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That might be an Nvidia GPU - with DLSS - but who would manufacture the CPU? Or, could we see Nvidia (since it has acquired ARM) jumping into the console space

That might be an Nvidia GPU - with DLSS - but who would manufacture the CPU? Or, could we see Nvidia (since it has acquired ARM) jumping into the console space? A suite of three consoles ranging from mobile/portable, to 1080p/TV, to 4K/Desktop quality could be very appealing, especially if the top-end model could also use a mouse and keyboard and dual-boot into ARM Windows. Nvidia would just need to design a Linux game OS and storefront. If they offered a 10% developer commission and paid for some big exclusives, they could have a very compelling product.

jayd16 6y ago
You should look at their Tegra/Shield offering as well the Switch. They're way ahead of you.
- monocasa 6y ago
  Sort of. They appear to be in a bit of a holding pattern, having not released a competitive SoC in that space for some years. The rumor is that the Switch contract only came because Nvidia had a firesale on those older chips that they expected to make their way into flag ship Android devices, but instead sat in inventory for years. Maybe after the ARM acquisition goes through (if it does), they'll start looking down that line again.
  - my123 6y ago
    NVIDIA was involved in the Switch since even before the Tegra X1 was even announced. Those rumours aren’t true. (You can take a peek at LinkedIn for example, of former Nintendo engineers, which makes the timeline more clear)
    - monocasa 6y ago
      Can you give some more pointers? There's a lot of former Nintendo engineers. I find it very difficult to believe that contrary to the rumors, Nintendo had been sitting on a SoC for many years without releasing a product or even pushing for a die shrink. Like, the Tegra X1 was announced in 2014, and released into products by 2015, and the Switch didn't come out until 2017. Turning off an entire core complex also points to it not being designed for them. Nintendo isn't known for paying for gates they aren't using.
      - my123 6y ago
        For example: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eyhchen https://www.linkedin.com/in/eyhchen from the NVIDIA side "Gave a power consumption related demo to Nintendo team during sales process" (for his Jul 2013-Dec 2014 period of employment) https://www.linkedin.com/in/gyferic https://www.linkedin.com/in/gyferic from the Nintendo side "Benchmark parallel processing - OpenMP stress test on SoC Nvidia Tegra X1" (for a Sept 2014-Mar 2015 period of employment)
wmf 6y ago
If you want an Nvidia GPU you might as well let Nvidia design the whole SoC so they're going to use ARM cores that they're familiar with. Xavier and Orin are designed for cars but you can imagine how they could be modified into console SoCs.
kelnos 6y ago
> Nvidia (since it has acquired ARM) The Nvidia Arm acquisition is very far from being a done deal, and may not happen at all (e.g. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/01/tech-investors-predict-nvidias-arm-acquisition-will-be-blocked.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/01/tech-investors-predict-nvidi... and https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/12/qualcomm-objects-to-nvidias-40-billion-arm-acquisition.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/12/qualcomm-objects-to-nvidias-...).

jayd16 6y ago

You should look at their Tegra/Shield offering as well the Switch. They're way ahead of you.

monocasa 6y ago
Sort of. They appear to be in a bit of a holding pattern, having not released a competitive SoC in that space for some years. The rumor is that the Switch contract only came because Nvidia had a firesale on those older chips that they expected to make their way into flag ship Android devices, but instead sat in inventory for years. Maybe after the ARM acquisition goes through (if it does), they'll start looking down that line again.
- my123 6y ago
  NVIDIA was involved in the Switch since even before the Tegra X1 was even announced. Those rumours aren’t true. (You can take a peek at LinkedIn for example, of former Nintendo engineers, which makes the timeline more clear)
  - monocasa 6y ago
    Can you give some more pointers? There's a lot of former Nintendo engineers. I find it very difficult to believe that contrary to the rumors, Nintendo had been sitting on a SoC for many years without releasing a product or even pushing for a die shrink. Like, the Tegra X1 was announced in 2014, and released into products by 2015, and the Switch didn't come out until 2017. Turning off an entire core complex also points to it not being designed for them. Nintendo isn't known for paying for gates they aren't using.
    - my123 6y ago
      For example: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eyhchen https://www.linkedin.com/in/eyhchen from the NVIDIA side "Gave a power consumption related demo to Nintendo team during sales process" (for his Jul 2013-Dec 2014 period of employment) https://www.linkedin.com/in/gyferic https://www.linkedin.com/in/gyferic from the Nintendo side "Benchmark parallel processing - OpenMP stress test on SoC Nvidia Tegra X1" (for a Sept 2014-Mar 2015 period of employment)

wmf 6y ago

If you want an Nvidia GPU you might as well let Nvidia design the whole SoC so they're going to use ARM cores that they're familiar with. Xavier and Orin are designed for cars but you can imagine how they could be modified into console SoCs.

kelnos 6y ago

> Nvidia (since it has acquired ARM) The Nvidia Arm acquisition is very far from being a done deal, and may not happen at all (e.g. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/01/tech-investors-predict-nvidias-arm-acquisition-will-be-blocked.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/01/tech-investors-predict-nvidi... and https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/12/qualcomm-objects-to-nvidias-40-billion-arm-acquisition.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/12/qualcomm-objects-to-nvidias-...).