How powerful will Nintendo Switch 2 be? Exploring performance leaks and rumors

Rumors about the Nintendo Switch 2 have been floating around the internet for a while now. However, they have largely centered around the tech aspect of the console. Many fans are looking forward to a hardware upgrade, so more current-gen titles can make it to the platform. As it stands, the current Switch is not capable enough, as it falls short of even the last-gen Xbox One.

This is understandable since the Nintendo Switch boasts a mobile chipset and comes in a handheld form factor. However, with growing competition in the market, Nintendo has to stay relevant. If rumors are to be believed, the company will be mostly fine in that regard.

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What other modern console could the Nintendo Switch 2 be comparable to from a raw performance standpoint?

The latest Nintendo Switch OLED model in tabletop mode (Image via Nintendo)

The current Nintendo Switch features a Tegra X1 SOC (system-on-a-chip). This ARM-based mobile chipset was originally released in 2015 with the debut of the Nvidia Shield TV home console. More specifically, the rendition in Nintendo's portable hybrid console is actually downclocked from the stock CPU, GPU, and memory speeds.

This makes the end product perform worse than the Nvidia Shield TV would, even when docked to a TV. However, that is a necessary sacrifice to ensure good enough battery life.

The Nintendo Switch is, after all, a portable device, as the entire chip is inside the handheld component. If reputable leakers are to be believed, the Nintendo Switch 2 will boast a custom chip over an off-the-shelf one.

Several leaks from varied sources consistently claim that the Nintendo Switch 2 will feature the Tegra 239 at its heart. This is said to be derived from the Nvidia Tegra Orin family of chipsets, which have so far been only used in self-driving cars. This is confirmed by Nvidia insiders as well as other related leaks over the years.

Taking all leaks into consideration, speculation from sources pegs the Nintendo Switch 2 to be comparable, at the very least, to the PS4 in terms of raw performance (we would speculate between PS4 and PS4 Pro). This may not seem like much, but we have seen the current Nintendo Switch punch far above its weight.

This is thanks to many ports that were originally only designed for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. So theoretically, it should be capable of handling PS5 ports just fine due to a big jump in power, especially since it is a chipset based on relatively modern tech.

These factors should also mean that the bottlenecks of the current Switch are gone (in other words, the meager CPU and low memory bandwidth). Going by the Tegra 234, the Tegra 239, if cut down for power preservation reasons, is suggested to have 8 cores for its ARM processor versus the quad-core Cortex-A57 in the current model.

It should also realistically feature a 1024 CUDA core GPU based on the Ampere architecture, which the RTX 3xxx series graphics cards from Nvidia belong to. Throw in at least 12 GB RAM at over 100 GB/s memory bandwidth, and it is good to go. At the end of the day, the era of super high fidelity is being ushered in, thanks to Unreal Engine 5 and PS5/Xbox Series consoles.

New and upcoming games are seeing a notable upgrade in graphics with regard to visual density. So, the Nintendo Switch 2 will need to catch up to get the latest and greatest titles. In fact, we are already seeing this trend begin with Mortal Kombat 1 in September 2023.

However, it is Nintendo, after all, and the company often dances to the whim of its own tunes.

What new surprises does it have in store for fans? The Japanese giant has been tight-lipped with regard to new hardware, as it has nothing to release until Q4 2023. What about after that, though? This does not rule out the possibility of an official announcement later this year.

Fans will have to wait and see how things turn out in the end for the Nintendo Switch 2.