The Exigent Duality
Handhelds and PCs - 16:22 CST, 9/17/18 (Sniper)
I can't wait to run this on my actual PC when it comes out. Incidentally, only three more days until my RTX 2080 ships!

Last evening, wifey and I were reflecting on how the Nintendo Switch is such a good complimentary device to my PC: both are Nvidia-based, making the comparison even more apt. In fact, it made me think back to the days when my dad used to come home from work and throw me off of his PC, whereupon I would go grab my Sega Game Gear, and lay in bed playing "Ax Battler".

For fun, how do the two sets of hardware stack up anyway?


The Olde Days of Yore

Zilog Z80 Sega Game Gear versus a 486DX2 66 PC with a 2 meg "Hercules Dynamite Pro" ISA video card:

  • PC processing 51 times faster: 0.506 MIPS @ 3.5 MHz vs. 25.6 MIPS @ 66 MHz
  • PC graphics 34 times, 8 times more pixels, colors: 160x144 @ 32 colors vs. 1024x768 @ 256 colors
  • PC memory 768 times greater: 24 total kilobytes vs. 18 total megabytes

Despite the enormous power disparity, the Game Gear delivered very good "little brother" experiences: for instance, compare Sonic Triple Trouble (GG) with Jazz Jackrabbit (PC). Yeah, "Jazz" has more colors and significantly better "Sound Blaster" audio-- but the overall experience is not that different really.


The Modern Age

Tegra X1 Nintendo Switch versus a Ryzen 1600, RTX 2080-powered PC:

  • PC power 19 times greater: 15 watt TDP vs. 290 watt TDP
  • PC graphics 17.5 times more memory bandwidth: 25.6 GB/s vs. 448 GB/s
  • PC floating point math 27 times greater: 393 gigaflops vs. 10.6 teraflops

Again: a huge power disparity. And yet, compare Splatoon 2 (Switch) with Battlefield V (PC). Between increased pixel counts, physically-based rendering, and real time ray tracing, there is really no comparison. And yet, clever aesthetic choices mean Splatoon 2 delivers a very comparable general experience.