mokalovesoulmate
Member
Why are we comparing Switch (portable device) power usage with a PS4/PS4 Pro (home device) ?
Why not compare switch to Vita (or even PSP?)
Why not compare switch to Vita (or even PSP?)
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How on earth is Nintendo Switch's power consumption so low?
- Thread starter Wiped89
- Start date
geordiemp
Member
On my LG OLED B7 Ps4 Pro looks great and needs that 4 TF, drop down to Ps4 /360 / Switch power levels and stuff looks like Shit.
But Switch at 0.25 or 0.5 TF or whatever it is, is good for a hand held, but rubbish for a console when used with a good TV.
Why are we comparing Switch (portable device) power usage with a PS4/PS4 Pro (home device) ?
Why not compare switch to Vita (or even PSP?)
This. I don't understand some comments in this thread.
sadaiyappan
Member
It is 18w at .5 TF? So the same chip at 300 watts (PS4 Pro wattage) would be 10 TF?
Not true, yes iPhone 8 has a faster CPU but not a faster GPU(which is essential for games), plus it would throttle a lot if it pushed what Switch pushes, also Switch has 4GB of RAM, iPhone 8 2gb and iPhone 8 Plus(which is my phone) 3GB. Yes Switch is not PS4 or Xbox One, but for its form factor it's an awesome achievement
geordiemp
Member
Pro 150 watts, power supplies are rated double what they consume typically.
The power adaptor on the switch may consume 18 W, but it will be rated higher.
Rating does not equal usage.
So, try 150 W and try again, you might be surprised.
Xb1X is 6TF, try that as well.
Amazing, Switch is under 20 Watts as its under 0.5 TF and has no HD or disk drive . End.
primasaurus
Member
Why are we comparing Switch (portable device) power usage with a PS4/PS4 Pro (home device) ?
Why not compare switch to Vita (or even PSP?)
Switch is also a TV/Home display device
I think of games like Snake Pass which is on all systems and compare how close they are in appearance, but now knowing the huge difference in potential power draws, it is impressive, I mean DOOM and Wolfenstein II at 18 watts impressive
Yes, "also" is the key word.
It's literally a tablet that we can insert into a dock in order to unlock higher frequency.
Given its tablet nature, the focus was portability and, consequently, great energy savings features.
Comparing to other TV devices just because you can connect it to a monitor it's absolutely nonsense, in my opinion.
The only worth comparison should be made with smartphones/tablets and other handheld devices.
On top of that, you are comparing an ARM device with x86 devices: literally night and day, especially in the battery management.
Hopefully nobody tells you that all those big specs you read on new smartphones are not sustained performance, but maximums which are rarely reached. So the power draw you see from them is based on mostly down clocked performance. Oops, I just did..
No doubt the newest high end Smartphones can outperform Switch in benchmarks at a lower wattage. But I wouldn't be surprised if even those still don't beat it in true gaming visuals, they just aren't optimised for gaming or sustained performance.
test_account
XP-39C²
That should be the same for all systems though. Some game tax the system more than others, so depending on which game that is running, the usage in power consumption will also variate. The OP says that the max watt usage on Switch is 18W. If thats true, less taxing games shouldnt be using 18W.
I mean, the OP post itself is flawed: no one of us would compare a Galaxy S8 with a desktop PC, of course.
Why comparing the power consumption of a tablet (even docked) with a PC-based home console?
I understand the enthusiasm of the OP but this thread has no clear point, if we are discussing about tech.
Why comparing the power consumption of a tablet (even docked) with a PC-based home console?
I understand the enthusiasm of the OP but this thread has no clear point, if we are discussing about tech.
geordiemp
Member
Why is it impressive compared to other 14/16 nm devices ?
0.5 TF at 20 watts approx.Switch
4 TF at 150 watts approx. Pro
Look about the same power / perf to me. 0.5 TF is Ps3 / 360 territory.
Expected. What am I supposed to be seeing here ?
LordRaptor
Member
Its hilarious how some people on this site are literally unable to give nintendo any credit
Which both had more than 200W power draw
Which both had more than 200W power draw
jts
...hate me...
