Nintendo Switch 2: First images show the processor
This is what the Switch 2 should look like on the inside. There are many indications that the processor is made by Samsung.
Alleged processor of the Switch 2.
(Image: MHN1994 / Reddit)
Three images show the presumed mainboard and its components of the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 console, with the alleged processor, also known as the system-on-chip (SoC), visible for the first time. They were shared by a Reddit account – due to the high level of detail and consistency with other rumors, we believe they are genuine.
The first rumors about the SoC emerged as early as 2023. The Switch 2 processor probably also comes from Nvidia again. The inscription supports assumptions that the chip contract manufacturer Samsung Foundry is producing the processor: All known Nvidia chips that begin with "SN" in the code come from there.
The first line, on the other hand, is meaningless. The "TW" means that the silicon chip was placed on the carrier in Taiwan – the so-called packaging. Chips produced by the chip contract manufacturer TSMC, such as Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4000 series graphics chips, also bear the "S".
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Performance leap despite old chip technology
The Switch 2 processor is supposedly a little brother of the Nvidia Jetson Orin AGX for cars and robots. As the latter would be too large for a handheld console at 455 mm², Nvidia and Nintendo are said to have reduced the computing units: to eight ARM CPU cores of the Cortex-A78C type and 12 GPU clusters (1536 shader cores) with Ampere architecture.
Both CPU and GPU would therefore already be obsolete. Ampere technology was used by Nvidia in the GeForce RTX 3000 graphics cards. In the case of the Switch 2, the graphics unit will only receive new AI functions and an updated video unit for modern codecs.
However, the six-fold increase in shader cores compared to the Switch (1) alone promises a leap in performance. However, the clock frequencies and thermal budget are still unknown.
Memory is also apparently on the rise. While the previous Switch had to cope with 4 GB of slow LPDDR4, everything points to 12 GB of speedy LPDDR5(X) in the Switch 2. In the case of the leak, two SK-Hynix components labeled H58GE6AK8BX107 are soldered on. Although the manufacturer itself does not list such modules on its website, Chinese distributors list them as 48 Gbit modules. Such "crooked" memory chips enable 12 GB of RAM on a 128-bit interface.
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Which Samsung process?
The manufacturing process also has a significant influence on performance. Samsung's technology is considered inferior to TSMC's, especially in terms of efficiency. The RTX 3000 graphics chips and the Jetson Orin AGX use 8-nanometer structures. In order to keep design costs low, this would also make sense for the Switch 2.
On the other hand, the processor appears smaller than a trimmed Jetson Orin AGX with the same production technology would have to be. A change to 5 nm, for example, cannot be ruled out.
Meanwhile, a slot for microSD memory cards is nowhere to be seen. However, there is an innovation in the Joycons: the chip labeled "GL852G KLA0160 4227800" is a USB 2.0 controller that could connect the Joycons in the future. USB would make it easier for third-party manufacturers to create their own peripherals.
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(mma)
