Milly Osworth
Member
Nintendo is going for the DS market if this is all true. It will be a gigantic upgrade from 3DS, but as a console it's pretty damn mehhh.
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Digital Foundry: Nintendo Switch CPU and GPU clock speeds revealed
- Thread starter Vashetti
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Xenoblade X was a mindblown and this one will runs on a much more powerful hardware...I expect to be blown away again, with Xenoblade 3.
schaft0620
Member
This makes me think there will be incremental upgrades every other year.
Looking back at my DS3 benchmarks, 2 (Intel) cores at 2 GHz is enough to maintain 30 FPS in that game at high settings -- on PC, with what that implies for graphics API overhead. As long as they manage to make it scale to 4 cores, running at 30 (at least From software 30) at lower settings should be doable. For graphics, it's a question of just how low you can go in terms of resolution and effects before it stops being worth it.
lwilliams3
Member
In the eurogamer article, they said that maxwell wasn't confirmed to them yet.
Did someone said something about it being 1.6x the Wii U? From what we are seeing, it may be that while undocked.
Zombie James
Banned
I wasn't expecting huge things from the Switch but I also wasn't expecting it to launch with a two-year-old mobile APU, underclocked, even when docked. I'm glad there's some extra performance when it's docked but this is nowhere close to competing or changing Nintendo's position in the home market with third-parties.
The only thing Nintendo learned from the historic Wii collapse and the follow-up Wii U disaster was to double-down on portables, it seems. Plugged into a wall, based on these specs, the system is gimped. And yes, that's disappointing, even for Nintendo.
And despite Nintendo fans continuing to beat this drum the number of people who care about those franchises (save maybe Pokemon) continues to shrink. Nintendo has to remain relevant for those franchises to gain new audiences and as it stands the mindshare Nintendo holds with younger audiences is only getting smaller outside of Japan.
I'd argue more kids in the west would know Minecraft before they do Mario and that's definitely true for Zelda.
I'm still laughing at it ¯\_(ツ_/¯
Even at the absolute worst-case scenario, it's still a gigantic hardware leap for a Nintendo handheld. Docked should be pretty great, too, if the performance increase is that big.
Yeah I'm not too concerned. I'll buy one either way. This thing is a huge leap vs the 3DS and looks to be a good deal more powerful than the Wii U.
I say look at it this way. You're all saying the Wii U was barely more powerful than a gamecube, but look at what Nintendo did with the WII U. All of the first party stuff looked and ran fantastic. If you like Nintendo games and hardware, just have faith they'll do what they've been doing.
Toadthemushroom
Member
The DF video on this provides some good context: https://youtu.be/PzS4LbH5nmA?t=687
Like I said earlier, it doesn't surprise me given the system's portable ambitions. But I think it doesn't sit well with Nintendo calling Switch a "home gaming system" since that gives people PS4/Xbox One-like expectations instead of say, Apple TV expectations.
Like I said earlier, it doesn't surprise me given the system's portable ambitions. But I think it doesn't sit well with Nintendo calling Switch a "home gaming system" since that gives people PS4/Xbox One-like expectations instead of say, Apple TV expectations.
Darkstorne
Member
Eh? That's like saying the PS4 should have launched at the same price the PS3 was currently selling at. 3DS was also $250 at launch. If Nintendo are really aggressive about this they'll launch at $200 with the Switch.
outunderthestars
Banned
Isn't the iPhone still a 750p screen?
If I'm being honest, the graphics on the Wii U were never really an issue in Nintendo games for me. They were incredible at times so if this manages to improve on those but also tidy them up with better texture filtering, anti aliasing and steady frame rates then I'd have no issues with what the GPU was doing.
The issue that I do have with that is that it's really only going ti be a positive for Nintendo games as it's unlikely to encourage third parties to release their games on the machine.
The issue that I do have with that is that it's really only going ti be a positive for Nintendo games as it's unlikely to encourage third parties to release their games on the machine.
it's a new Nintendo handheld. that was already a given, pretty much.
Prithee Be Careful
Industry Professional
Also, much as I love From, their optimisation is ass - particularly on consoles. Bloodborne is neither overly grand, overly complex or overly pretty (technically speaking) and it couldn't even put it a solid 30fps. Stacked next to something like MGSV it's performance boggles the mind.
This thread is making me realise how old I am.
