Overclocking the Switch can boost performance in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

[Shawn Knight]

The big picture: Nintendo launched the latest entry in the Zelda series last Friday, no doubt leading to some early clock outs and loads of fun over the weekend. As gamers dug deeper into Tears of the Kingdom, however, they may have noticed that the Nintendo Switch is really starting to show its age.

Dimitris from Modern Vintage Gamer couldn't help but notice some performance issues in the new Zelda. The game runs at a locked 30 fps about 95 percent of the time but occasionally and as you progress further into the story, the frame rate starts to take a hit more often. In busier scenes, it is not uncommon for the frame rate to dip down closer to 20 fps.

In lieu of an updated Switch with more powerful hardware (which doesn't appear to be on Nintendo's roadmap), some like Dimitris are turning to overclocking.

Dimitris started by upping the Switch's CPU frequency from 1 GHz to 1.58 GHz but didn't notice much of a difference in the busier parts of Zelda, suggesting the game is more GPU bound. He then boosted the GPU frequency from its stock clock speed of 768 MHz to 921 MHz. Combined with the CPU overclock, performance was much stronger in graphically intensive areas with frames hovering closer to 30 fps. but still dipping occasionally.

Taking it a step further, Dimitris pushed the memory clock speed from its default frequency of 1600 MHz to 1862 MHz. When paired with the CPU and GPU overclock, this triple play resulted in a locked 30 fps experience no matter the action on screen.

Last but certainly not least, Dimitris undid the CPU and GPU overclocks but left the memory OC. As suspected, the game stayed steady at 30 fps which points to memory bandwidth being the leading performance bottleneck on the Switch.

Dimitris didn't go into detail on how he overclocked the Switch but said that information is readily available online for those interested in the risk. A quick Google or YouTube search will likely set you down the right path.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/98706-overclocking-switch-can-boost-performance-zelda-tears-kingdom.html

 

[Puiu]

A mild memory OC shouldn't be that risky and the power draw should be ok too.

 

[m4a4]

Sounds like Nintendo's ambition is catching up to their cheaper hardware approach.

Definitely sounds like a title to emulate on other hardware (which has the perk of being able to backup your save).

 

[Jrfeimst2]

I don’t understand why Nintendo just doesn’t change the clock speed of the memory. It’s insanely stable with no real rise in temps or loss in battery life. It’s a huge bottleneck on most games that struggle actually. Seems like such an easy fix to get a lot of games running at a much more stable frame rate.

 

[Xenon]

I really hope Nintendo doesn't repeat what they did with the Wii U, but in some ways I do. It would be nice if their next gen console had backwards compatibility and it would be even nicer if there is some performance improvements on older games. I think this could be totally possible, but who knows what Nintendo will do.

 

[yRaz]

They need a "console" switch, not a handheld. Plenty of people want a Console. My 2 year old smartphone has more graphics power than the switch.

 

[EdmondRC]

They need a "console" switch, not a handheld. Plenty of people want a Console. My 2 year old smartphone has more graphics power than the switch.

The Switch is aging, but with grace. The console is now 6+ years old and it only cost $300 (then and now). It's not a graphics powerhouse, but it was a great balance of graphics, battery life, and price for the time and its still not bad. Just like any other console nearing its end of life, it is obviously time for an upgrade. That being said, if Nintendo had upgraded it say in 2021, people would be complaining about the short lifespan and not getting their money's worth. Now that its a bit long in the tooth, people are complaining that its too weak and should have been upgraded a long time ago.

Me, I'm just going to go with it. It's still the best family console around and even when Nintendo upgrades, I imagine the Switch 1 will be around for quite some time. I hope we'll see legacy game compatibility and upgrades like other modern consoles though, that is not something Nintendo has been good at historically. Selling you the game 20 times yes, but allowing you to play what you already own on a new console, not as much.

 

[neeyik]

If I remember correctly, the developers had to employ all kinds of neat tricks in BotW to get around the low amount of RAM and miserable amount of bandwidth -- for example, blood moon cycles reset various aspects of the world, to free up RAM. So it's not surprising to find that a memory overclock for TotK reaps such clear benefits.

