Performance Preview: Snapdragon 845 Outperforms The Nintendo Switch

Based on recent performance previews from XDA and Anandtech, Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 845 SoC appears to offer greater graphical performance than NVIDIA's Tegra X1, the same SoC used in Nintendo's Switch.

3DMark Sling Shot Extreme Unlimited (OpenGL ES 3.1/Metal)

1. Snapdragon 845 (reference device) - 5,102
2. NVIDIA Tegra X1 (NVIDIA Shield TV) - 4,132
3. Snapdragon 835 (Google Pixel 2) - 3,531
4. A11 (iPhone X) - 3,175

One thing worth noting, this particular benchmark uses OpenGL ES 3.1 and not Vulkan. With updated Vulkan drivers, and the Vulkan version of this benchmark, we would see even greater performance.

With continued growth in mobile gaming, powerful SoCs will allow developers to create games with greater complexity, depth and visuals. Titles, such as the recent version of PUBG for Android/iOS, would certainly benefit from Qualcomm's new hardware.

Smartphones using the Snapdragon 845 will be launching in the coming months, with Samsung's Galaxy S9 (on sale in March) being among the first.

Hope to see it in some standalone VR headsets before long. VR needs all the power it can get.

Cell phone gaming is garbage and androids often poor drivers and software will slow it down. Switch will be just fine in the next few years to come. Better hardware is always out but that does not mean switch is bad. Its way more fun to play games on a system designed to game rather than a phone.

The Switch succeeds not because its powerful, but because of the ease of development and porting.

Switch (i think) is the first handheld console to use a traditional GPU/CPU architecture.

Since the beginning, developing for a handheld meant special tools, coding, engines, teams, etc.

Switch eliminated that which is why it is getting so much support from developers, from AAA developers to indies.

It wont matter if a Snapdragon processor comes and wipes the floor with Switch, it will lose because it still needs special tools to develop on a mobile platform.

This isn't a jab at the Switch's performance, more so a remark of how far mobile performance has come.

Poor software and drivers are going away. More devices are adopting Treble, so graphics drivers can even come through the Play Store now.

Outside of that, just get a device with vanilla Android (Pixel, Android One, etc.).

You can develop for Android using engines such as Unity or Unreal. Both the OS and the hardware also offer support for Vulkan API. There really isn't anything that complex about developing for mobile.

Except Switch uses a down clocked version of the X1 (Down clocked even in docked mode) so even Switch isn't as fast as Tegra X1.

LOL console and mobile performance. PC FTW!

I love seeing mobile tech advance.

But if this is supposedly a knock against the Switch... How expensive is that thing? ;)

It's been probably 2 years since they finalized hardware decisions on the Switch. I suspect it'll be a while till this comes to market in hardware around the price of the Switch, including the price of a controller.

So much wrong information and bull shit in this post.....

You think having to massively strip back games and re-write loads of code to get ports of PS4/Xbone games to work is 'ease of development and porting?' - Lmao.....

Switch isn't the first handheld to use a traditional CPU/GPU as Switch isn't a handheld, it's a home console that can be played on the go... a BIG difference.... 3DS also used a mobile SoC making that the first anyway.

Handhelds have never needed special tools, coding or anything like that..... they've required no more work and tools then porting between consoles.... where did you pull that statement from? Your ass??

Switch getting developer support? Please tell me which studio's have dropped Switch?

Snapdragon doesn't need special tools you fool, it uses the same damn API and language as Switch does.

Who cares? Android/iOS have no development support.

This. Devices using the latest Snapdragon will easily be $1000+.

depending on the deal, 45$ and upwards unless qualcomm has priced 845 much higher than it's predecessors

The problem is the cost of the device, not the CPU. These aren't modular.

New devices from top manufacturers easily go for $1000+ these days. The only affordable smartphone brand these days is OnePlus, and even then, we're talking about $500-600 phones. Top tablets also go for $600-800+.

Well obviously, the profit margins are extremely high on the top end models, you compare last gen iPhone to a Switch, both have about the same manufacturing costs

Its not a surprise.

The Tegra chip's are for tablet's and mobile devices so inevitable they would be out performed by newer phones and tablet devices. The thing is though is that the Switch costs £280 where as the flagships mobile phones are around £500.

The BIGGEST factor in the argument is that the Switch is locked system meaning when you develop for it you can you only develop for one requirement set where as ios/android games tend to have to meet a wide spectrum of performance requirements, which handicaps the benefits of having more powerful hardware... Maybe in 2-3 years we will see games that will fully utilise the power of that chip but as of now we won't. Where as the Switch already has games far more advance than anything on either mobile platforms.

Price?

That's more to do with greedy profit margins on phones and not bill of materials though.

Say what now? A chip that comes later is more powerful than a chip that came earlier? I'm shocked.

Seriously, though. If they'd put that chip into a console (similar to the Switch for example), I'd give a shit. Gaming on a phone is horrible. The prices of these phones are even more horrible. A phone can be 10 times more powerful than my stationary PC and I still wouldn't give more of a shit than maybe go "whoa, that's a powerful phone".

It's not like any worthwhile games will be made for it

@scatteh316: The "full speed" X1 will always throttle to Switch docked clocks or lower, even in the Shield TV. That's why those clocks were chosen.

