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Digital Foundry: Nintendo Switch CPU and GPU clock speeds revealed

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MacTag

Banned
Man....

its crazy how much of a leap it is in the portable space

More of a modest upgrade over WiiU docked but not THAT modest

Its still the most powerful machine they have ever put out
Docked is still about 3-4x Wii U. It's not a bad jump for Nintendo and should be fine for many 3rd parties (Japan, indies) even if it's not competitive with PS4/One.
 
I disagree, go back and read the entire comment string. First they claimed Switch shouldn't be compared to PS4/XBO and expecting a Nintendo console with comparable power to their competitors was unreasonable. I pointed out that Nintendo straight up calls the thing their next home console on the official website. They then claimed it was an East vs West thing because handhelds are popular in Japan and I presented hard data from Nintendo themselves showing handheld sales are declining worldwide thanks to mobile.

The fact that it is a hybrid device should not matter; I don't think it is crazy to want the docked version to match the 3 year old tech of PS4/XBO when that wasn't even cutting edge to begin with. I feel like Nintendo gets held to a different standard where it's ok to expect gimped hardware because the 1st party software is the best in the industry. I have a hard time justifying a secondary console to play 1 or 2 Nintendo games a year because they refuse to make something third parties can easily work with to port games over. Nintendo has been going with the "half-step behind" approach for a while now and I wish they would beef up the hardware so I could make Switch my primary gaming device. It's hard to invest money in their products; I want something that will get most of the 3rd party AAA heavy hitters without compromises being made over gimped hardware.

I don't know enough about tech to really argue your point about this thing have to absolutely match PS4/XBO. But at the end of the day this thing is part handled and those things are always cheap under powered for a reason. I don't think this is just Nintendo being dickish
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
A modern AAA title has a fuckton of post-processing and VFX that can be reduced or removed that improve image quality on a 42" Television but not so much on a 6.2"

Games already miss a lot of post-processing and effects on PS4. Plus the AA solutions used for PS4 are usually not that resource hungry for obvious reason. I don't see how you can free half of the GPU power by eliminating the post processing, then to lower the resolution to 720p and make it run at 1/10 of PS4's power. Come on.

Rendering on 540p while on handheld mode (150 Gflops) seems like the obvious compromise here.

Edit: just to be clear, I'm talking about the games that push PS4 to limits to render at 1080p.
 

Surfheart

Member
I really don't understand Nintendo. In my eyes Wii U failed predominantly because it had insufficient power to run 3rd party ports without significant reworking and the 3rd parties couldn't see the return in doing the work.

So now Nintendo are doubling down on low spec again?

Look forward to the occasional first party gold and the scraps that 3rd parties throw on there again I guess?
 
I would love for my Nintendo console to be everything my Xbox is for 3rd party and online capabilities while playing those sweet 1st party titles.

And I would love for my Nintendo console to be as powerful as a PS4 Pro, portable like the Switch, with 2TB of internal storage and a battery that lasts at least 12 hours, requiring no fan so it can be dead quiet, and all for just $139.99. Man Nintendo, why can't you just do anything right?! You incompetent fools!
 

mieumieu

Member
Aren't the games doing that on Vita because it had no performant AA solutions and didn't support deferred rendering, so they used upscaled blurring as a form of anti-aliasing?

Because it seems highly unlikely the Switch won't support deferred rendering.

e:


A modern AAA title has a fuckton of post-processing and VFX that can be reduced or removed that improve image quality on a 42" Television but not so much on a 6.2"
Deferred rendering is bandwidth intensive, so we rarely see it implemented on mobile. Switch may be different though.
The reason most Vita games run at subnative is simply that there are not enough flops for that resolution. Especially PS2 ports which is usually very fillrate intensive.

I agree with the latter points though. I would definitely cut AO first, even though I like it for what it is. haha
 

Maxrunner

Member
Yeah ill wait till the reveal but i wont be making the same mistake again. If its a wiiu 2 ill probably just gonna get a pro and be done for a few years.
 

