The NX Prediction / BSpeculation / Fanxiety Thread

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Thraktor said:
So here's something interesting. I was skimming through Cadence's blog, and particularly their report on TSMC's most recent tech symposium last month. While reading through their part on the InFO packaging tech, this particular line caught my eye:



Note that they're talking about a singular four-die HBM stack. Assuming we're talking about HBM2 (there's not really any way it could be anything else) this means it's a 4GB stack with bandwidth around 200-256GB/s. This means it's not a GPU, as it's neither enough bandwidth nor capacity for high-end cards, and it's going to be too expensive for more entry-level cards (where 200GB/s can be easily achieved with much cheaper GDDR5).

That leaves SoCs. Xavier is obviously the most likely candidate, although even that would be a bit of a surprise. Not just the bandwidth (I honestly have no idea what kind of bandwidth deep learning requires), but that I'd be surprised that they would be so heavily power constrained as to avoid GDDR5(/X), which could also give them much more capacity for their money.

The other option is NX. HBM2 would, of course, be absolutely insane overkill for a handheld. There's no way Nintendo would need more bandwidth than PS4 Pro, with a system perhaps a tenth as powerful and a vastly more bandwidth efficient GPU architecture. And yet, from Gamecube/Wii's 1T-SRAM to 3DS's FCRAM and ample SRAM, to Wii U's big eDRAM pool, Nintendo clearly loves expensive specialist RAM which is tightly coupled to the CPU and GPU. I would also expect HBM2 to consume a bit too much power for a mobile application, but we're only talking about a single stack, and I suppose it's possible that they could be clocking it down to 100-150GB/s to sit at a more comfortable point in the power curve. Lastly is obviously the expense, but only using a single die and InFO (which avoids the need for a silicon substrate) might just potentially pull this down to less than catastrophic level.

If I were a betting man I'd certainly put my money on Xavier being the chip they're talking about, and Nintendo going with a more typical LPDDR4 solution perhaps with a decent sized shared L3 cache. That said, it would be the first Nintendo device in a long time to go with the "typical solution" for RAM.
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4GB would be a massive disappointment, though. That would mean 2-2.5GB for games, meaning that nothing but the most basic indie ports would be possible and that textures would only look marginally better than Wii U.
 
Tom Nook Sawyer said:
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LOL
 
I think this time around Nintendo will have to be clear with the reveal

- explain the concept
- show the console
- show the controller
- explain one of the main OS gimmicks (MiiVerse 2.0)
- show some games

Wii U there was no focus on the actual controller. Thee was also a lack of decent games in the reveal that people cared for.
 
#TeamThursday #TeamTomorrow
I knew it two weeks ago!!I won't finally lose the bet with my friend!!

Good night fellow gaffers!! I hope you all rest well tonight, and wake up tomorrow without hatred. Because today,... today was toxic as hell. I hope this does not repeat tomorrow.
 
Parapraxis said:
LOL what, you are pointing to Sony's hugely successful handling of the PS4 reveal and launch and saying that it was bad, while ignoring the disastrous WiiU reveal...lol wow
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I was simply poking fun at how thirsty we are to see this and there is a chance that might not happen with the Direct (or whatever medium they choose to announce it)
 
Calm Mind said:
The possibility of that is actually high. There is still the fact that there remains a little less than six months to launch.
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At this point I'm expecting a Direct-style video reveal showing the basics of the hardware and some tech demos/sizzle reel, then a full blowout around January with more details and playable hardware for the press. I don't think they'll do it all in one go.

MuchoMalo said:
4GB would be a massive disappointment, though. That would mean 2-2.5GB for games, meaning that nothing but the most basic indie ports would be possible and that textures would only look marginally better than Wii U.
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They could get by with 1GB for the OS, leaving 3GB for games (and given the vastly more powerful PS4 Pro only has 5.5GB for games I don't think that's an entirely terrible amount).

Alternatively, they could pair it with some LPDDR3/4. They've used split memory pools for their last 2 handhelds and 3 consoles, and if they're actually using HBM2 in a handheld then they've obviously just gone nuts and decided to make the most obscenely powerful handheld they possibly can, so we may as well just assume 4GB HBM2 + 6GB LPDDR4 if they're taking that route.
 
Thraktor said:
At this point I'm expecting a Direct-style video reveal showing the basics of the hardware and some tech demos/sizzle reel, then a full blowout around January with more details and playable hardware for the press. I don't think they'll do it all in one go.
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I think they have to at this point

They need to announce NX with a bang and not with little fanfare with mixed opinions.

Wii was revealed with massive games like Wii Sports. Not some tech demos. Also tech demos are boring especially if the rumours are true that it's a hybrid it's not as if we will have a new way to play games like Motion or VR where a tech demo will be cool.
 
Joelstinton14 said:
I think out of the whole Wii U "debacle", aside from some stella games, Miiverse is the one thing that i felt Nintendo did really well with.

I think it is fantastic, so i hope they continue it in some vein. I think out of all the online features on various consoles, Mii Verse is the best thing going. It could do with perhaps a redesign, but the whole community aspect of it is a real pleasure to scroll through.
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Agreed. I even wrote an opinion piece last year for one of my clients about how Miiverse was the most nontoxic online space in the console world. It's a great place to be. I still hit up the Art Academy page sometimes and end up scrolling for an hour just to see all of the creative, positive people posting their work. And it's so refreshing to see communities that respond to one another with positivity, encouragement, and... I dunno, happiness? I hope Nintendo can preserve that in its online stuff going forward with the NX but still expand on features.
 
Yeah, I remember being pretty mad when Nintendo unveiled the Wii U back at E3 2011 with absolutely no real games to show off. When the 3DS was unveiled, they showed off shit like Mario Kart 7, Kid Icarus Uprising, OOT 3D, Street Fighter, Resident Evil Revelations, etc right off the bat, which made everyone piss their pants in excitement. When the Wii U was shown off for the first time, all we got was...New Super Mario Bros. Mii? Oh, and just some confirmation that Smash was being worked on, I guess.

Granted it wouldn't be as bad in this hypothetical situation considering we'd only have to wait a few more months to see the games, rather than waiting an entire year only to witness a godawful E3 conference, but I think now is the best time to show everything off.
 
OrbitalBeard said:
He works for the Wall Street Journal and has reported on NX numerous times over the past 18 months.
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Several hours ago, he also massively jumped on the hilarious "Is this the NX?" joke train by posting whatever he could find named NX. So, yeah, it could be mere trolling :lol
 
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