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More hints that AMD is building Nintendo NX’s processor (VentureBeat)

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Rodin

Member
I'm not sure Vita is 51gflops.
It is. Apparently it's the same GPU as the iPad 3 (38gflops) clocked 100MHZ higher (51).
Also, not all Gflops are equal.
Of course, but don't expect a world of difference in that space and PSV GPU is not that old. I mean, it won't be Latte vs PS3 RSX.
Also, 64gflops at 540p would be pretty decent for gaming.
Not really. GB was better than NES, GBA was comparable to SNES, DS was better than N64 in some ways and worse in others; 3DS was better than GC/Wii in some ways and worse in others as well.

A 64gflops GPU in the handheld would be complete shit compared to the Wii U and graphics would probably be on par/subpar when compared to PS Vita games, considering they'll aim for 60fps as usual. A 100gflops part would make similar graphics to the Wii U at 540p/60fps a possibility, especially considering advancements in API (again, if they use Vulkan or if their "GX3" will based on those, which is likely).

Samsung Galaxy S6 has a 192 gflops part... although its not able to sustain the max frequency and drops to the 400mhz range, which brings it close to 120gflops. Keep in mind its driving a 2k screen.
You're right, but the S6 doesn't have games comparable to the Wii U and doesn't need to. It's still capable of running UE4 Mobile though, NX at 64gflops... not sure.

Pretty sure Redmond's in charge of the most hardware and SoC decisions this time around. That's why they hired a new head engineer last year. (Also certain people with knowledge have said that NoA is much more important now in the hardware development, which all adds up.)

Takeda is about as involved as Miyamoto is at this point.
I think the guys in Redmond are following some kind of indications from him though, otherwise he didn't really have a reason to make that statement about the small memory pool being part of the Nintendo DNA.


I don't even think 64GFLOPS is realistic when we effectively know they want to run mobile games/apps through droid emulation.
To be fair, we don't really know that.

They might use HBM down the road. With all the talk of making future console transitions seamless, the OS they come up with should be flexible enough. For this transition, though, it's probably a pain w/ the CPU architecture change and needing to basically rebuild their often maligned OS. That being the case, they probably want to keep everything else as close to Wii U as possible. Hence, "absorb the Wii U architecture," such as the graphics pipeline, build off GX2 API rather than throw out. Probably using very similar dev tools/kits just w/ the terrible PPC compiler switched out for ARM. Takeda already mentioned they were gradually transitioning over to better integrate their dev tools into "industry standards" read: Visual Studio. So I think on that front (dev support, tools), we should expect a continued gradual improvement rather than a complete and sudden turnaround.
Yeah, that's probably the case. Hopefully the API will be very close to Vulkan though, because right now GX2 are kinda terrible. Aren't they based on OpenGL 3.X? Vulkan is basically the latest version of OpenGL so i hope they'll be similar.

I also suggested that they could shrink Espresso and use it for bc with the Wii U and to run the OS: do you think it's possible (and convenient in the long run) for them to do that?
 

Vena

Member
I think the guys in Redmond are following some kind of indications from him though, otherwise he didn't really have a reason to make that statement about the small memory pool being part of the Nintendo DNA.

They may well be, but what the end result is doesn't mean that there won't be a design back and forth. That said, low latency, small RAM pool is probably not some terrible result for Nintendo. Especially in the price considerations and long-term shrinks/plans.

Also what Takeda believes doesn't necessarily mean will make it to the end product. He could be convinced otherwise if Nintendo wanted to follow a plan similar to Cerny's for low latency.

To be fair, we don't really know that.

This is one of the more or less confirmed ones, isn't it?
 
It is. Apparently it's the same GPU as the iPad 3 (38gflops) clocked 100MHZ higher (51).

Of course, but don't expect a world of difference in that space. I mean, it won't be Latte vs PS3 RSX.

Not really. GB was better than NES, GBA was comparable to SNES, DS was better than N64 in some ways and worse in others; 3DS was better than GC/Wii in some ways and worse in others as well.

A 64gflops GPU in the handheld would be complete shit compared to the Wii U and graphics would probably be on par/subpar when compared to PS Vita games, considering they'll aim for 60fps as usual. A 100gflops part would make similar graphics to the Wii U at 540p/60fps a possibility, especially considering advancements in API (again, if they use Vulkan or if their "GX3" will based on those, which is likely).