I don’t understand why Nintendo just doesn’t change the clock speed of the memory. It’s insanely stable with no real rise in temps or loss in battery life. It’s a huge bottleneck on most games that struggle actually. Seems like such an easy fix to get a lot of games running at a much more stable frame rate.

Probably because they can't guarantee that every unit out there will be stable with a memory overclock. Nintendo has used at least two different sources for the 4GB of LPDDR4 used. For example, iFixit's teardowns of the original Switch and OLED version had Samsung modules in the first and Micron ones in the latter.

Although I've not watched the whole video, it looks like the person has done this with an OLED version, which also uses an updated version of Nvidia's Tegra X1 that has higher clocks than the previous model (though Nintendo runs them at the same rate, of course). It's possible the same memory overclock just isn't as stable as on the original Switch.

 

[Kam7r]

I don’t understand why Nintendo just doesn’t change the clock speed of the memory. It’s insanely stable with no real rise in temps or loss in battery life. It’s a huge bottleneck on most games that struggle actually. Seems like such an easy fix to get a lot of games running at a much more stable frame rate.

but if they do that, ppl may not feel the need to buy the next "switch pro" or "switch 2" ...

 

[yRaz]

The Switch is aging, but with grace. The console is now 6+ years old and it only cost $300 (then and now). It's not a graphics powerhouse, but it was a great balance of graphics, battery life, and price for the time and its still not bad. Just like any other console nearing its end of life, it is obviously time for an upgrade. That being said, if Nintendo had upgraded it say in 2021, people would be complaining about the short lifespan and not getting their money's worth. Now that its a bit long in the tooth, people are complaining that its too weak and should have been upgraded a long time ago.

Me, I'm just going to go with it. It's still the best family console around and even when Nintendo upgrades, I imagine the Switch 1 will be around for quite some time. I hope we'll see legacy game compatibility and upgrades like other modern consoles though, that is not something Nintendo has been good at historically. Selling you the game 20 times yes, but allowing you to play what you already own on a new console, not as much.

The switch was already underpowered at launch and even lacked basic features like Anti-Aliasing. It's a hand held, not a console. The thing is, you can play BOTW on higher settings on your phone than you can on a switch. Everyone already has a handheld, no one wanted the switch. The only thing people wanted from Nintendo was there games. If you look at any game streamers, they all emulate the switch on PC to get better graphics settings. I think the idea of a switch is cool and Nintendo does make great games. The thing is, it was underpowered and something no one asked for. After 6 years of people asking for a more powerful switch they're still doubling down on "we have the switch" thing and it's games are suffering. I'll pirate the game and play it on PC because it's the better experience. I bought a switch so I could play smash brothers and mario kart with my friends, but even that gets to be a lack luster experience with frequent frame rate drops. I have spent more time playing BOTW on my PC with an xbox controller than I did on my actual switch.

 

[EdmondRC]

It's interesting that the third bestselling console, Nintendo's second best, of all time is one that no one asked for.
But let's address some of your claims:

Everyone already has a handheld, no one wanted the switch.

My kids don't have phones, nor do I want them to have phones at their age. So, yes, lots of parents love the Switch and are glad that its not a cellphone. The hybrid nature of the console also makes it great for families because the kids can take in on the go, but at home, parents can play it too. The hybrid nature of the Switch is one of its best features.

On top of that, the hybrid concentrated Nintendo's efforts on one console, increasing the number and quality of Nintendo first party titles, for the most part. I think the Switch was and still is an excellent idea and hope it carries over in a Switch 2, which it will.

As far as emulation goes. I hope you don't pirate the games. I too emulate the Switch games I want to play for several reasons. Yes, because I have a PC powerful enough to handle it so why not get better graphics when the game runs well? But, also, because my kids basically use the Switch now. So, I don't want to buy another Switch, so I emulate.

