Nintendo Switch vs Apple M4 (10-CPU)
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CPU comparison with benchmarks
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| Nintendo Switch | Apple M4 (10-CPU) | |
CPU comparisonIn this CPU comparison, we compare the Nintendo Switch and the Apple M4 (10-CPU) and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.
We compare the Nintendo Switch 8 core processor released in Q1/2017 with the Apple M4 (10-CPU) which has 10 CPU cores and was introduced in Q2/2024. |
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| NVIDIA Tegra (2) | Family | Apple M series (25) |
| NVIDIA Tegra X1 (2) | CPU group | Apple M4 (2) |
| 2 | Generation | 4 |
| Cortex-A57/-A53 | Architecture | M4 |
| Mobile | Segment | Mobile |
| -- | Predecessor | Apple M3 |
| -- | Successor | -- |
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CPU Cores and Base FrequencyThe Nintendo Switch is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 1.00 GHz (1.75 GHz). The processor can compute 8 threads at the same time. The Apple M4 (10-CPU) clocks with 0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz), has 10 CPU cores and can calculate 10 threads in parallel. |
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| Nintendo Switch | Characteristic | Apple M4 (10-CPU) |
| 8 | Cores | 10 |
| 8 | Threads | 10 |
| hybrid (big.LITTLE) | Core architecture | hybrid (big.LITTLE) |
| No | Hyperthreading | No |
| No | Overclocking ? | No |
| 1.00 GHz (1.75 GHz) 4x Cortex-A57 |
A-Core | 0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz) 4x P-Core |
| 1.00 GHz (1.75 GHz) 4x Cortex-A53 |
B-Core | 0.74 GHz (2.85 GHz) 6x E-Core |
NPU AI performanceThe performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. |
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| Nintendo Switch | Characteristic | Apple M4 (10-CPU) |
| -- | AI hardware | Apple Neural Engine |
| -- | AI specifications | 16 Neural cores @ 38 TOPS |
| -- | NPU + CPU + iGPU | -- |
Integrated graphics (iGPU)Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback. |
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| NVIDIA Tegra X1 (Maxwell) | GPU | Apple M4 (10 Core) |
| 0.30 GHz | GPU frequency | -- |
| 0.77 GHz | GPU (Turbo) | -- |
| 1 | GPU Generation | -- |
| 20 nm | Technology | 3 nm |
| 1 | Max. displays | 2 |
| 2 | Compute units | 160 |
| 256 | Shader | 1280 |
| No | Hardware Raytracing | Yes |
| No | Frame Generation | No |
| 2 GB | Max. GPU Memory | 24 GB |
| 12 | DirectX Version | -- |
Hardware codec supportA photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos. |
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| NVIDIA Tegra X1 (Maxwell) | GPU | Apple M4 (10 Core) |
| Decode | Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) | Decode / Encode |
| Decode | Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) | Decode / Encode |
| Decode / Encode | Codec h264 | Decode / Encode |
| Decode | Codec VP9 | Decode / Encode |
| Decode | Codec VP8 | Decode |
| No | Codec AV1 | Decode |
| Decode | Codec AVC | Decode |
| Decode | Codec VC-1 | Decode |
| Decode / Encode | Codec JPEG | Decode / Encode |
Memory & PCIeUp to 4 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Nintendo Switch, while the Apple M4 (10-CPU) supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 120.0 GB/s enabled. |
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| Nintendo Switch | Characteristic | Apple M4 (10-CPU) |
| LPDDR4-3200 | Memory | LPDDR5X-7500 |
| 4 GB | Max. Memory | 16 GB |
| 2 (Dual Channel) | Memory channels | 2 (Dual Channel) |
| 25.6 GB/s | Max. Bandwidth | 120.0 GB/s |
| No | ECC | No |
| 2.50 MB | L2 Cache | 22.00 MB |
| -- | L3 Cache | -- |
| -- | PCIe version | 4.0 |
| -- | PCIe lanes | -- |
| -- | PCIe Bandwidth | -- |
Thermal ManagementThe Nintendo Switch has a TDP of 5 W. The TDP of the Apple M4 (10-CPU) is 22 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution. |
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| Nintendo Switch | Characteristic | Apple M4 (10-CPU) |
| 5 W | TDP (PL1 / PBP) | 22 W |
| -- | TDP (PL2) | -- |
| -- | TDP up | -- |
| 5 W | TDP down | 15 W |
| -- | Tjunction max. | 100 °C |
Technical detailsThe Nintendo Switch has 2.50 MB cache and is manufactured in 20 nm. The cache of Apple M4 (10-CPU) is at 22.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 3 nm. |
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| Nintendo Switch | Characteristic | Apple M4 (10-CPU) |
| 20 nm | Technology | 3 nm |
| Chiplet | Chip design | Chiplet |
| Armv8-A (64 bit) | Instruction set (ISA) | Armv9-A (64 bit) |
| -- | ISA extensions | Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation, AVX2, SME |
| -- | Socket | -- |
| None | Virtualization | Apple Virtualization Framework |
| No | AES-NI | Yes |
| Operating systems | macOS, iPadOS | |
| Q1/2017 | Release date | Q2/2024 |
| -- | Release price | -- |
| show more data | show more data | |
8C 8T @ 1.00 GHz (1.75 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save!
10C 10T @ 0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save!
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Rate these processors
Average performance in benchmarks
⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
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Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.75 GHz |
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Apple M4 (10-CPU)
10C 10T @ 4.41 GHz |
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Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
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Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.00 GHz |
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Apple M4 (10-CPU)
10C 10T @ 0.70 GHz |
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Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
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Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.75 GHz |
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Apple M4 (10-CPU)
10C 10T @ 4.41 GHz |
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Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)
Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
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Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.00 GHz |
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Apple M4 (10-CPU)
10C 10T @ 0.70 GHz |
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iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)
The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
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Nintendo Switch
NVIDIA Tegra X1 (Maxwell) @ 0.77 GHz |
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Apple M4 (10-CPU)
Apple M4 (10 Core) @ 0.00 GHz |
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AI performance (NPU)
The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is given here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher.
Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
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Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.00 GHz |
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Apple M4 (10-CPU)
10C 10T @ 0.70 GHz |
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Devices using this processor |
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| Nintendo Switch | Apple M4 (10-CPU) |
| Nintendo Switch | Apple iPad Pro 11 (2024) [1-2 TB] |
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