Mobile hardware allows for extreme energy savings. Big benefit for Switch owners, I concur. Made my switch from the PS4 even better.
It's competing directly for the same money with other consoles and it's much better than them at power consumption. That's where the comparison comes from. It's not in the same market as tablets and phones, it's in the same market as consoles. And in that market, it has that additional selling point where regular classic consoles can't keep up.
I mean, Nintendo used one of best mobile hardware available at the time of NX project, in terms of battery-performance balance and support for a FreeBSD kernel. It was a right choice (insted of going for other ARM chip makers).
"Giving any credit" it's not the point here: OP is basically comparing an Honda Civic with eco-Hybrid engine (Nintendo Switch) with two sport Sedan models (the x64 competitors, allow me the comparison
)Each one has its own merits and weakness, of course, in their league.
Comparing is nonsense.
And still I don't understand what's the point of the OP, aside for celebrating a great,little machine capable of great things (as it is the Switch).
And can't offer the same performance, as anyone here knows well. And this is logic, because it's designed with portability in mind.
We are discussing about power comsumption and the other devices we can compare with a Switch (which is a tablet) are the other handheld devices on the market.
Tech discussion.. Not a gaming one.
If you say that the dual-mode usage is a selling point for some users, that's worth of discussion for another thread, gaming-focused.
LordRaptor
Member
The Switch is a damn nice piece of hardware, at exactly the sweet spot for performance, price, battery life, and form factor.
Like... it doesn't fucking matter that its made by Nintendo - I'd say the same thing whoever made it. Its a very impressive piece of kit.
Some of the responses in this thread are something else though.
And I agree, if you read my previous answers (previous this specific comment).
And yet, if we are discussing about power comparison tablet vs PC-based hardware, this thread has no sense (and some comments too, I'd say, I agree with you).
FallingSputnik
Member
For 300 bucks?
Rodolink
Member
touché
test_account
XP-39C²
Its definitelly a very nice piece of hardware indeed, but the comparison the OP makes, but it seems that the OP is skewing the comparison to make it look even better. I dont know if this is his/hers intention though, but when it was pointed out that the power consumption used in sleep mode for the PS4 also includes USB power for charging and background downloading (features you can also turn off), the OP tried to downplay this by saying it sleep mode would be much less useful if turning those things off and that no one does it. Instead, the OP could just agree that turning those things off would be a more fair comparison, because at a power consumption at less than 1W on the Switch, USB charging and background download is not being used.
The OP also mention that the PS4 uses 58W in sleep mode is the same as leaving a light bulb on 24/7. Your PS4 isnt going to do background downloading and USB charging 24/7 either.
LordRaptor
Member
I don't know what OPs motivations are, but "my phones better hurr durr" responses are some ignorant shit
ArtHands
Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
That further illustrate how huge that PS4 and Xbox power consumption are.
test_account
XP-39C²
Fair enough.
-----
Where does the less than 1W in sleep mode come from by the way? Does that include having a game suspended?
Is there any way they could get it any smaller with todays technology?
geordiemp
Member
Hilarious that posters in this thread think a 16 nm part needs praise because its more power efficient than a 65 nm part on 10 year + old architecture.
At least have the decency to compare 14/16 nm parts. If MS wanted a portable 360, they could also use an Nvidia X1 base and customise if it was worth the effort.
So where were we before the silly comments
Ps4pro draws 150 watts for 4 TF. Switch draws 18 watts for 0.5 TF.
Well done Nintendo for buying a more modern Nvidia part in line with other 2017 AMD parts on the same node.
There is nothing special about Ps4pro, xb1x or Switch, they are all from 14/16 nm building blocks and power draw is proportional to the compute power more or less..What is interesting is the selection of those parts for intended power envelope and purpose.
No,power draw is in line with the performance envelope they operate in. 150 watts is not huge for 4 TF, its kinda there abouts.
True. Because they are home console.
And what about PCs?
This further illustrate, instead, that the thread is slowly becoming "Switch vs PS4/One", not a tech comparison thread that consider form factors, projects and competitors.
