Shield console | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 14 May 2015 09:39:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Shield console | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Nvidia’s Tegra X1-based Shield game console certified in S. Korea https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/anton-shilov/nvidias-next-gen-tegra-x1-based-shield-game-console-certified-in-s-korea/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/anton-shilov/nvidias-next-gen-tegra-x1-based-shield-game-console-certified-in-s-korea/#respond Thu, 14 May 2015 03:45:04 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=249354 Nvidia Corp.’s first Tegra-based Shield portable video game console has failed to become popular on the market, but the company still believes that it can create a commercially successful dedicated gaming device for Google Android titles. In fact, Nvidia’s second-gen Shield powered by its latest Tegra X1 application processors has already been certified in South …

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Nvidia Corp.’s first Tegra-based Shield portable video game console has failed to become popular on the market, but the company still believes that it can create a commercially successful dedicated gaming device for Google Android titles. In fact, Nvidia’s second-gen Shield powered by its latest Tegra X1 application processors has already been certified in South Korea.

Back in April it was reported that Nvidia had developed two own-brand solutions featuring its Tegra X1 system-on-chips: Shield Portable/P2523 and Shield Console/P2571 devices. RRA, South Korea’s regulation agency akin to the U.S. FCC and the U.K. Ofcom, has already certified the P2523 “special-purpose low power wireless device”, which means that it is now possible to sell the product in the country.

Nothing particular is known about Nvidia’s next-generation Shield portable, except the fact that it is powered by Tegra X1 and may be incoming. At present, it is unknown when it can hit the market and how much will it cost.

nvidia_shield_1

According to a listing in a benchmark database, last year Nvidia already tested a new Shield portable game console internally. The model, which has never made it to the market, featured a 1440*810 display, 4GB of LPDDR3, 16GB of NAND flash storage as well as Google Android 4.2.2 operating system. It was expected that the new console sported an enlarged monitor amid a lower weight and sleeker design.

Nvidia’s Tegra X1 application processor integrates four high-performance ARM Cortex-A57 cores, four low-power ARM Cortex-A53 cores as well as an advanced graphics sub-system powered by the Maxwell architecture that features 256 stream processors (two Maxwell stream multiprocessors), 16 texture units and 16 raster output pipelines. The chip fully supports OpenGL ES 3.1, OpenGL4.5, DirectX 12.0 (feature level 11_3), and AEP application programming interfaces as well as all modern video codecs, including VP9, H.265 (HEVC), H.264 and others. At least in theory, the Tegra X1 should be perfect for portable game consoles.

Nvidia did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Certification itself does not mean that the device is about to hit the market. Many gadgets are certified months before releases. Still, an authorisation from regulators means that there are at least intentions to sell the product commercially.

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Nvidia Tegra X1 to power desktops, notebooks, tablets, portable consoles https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/base-unit/anton-shilov/nvidia-tegra-x1-to-power-desktops-notebooks-tablets-portable-consoles/ https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/base-unit/anton-shilov/nvidia-tegra-x1-to-power-desktops-notebooks-tablets-portable-consoles/#comments Thu, 02 Apr 2015 10:38:01 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=243367 Unveiled early this year, Tegra X1 system-on-chip from Nvidia Corp. was positioned mainly for automotive applications. However, given rather serious processing horsepower it has, it can be used for many other devices. In fact, according to recent leaks and listings, Nvidia and its partners plan to use the Tegra X1 SoC for laptops, tablets and …

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Unveiled early this year, Tegra X1 system-on-chip from Nvidia Corp. was positioned mainly for automotive applications. However, given rather serious processing horsepower it has, it can be used for many other devices. In fact, according to recent leaks and listings, Nvidia and its partners plan to use the Tegra X1 SoC for laptops, tablets and even portable game consoles.

The Bluetooth SIG [special interest group] recently certified mainboards for previously unknown Shield Portable/P2523 and Shield Console/P2571 devices. Qualification tests took place in late January, hence, it is more than likely that the motherboards were powered by the latest Tegra X1 application processor from Nvidia. Recently the company officially refocused its Tegra business to gaming and automotive applications. Therefore, a portable game console and a gaming tablet sold under Nvidia Shield brand make perfect sense for the company.

