Jonneh3003
Banned
Looks like it to me
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
A Nintendo Switch has been taken apart
- Thread starter Dystify
- Start date
Looks like it to me
A module for the flash memory that is removable.
Edit: nvm, that's not what you're asking for.
NeOak
Member
The smaller chips are support chips, like Power chips, battery charge controllers, etc.
If they're testing hardware for quality control after putting it together why wouldn't they have clock speeds?
Edit: I don't actually know just asking
pinkurocket
Member
W...Well there's an extra fan in there. I was just curious to see how exactly it makes it possible for the Switch unit to put out more power.
Jonneh3003
Banned
Aha you kind of got ganged up on there. I'm interested to see the dock too, I just don't think there's much to see.
The software on the tablet tells it to run at higher clock speeds when outputting video. Not really any secret sauce hardware.
No, that's the actual Switch. There's no fan in the dock as far as I know.
darkazcura
Member
There probably isn't anything in it that makes it capable of outputting more power. The simple fact of it running on AC instead of battery will allow it to run at normal clock speeds.
Jonneh3003
Banned
It was rumoured there's an extra fan inside the dock to keep it cool under higher clock speeds, I'm not certain if it turned out to be true.
Skittzo0413
Member
His story seems convincing enough. He saw it running a specific demo with certain clock speeds being read out on the screen. Even if this is all true it doesn't say that these clocks will be available to developers, but what it does potentially indicate is the process node. If all of the cores were running at those clock speeds for 8 days it would be very unlikely to be a 20nm SoC, so 16nm would be essentially confirmed. It's impossible to know this just based on his leak though.
Gotcha, so nothing interesting haha
4310mAh I believe, and I think they said about 3 hours to charge. Which makes sense since this is a huge battery.
Xdrive05
Member
Best news to come out of the teardown for me. As a launch buyer who plans to use portable mode extensively, my battery will be diminishing fairly early in the console's life cycle (within 2 years probably if my phone is any indicator). Third party replacements should be common by then.
Portugeezer
Member
Switch can run at faster speeds because dock has extra fan.
I don't see why else it would be more powerful when docked.
Well, there it is.
As expected, everything's very tightly squeezed in there. I'm a little surprised that the cooling fins between the fan and vent take up so little space, but I suppose there's not a whole lot of cooling to be done. The total power output of the chip probably isn't more than 10-12W even in docked mode at full clocks. That J/L-shaped heatpipe should draw heat away from the SoC pretty effectively, though.
It's a bit annoying we don't have higher resolution photos, as the codes on the RAM modules would confirm all the memory specs (i.e. capacity, speed, bus width). We have leaked info on the first two, but it would be nice to get confirmation, and know whether we're looking at a 64 or 128 bit bus.
The use of a break-out board for the eMMC is really interesting. They wouldn't need this if they planned to just swap in higher-capacity eMMC modules at a later point, as the entire point of integrated flash solutions like eMMC is that it's all BGA-compatible (i.e. you can just solder on a higher capacity eMMC chip directly to the motherboard, without having to change any other components). It's possible that they're anticipating switching over to eUFS at some point instead, although that would mean they'd need to have support for both interfaces, and they could quadruple the capacity with eMMC before running into any problems (and they may well be a hardware redesign by that point). The other possibility is that they may want to use the same motherboard in a home console, and they've left themselves the option of using a SATA break out board for a HDD.
Edit: Or, the simpler explanation could just be that they ran out of space on the motherboard and needed to use a breakout board just to fit the eMMC chip in there.
It'd be nice if they took the metal shield off the MicroSD card slot so we could see if it supports UHS-II. I very much doubt it does, but it would be good to get confirmation.
A decent photo of the small chip next to the RAM modules (which appears to be the USB-C controller) would be helpful, as if it's an off-the-shelf chip it could tell us some things about the capabilities of the port (e.g. if it can operate at 10Gb/s with DisplayPort alt mode disabled).
A photo of the alternate side of the motherboard would also be useful, as there may be some other interesting stuff on there.
As expected, everything's very tightly squeezed in there. I'm a little surprised that the cooling fins between the fan and vent take up so little space, but I suppose there's not a whole lot of cooling to be done. The total power output of the chip probably isn't more than 10-12W even in docked mode at full clocks. That J/L-shaped heatpipe should draw heat away from the SoC pretty effectively, though.
It's a bit annoying we don't have higher resolution photos, as the codes on the RAM modules would confirm all the memory specs (i.e. capacity, speed, bus width). We have leaked info on the first two, but it would be nice to get confirmation, and know whether we're looking at a 64 or 128 bit bus.
The use of a break-out board for the eMMC is really interesting. They wouldn't need this if they planned to just swap in higher-capacity eMMC modules at a later point, as the entire point of integrated flash solutions like eMMC is that it's all BGA-compatible (i.e. you can just solder on a higher capacity eMMC chip directly to the motherboard, without having to change any other components). It's possible that they're anticipating switching over to eUFS at some point instead, although that would mean they'd need to have support for both interfaces, and they could quadruple the capacity with eMMC before running into any problems (and they may well be a hardware redesign by that point). The other possibility is that they may want to use the same motherboard in a home console, and they've left themselves the option of using a SATA break out board for a HDD.
Edit: Or, the simpler explanation could just be that they ran out of space on the motherboard and needed to use a breakout board just to fit the eMMC chip in there.