You're right, but the S6 doesn't have games comparable to the Wii U and doesn't need to. It's still capable of running UE4 Mobile though, NX at 64gflops... not sure.


I think the guys in Redmond are following some kind of indications from him though, otherwise he didn't really have a reason to make that statement about the small memory pool being part of the Nintendo DNA.



To be fair, we don't really know that.


That's probably the case.

A while back i also suggested them shrinking Espresso and using it for bc with the Wii U and to run the OS: do you think something like this is possible?



The only clock listed is 400mhz which is just the theorical number from PowerVR. Vita CPU, while being theorically capable of a 2ghz clock, is clocked a lot lower. 666mhz according to a developper (which then deleted his tweet).
 

bachikarn

Member
I once heard scuttlebutt that a reason they didn't go with the GameCube version Wii Remote (besides the whole thing about new console hardware helps encourage mass adoption) is because of too much latency. IIRC, the receivers connected through the Memory Card slots, which are actually quite high speed on the 'Cube.

I don't think the Wii mote was ever planned to be on gamecube. There was an excellent article on CVG about the making of the Wii, but unfrotunately CVG died and so did the article. The article was great in that it showed how the Wii was made, but also how the post Yamauchi corporate structure was. The only thing I could find is a summary on Destructoidl

But basically even though most people think Nintendo had been experimenting with motion controls for forever, the technology behind the Wiimote was actually developed by a former American aviation guy (because they use gyros a lot in airplanes). He originally pitched the idea to both MS, and Sony, but they passed. He then went to Nintendo, in which there was a large internal argument on whether they should embrace the tech. The timeline presented in the article just doesn't make the idea feasible that it was ever going to be a Gamecube peripheral iirc.

It's also interesting because the article talks about how post-Yamauchi, the CEO was never supposed to be someone with absolute control like he did. More decisions would be made collectively by the board of directors. I imagine it is still the same way now, but there were reports that Iwata filled the board with people who thought like him, effectively making it the same as the Yamauchi era.

edit: ha, here is the gaf thread on it (it got derailed very quickly)
 
I don't think the Wii mote was ever planned to be on gamecube. There was an excellent article on CVG about the making of the Wii, but unfrotunately CVG died and so did the article. The article was great in that it showed how the Wii was made, but also how the post Yamauchi corporate structure was.

More decisions would be made collectively by the board of directors. I imagine it is still the same way now, but there were reports that Iwata filled the board with people who thought like him, effectively making it the same as the Yamauchi era.

Found it on Web Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/2012111.../378029/features/revolution-the-story-of-wii/

I'm posting from a phone so I can't get the best quotes out of it, sadly.
 

Oregano

Member
I don't know nearly enough to try and nail down Gflops or anything like that but I would say that I think people might be a bit pessimistic on the handheld side.

First you have to take a few things into account about the 3DS:
1. The vast majority of games are running in 3D(800x400). This actually has more overhead than just running at 800x400 though.
2. Resources are eaten up by the second screen. Usually it's a simple 2D GUI but in some game's like Resident Evil Revelations you can definitely see it having an effect.

If the 3DS was running a single screen it would likely be able to push a bigger resolution and more impressive games. One Piece Unlimited Red is an example of what a game can look/run like when not using 3D. If the NX handheld is running a single 2D screen(likely IMO) it will be easier to be substantial jump.

Now if we rewind back to 3DS unveiling we can also see how big of a leap the 3DS was from the DS. People were swearing up and down that Revelations and The Naked Sample were CG, MGS3 didn't live up to it but Revelations looked even better. The DS to 3DS transition was a bit late but the 3DS had also had to downgrade from Tegra because Nvidia couldn't deliver.

There's two other factors which I think the N3DS foreshadows. Nintendo will want the handheld to be compatible with as much middleware as possible and they'll also want to be able to port over Wii U assets and games as easily as possible. The fact that it took the N3DS to get Unity support and be able to port Xenoblade is probably not a mistake Nintendo wants to repeat.

I don't expect the NX handheld to be bleeding edge/top of the line but it's a standard generational gap(five years) so shouldn't be it a standard generational leap?
 

bachikarn

Member
Found it on Web Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/2012111.../378029/features/revolution-the-story-of-wii/

I'm posting from a phone so I can't get the best quotes out of it, sadly.

