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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Ventura Beat: Nintendo Switch are based on Nvidia's Maxwell Architecture not Pascal

Miyamotoo said:
setsunatenshi said:

There is no Maxwell at 16nm, what are you talking about? 

Offcourse there isnt, but Switch is using custom Tegra chip, maybe Nvidia made them 16nm Maxwell Tegra chip.

But that is bonkers.  
Nintendo would not use modern architecture, but pay to redesign Maxwell for 16nm, when NVIDIA partners are now launching 10nm?
If they are going to pay for redesign around new node, why wouldn't they choose most modern available for best long term cost and performance?
If they don't want to use THE most modern node but just aim for 16nm, why wouldn't they use the better performing arch already on that node?



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mutantsushi said:

It's like you didnt' read the post right above yours posted an hour before...
Using Pascal and newer fab architecture is not about beating X1 or pulling off miracles of performance.
But not using it needlessly gimps performance and will not achieve long term cost benefit.
The primary historic purpose of fab node progression is cost reduction after all.
Launching with an obsolete fab node means they will have to pay for serious redesign at later point, 
and they lock themselves out of benefits of designing around benefits of modern fab node in the first place.
The redesign costs are serious because it would not just be a simple shrink but move from 2d to 3d design.
If they go with 14nm or 10nm now, then moving to 7m 3d does not require redesign like 2d to 3d.

I'm going by the specs of the new Pascal Tegra, since it will have more CUDA cores. If it isn't much faster, then it really won't have that much of an impact when talking about at least getting a tiny bit close to Xbox. However, I'm conscious that even the Tegra X1 still isn't an Xbox level hardware. The best stuff we saw it handle was PS360 ports, so it isn't quite impressive.

But you are correct, not goinf with a newer litography will have impacts in its power comsuption and cost, of course. I would probably believe in the rumour that waiting for the Pascal Tegra would delay then until Christmas. Wii U is 100% dead, so they are just giving share to Sony, specifically in Japan where PS4 is growing. It's their perfect market and they need to at cut Sony's hold on it before the grip becomes too strong. They are also just riding on the last breath of 3DS. It is a 5 year old portable, it won't hold for long.

Or, of course, it can simply be a mistake and they will have to deal with it latter.



Teeqoz said:
Captain_Yuri said:

Yea but 1 TF? The old Tegra X1 was 500 Gflops. I can understand Maxwell and Tegra X1 but I can't understand Maxwell and 1 TF, specially on a portable device.

Maybe FP16.

You would think that but in the article, he compares it to FP32 numbers of Ps4 and Scorpio so...



                  

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mutantsushi said:
Miyamotoo said:

Offcourse there isnt, but Switch is using custom Tegra chip, maybe Nvidia made them 16nm Maxwell Tegra chip.

But that is bonkers.  
Nintendo would not use modern architecture, but pay to redesign Maxwell for 16nm, when NVIDIA partners are now launching 10nm?
If they are going to pay for redesign around new node, why wouldn't they choose most modern available for best long term cost and performance?
If they don't want to use THE most modern node but just aim for 16nm, why wouldn't they use the better performing arch already on that node?

Probably another tip off that Nintendo actually wanted to launch this in 2016 but as always they didn't have enough software. They gave up on the Wii U years ago. 



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twintail said:
nuckles87 said:
For me, the biggest piece of rumor regarding Switch's power remains the notion that it can run Dark Souls 3. 

We have no idea at what capacity DS3 is even running.

The rumour wasn't that it ran at the same level an x1 or ps4 version does, but rather that From found it acceptable. Which doesn't tell us anything about capability .

It tells us plenty. It means the Switch can receive ports of high end current gen games. As I said later in the post, neither the Wii or Wii U could do that. The Wii could not run any version of Demons Souls, the Wii U was far to weak to receive any direct ports of Xbox One or Ps4 games. So the fact that the Switch can says a lot about capability. Sure, we don't know what sacrifices they had to make, but anyone who is expecting anything less than a notable visual downgrade is fooling themselves. But at the very least, for the first time since GameCube, Nintendo might actually be getting direct ports from competitors consoles.



Captain_Yuri said:
Teeqoz said:

Maybe FP16.

You would think that but in the article, he compares it to FP32 numbers of Ps4 and Scorpio so...

He made several mistakes in his article, which NeoGaf called him out for and then he quietly edited the article to reflect some of that. I don't think he's the most technically savvy reporter. For example he also says that 1 TFLOP is basically only good for "cartoony graphics". 

Beyond that the Maxwell Tegra (X1) would run ridiculously hot to hit 1 TFLOP in FP32 ... the 500 GFLOP (FP32) version hits 20+ watts at max load.

Likely what he's talking about is 500 GF (FP32) and 1 TFLOP (FP16), which is what the Tegra Maxwell X1 is, the the writer likely doesn't understand the difference. 



Captain_Yuri said:
Teeqoz said:

Maybe FP16.

You would think that but in the article, he compares it to FP32 numbers of Ps4 and Scorpio so...

Does he specifically say FP32? Could be that the author is just mixing the two because he doesn't know the difference.



torok said:
Barkley said:

The Shield Tablet has a Tegra K1 chip not the more powerful X1.

You are correct. The Shield tablet launched at 300 bucks just a bit after the Tegra K1 was launched. So it was top-notch tech by then. It was relaunched a year latter, with a 199 price point. As Switch will pack the X1 and it is already 1 year old tech right now, I think we can assume that it is in a similar pricing as the older SoC was in 2015. So I still think Nintendo could go for 199.