It'd be nice if they took the metal shield off the MicroSD card slot so we could see if it supports UHS-II. I very much doubt it does, but it would be good to get confirmation.
A decent photo of the small chip next to the RAM modules (which appears to be the USB-C controller) would be helpful, as if it's an off-the-shelf chip it could tell us some things about the capabilities of the port (e.g. if it can operate at 10Gb/s with DisplayPort alt mode disabled).
A photo of the alternate side of the motherboard would also be useful, as there may be some other interesting stuff on there.
Gotdatmoney
Member
I don't know either tbh. I just never believed it
Because of a lot of the discussion we had in the Eurogamer clock speed thread, a lot of this stuff seemed out there. But I have no idea whether this is info the manufacturer would or wouldn't know. Though I suppose come to think of it, you make a good point.It does?
JonnyDBrit
Member
Given the position, maybe power related? Especially since the system has to shift from drawing power from the wall to relying on the battery.
This is not true
Resistance100
Member
I'm sure i read somewhere that Nintendo would replace the battery for you if it died
I don't think there's a fan in the dock.
pinkurocket
Member
Jonneh3003
Banned
This is why it would be interesting to see a dock teardown. There's been whispers of a fan in the dock for a little while now.
ShadowFox08
Member
maybe he just meant 1080p output on the tv
MarkRenton
Banned
secret fan will bring 3rd party to switch
I thought there's no fan in the dock?
IchigoSharingan
Member
Weight dist was never an issue. You are literally talking out of your ass.
Get the chalkboard.
Bony Manifesto
Member
Sounds like bullshit to me. Looking at the design of this console, where would you blow extra air into to provide additional cooling?
Deadpool_X
Banned
Off-topic, I know, but I can't find an answer in any current topic:
Does anyone know if 1-2-Switch has any games were more than 2 players are playing simultaneously? I'm getting the game to play with my kids, but if there are 3 or 4 simultaneous players needed for any games, I'll have to get more joycons. I really don't want to have to buy more joycons...
Does anyone know if 1-2-Switch has any games were more than 2 players are playing simultaneously? I'm getting the game to play with my kids, but if there are 3 or 4 simultaneous players needed for any games, I'll have to get more joycons. I really don't want to have to buy more joycons...
JonnyDBrit
Member
Ok true.
I just wanna see it all you know.. Everything naked.
Yeah, basically the running theory for a while is that in portable mode the system underclocks itself, but when placed into the dock it runs at full speed, particularly making use of the fan for active cooling.
Glass Shark
Banned
Giant Bomb guys had the Switch in the office late last week and said the dock is "just a piece of plastic."
I want to hug you
Sounds like someone needs to take a cold shower
Possumowner
Member
Poor naked Switch
Skittzo0413
Member
Anyone know where these pics came from? And if they're planning on taking some more?
I'm pretty sure the point of the game (even indicated in the title itself) is that you only need the two joycons which come with the console to play it.
I'm pretty sure the point of the game (even indicated in the title itself) is that you only need the two joycons which come with the console to play it.
No, it runs at a lower clock speed when undocked to stay cooler & retain an adequate battery life.
When docked, these problems are less of a concern, therefore it can clock up. There is no fan inside the dock that is helping it cool down. The switch slides in and connects thru USB-C to charge and provide video/Ethernet output/input.
Where the hell would a fan go to help charge an isolated and closed off system anyway??
Of course they will, even for free while under warranty.
Once your warranty has expired we don't know how much they'll charge for a battery replacement, that's why DIY replacement could be interesting.
Xdrive05
Member
I'm sure they will, with premium costs for parts and labor all around and shipping wait times. I was just hoping to do it cheap and quick. Glad we'll be able to.
Not precisely on-topic, but is there any technical reason the Nintendo Switch could not make use of Nvidia's GeForce Now streaming service? They're offering (on PC, Mac) access to GTX 1060 and GTX 1080 hardware for PC games. I'm not sure what the requirements are, other than like 10 to 20 Mbps internet connection for 720p 60fps.
Couldn't Switch act as a terminal (be it the system itself, or in docked mode on TV) for much more technically advanced games powered by those mid to highend cards via GeForce Now? That would fall under the Supplemental Computing Device concept.
Couldn't Switch act as a terminal (be it the system itself, or in docked mode on TV) for much more technically advanced games powered by those mid to highend cards via GeForce Now? That would fall under the Supplemental Computing Device concept.
NeOak
Member
1. Referring to big tablets.
2. You didn't read the follow up posts, so read them and get back to me, kthx.
Doesn't seem like it. The selling point is just for 2 players at once. But the in-game team mode allows for up to 20 people, just by handing off the controller.
Just by picking it up though. It was apparently exceptionally light. If there is anything in there, it's extremely minimal.
4310 mAh, and it takes 3 hours to charge.
Dakhil
Member
The links to the pictures are in the OP.
shark sandwich
tenuously links anime, pedophile and incels
Yup, this is how modern portable electronics are supposed to be. This thing is light years ahead of Wii U.
It's pretty wild that there's nearly no air inside. It's so densely designed.
Fun fact: supposedly when Steve Jobs was handed an iPod prototype, he dropped it in a fish tank, pointed at the bubbles, and said "see, you can make it smaller".