Ever since the Nintendo DS, this has been the pattern each time. People hear some rumblings a new Nintendo system won't be very powerful. Then there's some leaked specs and they go into flat out denial mode.
I'm going to make the assumption that the people doing that this time weren't around for both the Wii and Wii U pre-launch periods, because otherwise you have no excuse for not expecting this.
Unless Nintendo ever outright says they're shifting their focus to compete on tech, don't expect them to compete on tech. Simple as.
Ever since the Nintendo DS, this has been the pattern each time. People hear some rumblings a new Nintendo system won't be very powerful. Then there's some leaked specs and they go into flat out denial mode.
I'm going to make the assumption that the people doing that this time weren't around for both the Wii and Wii U pre-launch periods, because otherwise you have no excuse for not expecting this.
Unless Nintendo ever outright says they're shifting their focus to compete on tech, don't expect them to compete on tech. Simple as.
Not that i remotely expect 3, but isn't it too soon for this article then, considering how it's worded?
I honestly doubt that 4 A57 cores at ~1GHZ can compete with more Jaguar cores at a higher clock, even before considering that they need some of that CPU power to run the OS. We haven't heard anything about dedicated CPU cores (like 2 A35 or something like that).
DangerMouse
Member
Yeah. The exact opposite of that 8GB of GDDR5 at the PS Meeting that blew minds and even made devs speechless because the chips were just becoming available.
It'll hopefully still have some great first party games though of course. Can't wait to see Monolith Soft's next work, though that team deserves better hardware.
PdotMichael
Banned
Not really.
Nintendo knows what kind of content and at what resolution will run on on their dedicated gaming handheld. So matching the expected resulotion makes quite a lot of sense.
And 720p is already pushing it.
If it's running the game at 720p on a handheld screen, I'm not sure I see the problem. It will help with battery life, which is the key component to any handheld system. I mean it's been said time and time again that Nintendo is not aiming to compete with Sony and Microsoft, but carve out their own niche. I am not sure how this changes things. The core appeal/market of the system is not changed because it is weaker than the other two consoles.
get2sammyb
Member
I think you guys are being a bit unfair. It will get plenty of third-party support; all of the stuff that came to Vita like Toukiden, etc will come to it. There'll be a steady stream of games.
But yeah, you're not getting Red Dead Redemption.
But yeah, you're not getting Red Dead Redemption.
Risk Breaker
Member
I wonder if the OS will reserve one of those cores for streaming, background tasks, etc or if it'll be all dedicated to games and have extra hardware dedicated to the OS exclusively.
That's not a problem.
I didn't say that beating Cell was important. And it's actually even better for the example.
I'm just trying to create an analogy between the "cool young Gohan" with the goofy super hero Gohan and how the Switch is seen.
Whether the sytem is the great sayaman or the other could even not have any effect on the result. Both could be succesful.
wild wild rice
Member
Yeah, if the baseline version is inexpensive enough (no more than $250), I probably wouldn't hesitate on a Pro-like upgrade the way I have with PS4.
My best expectation was for just under Xbox One. Apparently this is significantly under?
If I learned anything from Wii/Wii U, it's that despite initially balking at the weak hardware and "gimmmick", but the time the good games are rolling in I hardly notice anymore. This was probably the first year that I played my PS4 more than my Wii U. I never felt the Wii U was inferior in any significant way. Games matter more than anything.
But it sure as shit would have been nice to have competitive hardware from Nintendo for once.
Darkstorne
Member
And I don't think that was their goal. I think they want to focus fully on handheld, which is where their majority audience is, folding all game development into one single console that can dock to play games on a TV at full HD. They know they can't compete with PS4 and Xbox One for third party, but Pokemon, Zelda, and Mario are so huge they don't have to.
LelouchZero
Member
Different architectures so they can't really be compared.
A close comparison that I can think of would be a 750 Ti which is somewhat comparable in power to the Xbox One's GPU.
The 750 Ti is around 1.47 Tflops (1150*640*2), the Switch's GPU is 157 gflops under FP16 and 314 gflops under FP32.
EDIT: Crap I messed up, the Switch's GPU is 157 gflops under FP32 and 314 gflops under FP16.
A rough calculation and comparison of the Switch's theoretical FP16 capabilities would put the 750 Ti at 4.69x more powerful than the handheld mode Switch under FP32, and when it's docked the 750 Ti would be around 1.87-2x more powerful, so around 2x more powerful than the Switch's GPU when docked.