But, I wouldn't want my kids playing my PC all the time, so I'm really thankful they can use their Switches when they play games. Funny thing is, my kids never complain about framerates or graphics. They just enjoy the games.

The only thing people wanted from Nintendo was there games

Nintendo, like it or not, has built itself on its principles of family friendliness and console exclusivity. Wouldn't Nintendo sell more games without the exclusivity though? Well, it is hard to say. Being multiplatform could certainly muddy the waters for Nintendo as a brand. No family friendly games/publishers do better than Nintendo even on multiplatform. Parents do not see PlayStation or Xbox as family friendly consoles and for good reason. Very few kid/family games of above mediocre quality release on those systems. So, what happens if Nintendo stops making consoles? I personally think Nintendo could release all their games on PC and it wouldn't hurt their consoles sales more than a few percentage points because parents are still buying Nintendo consoles, even if that would mean adults that enjoy Nintendo games do not buy as much hardware for themselves. However, it would get very muddy if Nintendo went full multiplatform and did not release its own hardware. I think software sales would decline dramatically if no Nintendo console. Parents do want Nintendo consoles and so do the kids.

 

[kira setsu]

Overclocking a switch seems borderline cruel.

but also seeing how the tiny system is still happily working away I can see why nintendo is in no rush to replace it, its old as dirt technology wise yet its still plastered all over game sites, meanwhile all of us with cutting edge pc's and series of xboxes and speedy ps5's are getting games that are shambling corpses on release day.

maybe the rest of the industry should take a few pages from nintendo actually.

 

[yRaz]

It's interesting that the third bestselling console, Nintendo's second best, of all time is one that no one asked for.
But let's address some of your claims:

My kids don't have phones, nor do I want them to have phones at their age. So, yes, lots of parents love the Switch and are glad that its not a cellphone. The hybrid nature of the console also makes it great for families because the kids can take in on the go, but at home, parents can play it too. The hybrid nature of the Switch is one of its best features.

On top of that, the hybrid concentrated Nintendo's efforts on one console, increasing the number and quality of Nintendo first party titles, for the most part. I think the Switch was and still is an excellent idea and hope it carries over in a Switch 2, which it will.

This is nonsense. If anything, the switch is holding back the quality of nintendo titles. No one asked for the switch and it lasts, in my experience a little over an hour on battery. Not only did no one ask for the switch, we've been constantly asking for a more power dedicated switch. Even you said you emulate your games and you're trying to defend the switch.

Nintendo, like it or not, has built itself on its principles of family friendliness and console exclusivity. Wouldn't Nintendo sell more games without the exclusivity though? Well, it is hard to say. Being multiplatform could certainly muddy the waters for Nintendo as a brand. No family friendly games/publishers do better than Nintendo even on multiplatform. Parents do not see PlayStation or Xbox as family friendly consoles and for good reason. Very few kid/family games of above mediocre quality release on those systems. So, what happens if Nintendo stops making consoles? I personally think Nintendo could release all their games on PC and it wouldn't hurt their consoles sales more than a few percentage points because parents are still buying Nintendo consoles, even if that would mean adults that enjoy Nintendo games do not buy as much hardware for themselves. However, it would get very muddy if Nintendo went full multiplatform and did not release its own hardware. I think software sales would decline dramatically if no Nintendo console. Parents do want Nintendo consoles and so do the kids.

Nintendo is no one friend, lets get that tossed out the window right now. I see plenty of kids who have phones and, at the very least, have one or more tablets in the house.

But you need to stop thinking about the age demographic. Most parents that I know who have a switch, also use it themselves. They complain about the performance. They like to use it to interact with their kids and also play more adult games on it such as BOTW. Making Zelda a more mature game was probably the best move that Nintendo ever made. But when you are playing mario kart with your kids on a 75" 4k TV you can see every pixel that 720p console can upscale

And I'm going to derail this for a second, Considering that the switch uses a tegra chip, nVidia should consider adding DLSS to the switch in a future update. That would help *SOME*

 

[Nobina]

Runs beautifully on a PC on an emulator with much better visuals too.