Thanks for that. They actually got the motion control technology earlier than I thought (in 2001 according to the article, although the picture the painted in the article the pitches happened after the gamecube had been known to be a failure).

Here is the relevant quote that motion control was never designed for GCN

For years there has been a myth within the industry that Nintendo began to prototype a motion controller for the GameCube in a bid to improve sales. In 2007, Julian Eggebrecht of games studio Factor 5 told a journalist that Nintendo had provided him with such a prototype motion controller for the GameCube title Star Wars: Rogue Leader.
But this was not true. One developer who worked on the Rogue Leader project told CVG that "it should be noted that Eggebrecht was trying to promote another motion-controlled PS3 game when he made this comment".

"Sorry, we never worked with a motion controller for the GameCube. Take Julian's comments with a pinch of salt," the person said.

Harrison says he never heard of such a plan internally, nor would he have recommended it. "There are many technical hurdles with add-ons. The whole plan was always to start anew. A completely new idea needs a completely new console.

"That was the Wii."

They did release peripherals on GCN as a way to gauge if a simplified control system could be something consumers liked:

From 2004 onwards, Nintendo began to conduct market experiments, both big and small, under the guise of product releases. Games like Mario Party 7 were packaged with microphones while Donkey Kong Jungle Beat was bundled with Bongos.

The test, says Harrison, was not so much about sales statistics but to gauge whether families would enjoy playing games if the user interface was significantly simplified.
 

LCGeek

formerly sane
He makes it sound like the rumors about power being low are true but that since it's early, it could change.

Has a console ever increased in power over original plans? I thought they always end up lowering, if anything.

Gamecube was a mixture of things good and bad. Ram was gimped, nintendo wanted embedded ram of 64MB would shat on xbox had that happened. The cpu and gpu speeds were increased though.

GCN couldn't have been made for motion controls as others are nothing no devs recall and on top nintendo had to alter the architecture to make their new input system have little issues with latency.
 

Terrell

Member
Hmmm...thanks for the replies.

It just seems to out of the ordinary for Nintendo, a company seemingly hellbent on prioritizing a small console size and small power consumption, to even contemplate increasing power on a system.

Then again, we have no idea if the rumors are true. Matt said they weren't, I guess.

Their priorities don't always meet with reality. I mean, they're now without their crop of casual gamers to draw in and they see what's left for them in the market... it's time to adapt. That doesn't mean abandoning those principles, just being more flexible about them. Achieve the best results possible with those 2 ideals without as much sacrificed to do so and it's still technically a priority.
 

AmyS

Member
Gamecube was a mixture of things good and bad. Ram was gimped, nintendo wanted embedded ram of 64MB would shat on xbox had that happened. The cpu and gpu speeds were increased though.

GCN couldn't have been made for motion controls as others are nothing no devs recall and on top nintendo had to alter the architecture to make their new input system have little issues with latency.

Some correction is in order.

64 MB embedded 1T-SRAM would not have been possible. Far too many transistors, resulting in a chip that would be impossible to manufacture back then with the chip fabs and processes that existed at the time.
That said, reports at the time during Dolphin's development, suggested the GPU would get 8 to 16 MB embedded 1T-SRAM. I think where you got 64 MB RAM from was reports about main system memory. Dolphin was reportedly going to have either 32 or 64 MB main memory. This wasn't embedded memory, nor was it 1T-SRAM, just normal DRAM system memory.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/06/24/dolphin-the-anti-n64-part-2

Problem (N64): Limited RAM and poor texture performance. The N64 sported a unified memory architecture with little memory. This was mostly due to high price of Rambus RAM, along with the system's architecture. The textures, sound, animation, and graphics data, all of it, had to be shared in 4MB of central RAM. This created a bottleneck on performance since everything was forced to share space. Naturally, texture performance suffered, which is one of the most important aspects in making a game visually impressive. Just compare a game like Banjo-Kazooie with Mario 64. In terms of graphics, Banjo-Kazooie looks better because of the textures it used. Any developer who worked on the N64 will tell you it was a task to use crisp or diverse textures in their games. There was simply not enough memory or performance to go around.

Solution (Dolphin): Dedicated high-speed memory and S3 Texture Compression(S3TC). In contrast to the N64, the Dolphin will not only have high-speed main system RAM, but it will also have embedded RAM on the graphics chip, which also features S3TC.