However this is without taking the memory bandwidth constraints into consideration but from a gigaflops perspective it would be somewhere around there.
The PS4's GPU would roughly be another 40% on-top.
CaptainLoveline
Member
Looking forward to playing Skyrim Remastered
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That's just disappointing if true, like I wasn't expecting Xbone levels of power in a handheld, but I was expecting at least double of what the article is saying.
PS3 edition
That's just disappointing if true, like I wasn't expecting Xbone levels of power in a handheld, but I was expecting at least double of what the article is saying.
SinCityAssassin
Member
We need to go even further. What is cool young Gohan when his arm is broken and he ultimately recieves help from Goku's soul?
jacob armitage
Banned
Nintendo's Wii U output looked great, performed great and were incredible stable and polished products.
The thing that still excites me the most about all this, that is fairly irrelevant to the stats, is that all handheld and console titles will now be on one platform. Nintendo can fill out a strong release calendar on its own, third party support is just a bonus.
The thing that still excites me the most about all this, that is fairly irrelevant to the stats, is that all handheld and console titles will now be on one platform. Nintendo can fill out a strong release calendar on its own, third party support is just a bonus.
outunderthestars
Banned
I would love to have Fallout 3 and New Vegas available in portable form.
Now add in virtual console, remasters/ports, and indies like Stardew Valley and I am totally happy.
Skittzo0413
Member
I mean that, since this rumor was from back in the Spring, it could be that LCGeek only saw the CPU types they were going to use and was comparing them core for core with Jaguar, in which case A57s have a definite advantage.
Kssio_Aug
Member
You cannot reduce Nintendo to Wii U.
Wii was successful and the hardware was even crappier since it couldn't even run games at a decent resolution in HD TVs.
3DS still sells pretty well and the hardware again is pretty damn shitty compared to whatever else on the market (including Vita, that had great specs, Playstation name, and did absolutely nothing).
Pokemon Go and Mario Run also seem to be tremenduous successful.
Wii U is the bad part of Nintendo. It's not because Switch has similar hardware power of Wii U it means it won't be more successful. It depends on too many different factors, such as pricing tag and marketing campaigns.
LordOcidax
Member
5-8 from the last update we got about the battery.
R_thanatos
Member
You should get at leaast 5 hours , if the current info we have on that is accurate too.
Half an Xbox One then ? Isn't that what we were all expecting ? There's probably something I'm missing.
Oh ok, that makes sense.
Less than 1/3 if it's 2SM, half if it's 3. The former is more likely.
axisofweevils
Holy crap! Today's real megaton is that more than two people can have the same first name.
Yep, Switch is really a handheld with a TV out.
Nintendo's consoles have always sold worse than their handhelds so its obvious they'd double down on that, while giving people that want to play the same games on TV the option.
Nintendo's consoles have always sold worse than their handhelds so its obvious they'd double down on that, while giving people that want to play the same games on TV the option.
Nope, those developers are aiming at PS4 now. The baseline has gone up and Nintendo missed it again.
Blackquill
Member
Oh, I guess you are from the future then ?
JonnyDBrit
Member
Pretty much. Once it was confirmed to be an all in one unit, Switch was guaranteed to get the worst version (graphically) of any given multiplats. It was a question of how big the gap would be, to the point that devs and/or consumers would start to care.
Xdrive05
Member
Silver lining: 1080p should basically be a given while docked, considering the 2.5x clock difference... unless the game is not actually running in 720p in the portable config to begin with. So 1080p will be "free" in the sense that you must make your game work properly as a portable first.
So I'd say there's an incredibly good chance we'll see 1080p Nintendo games across the board, and not just one or two like with the Wii-U. Really Zelda BotW should be 1080p absolutely. Let's hope so.
So I'd say there's an incredibly good chance we'll see 1080p Nintendo games across the board, and not just one or two like with the Wii-U. Really Zelda BotW should be 1080p absolutely. Let's hope so.
Yautja_Warrior
Member
As long as it plays the games fine then whatever. I will be mostly buying Nintendo games anyway and they should run great, not really fussed if 3rd party have any issues with the spec, I have PC and PS4 Pro for 3rd party games.
MatrixMan.EXE
Member
Nintendo fans never learn, I swear. I'm not fussed since it's a big step up as far as portables go, despite the fact they're pushing this more as a home console at the moment. Feel sorry for all of the people who were convinced it was going to get 'easy ports' from other current gen systems just because it runs UE4 lol
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