Nintendo Switch could keep evolving with Nvidia Tegra just like PS4 and PS4 Pro

[JEMC]

fatslob-:O said:
Nvidia is known to be extremely aggressive when it comes changing GPU microcode. Not even AMD's recent GPU designs could keep a backwards compatible ISA. Opcode space changes all the time so there's no guarantee of backwards compatibility and that especially applies to Nvida

Doubt it unless of course Nintendo doesn't go around exposing GPU microachitecture specific microcode support in their gfx APIs but even then Nvidia's future designs could become too alien for Switch's software to run on ...

Maybe they can expand it by using a bigger GPU. Both Tegras, the X1 and X2, have 256 shaders. Nintendo's version of the Tegra could feature a bit more than that (although I doubt it), but in any case it will probably be made using the 14/16nm process.

In two-three years the 10nm process will be already on the market, and that could allow Nintendo/Nvidia to pack more shaders (of the same architecture) paired with newer ARM cores while keeping the same overall power envelope.

Then, in another two or three years, they could launch a Switch 2 with a completely new and more powerful design/architecture, while ensuring that it's backwards compatible. And then repeat the same.