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Nvidia SHIELD 2 hardware spec seen in benchmark results

by Mark Tyson on 23 April 2014, 09:30

Tags: NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), PC

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Perhaps the currently running Nvidia SHIELD price cut promotion is a sign that a new handheld gaming device from the green team is on the way? Well it certainly looks that way, as a newly discovered AnTuTu benchmark entry appears to list a SHIELD test unit that is powered by an Nvidia Tegra K1 and packs 4GB of RAM.

Companies often surreptitiously offer us 'bargain' prices of current products when there's a new model on the way. It helps run down stocks left of the old device without resorting to even more drastic cuts which would be required if customers knew what was around the corner. It looks like Nvidia is following that pre-v2-launch price cut strategy with its SHIELD console.

A new AnTuTu benchmark lists an 'Nvidia test model (SHIELD)'. If this data is real and not faked in some way then it looks like we've got the basic specs of the new Nvidia handheld here. As mentioned in the intro, this looks like a way for Nvidia to debut the Tegra K1 and show off its capabilities in its own consumer hardware product. The K1 chip here is a quad-core processor which runs between the speeds of 51MHz and 2524MHz, as expected the graphics section is listed as 'Kepler graphics' but someone somewhere spelt GeForce wrong - 'Gefroce' - which is a bit suspicious.

The screen res is listed as 1440 x 810 pixels – this is the usual way AnTuTu reports this information – the screen will actually be a 1440 x 900 pixel unit minus the Android software navigation button bottom portion which is 90 pixels high. Other pixelly hardware included in the new handheld includes a 0.3MP camera. This is something that Nvidia skipped completely in the first model but has obviously made it through cost-benefit analysis this time around.

The new SHIELD also appears to be equipped with 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. However, as a 32-bit OS, the Android 4.4.2 system which is listed as being installed on this console, won't be able to address all of that RAM.

We are left with some key questions that benchmarks such as AnTuTu don't reveal: what will be the actual physical form and screen size and of course how will the new console be priced? Hopefully we will get answers to these and other questions soon. Looking at timescales, it would be reasonable to expect a new SHIELD handheld to be revealed at the E3 2014 show in June.



HEXUS Forums :: 8 Comments

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I'd love to see what could be done in a similar form factor with one of AMD's forthcoming Mullins APUs. Given it's the same basic hardware as the PS4/XBOne, it'd seem like a fairly obvious approach if either company wanted to make a portable console. While there's nothing wrong with Android, I can't see Shield getting many AAA ports, leaving it's main use as a streaming platform, which is kind of limited.

A Mullins (or perhaps semi-custom take with more GPU silicon in a similar TDP/SDP) platform should be able to take the same OS and games as the full consoles. Could be very interesting indeed… ;)
scaryjim
I'd love to see what could be done in a similar form factor with one of AMD's forthcoming Mullins APUs. Given it's the same basic hardware as the PS4/XBOne, it'd seem like a fairly obvious approach if either company wanted to make a portable console. While there's nothing wrong with Android, I can't see Shield getting many AAA ports, leaving it's main use as a streaming platform, which is kind of limited.

A Mullins (or perhaps semi-custom take with more GPU silicon in a similar TDP/SDP) platform should be able to take the same OS and games as the full consoles. Could be very interesting indeed… ;)
as usual AMD are always on the other side trying to beat nvidia, AMD will come with an APU with GDDR5 memory beating the K1 in every possible way!
I think that NVIDIA will beat AMD in terms of graphics power at the K1 power envelope.

What I'd like to see from NVIDIA is a real microconsole, not a mobile device, something decently priced. The Shield is a nice idea but too pricey to be anything but a niche device. Android is definitely going in the direction of becoming a TV gaming platform, but there's nothing convincing in this market right now, and I think NVIDIA can create a compelling platform here.
Hmmm, a thought just occured. Didn't MS just say they'd be doing license-free Win 8 for devices with a < 9" screen? ;)
scaryjim
Hmmm, a thought just occured. Didn't MS just say they'd be doing license-free Win 8 for devices with a < 9" screen? ;)

Are you talking about a Windows based Shield-like device? Because that doesn't make much sense.