jamyskis: The NVIDIA Blog contains a couple of interesting hints about the hardware. It refers to the Tegra processor inside as "scalable", which of course is nothing unusual, but is intriguing in this context in that it confirms my previous assertion that it'll adapt the performance of the processor (number of cores, clock speed) depending on whether the device is docked or mobile.

It's claimed/rumoured/speculated elsewhere that the tablet screen (which apparently ISN'T a touchscreen) has a 720p resolution, so that's one area where the processor performance can be adapted - while the main console could theoretically run games at 1080p, there's no need to have them running at that full resolution while it isn't docked.

The GPU is apparently based on the same architecture as the "world's top-performing GeForce gaming graphics cards", so probably based on the GTX 10xx series. Obviously doesn't say much in terms of performance, and there's very little that the GTX 10xx series can do in the way of hardware-rendered effects that older hardware cannot (Metal Gear Solid 5 showed that the older consoles were just as capable of doing physically-based lighting). Interesting that they should shy away from comparing performance and refer to it as "high-efficiency". Still, not even Sony's and Microsoft's consoles have performance comparable to the GTX 10xx range, but they still manage to achieve some remarkable performance with the hardware that they do have, so there's hope yet.

I think the main reason for the use of the Tegra is its ability to scale its performance. We traditionally associate the Tegra with low-performance mobile, but with Tegra Parker coming out this year, we may indeed have a SoC that can achieve at least PS4/Xbox One performance when clocked as far as it can go. Judging by the large vents at the top of the mobile device, it does look like the Tegra is expected to run quite hot while docked. Tegra chips have to date been very rarely used outside of virtualised environments - we tend to associate them with Android, which performance-wise isn't the most efficient OS out there - it's a virtualised Java-like environment running on top of a UI running on top of an ARM Linux kernel.

The other big question is what "custom" means in terms of the Tegra. It could be that it is fundamentally based on the Parker X2 but with more CUDA cores, which wouldn't be ordinarily possible with a dedicated mobile device because it would simply run too hot and be too power-consuming. So it could for instance run on 512 CUDA cores while in the dock, which with the Pascal architecture would probably give performance comparable to the PS4 and Xbox One, but shut down half of those cores when mobile.

codefenix: I mentioned this yesterday in another thread, but to reiterate here I think Nintendo is making a mistake in assuming that gamers are the same type of gamers at home as they are on the go. In short, and speaking for myself, I play games either at my PC or on my couch, when I have time blocked off to do so. On the other hand, when I'm on the go, I'm in a totally different mindset and usually too distracted to be gaming. I own a DS, but never take it to the park with my dog -- it's usually reserved purely for a last-resort boredom remedy on vacations.

If Nintendo was all over the place with the unfocused Wii U, they won't be in any better shape with the Switch. I can imagine players getting frustrated with various modes and little pieces to manage.