Next Switch tech talk

[freebs2]

Doctor_MG said:

freebs2 said:

I've read 1.536 core count some time ago as well (6 times the Switch), but if I'm remembering correctly it was more of a guess from the leaker.
It's not a random number since the Switch 2 is supposedly based on Ampere architecture and Ampere GPUs are modular. That is exactly the count of a single Ampere GPU processing cluster (the RTX3080 has 7 for example).

About clock speeds it's reasonable to expect lower clocks compared to OEM form factors (considering both the size of the device and battery constraints) but it's also reasonable to expect higher clock rates compared to Switch1 due to improvements in the chip manufacturing technology. Remember the Switch1 was originally designed around a 20nm chip, here we are talking at least of 8nm.

That said I wouldn't trust too much rumors atm as it seems they are based more guesswork based on similar known architectures. TBH 1.536 cores seem like a lot for essentially a mobile device based with an 8nm chip, I would say that would be absolutely the upper limit.

Hmm interesting. When I was doing some digging I thought that it was confirmed, but it does seem like it is an assumption and the source of the assumption isn't quite known. Still, I don't think that number is really that crazy, though I do agree it would be the upper limit. I don't think we would essentially be getting an off shelf T234. Too much power draw even if you were to cut the frequency. 

I'm not sure about the lower clock frequencies. Yes, it's definitely true that it will have more power per watt, but that doesn't necessarily mean the power necessary for the chip to function at these frequencies wont be high. Lastly, I would assume that the Orin chip will be bulkier than the X1, which may necessitate a smaller battery for a conservative form factor. 

Honestly, you're right though. There are just so many variables, so even though the leak tells us it's Orin, it's not really narrowing down what the Switch 2 will be capable of my as much as everyone would hope. 

That's exactly the reason why I am suggesting 1536 cores seem a bit many and a semi-custom design is more likely than an off-the-shelf one. On parity of other factors a larger chip is more expensive than a smaller one and, as you suggested, it can cause some hardware design challenges.

Why would Nintendo want to use a larger and more expensive chip only to severely under-clock it and never use it to its full potential ?
On a purely financial pow it makes more sense to obtain the same target performance using a moderately smaller chip with a moderately higher clock rate.