When NVIDIA released the SHIELD last year, with the Tegra 4 CPU inside of it, we were all pretty impressed at the graphical capabilities of the chip, but the Tegra K1 on the other hand, is a whole other beast. Not only does it boast a Quad-Core CPU capable of speeds up to 2.5 Ghz, but it also features a GeForce CPU built using the Kepler architecture that’s at the heart of many Desktop-class gaming cards. Kepler is running the GTX 660 on my PC and Titanfall runs great, so bringing this same architecture to mobile is an exciting prospect. A recent AnTuTu listing for a test device, listed as “SHIELD” hints that the Tegra K1 would be coming to a new model of the SHIELD portable gaming console.
The listing in AnTuTu shows that the device (whatever it may be) features 4GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera, with nothing listed around back. The display resolution is listed as 1440 x 810, which suggests a resolution of 1440 x 900 with onscreen Android keys. The real star of the show is that Tegra K1, which features a Kepler-based GeForce GPU with 192 CUDA cores onboard, which is certainly nothing to be sniffed at and should offer some excellent performance in all current games as well as those yet to come.
With no word on a SHIELD sequel just yet, this is a surprise to see, but hardly surprising, as Nvidia’s high-end chips like the Tegra 4 and Tegra K1 only really seem fit for applications like the SHIELD or gaming boxes like the Mad Catz MOJO rather than smartphones due their heat and difficulties with LTE. If a SHIELD sequel was to feature such a powerful CPU as the Tegra K1, NVIDIA would have a very powerful gaming machine on offer and considering the Tegra K1 is capable of running Desktop-class games, we’re pretty excited to see what’s on the horizon.