Main Memory: High Speed RAM
The high speed main system memory is thought to be provided by NEC, and because of its cost-effectiveness Nintendo will be able use a large quantity of it, upwards of 32-64 megabytes(MB), in Dolphin. This memory is integral to Dolphin's performance, as developers need to rely on it for nearly everything they do. The more memory Dolphin has, the faster it will be. The high speed and large quantity will give developers the ability to liberally use detailed motion-captured animations, create endlessly large levels, as well as cut down on load-time.

Graphics Memory: Embedded MoSys 1T-SRAM
Aside from a main chunk of RAM the whole system can access, Dolphin's graphics chip will also feature from 8-16MB of its own embedded memory. The memory is called 1T-SRAM, and will be supplied the company MoSys Incorporated. It is very similar to normal DRAM, but is dramatically faster, and since the memory is embedded directly into the graphics chip, meaning it doesn't have to go off-chip to access it as with the main memory, it will be able to move data at extremely high speeds. The graphics chip will be unlike any other chip on the market at the time because of the use of the 1T-SRAM. Its blazing speed will give developers room to breath when processing graphics data, and especially textures. The end visual result is bound to be nothing short of stunning. Howard Lincoln, chairman, Nintendo of America's chairman put it best when he said. "We will employ this technology to surpass the game experience offered by any competing console or personal computer."

When all was said and done, the Flipper GPU had 3.12 MB embedded 1T-SRAM when specs were announced at space world 2000. The main memory was changed to 24 MB of (non-embedded) 1T-SRAM

As far as clock speeds, the Gekko CPU was to run at 400 MHz and the Flipper GPU at 200 MHz. (405 MHz & 202.5 MHz, respectively, to be exact). Then around E3 2001 the CPU was upgraded to 485 MHz while the GPU was downgraded to 162 MHz.

In an IGN interview it was said that a 3:1 clock speed ratio between the CPU and GPU was better "balanced" than the original 2:1 clock speed difference between CPU and GPU.
 
Their priorities don't always meet with reality. I mean, they're now without their crop of casual gamers to draw in and they see what's left for them in the market... it's time to adapt. That doesn't mean abandoning those principles, just being more flexible about them. Achieve the best results possible with those 2 ideals without as much sacrificed to do so and it's still technically a priority.

It should also be noted that Nintendo also wasn't able to get the Wii U's hardware up to their own expectations. They never got to set up their video chat to be usable when you have a game active, for example, and some third party game engines had issues running on the system even when Nintendo personally helped them. For the n3DS, they advertised the massively improved OS speeds and got Unity aboard, so I would expect the NX to further address the major technical issues of the Wii U and original 3DS.
 

Vena

Member
It should also be noted that Nintendo also wasn't able to get the Wii U's hardware up to their own expectations. They never got to set up their video chat to be usable when you have a game active, for example, and some third party game engines had issues running on the system even when Nintendo personally helped them. For the n3DS, they advertised the massively improved OS speeds and got Unity aboard, so I would expect the NX to further address the major technical issues of the Wii U and original 3DS.

For its time and circumstances, the 3DS didn't have technical issues. It just got old.

WiiU launched with bugs at its core, lol.
 
For its time and circumstances, the 3DS didn't have technical issues. It just got old.

WiiU launched with bugs at its core, lol.

Aye, the 3DS's system software is pretty robust and did a lot in the launch window. Notifications for both StreetPass and SpotPass were also something that worked solidly in the background and pinned down before launch day; Wii U's notifications aren't anywhere near as flexible as 3DS's and don't' seem to integrate with core software either.

I'm glad Iwata merged the handheld and console teams, since the merger it seems any benefits in the short term have gone to the 3DS and the last major software update that launched ahead of New 3DS, rather than the Wii U.
 

KingBroly

Banned
Aye, the 3DS's system software is pretty robust and did a lot in the launch window. Notifications for both StreetPass and SpotPass were also something that worked solidly in the background and pinned down before launch day; Wii U's notifications aren't anywhere near as flexible as 3DS's and don't' seem to integrate with core software either.

I'm glad Iwata merged the handheld and console teams, since the merger it seems any benefits in the short term have gone to the 3DS and the last major software update that launched ahead of New 3DS, rather than the Wii U.

I hope the handheld team got put in charge because the guys they put in charge of Wii U made a horrendous mess of things.
 
