Nintendo Switch vs Intel Core i9-7940X

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Nintendo Switch CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i9-7940X
Nintendo Switch Intel Core i9-7940X

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Nintendo Switch and the Intel Core i9-7940X 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 i9-7940X which has 14 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2017.
NVIDIA Tegra (2) Family Intel Core i9 (78)
NVIDIA Tegra X1 (2) CPU group Intel Core i 7000X (9)
2 Generation 7
Cortex-A57/-A53 Architecture Skylake X
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor Intel Core i9-9940X

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 i9-7940X clocks with 3.10 GHz (4.30 GHz), has 14 CPU cores and can calculate 28 threads in parallel.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic Intel Core i9-7940X
8 Cores 14
8 Threads 28
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? Yes
1.00 GHz (1.75 GHz)
4x Cortex-A57
A-Core 3.10 GHz (4.30 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 i9-7940X
-- 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 no iGPU
0.30 GHz GPU frequency --
0.77 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
1 GPU Generation --
20 nm Technology
1 Max. displays
2 Compute units --
256 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
2 GB Max. GPU Memory --
12 DirectX Version --

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 no iGPU
Decode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
Decode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 No
Decode Codec VP9 No
Decode Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
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 i9-7940X supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 85.4 GB/s enabled.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic Intel Core i9-7940X
LPDDR4-3200 Memory DDR4-2666
4 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
25.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 85.4 GB/s
No ECC No
2.50 MB L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache 19.00 MB
-- PCIe version 3.0
-- PCIe lanes 44
-- PCIe Bandwidth 43.3 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Nintendo Switch has a TDP of 5 W. The TDP of the Intel Core i9-7940X is 165 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic Intel Core i9-7940X
5 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 165 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
5 W TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Nintendo Switch has 2.50 MB cache and is manufactured in 20 nm. The cache of Intel Core i9-7940X is at 19.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 14 nm.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic Intel Core i9-7940X
20 nm Technology 14 nm
Chiplet Chip design Monolithic
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512
-- Socket LGA 2066
None Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
No AES-NI Yes
Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q1/2017 Release date Q4/2017
-- Release price 1399 $
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Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Nintendo Switch to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 2.4 stars (7 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Intel Core i9-7940X to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (1 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Nintendo Switch (19%)
Intel Core i9-7940X (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Nintendo Switch (7%)
Intel Core i9-7940X (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 (19%)
Intel Core i9-7940X Intel Core i9-7940X
14C 28T @ 4.30 GHz
1410 (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 (7%)
Intel Core i9-7940X Intel Core i9-7940X
14C 28T @ 3.70 GHz
10425 (100%)

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 i9-7940X Intel Core i9-7940X
14C 28T @ 4.30 GHz
1133 (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 i9-7940X Intel Core i9-7940X
14C 28T @ 3.70 GHz
12964 (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 i9-7940X Intel Core i9-7940X
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i9-7940X Intel Core i9-7940X
14C 28T @ 3.70 GHz
26338 (100%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-7940X Intel Core i9-7940X
14C 28T @ 3.70 GHz
121.7 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 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 i9-7940X Intel Core i9-7940X
14C 28T @ 4.30 GHz
188 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 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 i9-7940X Intel Core i9-7940X
14C 28T @ 3.70 GHz
2849 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Nintendo Switch Intel Core i9-7940X
Nintendo Switch Unknown

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