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NVIDIA Reportedly Stopping Manufacture of Nintendo Switch SoC Soon

According to sources close to Gamereactor, NVIDIA will soon be stopping the production of its Nintendo Switch SoC, possibly to make way for an updated model based on a newer microarchitecture. A while back, reports from Bloomberg suggested that Nintendo had concluded a deal with Samsung to manufacture higher-resolution OLED displays for a new variant of the Switch console.

The Nintendo Switch console is powered by the Tegra X1 SoC which is based on the Maxwell graphics architecture, originally introduced back in 2014. Since then, NVIDIA has launched two newer Tegra chips, namely X2 and Xavier, based on the Pascal and Volta architectures, respectively. The Tegra X1 features 256 CUDA cores with a 16nm 20nm node (The revision is based on the 16nm node, Switch uses the original) and a 4+4 hybrid CPU design using the A53 and A57 cores (the Switch uses only the latter). The X2 upgrades the CPU to 2 custom Denver cores paired with four A57 cores, while the GPU is based on Pascal with the same core count and the same 16nm FinFET process.

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The Xavier GPU was originally designed for AI-related workloads and features twice as many cores as the X1/X2 (512) based on the Volta architecture and 12nm FinFET process. The CPU is a custom design, codenamed Carmel with eight cores running at a peak clock of 2.26GHz. Considering that Xavier is based on Volta (which was primarily designed for Data Centers) instead of Turing, we’re likely going to see a different SoC or the Tegra X2 in the Switch Pro.

According to previous rumors, the Switch Pro will support 4K rendering along with possible DLSS support to actually enable it. Furthermore, Ex-Kotaku journalist, Imran Khan expects the Switch Pro to be a half-generation upgrade of sorts, further indicating that we’ll see the Tegra X2 (or its equivalent) rather than Xavier. This should allow for a higher resolution and better performance across various games, similar to the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X.

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Areej Syed

Processors, PC gaming, and the past. I have been writing about computer hardware for over seven years with more than 5000 published articles. Started off during engineering college and haven't stopped since. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Divinity, Torment, Baldur's Gate and so much more... Contact: areejs12@hardwaretimes.com.
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