Saweetness, I'm now interested in that new.... Console. lolol :P

My Shield TV doesn't throttle...... Even searching Google doesn't reveal any sustainable evidence of users reporting throttling either.

eh, then the X2 will come out and take the top again. That's just how tech goes over time.

I haven’t posted much in System Wars as of late. When did it become popular to compare consoles to phones? Lol!

And how are you measuring the clockspeeds?

I don't have a link, but someone tested it extensively on Neogaf back in 2016 using actual tools to measure exact clock speeds; the long-term clocks matched Switch in docked mode exactly. The reason that nobody reports throttling is because there aren't any Android apps that tell you what clock speed it's running at. You need hardware tools and advanced software to test that.

It's not meant to be a surprise, but the Tegra X1 operates at a much higher TDP than the Snapdragon 845. You could not put a Tegra X1 into a phone.

The TDP is much higher on the Tegra X1, it was an SoC for larger tablets and mini-consoles. What makes this noteworthy is that the Snapdragon 845 can actually be used in a phone while offering this level of performance.

A number of successors have come out, and they've never been used in a gaming device. Most of NVIDIA's SoC developments are for their automotive related hardware.

Their most recent SoC is Xavier, but it's been designed for non-gaming purposes.

And what games do you think will take advantage of that let me guess angry birds oh wait you forget Nintendo support phone's to lol so I don't see where you are going

The switch will be fine because Mario kart Zelda etc

Wow

Switch was already outdated at launch.

The Switch was heavily outdated at launch, yet that hasn't stopped it from being one of the fastest selling pieces of Nintendo hardware.

Why play Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey on weak sauce hardware, when you can play the best free2play games on superior mobile graphics hardware?

It's because of the Switch being that weak while docked.

But it is still a phone. No damn way will I game on a damn phone!

@NVIDIATI:

The nvidia shield TV has that 5000 score not the switch, both have the same soc but the switch runs at a way lower clockspeeds, the cpu is at 1 Ghz, and the gpu is at 307-768 MHz when docked and when its in mobile mode the gpu is always at 307 MHz.

The tegra x1 in the shield TV has clockspeeds up to 1.9Ghz, and unlike the switch its A53 cores are fully functioning and give a big boost, and to top it of its gpu can run at 1000 Mhz.

so docked it would score around (probably below) 2/3 of the shield TV, and undocked it would have somewhere around 1/3-1/2 score of the shield TV.

Switch>>iPhone>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Lamedroid

not true at all. as much as i hate one+ they seem to put out great phones with good tech.

the problem is how badly phone makers want to be like apple. the iphone x is the reason other phones were pushing the 1k mark last year.

but after the failure that is the iphone 10 and a few Samsung phones that are coming this year, i think the cell industry is gonna realize no one wants to pay that much anymore. just like the loot box revolution of 2017.

Outside of marketing rhetoric, the switch is a handheld gaming device in the same way a 3DS and Vita are handheld devices. The idea that prior to a few years ago, developing and porting for handhelds didn't require specific tools and coding is incredibly obtuse.

sometimes i do wonder if Nintendo would have been better off using beefed up mobile tech instead of tegra for the switch.

Sony managed to get some great results out of the vita over its life. uncharted, wipeout and killzone (to name a few) look great. that was all beefed up mobile tech (slow on the CPU, big on the GPU at the time). i think when it was released the vita had a more powerful GPU than any other mobile device.

it would be interesting to see what Nintendo could have done with a modified mid-high end mobile SOC (cut CPU cores/clocks, beef up the GPU and improve memory bandwidth as much as possible).

not that the tegra was a bad choice. nvidia have strong developer relations and a well understood toolset and architecture. the performance may not be top notch but anything that can produce the likes of BOTW, xenoblade 2, MK8 and so on while on the go is still no slouch.

still its impressive to see what mobile tech can do.

@BassMan: "LOL console and mobile performance. PC FTW!"

Yes, congratulations. Your alledged gaming PC is more powerful than a phone. Gold star for you.

Interesting from a technical standpoint, but not exciting for me. Phone games aren't great imo. I prefer physical buttons and analog sticks.

Iphone>toaster>calculator>switch.

Fact.

And yet the PS4 only just beat it in 2017

LOL

I wonder once the Switch gets hacked, if they will find a way to throttle the CPU/GPU back up to Shield TV levels.

I am loving the Nintendo fanboys. Because if they claim the switch is NOT a handheld, then cool. But if they claim it is, then what is the damn difference between a switch and my iPhone 7/8/X when they get 99% of the same games? LMAO

Nintendo is now a tablet company because they know for a fact they can’t compete in console wars.

The industry needs to realize that. “Hey, nintendo makes tablet games now which means well....uhh...we can’t port anything....unless it is from 5-10 years ago.... hence why Skyrim, la noire and more exist.

I get such a huge kick out of Nintendo fanboys thinking because they have good first year sales...it will continue. It wont.

This is the internet age. Consumers are smarter and one click away from knowing Nintendo systems have no games. When they do the cost to benefit ratio, it makes sense to buy a PS4.

This gen is over and PS4 won. And yes Nintendo fanboys, switch is apart of the 8th gen. Both Sega and Atari released multiple consoles in the same gen before.

Smart phones could produce photo realistic gfx with 120 fps and I would still not game on a phone

the snapdragon cpu is also more capable than the pathetic jaguar cores found in X1,PS4(X1X,PS4P use the cores with a slight oc)