Nintendo Switch vs Samsung Exynos 7870

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Nintendo Switch CPU1 vs CPU2 Samsung Exynos 7870
Nintendo Switch Samsung Exynos 7870

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Nintendo Switch and the Samsung Exynos 7870 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Nintendo Switch 8 core processor released in Q1/2017 with the Samsung Exynos 7870 which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q1/2016.
NVIDIA Tegra (2) Family Samsung Exynos (47)
NVIDIA Tegra X1 (2) CPU group Samsung Exynos 7570/7870/7880 (4)
2 Generation 1
Cortex-A57/-A53 Architecture Cortex-A53
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 Samsung Exynos 7870 clocks with 1.60 GHz, has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic Samsung Exynos 7870
8 Cores 8
8 Threads 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
1.00 GHz (1.75 GHz)
4x Cortex-A57
A-Core 1.60 GHz
8x Cortex-A53
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 Samsung Exynos 7870
-- 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 ARM Mali-T830 MP1
0.30 GHz GPU frequency 0.60 GHz
0.77 GHz GPU (Turbo) 0.60 GHz
1 GPU Generation Midgard 4
20 nm Technology 28nm
1 Max. displays 2
2 Compute units 1
256 Shader 16
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
2 GB Max. GPU Memory --
12 DirectX Version 11

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-T830 MP1
Decode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VP9 No
Decode Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
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 Samsung Exynos 7870 supports a maximum of GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of -- enabled.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic Samsung Exynos 7870
LPDDR4-3200 Memory LPDDR3-933
4 GB Max. Memory
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 0
25.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth --
No ECC No
2.50 MB L2 Cache 2.00 MB
-- L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Nintendo Switch has a TDP of 5 W. The TDP of the Samsung Exynos 7870 is --. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic Samsung Exynos 7870
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 Samsung Exynos 7870 is at 2.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 14 nm.

Nintendo Switch Characteristic Samsung Exynos 7870
20 nm Technology 14 nm
Chiplet Chip design Unknown
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 Q1/2016
-- 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 Samsung Exynos 7870 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.0 stars (2 ratings). Rate now:


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%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 Samsung Exynos 7870
ARM Mali-T830 MP1 @ 0.60 GHz
20 (5%)

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%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 Samsung Exynos 7870
8C 8T @ 1.60 GHz
115 (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%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 Samsung Exynos 7870
8C 8T @ 1.60 GHz
452 (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 (100%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 Samsung Exynos 7870
8C 8T @ 1.60 GHz
0 (0%)

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 (100%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 Samsung Exynos 7870
8C 8T @ 1.60 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%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 Samsung Exynos 7870
8C 8T @ 1.60 GHz
963 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Nintendo Switch Samsung Exynos 7870
Nintendo Switch Unknown

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