About Nintendo and the generation after their next console on terms of SoC/Processor

[DZero]

Considering that uses 10/8 nm is the current far process, is possible that NIntendo Switch 2 might get a refresh on 3 years with the following specs?
Fab process: 5/3nm

CPU speed dock: 1.6 Ghz (+25% increase)
CPU speed mobile: 1.2 Ghz (25% increase)
GPU speed dock: RTX 2050 tier (the max possible as far I know)
GPU speed mobile: GTX 960 tier (if that is possible, it will be a big boost, 50% more)

With that maybe the promised 1080p/60FPS could be possible?

 

[Panino Manino]

My problem with Nintendo is that it seems they're doing the "minimum effort". It could be better, it should be better, the clocks, the node, the size of the battery, at least one of the three.

There's no doubt that Nintendo will release a revision on a better node with better battery and improved clocks, like it did with the current one, allowing for better/more performance.
It could be like that since the beginning but doing this way maximizes their profit. Do you know that there's a lot of people, IMO, mentally will that purchases as many Nintendo consoles as they can buy? Like it was a toy to collect different colors? More excuse for those people to buy one more.

 

[jpiniero]

My problem with Nintendo is that it seems they're doing the "minimum effort". It could be better, it should be better, the locks, the node, the size of the battery, at least one of the three.

It looks like the rumored (albeit cancelled) Switch Pro's processor.

 

[LightningZ71]

Nintendo, up till present, doesn't really design and make their own SoCs. They buy whatever is on the market that suits them. Unless either NVIDIA makes another update to Orin, nothing will change there, except maybe binning. The only other route is the foundry doing the work to move it to a newer node. Anything else will break software compatibility.

 

[Mopetar]

Once upon a time it was economical to refresh with a die shrink because the die are reduced exponentially while the newer node price only increased linearly. Companies did it because it saved them money even though there was the investment cost for new masks and validation.

However those days are gone and the price for a newer node doesn't offset the savings due to area reduction in the chip. It's probably flipped for a bleeding edge node where you lose more money even though the die is smaller and you can fit more per wafer because the wafers cost that much more.

 

[desrever]

Once upon a time it was economical to refresh with a die shrink because the die are reduced exponentially while the newer node price only increased linearly. Companies did it because it saved them money even though there was the investment cost for new masks and validation.

However those days are gone and the price for a newer node doesn't offset the savings due to area reduction in the chip. It's probably flipped for a bleeding edge node where you lose more money even though the die is smaller and you can fit more per wafer because the wafers cost that much more.

Thats true if you are looking at bleeding edge but the trailing edge is still economically competitive. Nobody expect Nintendo to do a N2 chip but a N5 chip would probably be peanuts more compared to Samsung 8nm for the same performance while having much better power, they are having to clock the chips so low that its probably below the efficiency curve.

Also not even 16GB RAM is just pathetic.

 

[LightningZ71]

I suspect that, in a few years, when Samsung is desperate for any business on their newer nodes, we might see an Orin redux on SF5. It will be under less inflationary pricing pressure then and a few years more mature. I don't think anything beyond SF5 will ever be in budget. SF7 doesn't bring enough improvement over 8 to make a shrink worth it. As for TSMC, N6 is there with value and capacity to spare if Nintendo wants it, but they would need NVIDIA to help and sign off on that project.

 

[jpiniero]

Nobody expect Nintendo to do a N2 chip but a N5 chip would probably be peanuts more

I dunno. Even on N6 the die would be a lot smaller but they are probably paying well less than half for the wafer.

Samsung's later nodes probably don't have the capacity Nintendo would need.

 

[DZero]

I dunno. Even on N6 the die would be a lot smaller but they are probably paying well less than half for the wafer.

Samsung's later nodes probably don't have the capacity Nintendo would need.

Of course not now, but what if in 3 years that changes?