Although Nintendo officially revealed the Switch 2 last month, the device hasn’t reached consumers just yet. In the meantime, Chinese tech YouTuber Geekerwan has already reverse-engineered the Switch 2 motherboard to dig into the Nvidia SoC, GPU, CPU, and other hardware specs. We’ve gathered all the key hardware insights, gaming benchmarks, and performance results to give you a clearer picture of how the new handheld stacks up. With that, let’s dive into the details.
Nintendo Switch 2: Hardware Specs
Specifications |
Nintendo Switch 2 (Leaked) |
|---|---|
Fabrication |
Samsung’s 10nm/8nm hybrid (likely) |
SoC |
Nvidia T239 Chip |
CPU |
8x Arm Cortex-A78 cores |
GPU |
Ampere-based Nvidia GPU (likely) |
Memory |
|
Storage |
TLC-based 256GB UFS 3.1 from SK hynix |
Maximum SoC Power |
34.4W |
Nintendo Switch 2: Nvidia T239 SoC Architecture
First off, in Geekerwan’s video (link), it’s revealed that the Nintendo Switch 2 runs on the Nvidia T239 SoC, which was originally taped out in 2021. After examining the T239 chip using Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM), they concluded that it’s likely built on Samsung’s 10nm/8nm hybrid process referred to by Nvidia as the custom “8N” node.
In terms of die size, the Nvidia T239 chip powering the Nintendo Switch 2 measures approximately 207 mm² nearly twice as large as the Tegra X1 used in the original Switch. Interestingly, its die size is comparable to that of the RTX 3050/2050 and even larger than chips like the Ryzen 7 7840H, Apple M2, and Snapdragon X Elite.
Additionally, Geekerwan reports that the Nvidia T239 chip in the Nintendo Switch 2 can draw up to 34.4W of power—an unusually high figure for a handheld device. That said, in typical usage scenarios, it’s unlikely to reach those peak power levels.
Nintendo Switch 2: Graphics Performance
Now, let’s dive into the GPU hardware. The Nvidia T239 chip in the Switch 2 is believed to include an Ampere-based Nvidia GPU, featuring 6 Texture Processing Clusters (TPCs). This setup results in 12 Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs), giving the device a total of 1,536 CUDA cores. However, there’s currently no confirmed information regarding the presence of RT (Ray Tracing) units or Tensor cores.
Regarding GPU clock speeds, the Nintendo Switch 2 can run up to 561MHz in handheld mode and up to 1007MHz when docked. To estimate the console’s graphical performance, Geekerwan downclocked an RTX 2050 laptop GPU to simulate conditions similar to the Switch 2. The results showed that the underclocked RTX 2050 closely mirrors the performance expected from the Switch 2’s GPU.
In the 3DMark Steel Nomad Light benchmark, the simulated Switch 2 GPU achieved a score of 2,205 in Docked mode and 1,308 in handheld mode. This puts its performance in Docked mode on par with a desktop GTX 1050 Ti, while in handheld mode, it outperforms the GTX 750 Ti but falls just short of the Steam Deck.
However, compared to the original Nintendo Switch, the Switch 2 delivers a massive leap around 7.5x better performance in handheld mode. With DLSS enabled, Nvidia claims the Switch 2 could achieve up to a 10x performance boost.
Nintendo Switch 2: Gaming Results
Geekerwan also tested a few games on the simulated Switch 2 GPU. In Cyberpunk 2077, the GPU delivered 30 FPS in Docked mode with 720p internal rendering, DLSS set to Quality, and 1080p output using low settings. In handheld mode, with DLSS on Performance and 540p internal resolution upscaled to 1080p, it reached 40 FPS.
In Black Myth: Wukong, the simulated Switch 2 GPU reached 30 FPS in Docked mode with 1080p output, low-preset settings, and DLSS set to Balanced. Switching to DLSS Ultra could push the frame rate up to 40 FPS. However, in Handheld mode, it struggled to hit 30 FPS even at 720p output using DLSS Ultra Performance.
Based on the simulated performance, the Switch 2 offers a playable gaming experience with graphics that appear “pretty decent and clear,” thanks in large part to DLSS.
Nintendo Switch 2: CPU
Finally, the Nvidia T239 chipset in the Nintendo Switch 2 features an octa-core CPU with eight Arm Cortex-A78 cores. In handheld mode, all CPU cores can reach up to 1.1GHz, while in docked mode, the clock speed is capped at 1.0GHz.
Geekerwan also used the Nvidia Jetson Orin NX to simulate the Switch 2’s CPU performance by running the Geekbench 6 test. Since both devices share the same CPU architecture, they downclocked the Jetson Orin NX to match the Switch 2’s exact CPU frequency. The simulated Switch 2 CPU scored 526 in single-core and 2,877 in multi-core performance in handheld mode.
The CPU performance slightly surpasses that of the eight-year-old Snapdragon 845 processor but falls well short of the Steam Deck. However, it offers nearly six times the CPU speed of the original Nintendo Switch. According to Geekerwan, although the benchmark results seem underwhelming, the CPU is not a bottleneck and performs quite well during actual gameplay.
In conclusion, based on the available information, the Nvidia-powered Switch 2 delivers a significant performance boost over the original Switch. However, according to early leaks, it doesn’t quite match the power of current-generation handhelds or consoles. That said, DLSS technology notably enhances gaming performance on this portable device.
