Nintendo Switch vs Intel Core i3-2330M

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Nintendo Switch CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i3-2330M
Nintendo Switch Intel Core i3-2330M

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Nintendo Switch and the Intel Core i3-2330M and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Nintendo Switch 8 core processor released in Q1/2017 with the Intel Core i3-2330M which has 2 CPU cores and was introduced in Q2/2011.
NVIDIA Tegra (2) Family Intel Core i3 (205)
NVIDIA Tegra X1 (2) CPU group Intel Core i 2000M (46)
2 Generation 2
Cortex-A57/-A53 Architecture Sandy Bridge H
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The 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 Intel Core i3-2330M clocks with 2.20 GHz, has 2 CPU cores and can calculate 4 threads in parallel.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic Intel Core i3-2330M
8 Cores 2
8 Threads 4
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? No
1.00 GHz (1.75 GHz)
4x Cortex-A57
A-Core 2.20 GHz
1.00 GHz (1.75 GHz)
4x Cortex-A53
B-Core --

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

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. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic Intel Core i3-2330M
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

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.

NVIDIA Tegra X1 (Maxwell) GPU Intel HD Graphics 3000
0.30 GHz GPU frequency 0.65 GHz
0.77 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.10 GHz
1 GPU Generation 6
20 nm Technology 32 nm
1 Max. displays 2
2 Compute units 12
256 Shader 96
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
2 GB Max. GPU Memory 2 GB
12 DirectX Version 10.1

Hardware codec support

A 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.

NVIDIA Tegra X1 (Maxwell) GPU Intel HD Graphics 3000
Decode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
Decode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VP9 No
Decode Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

Up to 4 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Nintendo Switch, while the Intel Core i3-2330M supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 21.3 GB/s enabled.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic Intel Core i3-2330M
LPDDR4-3200 Memory DDR3-1333
4 GB Max. Memory 16 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
25.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 21.3 GB/s
No ECC No
2.50 MB L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache 3.00 MB
-- PCIe version 2.0
-- PCIe lanes 16
-- PCIe Bandwidth 8.0 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Nintendo Switch has a TDP of 5 W. The TDP of the Intel Core i3-2330M is 35 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic Intel Core i3-2330M
5 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 35 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
5 W TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Nintendo Switch has 2.50 MB cache and is manufactured in 20 nm. The cache of Intel Core i3-2330M is at 3.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 32 nm.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic Intel Core i3-2330M
20 nm Technology 32 nm
Chiplet Chip design Monolithic
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX
-- Socket BGA 1023
None Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT
No AES-NI Yes
Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q1/2017 Release date Q2/2011
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Nintendo Switch (73%)
Intel Core i3-2330M (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Nintendo Switch (92%)
Intel Core i3-2330M (100%)

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.
Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.75 GHz
270 (73%)
Intel Core i3-2330M Intel Core i3-2330M
2C 4T @ 2.20 GHz
369 (100%)

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.
Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.00 GHz
702 (92%)
Intel Core i3-2330M Intel Core i3-2330M
2C 4T @ 2.20 GHz
766 (100%)

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.
Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch
NVIDIA Tegra X1 (Maxwell) @ 0.77 GHz
393 (100%)
Intel Core i3-2330M Intel Core i3-2330M
Intel HD Graphics 3000 @ 1.10 GHz
211 (54%)

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.
Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.75 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i3-2330M Intel Core i3-2330M
2C 4T @ 2.20 GHz
435 (100%)

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.
Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i3-2330M Intel Core i3-2330M
2C 4T @ 2.20 GHz
958 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.75 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i3-2330M Intel Core i3-2330M
2C 4T @ 2.20 GHz
146 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i3-2330M Intel Core i3-2330M
2C 4T @ 2.20 GHz
373 (100%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i3-2330M Intel Core i3-2330M
2C 4T @ 2.20 GHz
1236 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i3-2330M Intel Core i3-2330M
2C 4T @ 2.20 GHz
517 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Nintendo Switch Intel Core i3-2330M
Nintendo Switch Unknown

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