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Nintendo Switch pro rumored to feature next-gen NVIDIA Lovelace architecture

Great Hair

Banned
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Buggy Loop

Member
Eh, I suppose this is subjective. Also, that video’s not a very lengthy look at going from 540p > 1080p, which is really what we’re talking about here.

I know I’m taking the negative position, but I tend to be the optimist about these things. Stuff like mesh shaders, VRS, and DLSS definitely make 1.5TF a lot more potent than it sounds. That said, 540p is really low detail. I’d like to see examples of text and fine details in textures up scaled this way. I doubt they’d hold up well.

In my mind, DLSS is the technical marvel that saves us from the performance tyranny of 4K marketing hype. Mediocre 4K is way more acceptable than mediocre 1080p.

Easily upscales 720p content.

It’s that good.



Now, even likely that Ada even brings in more optimization with the tensor cores and whatever next version of DLSS will bring.

If true, and that Nvidia leaker has a good track record, it’s a game changer for portable gaming and Nintendo.
 

llien

Member
Oh boy, the DLSS nonsense storm started again, ew...

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It's going to flop. No one buys a Switch for cutting-edge graphics. Nintendo doesn't do well following up on a popular product since the SNES. They need to just do a minor spec refresh and release something different next time.
Agree on the needs and perf expectations, but why would it flop though?


Check any quickly moving part.
Say



TAA(u) just accumulates data over time.
 
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Boy bawang

Member
It's perfectly realistic. The Switch Pro SoC should have around 1.5 TFLOPs and that is without DLSS. Once DLSS is utilized, it should have enough performance for true next generation games and the RT solution is very probably going to be a lot more capable than Ampere, which is already more capable than PS5 and Series X. This thing is going to be a monster.



Such machine would trounce competition. I'm doubtful, but there are legitimate reasons for optimism.
 

Rikkori

Member
The biggest limitation for the switch will be memory bandwidth, and there's not much they can do about that given the form factor. All DLSS will do is allow newer games to still come out on Switch too, nothing more. Tbh I kinda look forward to seeing Cyberpunk on it, though we might still get an RDNA2 APU Aya before it in which case - w/e.
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
If they can make enough, this thing will healthily outsell the ps5 and zboz this Xmas.

If it launches with a sniff of botw2 it's going to be tecord breaking. The only issue is, I genuinely don't think they will be able to build close to enough of them.
 
Never trust a kopite, lads.

FR though, I'm not too optimistic about this -- definitely not believing it until I see it. My impression is that, were this to be true, we'd get a couple of underwhelming exclusive games a la New Nintendo 3DS and then just forget about it in a couple months.
 

jaysius

Banned
Here's a quick test for these rumours about Nintendo hardware, does it sound like it'd be more expensive than the mediocre last gen tech of it's ilk? If so then it's false, Nintendo scrapes up the trash that nobody else wants anymore and uses that.
 

FStubbs

Member
Furukawa stated months ago they were now pursuing cutting edge technology, instead of their usual low cost approach.

Apple's A14 cpu is capable of being competitive with AMD's latest cpu's , and there's nothing preventing Nintendo from having a fast ssd.
Also, there would be exclusive games for the new Switch models.
Apple is 2-2.5 years ahead of anyone else in ARM CPUs though. And clearly Nintendo won't have Apple chips as an option.
 
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AGRacing

Gold Member
It's perfectly realistic. The Switch Pro SoC should have around 1.5 TFLOPs and that is without DLSS. Once DLSS is utilized, it should have enough performance for true next generation games and the RT solution is very probably going to be a lot more capable than Ampere, which is already more capable than PS5 and Series X. This thing is going to be a monster.


This is hilarious.
 
Nintendo with new state of art new tech lol, lol yeh right, me thinks its just gonna be small revision, small increase in performance, but with some hardware improvements.
 

McHuj

Member
I doubt the rumor, but just because it's using a brand new architecture doesn't mean that it will be a massive chip. I would still expect a tiny chip, maybe with the same amount of shaders, but at a dumped clock. 2X perf of the normal switch has, but massive gains in performance/watt.
 

Marvel14

Banned
Yep, some poor guys even are hoping this new Switch to be this magical tablet that is gonna run next gen games lol.

Its just a '4K' Switch to make the current games run at nice iq and stable framerate,still a nice upgrade but not the next big jump that is supposed to keep with PS5, not even the Switch 2 will be able to do that! without struggling and thats all right because its just a tablet

And as long as companies don't run out of games to port the Switch line will be fine, i expect tons of PS4/ONE on Switch 2 that will look lovely. But people will complain its no PS5/Series XS handheld again

Nintendo rarely pushed newest and latest greatest technology in modern hardware design - so I highly doubt this will be the case.
Realistically, I think it will be a modified Xavier, or gimped Orin at the best, if it's coming out this year. I do hope DLSS implementation is true though, as it would help out quite a bit.

