Nintendo Switch vs MediaTek Dimensity 1080

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Nintendo Switch CPU1 vs CPU2 MediaTek Dimensity 1080
Nintendo Switch MediaTek Dimensity 1080

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Nintendo Switch and the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Nintendo Switch 8 core processor released in Q1/2017 with the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2022.
NVIDIA Tegra (2) Family Mediatek Dimensity (36)
NVIDIA Tegra X1 (2) CPU group MediaTek Dimensity 10xx (2)
2 Generation 2
Cortex-A57/-A53 Architecture Cortex-A78 / Cortex-A55
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 MediaTek Dimensity 1080 clocks with 2.60 GHz, has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic MediaTek Dimensity 1080
8 Cores 8
8 Threads 8
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 2.60 GHz
2x Cortex-A78
1.00 GHz (1.75 GHz)
4x Cortex-A53
B-Core 2.00 GHz
6x Cortex-A55

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 MediaTek Dimensity 1080
-- AI hardware Mediatek APU 3.0
-- AI specifications MediaTek APU 3.0 @ 4.5 TOPS

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 ARM Mali-G68 MP4
0.30 GHz GPU frequency --
0.77 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
1 GPU Generation Vallhall 2
20 nm Technology 6 nm
1 Max. displays 1
2 Compute units 4
256 Shader 64
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
2 GB Max. GPU Memory --
12 DirectX Version 12

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 ARM Mali-G68 MP4
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 / Encode
No Codec AV1 Decode
Decode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 4 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Nintendo Switch, while the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 44.0 GB/s enabled.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic MediaTek Dimensity 1080
LPDDR4-3200 Memory LPDDR5-5500, LPDDR4X-4266
4 GB Max. Memory 16 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
25.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 44.0 GB/s
No ECC No
2.50 MB L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Nintendo Switch has a TDP of 5 W. The TDP of the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 is --. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic MediaTek Dimensity 1080
5 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) --
-- 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 MediaTek Dimensity 1080 is at 0.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 6 nm.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic MediaTek Dimensity 1080
20 nm Technology 6 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
None Virtualization None
No AES-NI No
Operating systems Android
Q1/2017 Release date Q4/2022
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


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 MediaTek Dimensity 1080 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.9 stars (23 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Nintendo Switch (26%)
MediaTek Dimensity 1080 (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Nintendo Switch (28%)
MediaTek Dimensity 1080 (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 (26%)
MediaTek Dimensity 1080 MediaTek Dimensity 1080
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
1034 (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 (28%)
MediaTek Dimensity 1080 MediaTek Dimensity 1080
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
2509 (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%)
MediaTek Dimensity 1080 MediaTek Dimensity 1080
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
732 (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%)
MediaTek Dimensity 1080 MediaTek Dimensity 1080
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
2219 (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%)
MediaTek Dimensity 1080 MediaTek Dimensity 1080
ARM Mali-G68 MP4 @ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

AnTuTu 9 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 9 benchmark is very well suited to measuring the performance of a smartphone. AnTuTu 9 is quite heavy on 3D graphics and can now also use the "Metal" graphics interface. In AnTuTu, memory and UX (user experience) are also tested by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu version 9 can compare any ARM CPU running on Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly comparable when benchmarked on different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 9 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The rating is made up of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the working memory, and the performance of the internal graphics.
Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
MediaTek Dimensity 1080 MediaTek Dimensity 1080
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
473498 (100%)

Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

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).
Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch
8C 8T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
MediaTek Dimensity 1080 MediaTek Dimensity 1080
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
4.5 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Nintendo Switch MediaTek Dimensity 1080
Nintendo Switch Unknown

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. MediaTek Dimensity 1080Samsung Exynos 1280 MediaTek Dimensity 1080 vs Samsung Exynos 1280
2. MediaTek Dimensity 1080Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G MediaTek Dimensity 1080 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
3. MediaTek Dimensity 1080Samsung Exynos 1380 MediaTek Dimensity 1080 vs Samsung Exynos 1380
4. Qualcomm Snapdragon 888MediaTek Dimensity 1080 Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 vs MediaTek Dimensity 1080
5. MediaTek Dimensity 1080Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G MediaTek Dimensity 1080 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G
6. Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5GMediaTek Dimensity 1080 Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G vs MediaTek Dimensity 1080
7. Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2MediaTek Dimensity 1080 Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 vs MediaTek Dimensity 1080
8. MediaTek Dimensity 1080MediaTek Helio G99 MediaTek Dimensity 1080 vs MediaTek Helio G99
9. MediaTek Dimensity 1080Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G MediaTek Dimensity 1080 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G
10. Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4GMediaTek Dimensity 1080 Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G vs MediaTek Dimensity 1080


back to index