I mean, you can also consider Vita, 3DS, PSP etc in order to make good comparisons (considering the hardware differences, of course) and yet I see some absurd comments.
:/
Oh man! I'd love to see a comparison of those three.Why not compare switch to Vita (or even PSP?)
geordiemp
Member
Why, you can only compare power usage from similar nodes, switch is 2017 14-20 nm, the others are not, so pointless.
I like seeing comparisons from devices. No different than going back to compare an original iPhone to the latest one. I just like seeing how far we've gotten. Sheesh! Talk about defensive.
primasaurus
Member
Switch seems to get compared to other systems when it shares games with them even though they have much more powerful hardware, if so why not power output, for example when DOOM comes out it will be intensely compared, power potential should also be compared and put into perspective
th4tguy
Member
PS4 uses 10w in rest mode. It's been reported on a number of sites. This equates for most everywhere less than $20 a year in electricity....
I pay bills too guys, but less than $20 a year is nothing. The time I save not having to apply updates and waiting for the system to do a cold startup are worth that to me.
Getting back on topic, the switch uses such low power consumption because it is using parts that were designed for a portable device. The newer nvidia hardware in this chips family goes even further with it's efficiency in power consumption.
The next PS and Xbox will most likely use less power consumption than the PS4 and XBO even.
I pay bills too guys, but less than $20 a year is nothing. The time I save not having to apply updates and waiting for the system to do a cold startup are worth that to me.
Getting back on topic, the switch uses such low power consumption because it is using parts that were designed for a portable device. The newer nvidia hardware in this chips family goes even further with it's efficiency in power consumption.
The next PS and Xbox will most likely use less power consumption than the PS4 and XBO even.
Games to games, hardware to hardware. If you want to simply analyze a hardware spec, as the OP seemed to, it only makes sense to compare it to other similar hardware.
Would it make sense to laud your walkman for having such lower power use compared to your home AV system? It would make sense to compare your walkman to your portable CD player though, or your laserdisc player to your Blueray player.
The switch has a lot of positives going for it, the exclusives, the portability etc. Why does it seem so important for people to try to find ways they think it is better than something else?
primasaurus
Member
This is getting a little odd
Why would you only compare it to similar hardware? Aren't they all playing games?
So every piece of gaming hardware must NOT be compared to non-similar gaming hardware, ever?
Answer this: do you compare your smartphone/tablet to your desktop PC regarding energy consumption ratio and management?
If you want to compare hardware, yes, it is relevant to compare it to similar category hardware.
Back to my original example.. it makes sense to say the power consumption of a walkman is great because my home AV receiver uses 10x as much, simply because they both play music? ...or how great the gas mileage is of a Civic is because a Bugatti uses x amounts more per mile on the same roads?
If you want to say it is great how you can play Doom on a system that uses X amounts less power than a PS4/Xbox and at decent performance, then you have a valid statement.
The fact is it uses portable architecture, it should use a lot less power, this is normal, not exceptional. The fact that a portable can play good performing/looking games is the part that is impressive.
That includes having a game suspended yeah. Sorry I was on my phone when I posted so I'll update today with source links and more figures. When charging, it increases to 5W.
mavericktopgun
Member
Interesting... But let me tell you something. It has no AAA games and no detachable controllers.
Those detachable controllers suck, would rather a good bt controller, and does Switch have animal crossing?
pretty done
Member
geordiemp
Member
Fixed that for you.
Exploring, wandering around, collectathons I have zero interest in, but some do.
Never undestood nostagia critics and their blind love for stuff like Zelda TP. More of interesting action gamer myself like excite truck or RE4 mercs....
So I never look at the inflated scores, hype over inflates GTA as well, guess its not for me.
Horsemama1956
Member
What kind of credit do you want Nintendo to get for picking pretty much the only option for a portable that can sort of work like a home console? Its not like they designed that hardware, where as they made a conscious decision to go with basically no storage space. Not comparable.
Would you get satisfaction if people were more complimentary towards a piece of gaming hardware? What's the issue here?
Is this like your chosen console winning the most sales in a month kind of thing?
Trogdor1123
Member
Sarcasm?