There is once again a new rumor about the Switch 2’s possible power, that neatly ties together things that we had previously heard about the platform.
Moore’s Law is Dead has shared a follow up on prior rumors, that also clarifies the one thing that we all know he and other leakers had gotten wrong about the console. Of course, we all expected it to be released by now.
In fact, the predictions were for a 2023 release, with all these details about its power and chip all figured out. According to Moore’s Law is Dead, there’s a perfectly good explanation for why everyone got the release date wrong.
Talking to two sources, he claims that Nintendo has not changed their spec for the Switch 2 from 2 years ago at all. They are just sitting on the console for the right time to release it. This does tie in well with more recent rumors that the Switch 2 release is being held back to secure enough stock for the hardware at launch, and to prepare a more impressive software lineup.
One of the sources also claims that Nintendo’s choice of manufacturer is Samsung’s 8nm node instead of TMSC’s 7nm process. Without getting too technical, TSMC’s process is also used by other companies and devices, such as the Steam Deck and the PlayStation 5. Nintendo will be the sole company using Samsung’s 8nm; and that will allow them to make as many million Switch 2s as they want if it becomes a success like the first Switch.
And so, Moore’s Law is Dead has laid out these possible specs for the Switch 2:
- Projected T239
- 8x ARM A78C custom processor
- Ampere architecture
- 1536 cuda cores
- 128-bit LPDDR5 memory controller
- Max 102 GB/S
These are not the exact specs that he expects to be in the Switch 2, but it should be in the same ballpark. We won’t explain these points one by one, but the main takeaway one can take is that this is a customized processor, specifically made to future proof Nintendo’s platform.
Moore’s Law is Dead also believes these technologies will come with the processor:
- AV1 encoding/decoding – higher quality video playback, at higher performance
- Clock-gating – power management at CPU level
- File Decompression Engine/FDE – similar to PlayStation 5 decompression, for ultra-fast loading
To sum up, Moore’s Law is Dead claims that the Switch 2’s performance, with these predicted specs, will definitely be more powerful than the Steam Deck, and could match the performance of the Xbox Series S.
That performance potential could be cut back a little bit further, if Nintendo and Nvidia have to take battery and heat management into account. But then again, depending on the technologies they have developed, it may not be that severe at all.
There’s still a lot of uncertainty around the Switch 2. Of course, even this seemingly detailed rumor has to be taken with a grain of salt. But if they say there’s smoke, there’s fire, well there’s a lot of rumors of Nintendo choosing the T239 and working with Samsung fabs that a lot of it may very well be true.
You can watch the video from Moore’s Law is Dead below.
