What is the power? Early sources point to a very exciting GPU

We now know that Nintendo is introducing a new gaming console to developers. Expected for 2024, the technical characteristics of the machine are the subject of fairly reliable leaks.

Forget the Nintendo Switch Pro, it is now Switch 2, symbolizing the complete change of generation, which gamers expect for 2024. The manufacturer has already begun to show its new console at Gamescom 2023, which will clearly be more powerful than the first Switch.

For this new console, we don’t really expect a revolution in terms of design or philosophy, but rather an increase in computing power. This is good, the first leaks focus on this topic.

8nm Nvidia Amp chip

Without too much of a surprise, Nintendo should continue working with Nvidia to develop the SoC for the Switch 2. This choice should ensure continuity in game development and backwards compatibility for the Switch 2 with previous generation games. This is also the reason why Sony or Microsoft should continue working with AMD.

However, since the Nvidia Tegra X1 chip from 2015 that was integrated into the first Switch, we can say that things have changed. Many Nvidia architectures have followed each other and we can wonder which one will serve as the basis for the Switch 2.

According to what was reported by several sources Wccftechthe Nvidia Switch 2 chip will be based on Ampere, i.e. the same architecture as the GeForce RTX 3000. This seems fairly consistent: consoles rarely use the latest architecture given their production time.

Two sources, Copy7chemy And Tech_Reve It claims the chip will use Samsung’s SEC8N etching process, at 8nm, which is a very clear improvement over the 16nm Tegra TSMC for the next generation of Ada Lovelace.

GPU with 5x more cores

The most interesting comes from Kittyyoko, a source that was able to predict the characteristics of the RTX 3090 several months before its presentation. The Tegra T239 chip that will be used for the Switch 2 will provide 8 Cortex-A78 CPU cores and a 1280 CUDA GPU core.

As a reminder, the first Switch chip was based on the Maxwell architecture and 4 Cortex A57 cores combined with a GPU with 256 CUDA cores, which is five times less than the rumored Tegra 239 chip.

There’s still a lot of missing information that can’t be deduced about the Switch 2’s power, but if these leaks come true, it would indeed be very encouraging. If this is the result of a more recent fabrication process, the passage of Maxwell’s architecture (2014) to Ampere (2020), the multiplication of 5 GPU versions and the availability of technologies. Like the Ray tracing Hardware, there’s a reason to be so excited.

The best part is that these rumors are plausible. Nintendo has been somewhat conservative since the GameCube when it comes to the design of its controllers. So rumors based on the Ada Lovelace generation (RTX 4000) would be completely implausible. We’re talking here about a chip whose design is based on 2020 technologies for commercial launch in 2024. The calendar matches the latency expected in consumer gaming console design.