 

[EdmondRC]

This is nonsense. If anything, the switch is holding back the quality of nintendo titles. No one asked for the switch and it lasts, in my experience a little over an hour on battery. Not only did no one ask for the switch, we've been constantly asking for a more power dedicated switch. Even you said you emulate your games and you're trying to defend the switch.


Nintendo is no one friend, lets get that tossed out the window right now. I see plenty of kids who have phones and, at the very least, have one or more tablets in the house.

But you need to stop thinking about the age demographic. Most parents that I know who have a switch, also use it themselves. They complain about the performance. They like to use it to interact with their kids and also play more adult games on it such as BOTW. Making Zelda a more mature game was probably the best move that Nintendo ever made. But when you are playing mario kart with your kids on a 75" 4k TV you can see every pixel that 720p console can upscale

And I'm going to derail this for a second, Considering that the switch uses a tegra chip, nVidia should consider adding DLSS to the switch in a future update. That would help *SOME*

To put it simply. The Switch is 6 years old. It has sold 125M units and that is evidence enough that people want the console. It has outsold the PS4, PS3, Xbox 360, and every other console except the PS2 and DS. If you need more evidence that people want the console, just look at the Wii U that despite having many of the same games, was one of Nintendo's biggest failures. The Switch allowed Nintendo to keep its failing console market and its handheld market and surprisingly enough, made both happy.

We all want Switch 2, but don't be surprised that it will not be the powerhouse you are looking for. It will be at best, I think 2.5 TFlops, just looking at the chips available, power requirements, and that Nintendo will likely shoot for $350, I'm thinking that's the high end of what Switch 2 might be, 6X the current Switch in performance, but I would not be surprised if its much less than that. Steam Deck is only 1.6 TFlops BTW, so only 4X Switch and released 5 years after and for more money. The absolute best Cellphone GPU, 6 years after Switch, is 3.4 TFlops, so yeah, that's great for cellphone, but don't expect Switch 2 to beat that and cost $350.

That means that Switch 2 is still not going to be a 4k machine or even a great 1080p machine. It will still have a lot of the same compromises compared to the latest generation of consoles. That is the price of making it a handheld, but, that is Nintendo's market.

 

[yRaz]

To put it simply. The Switch is 6 years old. It has sold 125M units and that is evidence enough that people want the console. It has outsold the PS4, PS3, Xbox 360, and every other console except the PS2 and DS. If you need more evidence that people want the console, just look at the Wii U that despite having many of the same games, was one of Nintendo's biggest failures. The Switch allowed Nintendo to keep its failing console market and its handheld market and surprisingly enough, made both happy.

We all want Switch 2, but don't be surprised that it will not be the powerhouse you are looking for. It will be at best, I think 2.5 TFlops, just looking at the chips available, power requirements, and that Nintendo will likely shoot for $350, I'm thinking that's the high end of what Switch 2 might be, 6X the current Switch in performance, but I would not be surprised if its much less than that. Steam Deck is only 1.6 TFlops BTW, so only 4X Switch and released 5 years after and for more money. The absolute best Cellphone GPU, 6 years after Switch, is 3.4 TFlops, so yeah, that's great for cellphone, but don't expect Switch 2 to beat that and cost $350.

That means that Switch 2 is still not going to be a 4k machine or even a great 1080p machine. It will still have a lot of the same compromises compared to the latest generation of consoles. That is the price of making it a handheld, but, that is Nintendo's market.

People don't want the switch, they want the games. If you look of the sales of the handheld only switch, they're terrible.

 

[EdmondRC]

People don't want the switch, they want the games. If you look of the sales of the handheld only switch, they're terrible.

I contend that people want both and you really have very little evidence to prove otherwise. The Switch again is the third best-selling console of all time. Nobody would want the PS5 or the XSX either if they don't have games as they are ultimately gaming consoles. People want the games so they buy the console, people want the console so they can play the games. But, it really makes no sense to say the bestselling console in recent history is something people don't want. You do see the problem with that right?

