Mere days away from the Nintendo Switch's launch, elements of uncertainty still surround the final technical specifications for the new console - but a massive leak of Nintendo's developer documentation, along with a teardown of retail hardware by a Chinese parts firm may well have given the game away. Meanwhile, new information we've sourced reveals final tweaks Nintendo has made to hardware performance in the run-up to the console's release.

The key addition is a new mode seemingly designed to beef up handheld performance. Developers can opt for a 384MHz GPU clock - a straight 25 per cent uplift in compute power compared to the default 307.2MHz option. Both frequencies are available to developers in what it calls 'normal mode' operation - and to be clear, users will not be able to choose between them. Additionally, adjustments have been made to available memory bandwidth. In our prior story, we revealed that in undocked mode, developers could choose between running the LPDDR4 memory at either 1600MHz or 1331.2MHz. The 1600MHz option is now only available in 'boost mode' - when Switch is docked - while 1600MHz support in mobile mode is deprecated. As before, developers can opt to run handheld modes while in the dock too, and to be clear, the documentation has no new modes for docked performance. On top of that, we should stress that not all games will use the 384MHz GPU mobile mode - game-makers will choose the best fit for their projects, and 307.2MHz remains the default option.

 

– Digital Foundry says Switch’s “build quality and design is excellent”
– 4310mAh, 16Whr battery takes up a good portion of the internal space
– Apparently “third party replacements by the end-user shouldn’t be too difficult”
– Switch is held together by screws
– Detachable microSD card reader
– This seems to sit on top of the heat-shield when the unit is first opened
– 32GB of eMMC NAND storage also seems to occupy its own mini-daughterboard, as opposed to being soldered directly onto the mainboard
– This offers Nintendo the chance to more easily produce premium SKUs with more generous storage capacity, while retaining the same mainboard
– Heat pipe siphons heat away from the Nvidia Tegra processor
– Active cooling is available to stop the processor overheating, ensuring consistent performance
– Seems to be a more lightly modified X1, still on the 20nm process
– Nintendo has added to the available performance modes available to developers in a recent update
– This bumps the mobile GPU power
– A new ‘NX add-on’ note introduces an expanded table of operating modes
– Developers can opt for a 384MHz GPU clock – a straight 25 per cent uplift in compute power compared to the default 307.2MHz option
– Both frequencies are available to developers in what it calls ‘normal mode’ operation
– Users can’t choose between them
– Adjustments have been made to available memory bandwidth
– 1600MHz option is now only available in ‘boost mode’ (when Switch is docked)
– 1600MHz support in mobile mode is deprecated
– Devs can opt to run handheld modes while in the dock too
– Documentation has no new modes for docked performance
– Not all games will use the 384MHz GPU mobile mode
– 307.2MHz remains the default option
– The expanded table above still shows memory frequencies in line with Tegra X1’s capabilities and a look at the Chinese Switch teardown shows two Samsung LPDDR4 modules in parallel, in exactly the same configuration used in Shield Android TV
– The only difference seems to come from the capacity of the RAM chips
– Shield uses two 1.5GB modules
– Switch ups that to a 2x 2GB configuration for 4GB of total system memory
– Configuration suggests a 64-bit memory bus
– Switch has a processor that looks like a Tegra X1, with specs from Nintendo in line with X1, and power consumption that fits the characteristics of the chip’s 20nm fabrication process
– Digital Foundry says Switch is “by far and away the most powerful handheld console ever made, backed by a dedicated API designed to extract maximum performance from the hardware”
– Gulf in performance between mobile and docked configurations is considerable

 

 

 

 

That's the reason why the Switch run faster in handheld mode (720p) and a little slower with docked/console mode (900p). One can only hope the Switch will receive a boost for docked mode later 

 

And halfes the battery time?

Is good, uh!

It will obviously lower the battery time.

Eurogamer already talked about a boost mode long ago IIRC. But they said back then that it would be to keep the entire docked power for the handheld mode (which would have killed the battery time even faster).

Battery life is already too low to use something like this.

Also I thought it was decided Foxconn was the accurate leak and the less powerful Eurogamer specs were "Debunked".

Seems Eurogamer is sticking with their original less powerful leak. So according to them it's still:

Docked - 393 Gflops

Handheld (normal mode) - 157 GFlops

and now:

Handheld (Performance Mode) - 196 GFlops

Looks like some more optimistic people on here will be dissapointed.

Still incredible underpowered

So how many wiius is the performance?

Only if you don't plug it into the wall.

I wonder what Zelda is running - considering it is only 900p docked it could be the 384MHz Turbo mode for portable 720p.