I hope the handheld team got put in charge because the guys they put in charge of Wii U made a horrendous mess of things.

Me too. Given the hardware, the 3DS system software is excellent and quite capable. Though I get the feeling that the original 3DS is beginning to struggle under the weight of it all -- it has to reload all the system menu icons every time you load up a "small app", for example.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
HBM is made exclusively by SK Hynix and also requires they use that interposer/MCM setup, which increases complexity. It's another specialty part, and while nice, I don't think it's optimal for Nintendo's goals. How would prices work out if they used HBM1 and then the higher density HBM2 becomes the norm in 2 years? They would be likely paying higher prices for older tech. With eSRAM, you get that somewhat guaranteed improvement in price, size, etc. with each shrink.

I think eSRAM is only a problem on Xbone for devs looking to push 1080p AAA graphics. It's out of balance for the system, but for a system with less than half the floating op capabilities it's probably great. It will (hopefully) allow Nintendo's own games to push 1080p in ways they haven't this gen.

What solution does vita use? I thought it had an interposed and stacked ram?
 

usmanusb

Member
If Nintendo really wanna go for low profile hardware and still wants to have third party support, what does NX need to have to run Ps4/XBO ports for third party?
 
Aye, the 3DS's system software is pretty robust and did a lot in the launch window. Notifications for both StreetPass and SpotPass were also something that worked solidly in the background and pinned down before launch day; Wii U's notifications aren't anywhere near as flexible as 3DS's and don't' seem to integrate with core software either.

I'm glad Iwata merged the handheld and console teams, since the merger it seems any benefits in the short term have gone to the 3DS and the last major software update that launched ahead of New 3DS, rather than the Wii U.
The 3DS' hardware was set just before there were more reliable choices of mobile GPUs with programmable shaders within their wattage/power budget (Nintendo originally picked Tegra I, but that fell through), so that is one reason why the 3DS got "old" faster than the DS. Even with that, it is probably not a coincidence that more OS updates from Nintendo lately have been with the 3DS since ARM cores will likely be used for the NX.
 

Koppai

Member
I hope Nintendo can catch a break and have 3rd party games ahen they launch on other systems instead of delayed ports with no DLC like on Wii U. :/
 
If Nintendo really wanna go for low profile hardware and still wants to have third party support, what does NX need to have to run Ps4/XBO ports for third party?
A more powerful CPU and more RAM would be the big ones. Wii U's CPU has reportedly been one of the bigger issues and resulted to at least one publisher dropping plans for a port of a game (according to Arkam. ), and more RAM (at the very least 4GB for games) would be very benefital. A more powerful GPU may also be required, but it appeared that the other things bottlenecked developers before the GPU did.
 
Hopefully it can run PS4/XBO ports because I really want to play Arkham Knight, Need for Speed and Deus Ex Mankind Divided on the next Nintendo platform, and I'm sure WB, EA and SE can't wait to port them!
 
The 3DS' hardware was set just before there were more reliable choices of mobile GPUs with programmable shaders within their wattage/power budget (Nintendo originally picked Tegra I, but that fell through), so that is one reason why the 3DS got "old" faster than the DS. Even with that, it is probably not a coincidence that more OS updates from Nintendo lately have been with the 3DS since ARM cores will likely be used for the NX.

Yup, agreed. It was at a time when rapid *and* really meaningful progress was being made in the mobile space (the leap from ARM11 to Cortex A8 in the iPhone 3GS was probably the most momentous at the time), whereas by the time Vita launched its specification was good enough: It speaks volumes that Apple A5 hardware continues to receive software updates five years after launch. It may be slow by today's standards (even 2013's iPhone 5s saw a 7x leap in single core CPU performance over 2011's iPhone 4s), but it's still "good enough" for most tasks.
 

Neoxon

Junior Member
Hopefully it can run PS4/XBO ports because I really want to play Arkham Knight, Need for Speed and Deus Ex Mankind Divided on the next Nintendo platform, and I'm sure WB, EA and SE can't wait to port them!
I'm not sure if they really care. They already have a hard enough time juggling 3 platforms (PS4, XB1, PC) without causing game-breaking bugs on any or all of the versions. Though to be fair, none of those franchises are strangers to Nintendo platforms, so there is some kind of audience for said games on Nintendo systems.

