo thinks its future lies in holding out as long as it can by merging its console and handheld audiences and relying solely on Nintendo fans. I wonder if this is the result of their typical stubborness or if they're finally giving up on third parties/trying to cater to a variety of audiences.
 

Neoxon

Junior Member
What the fuck? Really?

How would this be even compared to the Wii U?

Jesus. It better be no more than $200. I don't even know if I could bring myself to pay $250 for that.
If Laura Kate Dale's sources are correct, you may be a bit disappointed by the price tag ($250-300).
 

user_nat

THE WORDS! They'll drift away without the _!
Seems likely that they'll be selling this thing cheap. Which is probably their best bet.

Out of interest, how does this compare with something like an iPad Pro?
 
Nintendo is selling this as a hybrid and are pushing the console angle. Excusing the specs by calling it a portable is damage control, imo.


Not damage control, just some rational thought to break up the hyperbole about to run rampant.

People expecting a portable XB1/PS4 are being foolish.
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
If handheld clock speeds are so low, then why the heck is the screen 720p? It should's been 540p like a bunch of people originally suggested.

720p should be the lowest. i wouldn't buy any device in 2017 that only has a 540p screen.
 

BreakAtmo

Member
Disappointing, but if this gives me Wii U graphics in 720p with better framerates in portable mode and a jump to 1080p in docked mode, then I still want it.
 

MuchoMalo

Banned
Why did people expect power again?

I mean, power wasn't a Nintendo things since the Gamecube, which dates from 2001.

It won't happen guys. :lol

We expected an upgrade over Wii U at least.

I love how nothing is considered fucking acceptable. If it were half as powerful a Wii U and we expected a Wii U sidegrade based on the exact info we've had up to this point, would you make this same post?
 
Hmm, that is pretty weak. If this is true, there will be very little if any differences between Zelda on this and the Wii U. Definitely no chance of a FFXV port either. In fact, ports from current gen are going to be a bit tricky...
 

Mashing

Member
What I find baffling is why Nvidia would even give them the time of day with these awful specs? Their engineer's had to be biting their tongue the entire time as Nintendo laid out their requirements.
 

Kssio_Aug

Member
I've been calling it a "sidegrade" for a while now because that's where I thought the strategy made sense. The model is Vita + Vita tv, though integrated better and with nintendo support. And that's not that bad. It will probably allow Nintendo to stay relevant in western markets. Just what I think.

I agree. It depends on the price tag though.

If they price it well, I'm totally interested. A Wii U portable is pretty great for a Nintendo console. I never expected it to be as strong as a XB1/PS4 though... so maybe that's why I'm not disappointed.
 

jett

D-Member
2.5x Wii U, less than 1/3 of Xbox One.

So... basically two WiiUs taped together?? /s

(although different arquitecture and not really comparable, the Wii U's GPU is actually running at a faster speed than an undocked Switch :p)

I said this early when rumors about the NX specs were coming out, but I expect graphics on this machine to be comparable to Wii U games, more than probably just 720p docked, and maybe sub-native undocked (like many Vita games).
 

Oregano

Member
I was expecting more like 250flops portable and 600Gflops docked and thought that was reasonable but apparently not.

It's still a massive leap for portables but disappointing to say the least.
 
really the only situation in which these details please me is if they are able to hit a 199 launch price and the thing can actually hit 6-8 hours when undocked.

also the active cooling is rather perplexing
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
If this is true - i definitely expect a 3DS sized model to follow 12 month after Switch is out. Should be possible considering how much they downclocked the SoC.
 
How are you happy? Are you guys expecting good and plenty first party games on this thing? That's not happening Wii U proved that Nintendo isn't capable making games on HD hardware. At best you should expect one new Mario game, one new Monolith game and one Animal Crossing game. Rest will be Wii U ports and filler software. Quality of first party Nintendo is dropping constantly and Nintendo NEED second and third party stuff.

Merging platforms will lead to more software titles.
 

z0m3le

Banned
Why would it be actively cooled? these clocks on maxwell 20nm X1 are easily passively cooled in the Switch's area. The Pixel C with much higher clocks is passively cooled and has half the thickness. Seems really weird, maybe we don't know the core count?
 
So how does it run skyrim? Or is it just that skyrim isn't very demanding? I guess that's how it is4k on PS4. Or I guess it ran on last gen machines...

Skyrim could run on the Wii U at 720P I imagine. It is over 5 years old. I'm guessing the Switch port isn't targeting the new assets, 60 fps, or 4K.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom