NVIDIA’s Tegra239 SoC Confirmed for Nintendo Switch 2; First Chip Images Emerge

It looks like NVIDIA’s expertise continues to enhance the gaming experience on the new Nintendo Switch 2, much like its predecessor, as we’ve seen a notable first glimpse online of the chip powering the device.

The Nintendo Switch 2’s unveiling has drawn attention primarily due to its capacity for 4K resolution at 60 frames per second thanks to the dock, yet the identity of the processor behind this performance remained a mystery until now. Following several whispers about a collaboration, it has been confirmed that Nintendo has indeed teamed up with NVIDIA to use their highly anticipated Tegra239 chip. This was revealed by user @Kurnalsalts on social media, who shared an image of the chip, neatly labeled as “T239.”

The tweet does not dive into comprehensive details, but we can piece together existing knowledge about the chip’s components and expected performance. The Tegra239 reportedly houses eight Arm Cortex-A78C cores and a hybrid GPU architecture that integrates elements from both Ada Lovelace and Ampere. It boasts 1536 CUDA cores and processor speeds ranging from 1.1 to 1.5 GHz, adjusting for whether the console is docked. Additionally, it’s equipped with a 128-bit memory interface using advanced LPDDR5 technology.

An image further evidences the structure of the Tegra239, though detailed specifics remain scant. We do know, however, that it supports NVIDIA’s DLSS upscaling technology, a crucial feature that enhances gaming visuals and performance. For those hungry for more technical insights, we recommend checking out our detailed post that covers the device’s specifications extensively. This collaboration underscores NVIDIA’s strong commitment to pushing the boundaries of custom ASICs, maintaining an exclusive partnership with ARM and Nintendo for this console iteration.

Amidst all this buzz, a question looms about when NVIDIA will introduce its processors tailored for the AI PC landscape—a subject of much speculation over the past year. Rumors have pointed to a partnership with MediaTek to develop an ARM-centric SoC, possibly branded as the N1X and N1 series, though no concrete updates have surfaced yet.