If Nintendo really wanna go for low profile hardware and still wants to have third party support, what does NX need to have to run Ps4/XBO ports for third party?
On top of meeting the bare minimum requirements for Unreal Engine 4, they also need to cultivate the audience needed for said third party games to sell well on their platform. I've already made posts on why said audience has long since left Nintendo, & that Nintendo has to spend the next few years trying to win them back (which isn't a sure-deal to begin with). This is why I'm unsure if Nintendo's gonna even try to get third parties on board beyond the few third parties (Sega, Capcom, Bandai Namco, Atlus, etc.) & indies that they already have the support of.
 

usmanusb

Member
A more powerful CPU and more RAM would be the big ones. Wii U's CPU has reportedly been one of the bigger issues and resulted to at least one publisher dropping plans for a port of a game (according to Arkam. ), and more RAM (at the very least 4GB for games) would be very benefital. A more powerful GPU may also be required, but it appeared that the other things bottlenecked developers before the GPU did.

If Nintendo to built a bare minimum hardware to make it possible to run most of the third party games. what could be a suitable bare minimum CPU and GPU?
Memory should be atleast fast 4GB RAM.
 
With mobile GPUs, is it more power efficient to have more shaders at a lower clock, or less shaders at a higher clock to get the same GFlops?
 
If Nintendo to built a bare minimum hardware to make it possible to run most of the third party games. what could be a suitable bare minimum CPU and GPU?
Memory should be atleast fast 4GB RAM.
ARM's Cortex-A57 is roughly a match for the Jaguar cores in the XB1 and PS4 at the same clockspeed, so a 4x (Preferably 8x) cluster of A57s @ 1.7GHz or have higher for a CPU would be good.

As Fourth Storm stated earlier, the setup for Wii U's memory is fine for what they appear to be planning to do. They will just need more of it, and for it to be faster. The GPU situation, however, may be tricky to do at a lower price range. Fourth did a good job explaining what we may end up with. It depends on several factors, but it will not take much for Nintendo to get a GPU much faster than the Wii U since it was made under the very mature 45nm process. Even a 28nm version of Latte, for example, can potentially be much faster.

I think the NX being around half of XB1 at around $200 is possible. Rather or not a game can be ported down to the NX, however ultimately has to do with the publisher, and that will decide how far they will be willing to scale down. If they try at all.
 

usmanusb

Member
ARM's Cortex-A57 is roughly a match for the Jaguar cores in the XB1 and PS4 at the same clockspeed, so a 4x (Preferably 8x) cluster of A57s @ 1.7GHz or have higher for a CPU would be good. As Fourth Storm stated earlier, the setup for Wii U's memory is fine for what they appear to be planning to do. They will just need more of it, and for it to be faster. The GPU situation, however, may be tricky to do at a lower price range. Fourth did a good job explaining what we may end up with. It depends on several factors, but it will not take much for Nintendo to get a GPU much faster than the Wii U since it was made under the very mature 45nm process. Even a 28nm version of Latte, for example, can potentially be much faster. I think the NX being around half of XB1 is possible. Rather or not a game can be ported down to the NX, however ultimately has to do with the publisher, and that will decide how far they will be willing to scale down. If they try at all.

Thanks
 

AlStrong

Member
The GPU for the original Xbox was supposed to be 300 MHz. The first cut back was down to 250 MHz, and finally 233 MHz. From GDC 2000 Xbox console announcement:
Thanks.

ARM's Cortex-A57 is roughly a match for the Jaguar cores in the XB1 and PS4 at the same clockspeed, so a 4x (Preferably 8x) cluster of A57s @ 1.7GHz or have higher for a CPU would be good.

How about SIMD?
 
How about SIMD?

A57s SIMD register set-up appears to match up with the Jaguars in XB1 and PS4. I will refer you to Blu's response to a similar question.