Normally i would agree that raw horsepower is not the Nintendo way...but smartphones and tablets keep getting more and more powerful and don't take 5 years between iterations. If i was Nintendo in such a complex marketplace and on the back of massive Switch revenues i would differentiate myself with innovative tech that smartphones just wont use and invest in R&D on a bespoke chipset with my silicon partner to ensure that power wise my hardware is relevant to the conversation of what else is out there....

I sincerely doubt we will get ps4pro level performance unless this is a complete hardware revision. Base XB1 is more realistic even though I think DLSS magic rather than raw horsepower will achieve it.
 
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Okamiden

Member
Normally i would agree that raw horsepower is not the Nintendo way...but smartphones and tablets keep getting more and more powerful and don't take 5 years between iterations. If i was Nintendo in such a complex marketplace and on the back of massive Switch revenues i would differentiate myself with innovative tech that smartphones just wont use and invest in R&D on a bespoke chipset with my silicon partner to ensure that power wise my hardware is relevant to the conversation of what else is out there....

I sincerely doubt we will get ps4pro level performance unless this is a complete hardware revision. Base XB1 is more realistic even though I think DLSS magic rather than raw horsepower will achieve it.
Xbox One level of performance with DLSS to boost capabilities on the same level as current next-gen lowest denominator (Series S) - will be perfect and most wise solution for Nintendo if they want to be truly competitive. Nintendo can acquire unprecedented advantage in terms of hardware this gen because of partnership with Nvidia and DLSS technology which is not available on MS/Sony consoles for the whole generation.
 

FireFly

Member
It's perfectly realistic. The Switch Pro SoC should have around 1.5 TFLOPs and that is without DLSS. Once DLSS is utilized, it should have enough performance for true next generation games and the RT solution is very probably going to be a lot more capable than Ampere, which is already more capable than PS5 and Series X. This thing is going to be a monster.


Ampere has doubled up FP32 performance per SM, but everything else kept the same. So for example the 12.74 TF 3060 is about as fast as the 9.75 TF 5700 XT and proportionally slower than the 13.8 TF Radeon 7. So a 1.5 TF Ampere would probably be between an Xbox One and PS4 in performance. That's a long way from the Series S, (even with DLSS) which has the equivalent of about a 5 TF GCN architecture.

Even if it could match Series S performance, taking into account DLSS, the Series S will be running ray traced games at 1080p max, or more likely 900p, not 4K.

(Edit: Obviously we can only speculate about what Lovelace will bring to the table, but we did not see a big improvement in RT efficiency going from Turing to Ampere).
 
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Woopah

Member
Everyone in media seems to know all about this which is odd since Nintendo tends to run a tight ship.
Nintendo might, but at this point its not just Nintendo that knows about it. People in the supply chain will be preparing for production and third party publishers will have dev kits and be working on games.
Ok i don't see it....
but let's assume i can.....it's not a refresh then ?
And maybe they are lacking a next gimmick and will push power ?
Again this goes against everything Nintendo has ever done when portable devices are involved.
Has someone strong arguments to make this believable ?
It's a new, premium revision (similar to DSi / new 3DS). The big difference this time is that DLSS is very Nintendo-friendly technology and definitely something they'd be interested in using. They might be willing to spend a little more than the usually would in order to use it.
Here's a quick test for these rumours about Nintendo hardware, does it sound like it'd be more expensive than the mediocre last gen tech of it's ilk? If so then it's false, Nintendo scrapes up the trash that nobody else wants anymore and uses that.
Nintendo with new state of art new tech lol, lol yeh right, me thinks its just gonna be small revision, small increase in performance, but with some hardware improvements.
This is not Iwata's Nintendo and not mid 00s Nintendo. Their leadership is different and their place in the market is different.

They are no longer going for the blue ocean and facing major competition with other hardware manufactures with the same form factor. Plus this is a revision, not a successor. That means there's no need for them to undercut anyone on price. The Switch hybrid is still in its growth phase and they have the Switch Lite to appeal to price sensitive consumers. This is an additional member of the family being sold at a profit, which they can use to:

1. Raise the average selling price of the Switch to increase hardware revenue
2. Gain a small but significant number of third party titles that can run on this revision but not on the basic Switch, thus increasing software revenue
3. Attract a new audience who care about resolutions/framerates and convince current owners to upgrade, helping them with their strategy to move from 1 Switch per household to 1 Switch per person.

I'm not familiar with this nVidia leaker so no idea if Lovelace will be the architecture used, but Nintendo releasing a new revision that uses DLSS is something which supports Nintendo's strategy very well.
 

Bogey

Banned
Could someone explain to me why 4k would be a worthwhile upgrade for the switch?

What I mean is - the switch is obviously not exactly a technical power house. The majority of games look rather poor. And I don't mean in terms of resolution, but rather in terms of.. Everything and anything really. Geometry, textures, effects, everything.

