It seems that Nintendo’s upcoming Switch 2 console will once again feature NVIDIA’s technological prowess. This time, its power stems from the newly-revealed Tegra239 chip, marking its first appearance online.
NVIDIA Tegra239: The Heart of Nintendo’s Switch 2, Built on an ARM-Based Framework for Impressive Performance
With Nintendo’s Switch 2 launch, there’s buzz about its impressive abilities, like delivering 4K visuals at 60 FPS when docked. However, details about its internal chip remained somewhat elusive—until now. It turns out Nintendo continues its collaboration with NVIDIA, using their specially crafted Tegra System on Chips (SoCs). This had many speculating that the new model would house the advanced Tegra239 chip. Confirmation arrived when @Kurnalsalts released an image of a chip sporting the "T239" designation, confirming our suspicions.
While this post didn’t dive into any technical details, we rely on prior information regarding the chip’s specifications. This SoC reportedly includes eight Arm Cortex-A78C cores, a hybrid graphics processor combining Ada Lovelace and Ampere elements, and boasts 1536 CUDA cores. Its processing speeds range from 1.1 GHz to 1.5 GHz, with variations seen in docked mode. Additionally, it includes a 128-bit memory interface with LPDDR5 technology.
Information about the Tegra239 remains scant, but what we do know could still excite Nintendo fans. Crucially, the SoC supports DLSS, NVIDIA’s upscaling technology, which significantly enhances console performance. For those eager for more details, we’ve covered the device comprehensively in another post. This Tegra239 chip further demonstrates NVIDIA’s ambition to lead the market with custom ASICs. Their exclusive partnership with ARM and Nintendo endures, ensuring the Switch maintains its cutting-edge allure.
The lingering question revolves around when NVIDIA might introduce a similar chip in the AI PC realm. There was talk of a partnership between NVIDIA and MediaTek to produce an ARM-centric SoC, likely dubbed the N1X and N1 series. However, updates on this potential development remain scarce at the moment.