Manoko

Member
Xbox One the perfect console? But there's so many 30fps games?

Haha you're pretty adamant in trying to see holes in my reasoning, I appreciate that.

A Xbox One can push 60fps if less processing power is spent on visuals.
What I mean in that "perfect console" post is that the console should have enough processing power to get third parties without having the devs to seriously gimp/rework them.

It's actually quite straightforward what I'm saying/thinking, you're just grasping at straws to make me contradict myself on details I'm not sure you understand yourself.
 

Interfectum

Member
I really need to see what some of these third party ports look like now. Dark Souls blighttown on Switch would be amazing... is it possible to have negative framerate?

Joking aside, I'm still in if Ninty games look good and we get some decent third party support even from non-AAA devs.
 

Manoko

Member
I really need to see what some of these third party ports look like now. Dark Souls blighttown on Switch would be amazing... is it possible to have negative framerate?

Joking aside, I'm still in if Ninty games look good and we get some decent third party support even from non-AAA devs.

-60fps as the new standard !
 

LordRaptor

Member
Games already miss a lot of post-processing and effects on PS4. Plus the AA solutions used for PS4 are usually not that resource hungry for obvious reason. I don't see how you can free half of the GPU power by eliminating the post processing, then to lower the resolution to 720p and make it run at 1/10 of PS4's power. Come on.

You are hugely under-estimating the cost of post-processing effects. Just reducing the amount of per-pixel light sources can hugely alter frame rate.

If you had to boil down into a single thing what the difference between 'last gen' and 'current gen' fundamentally is, its deferred rendering, and there is huge scope there for performance gains.
 
I think that's unfair, many long-term Nintendo fans would love them to release more powerful hardware.
Nintendo fans should realize that Nintendo is not going to be successful releasing powerful hardware. Your choices are Nintendo makes a Bombacube that you will enjoy but sells like shit or they make a console that condenses all of its output into one library with the caveat of being weak.

I am disappointed that the Switch isn't as close to the Xbone as I thought it would be but if it results in a cheaper product with better battery life, it will be an OK tradeoff.
 
Games will probably look fine on launch. Not sure about 2 years from now.
Nintendo could feasibly unlock more power down the line. These clock speeds are specifically stated for "at launch", after all.

Not sure why they'd do that, but I guess they might want to make sure battery life is good from the start and there's no chance of overheating. Then after they've done more extensive testing to see what the device can actually take, they might allow higher clocks? Or in response to developer demand, perhaps.
 
I don't know enough about to tech to really argue your point about this thing have to absolutely match PS4/XBO. But at the end of the day this thing is part handled and those things are always cheap under powered for a reason. I don't think this is just Nintendo being dickish

I would argue that Nintendo handhelds are cheap and under powered, and that has worked out well for them because they had no competition in that arena until the PSP arrived. Sony doesn't gimp their handhelds, and while you might say the high specs/high price caused Vita to fail, I'd argue there are other factors that contributed far more to its niche status.

But the thing here is that Switch isn't being positioned solely as a handheld device. If that was the case I wouldn't be whining about the lack of power; Nintendo has always had the dedicated handheld gaming device market by the balls but mobile is starting to chip away at that dominance. Nintendo is calling Switch their next home console and showing off hybrid capabilities. To me, they're trying to straddle the line but I'm afraid consumers will get something that is a "master of none" if that makes sense. I primarily plays games at home sitting on my couch so it's disappointing to get an under powered device that most likely will not receive widespread third party support due to gimped hardware. I think Nintendo is going to have to go the partnership route like they did for Wii U (Ex. Wonderful 101, Lego City Undercover, Tokyo Mirage Sessions), and while we got gems, that still left huge gaps in the release schedule and a lack of AAA ports.
 

RoyalFool

Banned
Wait a sec, isn't this releasing the same time as Scorpio? Won't this be the biggest "power gap" between rivals we've ever had?

