Nintendo NX Will Use A Pascal Nvidia Tegra Chip

At least, that's what an insider is reporting:

This means what? This means that the NX may actually end up being a fairly powerful system. No, not PS4 Neo or Xbox One Scorpio powerful, but it certainly might end up being more powerful than the base Xbox One- the best part being that it might also end up being power efficient, too.

For those of us who aren't computer literate... care to explain to me what's the difference between this and the previously rumored Tegra X1?

Well, I do a bit of explaining in the OP itself. Inasmuch as SW cares, this would make it more powerful and more power efficient than the Tegra X1, which is a three year old chip. The Tegra X1 would have made the NX sub Xbox One level in terms of power, which, okay, for what the system is, I don't give a shit at that point, but which some Nintendo fans had a legitimate and justified beef with.

Having a Pascal Tegra chip indicates that the NX might at least supercede the Xbox One in terms of power (while also being power efficient and hence not violating a core tenet of Nintendo's hardware philosophy), so third parties should have less of an excuse for not supporting it. Not that that will stop them, but still.

No, X2 would almost be on par with Xbox one, but not in a handheld. Perhaps when docked.

Eh, still not quite sold on the power bit. Though, being Pascal, the power efficiency will be quite a bit better which is what Ninty may actually be after first and foremost ( less power being used = better battery life on the handheld mode = better experience for the consumer). Of course more power is always good, but we know Ninty doesn't exactly go out of it's way to build powerful machines. I really believe the power efficiency thing is what is pushing them towards this newer/better tech. Of course, just speculation on my part.

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I do wonder if some rumours will also come true. And interesting concept, though perhaps a bit too divise in nature, is one about SDC (Supplemental Computing Device) in the form a sort of cradle for the machine to use/apply when in home console mode and increase it's power (DA SECRET SAUCE GUYZ!!!).

In practice, that would something similar to the Neo's rumoured "Neo mode" and "Standard PS4 mode" just not only on OS/Software level but on a actual, optional, hardware level. The bit about it being optional is the divise part, as you'd run the slight risk of kinda fragmenting the user base depending on it's actually done.

Still, there is too much we don't really know, which right now is kinda exciting. It can be just about everything! Ninty needs to grab this buzz and make it work in their favour!

@Desmonic: I think there is a simple way to implement the SCD without it being divisive- put the SCD inside the dock.

Basically, the dock contains an additional SoC that supplements the base handheld SoC, so while in home console mode, the NX becomes more powerful than it is in handheld mode. Think of it like the Surface Book, which has an additional discrete GPU when it is in laptop mode.

from what I've been reading all of this is speculation.

What we do know is that the NX dev kits have Tegra X1 hardware in them, but many suspect the System will have Tegra X2 but no one knows if that is fact or not. Also Tegra X2 has yet to actually reveal itself so we don't know what it actually is capable of. We just know it uses Pascal design instead of Maxwell(?) or whatever the X1 uses.

in other words, it's just loads of Speculation right now.

Good.

However, i really don't care about third parties, i just want them to implement BC as well

BC will depend. BC with the Virtual Console? That is a guarantee at this point. BC with Wii U and 3DS games? That will not be happening.

@charizard1605: I think that's the smart thing to do too, but I'm not sure Ninty wants to increase the price too much. Again, without more info, it sorta "feels" they're going for Wii-like prices (so, cheaper than the competition by a decent margin) but that solution (having the SDC be just a part of the whole thing, instead of an optional purchase) seems like the right choice honestly.

So it's a tegra x2 not x1 cause x1 is maxwell

HIGHLY doubt they're gonna do that. They were nice enough to let us have our Wii VC by transfering, but to play those same games on WiiU hardware we had to pay a "WiiU tax".

I think it's likely we'll have to pay for those games again to play on NX.

its not going to be powerful. Just because its using a pascal chip doesn't mean that. I've heard its going to be weaker than current gen consoles. Its basically a mobile console, so it will be weak.

Nintendo is making all the same mistakes all over again, releasing a weaker than current gen consoles. And the difference will be even worse when the newer PS4 neo and Xbox Scorpio come out.

Right, that is where we have a problem, don't we?

• The NX is supposed to be very cheap
• The NX is supposed to be sold at a profit
• The NX is supposed to be powerful

All those three things can't go together, they're self contradictory. Something has to give. Unless...

NeoGAF helped me out here. Apparently SemiAccurate posted this months ago, but it never got much traction: Nvidia seems to be so desperate to get a console deal that they're taking the hit on NX, meaning that it is entirely possible for Nintendo to have a cheap, profitable, and reasonably powerful system offered from their end.

That's how we reconcile all three of these. At least that's how I'm seeing it.

The Tegra X2 is set to be revealed at the Hot Chips conference in California on August 22nd.

Personally, I'm still holding out hope that the info EuroGamer received, assuming it's even true, is only half the story, and that while the handheld portion of the device is powered by Tegra, the dock has more going on than we know, and that can power up the NX to be more in line with at least the X1 and PS4.

Satoru Iwata confirmed the Wii U Virtual Console carries over to NX before we even knew the NX is a thing.

This would make all the sense in the world if the NX were even trying to fight for the same market as the Xbox One and the PS4, which at this point it is clear it is not.

The Virtual Console has all the Nintendo games or just some specific ones? And why that won't happen?

Virtual Console on the Wii U (which is the one that the NX will be getting) has NES, SNES, N64, Nintendo DS, and Gameboy Advance games, as well as some TurboGrafx-16 and Genesis ones. Not all games from those systems, but some very notable ones.