Miyamotoo said:

We don't know what other techs/possibilities Nintendo packed in Switch (just look new Switch patent thread), with Switch you also have Switch Dock and Switch Grip with Joy Cons, we have basically real home console and real handheld in one that can be played in local multiplayer out of box.

All that at price point of $249 is great price, and will have very good sales, not bad sales. Like I wrote, New 3DS XL is still selling solid at price point of $199, this is just $50 more and offers much more and it's much more capable in every case.

I am pretty sure evre PS4 port could run on Switch at 720p resolution, 540p in portable mode and 720p in docked mode. If actual Switch is popular and have good sales, I am pretty sure we will more AAA ports on Switch. PS4 will be same time on market like PS4 Pro, Pro isn't successor to base PS4, it's just a stronger version on first place for 4k users.

It isn't really packing a lot of stuff. Just the controllers and the dock (probably a more expensive SKU). It also cuts some costs by decreasing the screen resolution, so it can even be the same here. The 3DS is selling at decent numbers for sure, but it has a big library to push it forward. While the XL version is more expensive, people still have cheaper alternatives on the regular New 3DS and the 2DS, so it isn't really selling always at a 200 dollars pricing.

As a portable, it has to be cheap to be used as second console. As it is launching mid gen, this is even more important.

As for performance, it won't be that easy to run current PS4 games even at 720p. X1 normally does it going from 720p to 900p and switch has pretty much less than half its GPU power and half the RAM. The CPU is probably way weaker since it's an ARM. Anyway, having AAA ports isn't a matter of power. It's a question of sales. PS2 was significantly weaker than both competitors and a hard to develop for machine. If 3rd party software sells well on the Switch, they will be ported.

What made Wii U lose 3rd party support wasn't it's limited power. The reason was the low sales of 3rd party games, such as the brilliant port of NFS: Most Wanted. People usually try to justify it with the "60 dollar late port" excuse, but look at what all those remaster are doing on PS4 and X1. If games sell well, 3rd parties will port them to Switch even if they have to almost rebuild the game from scratch.

Switch, dock and controller that includes Joy Grip and Joy Cons will be part of every SKU, most likly more expansive SKU ($299) will come with game and more storage. Screen today isnt expansive at all, but Switch is packed with lotsa techs and functions (look at that Switch patent thread), and ofcourse dock and controller that includes Joy Grip and Joy Cons.  3DS has 240p screen. :D  Actually XL version is best selling version of 3DS from moment appeared on market, despite there are cheaper version of 3DS and 2DS, and actualy 2DS is worst selling version.

Thats a point, Switch isn't just a handheld, it's also home console, its basicly 2 in 1, home console and handheld out of box and out of box ready for local multiplayer without any need to pay for another controller.

Definitely can run evre PS4 ports at 720p with maybe some other smaller downgrades, XB1 has games at 1080p and 900p, and actualy smallest number of 720p games. Point that Switch CPU is ARM doesn't mean it's weak, modern ARM CPU can easily outperform mobile AMD CPU from 2012 (PS4/XB1 CPU is notebook CPU and actualy bottlneck for XB1/PS4), and actually sources saying that Switch CPU will be with power close to XB1/PS4 CPU. I agree that is most for 3rd parties platforms most important is actually popularity of platform, but its also important that Switch tech/hardware is very modern and easy to work with it.

What made Wii U 3rd party are terrible sales of Wii U after launch and fact that was very early clear that Wii U is fail and don't have future, that's why 3rd party totally abandoned Wii U in its 1st year.

mutantsushi said:
Miyamotoo said:

Offcourse there isnt, but Switch is using custom Tegra chip, maybe Nvidia made them 16nm Maxwell Tegra chip.

But that is bonkers.  
Nintendo would not use modern architecture, but pay to redesign Maxwell for 16nm, when NVIDIA partners are now launching 10nm?
If they are going to pay for redesign around new node, why wouldn't they choose most modern available for best long term cost and performance?
If they don't want to use THE most modern node but just aim for 16nm, why wouldn't they use the better performing arch already on that node?

Well this article saying that Pascal's couldn't be done on time for Switch, and maybe Nintendo only wanted Maxwell on time but at 16nm, Tegra at 10nm also couldn't be done on time in any case. And like I wrote, maybe. ;)



setsunatenshi said:

Things aren't scalable like that, it's not even the same architecture. PS4 is X86 and the Switch is ARM. The coding itself would need to be rewritten completely for a game to work on the Switch.

Also there are plenty of games that are 1080p on PS4, 720p on Xbox 1... how well do you think this same game would run on the switch?

Have a look at how The Last Guardian or FFXV are running on both the PS4 vanilla and Pro. And as you said, it's not a successor, just a more powerful console under the same x86 architecture. Imagine how any of those games would play on the Switch? Exactly... they wouldn't. Nor should they, because the Switch is way too underpowered to handle such games. Even worse for open world games where you are usually CPU bottlenecked.

But hey... prove me wrong Nintendo. I'll love it if you do :)

1st bolded is blatantly false. Middle-ware makes x86 to/from ARM seemless.
2nd bolded ... what is this list of "plenty" of games? I've always seen XBO as 900p at worst. Also, keep in mind that between these two consoles, they are also keeping all the the tech settings on hi. Same textures/AA/etc.

With NS we'll see 3rd party games
portable = 720p
docked = 900p
where both are lower settings than XboxOne/PS4 for textures/AA/etc.

All of this is not complicated with existing middleware software. How do you think they make it work on the wide-variety of PCs?