Currently, the Switch uses an NVIDIA Tegra SoC. This processor has 4 Cortex-A57 cores @ 1 GHz and 4 Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.3 GHz. This processor is accompanied by a graphics card composed of 256 CUDA cores operating at a base frequency of 307 MHz and which comes Boost mode at 768MHz.
The big problem with this console is the graphics power, which is disastrous. According to the specifications, it offers a power of 0.39 TFLOPS, which limits the development of games. Really, the developers are doing wonders considering so little graphics power.
Nintendo must change supplier
They were recently launched in the market ASUS RoG Ally and Steam Deck portable consoles.
console Asus bet on the processor AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme 8 cores and 16 threads which includes an RDNA3 graphics card. Thanks to this processor, we have a Graphics power of 8.6 TFLOPSwhich is a lot.
Let’s go now with the valve console, which is a little more limited than that of ASUS. In this case, it has a processor AMD Zen 2 with 4 cores and 8 threads. It is complemented by an RDNA 2 graphics card which offers power up to 1.6 TFLOPS.
If we make the comparison, the Steam Deck is 4 times more powerful, but the RoG Ally is 22 times more powerful. Between one console and another there is a middle ground, that’s obvious.
But the important thing is that the Nintendo Switch 2 should opt for a SoC developed by AMD. Currently, the only company able to offer a powerful and complete processor to the Japanese company is AMD.
Nvidia He has forget totally his Tegra chipsWhat’s more, they were already forgotten long before the launch of the Switch. The normal thing would be to use an AMD solution that combines Zen 2 cores and RDNA 3 graphics. A power of 2-3 TFLOPS would be ideal to be able to play at 1080p to spare and make the necessary leap.
What’s Beyond AMD?
A desert. The reality is that Intel processors in terms of graphics are very limited and do not seem to be a solution. Also to say that Intel does not create tailor-made solutions, it presents its catalog and the manufacturer chooses, without further delay.
Although there is still a small oasis in the middle of the desert. Samsung presented a year and a half ago the SoC Exynos 2200. This processor is based on ARM cores and an AMD RDNA 2 graphics card. At the moment and to our knowledge, it is not integrated into any device. Shortly after the announcement of the Exynos 2400, also with AMD RDNA 2 graphics, also unused.
It would not be excluded that Nintendo for the Switch 2 has opted for this path. It could be the perfect solution, a powerful processor, with powerful graphics, low consumption and a good price. We guess it’s a path the Japanese have been exploring and the good thing is that Samsung are neighbors, since the company is South Korean.