Speculation: Nintendo NX Portable To Use 10nm, 2017 Launch?

[Alby_da_Wolf]

vivster said:
Because Nintendo is known to jump on the newest and most expensive tech.

Sounds more like Nvidia Shield.

nanorazor said:
It makes no sense for a console maker to use the latest cutting edge technology, when they are using lower end hardware. I would rather they just gives us a higher end cpu/gpu with existing tech.

Smaller process doesn't just benefit high-end chips, when the process is mature enough to deliver all its previously potential benefits, it allows higher yield and lower costs on lower-end chips too, so the question just is whether the new process will be mature enough for low-end too in time for Ninty needs.
It can also happen that Ninty start with older process and adopt the new one later, on the occasion of a redesign, as it often happened to almost every console successful and long-lived enough to make a redesign a good choice.

JEMC said:
TSMC has failed to deliver on its promises for 28, 20 and 16nm processes, with all of them facing delays and worse than expected yields. Counting on them to keep their promises to launch any kind of device is a very, very risky move for anyone.

I don't think Nintendo can afford that risk.

Pemalite said:

Soundwave said:

 

10nm is ridiculously low power draw ... which console maker would possibly need a 10nm chip? 10nm is something that really only a portable would need ... so, uh NINTENDO?

Because nm draws all the powerz.

Seriously. Who makes up this garbage?

And no. A high-end, large, energy sucking chip would benefit from a smaller feature size, I mean... Why hasn't Intel stuck with 45nm all these years for Desktop and Server if that was the case? UGH.

Soundwave said:

They're saying they have a client for consoles though ... who in the world could need 10nm for a game system? Nintendo is the only one that would seem to fit. 

If you're making a portable that needs to be able to play versions of full blown console games ... you need the best possible performance per watt. 

10nm would likely be used for NAND for now due to it's simpler structure, even at TSMC.
Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft may be using it for NAND in their consoles as a way to release a lower cost system perhaps? Doesn't mean it will be used for the SoC/GPU or CPU.

TSMC also has an insane record of over-promising and under-delivering, take any time-frame from TSMC with the largest grain of salt in the Milky Way Galaxy.

10nm will likely only be feasible for massive complex chips in 2018 at the earliest in my opinion.

Yeah, this, and not the novelty of the process itself, is the biggest obstacle for Ninty to choose it.