They better have some good exclusives...
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
You are hugely under-estimating the cost of post-processing effects. Just reducing the amount of per-pixel light sources can hugely alter frame rate.

If you had to boil down into a single thing what the difference between 'last gen' and 'current gen' fundamentally is, its deferred rendering, and there is huge scope there for performance gains.

These are no longer cross gen games.

You're taking a game from rendering at 1080p on a 1.7 TFLOPS GPU to run on a 150 GFLOPS GPU. 720p would be quite unlikely. Especially since 540p is such an easier win and less time consuming. Come on!
 

Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
And that will be one of the most important things that we need to know about the Switch more so than the specs. We probably will not even get the full picture of the specs until the inevitable teardown in March.

As a customer you may want to know how much variety and headroom for improvement there is as well as how high is the chance third parties will bring many series over... and specs do matter there.
 

18-Volt

Member
This is the perfect console Nintendo refuses to make.

Nintendo will never learn. They'll only be taught one lesson after Switch fails hard and that will be the wrong one: They can sell plastic toys better than gaming consoles.

I can totally see Nintendo abandoning hardware business and focusing on mobile and plastic toys. And theme parks.
 
D

Deleted member 752119

Unconfirmed Member
I think that's unfair, many long-term Nintendo fans would love them to release more powerful hardware.

Exactly. Plenty of us have still owned Wiis and Wii Us and enjoyed some games on them, but still been let down by their lack of power, gimmicks we didn't care for and thad hem gather dust for long stretches as they were our third platform after having NES-GCN where Nintendo was our main or only platform. So it's understandably disappointing for those of us who see the same thing happening with the Switch.
 

Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
As I said the when this type of argument was brought up way back in some speculation thread: your job as a hardware partner for a console is to provide what the console manufacturer wants, not what you think they should want.

And this once again clearly illustrates that performance is very far down on Nintendo's list of priorities.

Hopefully nVidia did not pull another RSX situation... surely Nintendo was not packinging trying to find another GPU supplier and was able to get a better deal than Sony did last time).
 

Kssio_Aug

Member
Nintendo will never learn. They'll only be taught one lesson after Switch fails hard and that will be the wrong one: They can sell plastic toys better than gaming consoles.

I can totally see Nintendo abandoning hardware business and focusing on mobile and plastic toys. And theme parks.

Yeah... Nintendo is abandoning the hardware business since when? 1996?

After succeeding with Wii, DS, 3DS and releasing Pokemon Go and Mario Run recently you still believe Nintendo has learned nothing, well... I guess you're delusional.
 

Manoko

Member
How did that work out for them?

I think Nintendo is afraid of a head-on fight they should eventually take with Sony/Microsoft.

They are leaving the home console market this generation because they apparently can't take competition.
The fact that they came mid-generation could have made it so their offering would be more powerful yet cheaper than a PS4, with better hardware in general (smaller, less power hungry), ensuring that multiplatforms would be equal or even a bit better on that Nintendo home console.
With the huge addition of first party games from them.

I think such a console would rally the core gaming fans they lost over the past generations, and I truly believe this is the last audience they could ever hope to have at this point.

The Switch tries to please audiences that will always prefer iPads if they are casual gamers on the go, or PS4/Xbox One if they are core gamers at home.
This is such a weird strategy to me, I can't understand their reasoning with the Switch.
 
I don't care. This forum is trash which is why I started coming less anyway.

I pop into this thread every now and then to check on what conversations are being had on this topic, but it seems some are just losing their minds. Seriously, what drives people to act this way?
 

LordRaptor

Member
These are no longer cross gen games.

You're taking a game from rendering at 1080p on a 1.7 TFLOPS GPU to run on a 150 GFLOPS GPU. 720p would be quite unlikely. Especially since 540p is such an easier win and less time consuming. Come on!

Again; you seem to think that the performance hits are from raw geometry rendering, and it simply isn't. That's the point of deferred rendering.
 
