It seems like Nintendo’s new Switch 2 is indeed harnessing the power of NVIDIA, just like the original Switch did. The spotlight is on the Tegra239 chip, which has finally made its online debut.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is fueled by NVIDIA’s Tegra239 chip, which boasts an ARM-based architecture with commendable performance. When the Switch 2 hit the shelves, we got a taste of its capabilities, such as the ability to output 4K at 60 frames per second when docked, but details about the chip inside remained scarce. We knew there was a deal between Nintendo and NVIDIA to make use of custom Tegra SoCs, which led many of us to anticipate that the device might include the next-gen Tegra239 chip. Now, this speculation has been confirmed through an online post by @Kurnalsalts, who shared an image of what looks like NVIDIA’s Tegra239 chip, marked distinctly as “T239.”
The tweet doesn’t spill much else, so we’re left to piece together the specs of the SoC from what we already know. It reportedly features eight Arm Cortex-A78C cores, a remarkable blend of a GPU with Ada Lovelace and Ampere architecture, and 1536 CUDA cores. The CPU clock speed is projected to range between 1.1 GHz and 1.5 GHz, depending on whether the console is docked or in handheld mode. It also supports a 128-bit memory interface utilizing LPDDR5 technology.
While there isn’t a lot of detailed information available on the Tegra239 at this point, one exciting feature is its support for DLSS upscaling technology, which plays a crucial role in enhancing console performance. If you’re curious about a deeper dive into the specs, you might want to check out our previous post, where we dissect the device thoroughly. NVIDIA’s Tegra239 not only showcases their continuous evolution in custom ASICs but also their ongoing exclusive collaboration with Nintendo, alongside ARM.
The burning question now is when NVIDIA will make their next move into the AI PC market, which has been a hot topic since last year. Rumors have been swirling that NVIDIA would be joining forces with MediaTek to introduce an ARM-focused SoC, potentially dubbed the N1X and N1 series. However, we haven’t seen new updates on this front yet.
