Nintendo Switch vs MediaTek Dimensity 7020

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Nintendo Switch CPU1 vs CPU2 MediaTek Dimensity 7020
Nintendo Switch MediaTek Dimensity 7020

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Nintendo Switch and the MediaTek Dimensity 7020 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 7020 which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q1/2023.
NVIDIA Tegra (2) Family Mediatek Dimensity (36)
NVIDIA Tegra X1 (2) CPU group MediaTek Dimensity 7000 (3)
2 Generation 1
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 7020 clocks with 2.20 GHz, has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic MediaTek Dimensity 7020
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 2.20 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 7020
-- 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 PowerVR IMG BXM-8-256
0.30 GHz GPU frequency 0.90 GHz
0.77 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
1 GPU Generation 11
20 nm Technology
1 Max. displays 0
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 PowerVR IMG BXM-8-256
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 No
Decode Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
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 7020 supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 44.0 GB/s enabled.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic MediaTek Dimensity 7020
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 7020 is --. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic MediaTek Dimensity 7020
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 7020 is at 0.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 6 nm.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic MediaTek Dimensity 7020
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 Q1/2023
-- 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 7020 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.3 stars (20 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Nintendo Switch (30%)
MediaTek Dimensity 7020 (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Nintendo Switch (31%)
MediaTek Dimensity 7020 (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 (30%)
MediaTek Dimensity 7020 MediaTek Dimensity 7020
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
914 (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 (31%)
MediaTek Dimensity 7020 MediaTek Dimensity 7020
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
2292 (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 7020 MediaTek Dimensity 7020
PowerVR IMG BXM-8-256 @ 0.90 GHz
225 (57%)

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 7020 MediaTek Dimensity 7020
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
696 (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 7020 MediaTek Dimensity 7020
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
1877 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Nintendo Switch MediaTek Dimensity 7020
Nintendo Switch Unknown

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