The NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano is a computer-on-a-module that looks like a stick of RAM, but which is really a computer with an ARM-based processor, NVIDIA Ampere graphics, and the ability to perform up to 40 trillion operations per second for AI tasks.
NVIDIA says the Jetson Orin Nano will be available in January with prices starting at $199, and that the new module is up to 80 times faster than the original Jetson Nano which launched in 2019.
The new Jetson Orin Nano features 6 ARM Cortex-A78 CPU cores that can run at speeds up to 1.5 GHz, LPDDR5 memory, and a 625 GHz NVIDIA GPU with up to 1024 CUDA cores and up to 32 third-gen Tensor cores for AI processing.
It supports up to seven lanes of PCIe Gen 3, three 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and HDMI 1.4. But since the Orin Nano is basically a 260-pin SODIMM without any physical ports, you’ll need to pair it with a carrier board or other accessories to actually connect any hardware.
The computer module also supports 4K video decoding, 1080p video encoding, and processing of input from up to 4 cameras for machine learning/computer vision tasks.
NVIDIA will offer two different versions of the Orin Nano at launch. While they’re named for the amount of memory they have, that’s not the only difference. The Jetson Orin Nano 8GB also has faster memory, twice the graphics performance, and a higher power draw than the Jetson Orin Nano 4GB, for example:
| Jetson Orin Nano 4GB | Jetson Orin Nano 8GB | |
| AI Performance | 20 Sparse TOPs | 10 Dense TOPs | 40 Sparse TOPs | 20 Dense TOPs |
| GPU | 512-core NVIDIA Ampere Architecture GPU with 16 Tensor Cores | 1024-core NVIDIA Ampere Architecture GPU with 32 Tensor Cores |
| GPU Max Frequency | 625 MHz | |
| CPU | 6-core Arm Cortex-A78AE v8.2 64-bit CPU 1.5 MB L2 + 4 MB L3 | |
| CPU Max Frequency | 1.5 GHz | |
| Memory | 4GB 64-bit LPDDR5 34 GB/s | 8GB 128-bit LPDDR5 68 GB/s |
| Storage | – (Supports external NVMe) | |
| Video Encode | Â 1080p30 supported by 1-2 CPU cores | |
| Video Decode | 1x 4K60 (H.265) | 2x 4K30 (H.265) | 5x 1080p60 (H.265) | 11x 1080p30 (H.265) | |
| Camera | Up to 4 cameras (8 through virtual channels) 8 lanes MIPI CSI-2 D-PHY 2.1 (up to 20 Gbps) | |
| PCIe | 1 x4 + 3 x1 (PCIe Gen3, Root Port, & Endpoint) | |
| USB | 3x USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) 3x USB 2.0 | |
| Networking | 1x GbE | |
| Display | 1x 4K30 multimode DisplayPort 1.2 (+MST)/e DisplayPort 1.4/HDMI 1.4 | |
| Other I/O | 3x UART, 2x SPI, 2x I2S, 4x I2C, 1x CAN, DMIC and DSPK, PWM, GPIOs | |
| Power | 5W – 10W | 7W – 15W |
| Mechanical | 69.6 mm x 45 mm 260-pin SO-DIMM connector | |
| Price | $199 | $299 |
Possibly this, or a variant of this chip, is what an updated Nintendo Switch would use. And that would be absolutely amazing! If it is that much faster than the 2019 variant, just imagine how much faster it is than the 2015 Tegra X1 the current Switch is using. Power usage is pretty much the same too.
The fastest Nvidia Jetson Orin is actually x3 slower than the slowest RTX-3050 gpu. So doesn’t seem that amazing to me. The CPU performance is okay, the six cores mean decent muktithreaded performance but the 1.5GHz frequency means slow single-core performance. Other chipsets are more impressive to me; QC 8CXg3, Apple M2, AMD r7-6800u.
Knowing Nintendo, they will cheap out on the hardware and get the slower variant. But they’ll be cheeky and increase prices, limit features, but try to make up for it with gimmicks and artificial scarcity. And they are now ostracized by the developer community, so they have to rely on current owners, nostalgia, and remastered titles.
I feel like they might pivot into selling games as a service, instead of a hardware vendor. Maybe they’ll shift into tablets and stay there, but offer their titles on major platforms by doing exclusive deals (eg iOS, PS5, Windows).
LOL
Your whole shtick as “Nintendo ostracized from the dev community” when actually everyone and their mothers wants their game on Switch because it’s going to surpass PS4 if it hasn’t already done so and it will sell more than 120 MILLION units in lifetime sales.
But enjoy your sad pathetic ranting about “Nintendo never doing original titles these days wah wah wah :///”