Rumor: Dev Kit Specs for Nintendo Switch Leaked

I’ve seen other outlets report this stuff as full retail Nintendo Switch leaks, so I really want to emphasize that even if this leak turns out to be legit, it’s only dealing with the dev units. This is especially important to note as the specs replicate a stock X1 chip, which we know is not what the final units will be using but is what Eurogamer reported was included in dev units at the time they reported about the Switch long before it was unveiled. We especially know it won’t be stock when NVidia’s own press release stated it would be a fully customized chip based on their latest GPU tech, while the stock X1 is indeed maxwell based. That being said, here are the supposed Nintendo Switch dev kit specs based on several “leakers”:

• Four ARM Cortex-A57 cores, max 2GHz
• NVidia second-generation Maxwell architecture
• 256 CUDA cores, max 1 GHz, 1024 FLOPS/cycle
• 4GB RAM (25.6 GB/s, VRAM shared)
• 32 GB storage (Max transfer 400 MB/s)
• USB 2.0 & 3.0
• 1280 x 720 6.2″ IPS LCD
• 1080p at 60 fps or 4k at 30 fps max video output
• Capcitance method, 10-point multi-touch

A lot of these specs have already gotten second, third, and sometimes fourth sources. THe 4GB of ram has been “confirmed” for both dev and retail units by Emily Rogers. The 720p and multitouch screen have been confirmed by too many sources to name. The 32gb of max internal storage was a rumor running around before the reveal and the ARM/maxwell combo and specs essentially match point for point with a stock X1 Tegra chip, which is what Eurogamer stated was in the dev units but not likely what is in the final retail units, as such a chip does not need air cooling and a fan is reportedly in the dev units, suggesting that at least at the time, the custom chip wasn’t finalized yet. To back up that air cooling rumor, the Nintendo Switch reveal also clearly showed air vents at the top, which would only be there if there is a fan pushing air through the unit.

See the vent area to the right of the headphone jack? Yeah, that’s an air vent, which the Tegra X1 chip does not need.

This also explains why Nintendo really doesn’t want to talk about things until January, since they are in the final stages of truly finalizing the hardware for mass production. The final Tegra chip will likely far outperform the X1, using custom architecture based upon Pascal, which is what the latest NVidia GPU’s are based on. We’ll probably know for sure on January 12th.

Source: Twitter