NEON does 64- and 128-bit semantics, the implementation can do the latter as 2x pass 64bit ALU or in full 128bit ALUs. Think Bobcat vs Jaguar implementing the same ISA (say, SSE3).

ed: sorry, I didn't quite read your question in full. NEON has 16 128-bit registers, true. Jaguar's AVX also has 16 128-bit registers. It's not until AVX512 (or Xeon Phi, if we count that) that Intel's ISA got >16 simd registers. But to answer your direct question: A57 is at no disadvantage vs Jaguar whatsoever.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=172476062&postcount=932
 
I remember when Nintendo Announced Wii U would have 1GB memory and boasting like it is the most availble for a home console (which it was at the time). I was just laughing like no way they (like they claimed) talked with third party on what they wanted. No third party said yeah Nintendo that 1GB will work just fine for us. I have no faith in Nintendo to make great hardware sadly... but I am so willing for them to prove me wrong.
The Wii U have 2GBs. Only 1GB was available for games at launch, though, and I don't know if they have freed up more RAM since then. IIRC, the PS4 was initially going to have 2GB of RAM too, but they looked up and was able to cram in alot more. I'm sure Microsoft wasn't happy when it was reported that Sony did that. :)

The Wii U was already going to be priced higher than Nintendo wanted, so adding more RAM would be a no go. My impression is that the system is not hindered from the RAM amount in comparison to other things anyway..
 
So Dragon Quest XI just got announced for the NX. And the main version of that game runs on Unreal 4 -- 3DS is getting a bespoke version that's built around that system.

I'm guessing that means whatever makes it into the NX handheld is Unreal 4 capable, which is very encouraging as my worst expectation for the handheld was it having a Snapdragon 400 inside it.
 

KHlover

Banned
So Dragon Quest XI just got announced for the NX. And the main version of that game runs on Unreal 4 -- 3DS is getting a bespoke version that's built around that system.

I'm guessing that means whatever makes it into the NX handheld is Unreal 4 capable, which is very encouraging as my worst expectation for the handheld was it having a Snapdragon 400 inside it.

Gives me the (foolish?) hope tthat we'll eventually end up with a Kingdom Hearts 3 port on NX. Considering that like half the Kingdom Hearts series is on Nintendo consoles already it would make so much sense. KH3 and DQXI on NX at/near launch would already mean the best launch window since Twilight Princess on Wii in Japan (and in general).
 

Socordia

Banned
So Dragon Quest XI just got announced for the NX. And the main version of that game runs on Unreal 4 -- 3DS is getting a bespoke version that's built around that system.

I'm guessing that means whatever makes it into the NX handheld is Unreal 4 capable, which is very encouraging as my worst expectation for the handheld was it having a Snapdragon 400 inside it.

Even wii u is unreal 4 capable they just did not wanted to work for it.
 

Rodin

Member
See people? NX will be supported by Squre after all ;)

I wonder if the NX version of DQXI is based on the PS4 version (which means the home will support UE4 and we can stop worrying about its power) or if they're talking about a porting of the 3DS one for a new portable. Or both. Damn now i'm even more curious about this haha :p
 
So Dragon Quest XI just got announced for the NX. And the main version of that game runs on Unreal 4 -- 3DS is getting a bespoke version that's built around that system.

I'm guessing that means whatever makes it into the NX handheld is Unreal 4 capable, which is very encouraging as my worst expectation for the handheld was it having a Snapdragon 400 inside it.

What? It got actually announced for an unannounced console? Nintendo must be far into development then...
 

KHlover

Banned
See people? NX will be supported by Squre after all ;)

I wonder if the NX version of DQXI is based on the PS4 version (which means the home will support UE4 and we can stop worrying about its power) or if they're talking about a porting of the 3DS one for a new portable. Or both. Damn now i'm even more curious about this haha :p

Not only about the power, if it runs UE4 just like that (obviously we have no idea how customized the NX version of UE4 is right now) we may also be able to assume that NX is pretty straightforward to program for and given decent success would also continue to get ports if Sony or MS decide to release PS5/ Xbox whatever relatively early.
 

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
See people? NX will be supported by Squre after all ;)

I wonder if the NX version of DQXI is based on the PS4 version (which means the home will support UE4 and we can stop worrying about its power) or if they're talking about a porting of the 3DS one for a new portable. Or both. Damn now i'm even more curious about this haha :p

The Wii u can support UE4 too(in some form anyway). The announcement doesn't say anything about the unannounced system's power outside of the fact that its as strong(or stronger) than the Wii U to support both Dragon Quest X and Dragon Quest XI.
 
Reggie said 2016, but of course plans can change. If NX games get announced this early already it wouldn't suprise me if they revealed it earlier than initially planned.

Wouldnt count on it, they would sabotage their christmas business. Splatoon still running good, plus Mario Maker close by. Announced maybe in February or March next year
 
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