 

[yRaz]

I contend that people want both and you really have very little evidence to prove otherwise. The Switch again is the third best-selling console of all time. Nobody would want the PS5 or the XSX either if they don't have games as they are ultimately gaming consoles. People want the games so they buy the console, people want the console so they can play the games. But, it really makes no sense to say the bestselling console in recent history is something people don't want. You do see the problem with that right?

You do know the biggest criticism of the Switch has always have been its lack luster graphics because of its form factor. People asked for a new Nintendo consoles and people are always going to buy it because it's a Nintendo product. That does not change the fact that this is not the product we wanted from Nintendo. Even you said you don't use the Switch to play games, you emulate them. It the Switch is so great why, do you emulate its games?

 

[EdmondRC]

You do know the biggest criticism of the Switch has always have been its lack luster graphics because of its form factor. People asked for a new Nintendo consoles and people are always going to buy it because it's a Nintendo product. That does not change the fact that this is not the product we wanted from Nintendo. Even you said you don't use the Switch to play games, you emulate them. It the Switch is so great why, do you emulate its games?

Why do I emulate the Switch?
1. Because I have a powerful PC and it can be done. Just because I do this doesn't mean that I was completely disappointed with the NS. But yes, of course better AA, better framerates, etc is great, its exactly why I own a powerful PC. So why wouldn't I?

2. Because my kids play the Switch often at the same time I have time to play and I'd rather not have to buy another console. I already own 2.

3. Because my PC is in a different room that is more private and so when I want to relax, I prefer to play in there. Sure I could get another Switch dock, but refer to 2.

4. I always emulate Nintendo consoles when the time comes. One of the beauties of them being so much less powerful they are easier to emulate a lot sooner.

 

[yRaz]

Why do I emulate the Switch?
1. Because I have a powerful PC and it can be done. Just because I do this doesn't mean that I was completely disappointed with the NS. But yes, of course better AA, better framerates, etc is great, its exactly why I own a powerful PC. So why wouldn't I?

2. Because my kids play the Switch often at the same time I have time to play and I'd rather not have to buy another console. I already own 2.

3. Because my PC is in a different room that is more private and so when I want to relax, I prefer to play in there. Sure I could get another Switch dock, but refer to 2.

4. I always emulate Nintendo consoles when the time comes. One of the beauties of them being so much less powerful they are easier to emulate a lot sooner.

So what you're saying is that the Switch doesn't provide the experience you want so you emulate it?

 

[ScottSoapbox]

I was holding out for a Switch Pro but apparently, a Asus Ally with emulators is the way to go.

 

[Watzupken]

I've been using the Switch a year after launch, and I think it is a great family console. The console in my opinion is not about great graphics because the hardware simply can't handle. If one is looking for great graphics, then Switch is really not for you. I feel people are comparing it with new handheld "consoles" of recent years, but it is really not a fair comparison. In addition, Nintendo has never participated on the best looking graphics race. In fact, it is all about the exclusives like Mario Cart, Party, etc.

 

[Watzupken]

People don't want the switch, they want the games. If you look of the sales of the handheld only switch, they're terrible.

Isn't this the same as Sony PS? It is always about the exclusive titles. Otherwise, why do you think MS is working so hard to acquire game studios now? MS Xbox don't sell well I feel is largely because the same titles are available on PC.

 

[yRaz]

Isn't this the same as Sony PS? It is always about the exclusive titles. Otherwise, why do you think MS is working so hard to acquire game studios now? MS Xbox don't sell well I feel is largely because the same titles are available on PC.

no, because people who actually want to play nintendo games emulate them.

 

[Puiu]

I don’t understand why Nintendo just doesn’t change the clock speed of the memory. It’s insanely stable with no real rise in temps or loss in battery life. It’s a huge bottleneck on most games that struggle actually. Seems like such an easy fix to get a lot of games running at a much more stable frame rate.

Because it gives them the option to use memory from multiple sources and not fear that the quality would be too bad for the switch. And also because Nintendo is cheap like that