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One thing to look ahead to: Nintendo has formally revealed the technical specs for the extremely anticipated Swap 2, providing a glimpse into the console’s structure. Digital Foundry notes that the small print stay considerably “selective” however present a clearer understanding of the {hardware} builders have at their disposal. Nintendo has conceded the console arms race to Sony and Microsoft however positions the Swap 2 to stability energy, portability, and effectivity within the handheld market.
When Nintendo unveiled the Swap 2, it supplied nearly zero particulars on the CPU, merely calling it a “customized processor made by Nvidia.” Nvidia followed up with a equally imprecise description of the chip. With the discharge simply weeks away, Nintendo has finally confirmed some stable specs.
On the coronary heart of the Swap 2 is a customized Nvidia Ampere chip, designated T239 – a transparent improve from the unique Tegra X1. It options an Arm Cortex-A78C CPU, providing important good points over the older A57 cores. The chip runs at 998MHz whereas docked and 1.1GHz in cellular mode, with a possible 1.7GHz ceiling underneath particular circumstances. Its 8-core CPU, with six cores out there to builders, permits higher efficiency for demanding video games.
The Swap 2’s Ampere-based GPU delivers a considerable increase in visible efficiency. It consists of 1,536 CUDA cores reaching as much as 1.71 teraflops in handheld mode, scaling to three.072 teraflops whereas docked. Teraflop metrics might be deceptive, so the hands-on gaming expertise will higher mirror the {hardware}’s capabilities. The system additionally helps Nvidia’s DLSS for enhanced anti-aliasing and efficiency scaling, together with ray tracing – although restricted assets imply ray tracing will play a minimal function at launch.
The Swap 2 consists of 12GB of LPDDR5X reminiscence – a considerable improve from the unique’s 4GB. Builders can entry 9GB, with the remaining 3GB reserved for system capabilities. The boosted reminiscence helps smoother multitasking and extra demanding video games, with bandwidth peaking at 102GB/s in efficiency mode (docked) and 68GB/s in handheld mode.
| Swap 2: Nvidia T239 | Swap 1: Nvidia Tegra X1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | 8x ARM Cortex A78C | 4x ARM Cortex A57 |
| CPU Velocity | 998MHz (docked), 1101MHz (cellular), Max 1.7GHz | 1020 MHz (docked/cellular), Max 1.785GHz |
| CPU System Reservation | 2 cores (6 out there to devs) | 1 core (3 out there to devs) |
| GPU Structure | Ampere | Maxwell |
| CUDA Cores | 1536 | 256 |
| GPU Clocks | 1007MHz (docked), 561MHz (cellular), Max 1.4GHz | 768MHz (docked), as much as 460MHz (cellular), Max 921MHz |
| Reminiscence/Interface | 128-bit/LPDDR5 | 64-bit/LPDDR4 |
| Reminiscence Bandwidth | 102GB/s (docked), 68GB/s (cellular) | 25.6GB/s (docked), 21.3GB/s (cellular) |
| Reminiscence System Reservation | 3GB (9GB out there for video games) | 0.8GB (3.2GB out there for video games) |
Supply: Digital Foundry
The Swap 2 sports activities 256GB of UFS storage, expandable by way of microSD Categorical playing cards as much as 2TB. A customized file decompression engine offloads processing from the CPU, accelerating load instances and enhancing general effectivity.
The 7.9-inch show boasts 1080p decision with HDR10 assist and variable refresh price (VRR) as much as 120Hz in handheld mode. Sadly, the dock’s HDMI conversion does not assist VRR, which can be a limiting issue for these anticipating smoother gameplay on bigger screens.
The Swap 2 may battle with some modern options, like Sport Chat. Builders have raised issues concerning the useful resource calls for of energetic voice chat throughout gameplay. In response, Nintendo included an API within the SDK that simulates latency and system load so builders can check the performance underneath various circumstances. Nonetheless, the affect on efficiency has but to be decided.
In the end, the proof will probably be within the pudding when the Swap 2 launches on June 5. With early criticism over pricing, Nintendo is relying on builders delivering video games that justify the expense – no matter its specs.
