Switch firmware update 8.0 added a "boost mode".

[Goukosan 2,249]

In recent 8.0.0 update it was confirmed that Nintendo officially added 1.7Ghz speed (up from 1Gz) for the CPU, they even called “boost mode”
 

 

Nintendo recently updated BOTW and Oddessy and utilized this "Boost Mode" to improve loading times across the board in those games. 

 

"In botw v1.6.0 the game seems to switch over to 1.7ghz CPU when the game is on loading screens, then switching back to 1ghz once they're done" 

 

 

BOTW Test results before the update and after:
Loading savefile: 31 seconds -> 21 seconds
Fast travel: 19 seconds -> 11 seconds
Entering shrine: 10 seconds -> 7 seconds

Mario Odyssey does the same and it REALLY improves the start time!

 

 

 

Impressive 

 

Edited April 27, 2019 by Goukosan

[Remij 4,670]

A lot of games have loading time (likely decompression) tied directly to the FPS the engine is running at.  I've noticed it on some PC games over the years that if you limit the fps to 30, then it will take much longer to load than normal.  Also, conversely unlocking the framerates can cause some games to load instantly.

 

It's a smart idea to do that during loading times on Switch.  Surprised they didn't think of it sooner tbh.

 

The CPUs in the new consoles are no doubt going to play into their super fast load times as well.  Basically since the CPU (and GPU) will be much faster, it can decompress data at a much faster rate, as well as on separate threads in the background, things will be much more parallelized and games will be coded to load and stream in data much more efficiently and seamlessly.

 

Those are some good gains for those games though.  I wonder if it will affect battery life in any meaningful capacity?  Is this for Docked mode only, or both?

[Goukosan 2,249]

34 minutes ago, Remij_ said:

A lot of games have loading time (likely decompression) tied directly to the FPS the engine is running at.  I've noticed it on some PC games over the years that if you limit the fps to 30, then it will take much longer to load than normal.  Also, conversely unlocking the framerates can cause some games to load instantly.

 

It's a smart idea to do that during loading times on Switch.  Surprised they didn't think of it sooner tbh.

 

The CPUs in the new consoles are no doubt going to play into their super fast load times as well.  Basically since the CPU (and GPU) will be much faster, it can decompress data at a much faster rate, as well as on separate threads in the background, things will be much more parallelized and games will be coded to load and stream in data much more efficiently and seamlessly.

 

Those are some good gains for those games though.  I wonder if it will affect battery life in any meaningful capacity?  Is this for Docked mode only, or both?

This is for Docked and undocked.   I believe it's also now available for Devs to use this mode during gameplay as well... but as it's a new update... we will have to wait and see if it will only be used for faster loading. 

 

There was also a faster GPU profile added but Modders aren't sure if this came with the 8.0 update or if it was always there and we just noticed or Nintendo added it in an earlier update. 

 

 

 

 

[bhytre 2,753]

It all loads fast when there's nothing to play, TSHBR

[Remij 4,670]

1 minute ago, Goukosan said:

This is for Docked and undocked.   I believe it's also now available for Devs to use this mode during gameplay as well... but as it's a new update... we will have to wait and see if it will only be used for faster loading. 

 

There was also a faster GPU profile added but Modders aren't sure if this came with the 8.0 update or if it was always there and we just noticed or Nintendo added it in an earlier update. 

 

 

 

 

Cool.  Hmm.  I'd figure that they'd want to use it sparingly primarily due to battery life concerns in portable mode.  However, giving the ability to have games dynamically boost to the higher clock specifically under more taxing areas then revert back to base resolution could help improve and smooth out overall framerate in new and upcoming games. (maybe will help already released games with unlocked FPS as well)

 

In docked mode there wont be any problems with this.. and they'll probably simply bump the fan RPMs a tad to deal with the extra heat and it should be good.

 

What this basically means is that games could see a little boost in performance overall, and docked mode specifically could be more performant in games designed to take advantage of the new mode.

 

Interested in seeing if/how it affects things.

[Tears of the Cows 1,206]

I don’t know much about this shit, but what are the downsides? Why was it not like this at launch? Is it this highest it can be boosted?

[Playstation Tablet 1,725]

As a TV gamer this is awesome if it helps with load times in all games. I don't care about battery life. Overclock everything more for TV mode if the cooling can handle it.

Edited April 27, 2019 by Team 2019

[Goukosan 2,249]

1 minute ago, Team 2019 said:

As a TV gamer this is awesome if it helps with load times in all games. I don't care about battery life. Overclock everything more for TV mode if the cooling can handle it.

Devs have to patch in support for it. 

[Playstation Tablet 1,725]

Just now, Goukosan said:

Devs have to patch in support for it. 

Ohh well, at least all future games will benefit. Plus I mostly buy Nintendo games, I think they will all update them.

[Goukosan 2,249]

1 hour ago, ghostz said:

I don’t know much about this shit, but what are the downsides? Why was it not like this at launch? Is it this highest it can be boosted?

1) Downsides.... a sustained higher CPU and or GPU speeds will drain battery faster. 

 

2) Wasn't available at launch....A system is never maxed out at launch It's available now because better optimization as time goes along, as the system developer gets more familiar with the hardware.  The balance is to get more performance while maintaining an acceptable heat while also managing how much the battery drains. 

 

3) Modders have been able to get higher performance while maintaining an "acceptable" heat output and battery life.....Nintendo may release more CPU and GPU speed profiles as the system is further optimized...

[The Mother Fucker 26]

you call that a boost.  I overclocked my Ryzen 2400G to 4GHz.   That's a boost, and the little APU only cost 1/3rd of the price of Switch.    TSHBO, TLHBO, TCHBO. 

 

[JonDnD 2,608]

6 hours ago, Goukosan said:

Nintendo may release more CPU and GPU speed profiles as the system is further optimized...

Link ?

[DynamiteCop 2,085]

Can it boost games out of standard definition? 

[Cooke 2,026]

8 minutes ago, DynamiteCop! said:

Can it boost games out of standard definition? 

About as likely as xbox getting a aaae

[JonDnD 2,608]

1 hour ago, Cookester15 said:

About as likely as xbox getting a aaae

You act like Nintendo is spitting those out. 1 a year, maybe. Wow

[James Skywalker 528]

I was thinking of getting Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey on my computer via. emulator.

[Cooke 2,026]

1 hour ago, JONBpc said:

You act like Nintendo is spitting those out. 1 a year, maybe. Wow

Better than never

[JonDnD 2,608]

2 minutes ago, Cookester15 said:

Better than never

Not when you miss 10 other AAAs a year.

[Cooke 2,026]

34 minutes ago, JONBpc said:

Not when you miss 10 other AAAs a year.

These AAA games you hype keep flopping though 

[JonDnD 2,608]

25 minutes ago, Cookester15 said:

These AAA games you hype keep flopping though 

Yeah, maybe. Doesn't mean they aren't great games.

 

RE2 - 9.0

DMC - 9.0

Division 2 - 9.0

Metro - 8.0

MK11 current gen version - 8.0

Sekiro - 9.0

Apex Legends - 9.0

Kingdom Hearts - 8.0

Ace Combat - 8.0

Ashen - 9.0

 

 

Id sure pass that up for a Yoshi game for girls and Travis Flops Again LMAO stfu