Please note that this post is tagged as a rumor.
Nintendo Switch 2021 to feature NVIDIA Lovelace architecture
According to known NVIDIA leaker, the next-gen Nintendo console is expected to feature System on a Chip with a new architecture.
Yesterday we reported after Bloomberg that the next-generation Nintendo handheld console is now rumored to launch with NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) technology. This AI-powered resolution upscaling technology is currently the most innovative gaming technology in modern graphics. Combined with real-time ray tracing, games can now look better and still be rendered with a playable framerate. While Nintendo is not expected to feature ray tracing, it wcould definitely make use of DLSS.
Kopite7kimi, a leaker who correctly predicted NVIDIA Ampere specifications months ahead of launch, has now suggested that the next Nintendo Switch console (rumored to carry Pro moniker) will feature ‘ada‘. This obviously refers to Ada Lovelace, an English mathematician often cited as the first computer programmer. Kopite has already revealed that NVIDIA will use Lovelace architecture as its next-gen gaming architecture for desktop GPUs. Apparently, the architecture would also be used for next-gen console chips.
Update: Kopite clarified that he did not mean a completely new SoC, but rather a combination of existing Tegra (Orin) with Graphics Processor Cluster based on ADA graphics architecture:
I mean the new Tegra(Orin) could contain one GPC of ADA. Nothing else.
— kopite7kimi (@kopite7kimi) March 25, 2021
NVIDIA Ada Lovelace architecture would be a direct successor to Ampere. NVIDIA is also working on Hopper, a multi-chip module (MCM) design compute architecture. Lovelace is expected to be strictly gaming-oriented architecture, possibly bringing further upgrades to GPU built-in Tensor and RT cores.
The current version of Nintendo is using Tegra X1 T214 codenamed “Mariko” SoC. This a newer version of the processor based on a 16nm TSMC fabrication node. Since the launch of Mariko, NVIDIA has released three Tegra successors: Tegra X2 based on Pascal, Xavier based on Volta, and Orin based on Ampere. The codename of the next-gen Tegra’s successor with Lovelace graphics architecture is currently unknown.
NVIDIA tends to talk about its new Tegra chips at its Graphics Technology Conference. The next GTC starts on April 12 with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang keynote. Unlike AMD and Intel, NVIDIA has not revealed its GPU roadmap since 2018.
| NVIDIA Tegra SoCs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA SoC | Node | Compute Cores | GPU Arch. | GPU | Purpose |
| Tegra 2 | 40nm | 2x A9 | Vec4 | 4 PS + 4 VS | Phones |
| Tegra 3 | 40nm | 4+1 A9 | Vec4 | 8 PS + 4 VS | Tablets, Oyua Console |
| Tegra 4 | 20nm HPL | 4+1 A15 | Vec4 | 48 PS + 24 VS | Tablets |
| Tegra 4i | 28nm HPM | 4+1 A9 | Vec4 | 48 PS + 12 VS | Phones |
| Tegra K1 T124 | 28nm HPM | 4+1 A15 | Kepler | 192 CUDAs | NVIDIA Jetson, Shield Tablet, Chromebooks |
| Tegra K1 T132 | 28nm HPM | 2x Denver | Kepler | 192 CUDAs | HTC Nexus 9 |
| Tegra X1 T210 | 20nm TSMC | 4x A53 + 4X A57 | Maxwell | 256 CUDAs | Nintendo Switch 2017, Jetson |
| Tegra X1 T214 | 16nm TSMC | 4x A53 + 4X A57 | Maxwell | 256 CUDAs | Nintendo Switch 2019, Switch Lite |
| Tegra X2 | 16nm FF | 2x Denver2 + 4x A57 | Pascal | 256 CUDAs | NVIDIA Drive, Jetson |
| Xavier | 12nm FFN | 8x Carmel | Volta | 512 CUDAs | NVIDIA Drive, Jetson |
| Orin | TBC | 12x A72AE | Ampere | 2048 CUDAs | Automotive |
| Next SoC | TBC | TBC | Ada Lovelace | TBC | Nintendo Switch 2021 |
Nintendo Switch 2021 has been already rumored to offer a 7-inch 1280×720 OLED screen. The DLSS mode will enable 4K TV dock output capability and should also improve gaming performance in handheld mode.
| Handheld Gaming Consoles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VideoCardz | AYA NEO Founder | One Gx1 Pro | GDP Win 3 | GDP Win 2 | Nintendo Switch | Next-Gen Nintendo |
| Picture |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Architecture | AMD Zen2 (Renoir) | Intel Tiger Lake | Intel Tiger Lake | Intel Kaby Lake | ARM Cortex | TBC |
| SoC | AMD Ryzen 5 4500U | Intel Core i7-1160G7 | Intel Core i7-1165G7/i5-1135G7* | Intel Core M3-7Y30 | NVIDIA Tegra X1 | NVIDIA SoC Next |
| SoC CPU | 6 cores/6 threads @ 4.0 GHz | 4 cores/8 threads @ 4.4 GHz | 4 cores/8 threads @ 4.7 GHz/4.2 GHz* | 2 cores/4 threads @ 2.6 GHz | 4x A57 + 4x A53 | TBC |
| SoC GPU | AMD Radeon Vega 6 @ 1.5 GHz | Intel Xe (96 EU) @ 1.3 GHz | Intel Xe (96/80* EU) @ 1.3 GHz | Intel HD 615 | NVIDIA Maxwell 256 CUDA | NVIDIA ‘Ada Lovelace’ |
| Memory | 16GB DDR4-LPDDR4X-4266 | 16GB LPDDR4X-4266 | 16GB LPDDR4X-4266 | 8GB LPDDR3-1866 | 4GB | TBC |
| Storage | 512 GB / 1TB * | 512 GB PCIe NVME SSD | m.2 2280 PCIe NVME SSD | 128GB SSD | 32GB | TBC |
| Display | 7″ 1280×800 IPS | 7″ 1920×1200 IPS | 5.5″ 1280×720 | 6″ 1280×720 IPS | 6.2″ 1280×720 5.5″ 1280×720* | 7″ 1280×720 OLED |
| Connectivity | WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 | WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, SIM | WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 | 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2 | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1 | TBC |
| Battery | 47 Whr | 12,000 mAh | TBC | 2×4900 mAh | 4310 mAh | TBC |
| Weight | 650 g | 623 g | TBC | 460g (1 pound) | 0.88 lbs / 0.61 lbs * | TBC |
| Dimensions | 25.5 x 10.6 x 2.0 cm | 17.3 x 13.6 x 2.1 cm | TBC | 16.2 x 9.9 x 2.5 cm | 23.9 x 10.1 x 1.4 cm 20.8 x 9.1 x 1.4 cm* | TBC |
| OS | Windows 10 | Windows 10 | Windows 10 | Windows / Linux | Custom | Custom |
| Release Price | $789 (16G/512GB) $869 (16G/1TB) | 990 USD (8G/256GB) 1070 USD (16G/512GB) | TBC | 700 USD (8GB/128B) 750 USD (8G/256GB) | 299 USD, 199 USD (Lite) | 349 – 399 USD |
| Release Date | March 2021 | December 2020 | TBC | May 2018 | March 2017 Sep 2019* | Late 2021 at best |
| * 1TB model | * Base model | * Lite | ||||
Source: @kopite7kimi