Sure you could upscale it to 4k now. But in most cases, it'd still be low poly, questionably textured stuff, or am I missing something?

Example - Witcher 3. If you'd upscale the switch version to 4k, it's still look.. Pretty damn poor!?
 

Ten_Fold

Member
It's going to flop. No one buys a Switch for cutting-edge graphics. Nintendo doesn't do well following up on a popular product since the SNES. They need to just do a minor spec refresh and release something different next time.
This is not gonna flop, it’s gonna sell VERY well. The switch’s whole lifecycle got at least 4-5 more especially with this upgrade. This will probably outsell the ps5/series x.
 

FireFly

Member
Could someone explain to me why 4k would be a worthwhile upgrade for the switch?

What I mean is - the switch is obviously not exactly a technical power house. The majority of games look rather poor. And I don't mean in terms of resolution, but rather in terms of.. Everything and anything really. Geometry, textures, effects, everything.

Sure you could upscale it to 4k now. But in most cases, it'd still be low poly, questionably textured stuff, or am I missing something?

Example - Witcher 3. If you'd upscale the switch version to 4k, it's still look.. Pretty damn poor!?
With current technology you should be able to get Xbox One performance at least out of a mobile SoC (Intel iGPUs are already there). And then if it's running at 1080p, you would theoretically be able to scale it to 4K. So it would kind of be like a poor man's Xbox One X.
 
4k, dlss, nintendo fans keep dreaming, with soc shortages, there is no way, nintendo is paying dollar for these new chips, hardware revision, with small increse in performance using same soc, is what's gonna happen.
DLSS is actually possible, but not with a chip that isn't even on the market yet. Even Sony and MS didn't reach for Zen 3, they took the older and available Zen 2 parts. That's how you can even mass produce a console these days, this isn't 2005 xbox 360 land anymore.

Some kind of a custom tegra orin (cut down and/or smaller process) is the highest possible thing they could actually choose, but knowing how Nintendo does business that is pretty far fetched as well. Xavier, maybe. I'm honestly expecting a Tegra X2 like chip, because if you're going to call something a "pro" or a "new" switch, it at least needs a significant bump.

But hell like you said, it could very well just be a die shrink of the same chip and all this pro nonsense could be just that, nonsense lol.
 

Elysion

Banned
Everyone‘s talking about the gpu architecture and 4k and dlss and whatnot, but what about the cpu? It‘s gonna be pretty hard for a Switch Pro (or even a Switch 2) to get ports of big games if the cpu is too far behind. Can we expect the cpu in a Switch upgrade and/or successor to be on par with the Jaguars in the PS4/XBone at least? Or even better? I think that‘s just as important as the number of tensor cores or teraflops.
 

Schnozberry

Member
Apple is 2-2.5 years ahead of anyone else in ARM CPUs though. And clearly Nintendo won't have Apple chips as an option.

But the OG Switch is using an ARM Design from 2012, and not even at it's full clock speed.

It doesn't have to be Apple's latest core to be a significant improvement in both performance and power consumption.
 

Schnozberry

Member
Everyone‘s talking about the gpu architecture and 4k and dlss and whatnot, but what about the cpu? It‘s gonna be pretty hard for a Switch Pro (or even a Switch 2) to get ports of big games if the cpu is too far behind. Can we expect the cpu in a Switch upgrade and/or successor to be on par with the Jaguars in the PS4/XBone at least? Or even better? I think that‘s just as important as the number of tensor cores or teraflops.

A modern ARM core will certainly be more performant than a Jaguar Core clock for clock, which was a poor performer even when it was current market technology.
 
Everyone‘s talking about the gpu architecture and 4k and dlss and whatnot, but what about the cpu? It‘s gonna be pretty hard for a Switch Pro (or even a Switch 2) to get ports of big games if the cpu is too far behind. Can we expect the cpu in a Switch upgrade and/or successor to be on par with the Jaguars in the PS4/XBone at least? Or even better? I think that‘s just as important as the number of tensor cores or teraflops.
Well 3ds to new3ds jump was pretty big : 2 cores at 268 MHz vs 4 cores at 804 MHz.

They kinda need a similar jump to get good ps5 ports. In fact, cpu will be even more important than usual because they’ll need a fast cpu to keep load times short ; since games will be running from game cards rather than super fast Ssds.
 

Schnozberry

Member
The more rumors I hear, makes me wonder if its gonna be the Switch 2.

The more rumors I hear, the more I think Nintendo has decided against drawing hard lines at console generations. This is an iterative update to a successful product, and they probably plan on maintaining support for previous switch for a while. The install base is too large.
 

jroc74

Phone reception is more important to me than human rights
Again an Xbox fanboy is not a reliable leaker, it's Nintendo and everyone has to keep the expectations low, lol how dense can ya'll be. Wait for official information coming from devs then we can start talking.
Yeah, when I see certain Twitter users as a source, immediate head shaking starts.
 
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