Meanwhile, Google Chromium OS already contains references to the Nvidia T210 application processor, which is the internal name of the Tegra X1. Since Chrome OS is used primarily for laptops (called Chromebooks) and low-power desktops (called Chromeboxes), it is obvious that there are certain parties working on appropriate products powered by Nvidia’s Tegra X1. According to CNX Software, the platforms based on the Tegra X1 are code-named Smaug and Foster.

nvidia_tegra_x1

The Tegra X1 system-on-chips incorporates four high-performance ARM Cortex-A57 cores and four low-power ARM Cortex-A53 cores. The SoC also integrates advanced graphics sub-system powered by the Maxwell architecture that features 256 stream processors (two Maxwell stream multiprocessors), 16 texture units and 16 raster output pipelines that supports OpenGL ES 3.1, OpenGL4.5, DirectX 12.0 (feature level 11_3), and AEP application programming interfaces. The application processor’s memory controller supports up to 4GB of LPDDR3 or LPDDR4 memory, whereas the AP’s storage controller supports up to eMMC 5.1 interface with CMD queuing. All other I/O interfaces are also present (see the diagram below). The SoC features hardware decoding of video in all high-definition and ultra-high-definition (4K) formats at 60Hz, including VP9, H.265 (HEVC), H.264 and others.

Thanks to high performance and maximum level of integration, Tegra X1 can power almost any device. Unfortunately, its thermal design power (TDP) of up to 10W is too high for mobile electronics. As a result, it will not be that easy for Nvidia to squeeze the chip into tablets or portable game consoles without reducing its clock-rates as well as performance. Still, there are plenty of applications that Nvidia can address with its Tegra X1.

nvidia_tegra_x1_block_diagram nvidia_tegra_x1_cpu_configuration

Nvidia’s Tegra X1 already powers Shield game console for the living room.

Nvidia did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Even if Nvidia Tegra X1 is too hot for mobile devices, there are plenty of applications, where it can be used, including embedded electronics, drones, robots, set-top-boxes with gaming capabilities, Blu-ray 4K players etc. However, to enter these markets, Nvidia will need to develop appropriate software platforms…

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Nvidia may drop its Shield game console in favour of Shield tablet https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/anton-shilov/nvidia-may-drop-its-shield-game-console-in-favour-of-shield-tablet/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/anton-shilov/nvidia-may-drop-its-shield-game-console-in-favour-of-shield-tablet/#comments Fri, 04 Jul 2014 22:59:32 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=201589 Nvidia Corp.’s Shield gaming device has not become popular after about a year on the market. Apparently, neither Google Android games with dedicated controls nor streamed PC titles could attract attention of core gamers. While it was expected that the company would introduce a new, sleeker, version of Shield this year, the company decided to …

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Nvidia Corp.’s Shield gaming device has not become popular after about a year on the market. Apparently, neither Google Android games with dedicated controls nor streamed PC titles could attract attention of core gamers. While it was expected that the company would introduce a new, sleeker, version of Shield this year, the company decided to take a more pragmatic approach and introduce a Shield-branded gaming tablet instead.

Nvidia recently certified a product called “Shield tablet” with the Global Certification Forum (GCF) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The tablet will come with integrated 3G/4G baseband capabilities, which is why it needs certification. Since the GCF is a U.K. organization, whereas the FCC is a U.S. commission, expect Nvidia’s Shield tablet to be available in both countries. In fact, it is likely that the slate will be available worldwide.

Nvidia has been testing what it was believed to be the successor of the Shield console for a while now. The new Shield-branded device, which was found in the AnTuTu databank earlier this year, was powered by the Tegra K1 system on-chip with four ARM Cortex-A15 cores (4-plus-1 architecture with one low-power core, clock-rate of the high-performance cores varies between 51MHz and 2524MHz) and Kepler architecture graphics processing unit with 192 stream processors, four ROPs [raster operating units] and so on. The product featured a display with rather odd 1440*810 resolution, 4GB of LPDDR3 memory, 16GB of NAND flash storage as well as Google Android 4.2.2 operating system. It is unknown whether the upcoming Shield tablet has the same specs as the device, which Nvidia tested earlier this year.

nvidia_tegra_note_1

Nvidia Tegra Note media tablet.

Nvidia needed its Shield game console mostly for strategic reasons, not in order to significantly increase its revenue. Nvidia needs Google Android to become a powerful gaming platform in general, which will eventually boost demand for the company’s Tegra application processors for smartphones and tablets. In a bid to attract both core gamers and game developers to Android, Nvidia created an ultimate gaming device, the Shield console. Unfortunately for Nvidia, gamers decided not to buy the gadget since most of Android games are tailored for touch-screens and motion-sensing, not dedicated buttons or D-pad. While hypothetically Nvidia could still release Shield 2 game console, it does not look like it has such plans.

Nvidia did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Nvidia’s decision to crease its own Shield tablet for gaming makes a lot of sense since it will help it to demonstrate what Tegra K1 is capable of. What is unclear is how the company plans to differentiate its tablets from similar products from other makers since there are no Tegra K1-exclusive games…

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