Nintendo will never learn. They'll only be taught one lesson after Switch fails hard and that will be the wrong one: They can sell plastic toys better than gaming consoles.

I can totally see Nintendo abandoning hardware business and focusing on mobile and plastic toys. And theme parks.
Holy fucking shit you guys are delusional. The best case scenario for the Nintendo console you want is Gamecube numbers. Why are you guys unable to see that?
 

Scrawnton

Member
How did that work out for them?
They made a hit console and handheld and made billions. The only mistake they made was not following up on the Wii and DS fast enough and letting it slowly fade without software while there new console never took off because of lack of software and there new handheld almost failed due to lack of software.

Weak hardware didn't cause Nintendos troubles with 3DS and Wii U, there internal development struggles or what ever the heck happened in there studios between 2011-2013 is what hurt them badly.
 
I think Nintendo is afraid of a head-on fight they should eventually take with Sony/Microsoft.

They are leaving the home console market this generation because they apparently can't take competition.
The fact that they came mid-generation could have made it so their offering would be more powerful yet cheaper than a PS4, with better hardware in general (smaller, less power hungry), ensuring that multiplatforms would be equal or even a bit better on that Nintendo home console.
With the huge addition of first party games from them.

I think such a console would rally the core gaming fans they lost over the past generations, and I truly believe this is the last audience they could ever hope to have at this point.

The Switch tries to please audiences that will always prefer iPads if they are casual gamers on the go, or PS4/Xbox One if they are core gamers at home.
This is such a weird strategy to me, I can't understand their reasoning with the Switch.

Erm what about handheld gamers...
 
I think Nintendo is afraid of a head-on fight they should eventually take with Sony/Microsoft.

They are leaving the home console market this generation because they apparently can't take competition.
The fact that they came mid-generation could have made it so their offering would be more powerful yet cheaper than a PS4, with better hardware in general (smaller, less power hungry), ensuring that multiplatforms would be equal or even a bit better on that Nintendo home console.
With the huge addition of first party games from them.

I think such a console would rally the core gaming fans they lost over the past generations, and I truly believe this is the last audience they could ever hope to have at this point.

The Switch tries to please audiences that will always prefer iPads if they are casual gamers on the go, or PS4/Xbox One if they are core gamers at home.
This is such a weird strategy to me, I can't understand their reasoning with the Switch.

The PS4 Slim just came mid-generation. If you think it's easy to beat that at its own game with nothing different to offer other than first-party Nintendo titles...

I, for one, wouldn't be that interested in the Switch if it wasn't portable. And there are millions of 3DS owners that might agree with me.
 

grim-tales

Member
Some are now saying the Switch will be a powerful handheld but the "home console" part is like Wii U 2.0 or something similar.
I thought Nintendo said the Switch was a home console first and a handheld second, not the other way round. The chip inside it is even less powerful than a standard Tegra X1 (according to rumors)
I find that disappointing TBH,
 

Kssio_Aug

Member
N64 = Strong, failed.
NGC = Strong, failed.
Wii = Weak, succeeded.
DS = Weak, succeeded.
3DS = Weak, suceeded.
WiiU = Weak, failed.

The conclusion: Nintendo is doomed, they did learn nothing, and they can't see the success is behind a strong hardware.
 

LordKasual

Banned
The portability is definitely the main draw of the console. I don't see why anyone would bother with it as a docked-only console.

N64 = Strong, failed.
NGC = Strong, failed.
Wii = Weak, succeeded.
DS = Weak, succeeded.
3DS = Weak, suceeded.
WiiU = Weak, failed.

The conclusion: Nintendo is doomed, they did learn nothing, and they can't see the success is behind a strong hardware.

there are alot of subtle reasons why the N64 and GC "failed", and why the Wii and DS series has succeeded.

N64 was a cartridge based system. GC was the only console with no DVD/CD or Online capabilities.
 
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