BC won't happen for a number of reasons: a) the hardware architecture is different and precludes BC, and b) the rumors explicitly say no BC.

as far as I'm concerned it just has to be powerful enough to get multiplats with xbone and ps4. Pushing past that is a mistake if it means more cost

Where have you heard it will be weaker?

Huh...interesting.

I honestly was under the impression Nvidia were very well off, despite being off of the console market, to ever reach such a point. Don't they make like a gazillion dollars + 1 whenever a new OP GPU is released? :P

In any case, that would awesome. Ninty with a very decent console (in terms of power and efficiency) AND at a relatively cheap price? With Pokemon GO (and their following mobile apps)? AND their home console games? AND their handheld games? AND maybe, just maybe, a decent 3rd party following for once?

We just need a pic of the damn machine to convert it into a "itprintsmoney.gif" at this point lol

Here is hoping at least!

@charizard1605: yeah and they also said NX wasn't going to be a Hybrid.

I wouldn't expect a portable console priced at $250 to be more powerful than the Wii U. It's either going to cost closer to $400 or it will be weak. I'm hoping it's weak and cheap, myself. Just having all of Nintendo's handheld and console development on one machine for $250 would be an insane value.

@charizard1605: The main reason it will notake happen is money, just Sony. MS need sales and goodwill that's the only reason they did BC and not because they care.

@charizard1605: Thx. Well, i hope they port the notable titles of Wii and Wii U like Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, etc

I'm banking on it being a $350 disappointment.

Expensive, probably clunky, Not really well spec'd, Has good Nintendo games.

This is what Nintendo has been since Wii. (arguably since N64)

@Yams1980: you shouldn't look as the nx as just a console. It's a hybrid that serves as both handheld an console. When you look at in that view it's a lot more intriguing. Having something similar to the xbone in power in the palm of your hands is actually kinda cool if the price is right

The Rumor has it that it's barely (if even) at Xbox One power. Not that it's at Xbox One power.

You're likely looking at a PS3/360 handheld which the Vita already did.

It being more powerful than the XB1 should be enough to get that support. Also, here's news for a patent about the SCD.

Nintendo’s ‘Supplemental Computing Device’ Has Now Been Patented

http://gonintendo.com/stories/262374-nintendo-granted-patent-for-supplemental-computing-device

@LegatoSkyheart: what you said is stupid If it is toe to toe with the xbone it's not a ps360.

Just realized I wrote, consistently, SDC instead of SCD. GG.

Too much Sony Domination Continuation in my veins :P

If this console costs more than $300 I think it will get outsold by the NES Mini in embarrassing fashion.

The point was that it's probably not even Xbox One quality. Saying that it's Xbox One quality is saying it "nicely". If anything the top performance this system might have is what can be considered low quality for Xbox One standards.

All I know is I'm getting whatever they are coming up with on Day 1.

@charizard1605:

Not gonna be as powerful as XB1 given the strict TDP limits in handhelds.

The Vita was a lot weaker than the PS3/360, though. If you mean the NX will be roughly 1 generation ahead of the Vita, slightly lagging the Xbone, then I could see that. I thought the Vita hardware was great. It's a shame Sony abandoned it.

Maybe in docked, home console mode?

I just want new hardware, man. Gonna get this and the PSVR for sure. Depending on how 'fresh' NEO and Scorpio feel, might pick those up too.

Something like that.

Vita is great and never got the love it deserved. Though that's ultimately what I'm expecting from the console according to the Rumors.

A Nintendo made Vita with HDMI out with none of the good games the Vita has, but with Nintendo games. Which I guess to some is a good trade.

Really interesting. If they could hit Xb1 then I think all third party devs will come as they can target the handheld market. And they are forced to get their games running on X1 any way. Hmmm, but I really wonder if it can? Sounds expensive. Very exciting times ahead though.

The NX will have multiple devices guys.

Only if the dock has a secondary GPU in the unit. Nintendo is not gonna want their devices switching the power draw like that on the fly. Plus, you would run into the issue in how well can an external cooling solution work?

Yeah, these are interesting conundrums for sure.

Let's see what Nintendo (and Nvidia, I suppose!) have planned. We're just a month and two months away from the new Tegra and NX reveals respectively, I believe.

@LegatoSkyheart: assuming rumors are correct and it's more in line with xbone you talking something like 1.1 to 1.4 tflops. That's the range I'd expect. Remember the maxwell x1 is like 500 something gflops. The pascal x2 should double that. That's not bad for a handheld.

Their handhelds have been bc since gawd knows when. Being cartridge based I was expecting 3DS bc, at least.

@Bigboi500 I wouldn't rule out 3ds bc really. The game cards will probably be the same size and they'll be sticking with arm chips.

The rumor explicitly rules out BC wth Wii U and 3DS.

I like Chozo's answer better.

it could very well be backwards compatible with 3DS. The main talk about the lack of backwards compatibility was about wiiu software since it uses discs. Then again, just because the media is similar doesn't mean it's easy to have backwards compatibility. If there is a radically different architecture then it becomes difficult. The ps3 had backwards compatibility in that 2nd model they used, but they did it by having a separate set of processors in it. I don't think Nintendo would do that for the NX.

Kind of crazy if you can "pocket" a console just three years after release. Makes you wonder if stationary has any future at all.

Well, since I already have a Wii U and a shit ton of 3DS's, bc isn't a must, but it sure would be nice. Though, I must say, it would be an easy trade off for a better price instead.

Could the docking station be the idea Nintendo has held so close to the chest and Miyamoto spoke of? Has there ever been a device in another market with a dock that contains supplemental computing power? If it's around Xbone power while docked and I can take all my games on the go at a lower spec then that would be sweet. Get the price right and all of Nintendo's efforts focusing on one device and I can see this selling really well.