Nintendo's full Switch 2 tech specs confirmed: Nvidia Ampere chip with 1,536 CUDA cores, 12GB RAM

[Cal Jeffrey]

Something to look forward to: Nintendo has officially revealed the technical specifications for the highly anticipated Switch 2, offering a glimpse into the console's architecture. Digital Foundry notes that the details remain somewhat "selective" but provide a clearer understanding of the hardware developers have at their disposal. Nintendo has conceded the console arms race to Sony and Microsoft but positions the Switch 2 to balance power, portability, and efficiency in the handheld market.

When Nintendo unveiled the Switch 2, it offered virtually zero details on the CPU, simply calling it a "custom processor made by Nvidia." Nvidia followed up with a similarly vague description of the chip. With the release just weeks away, Nintendo has finally confirmed some solid specs.

At the heart of the Switch 2 is a custom Nvidia Ampere chip, designated T239 – a clear upgrade from the original Tegra X1. It features an Arm Cortex-A78C CPU, offering significant gains over the older A57 cores. The chip runs at 998MHz while docked and 1.1GHz in mobile mode, with a potential 1.7GHz ceiling under specific conditions. Its 8-core CPU, with six cores available to developers, enables better performance for demanding games.

The Switch 2's Ampere-based GPU delivers a substantial boost in visual performance. It includes 1,536 CUDA cores reaching up to 1.71 teraflops in handheld mode, scaling to 3.072 teraflops while docked. Teraflop metrics can be misleading, so the hands-on gaming experience will better reflect the hardware's capabilities. The system also supports Nvidia's DLSS for enhanced anti-aliasing and performance scaling, along with ray tracing – though limited resources mean ray tracing will play a minimal role at launch.

The Switch 2 includes 12GB of LPDDR5X memory – a substantial upgrade from the original's 4GB. Developers can access 9GB, with the remaining 3GB reserved for system functions. The boosted memory supports smoother multitasking and more demanding games, with bandwidth peaking at 102GB/s in performance mode (docked) and 68GB/s in handheld mode.

	Switch 2: Nvidia T239	Switch 1: Nvidia Tegra X1
Architecture	8x ARM Cortex A78C	4x ARM Cortex A57
CPU Speed	998MHz (docked), 1101MHz (mobile), Max 1.7GHz	1020 MHz (docked/mobile), Max 1.785GHz
CPU System Reservation	2 cores (6 available to devs)	1 core (3 available to devs)
GPU Architecture	Ampere	Maxwell
CUDA Cores	1536	256
GPU Clocks	1007MHz (docked), 561MHz (mobile), Max 1.4GHz	768MHz (docked), up to 460MHz (mobile), Max 921MHz
Memory/Interface	128-bit/LPDDR5	64-bit/LPDDR4
Memory Bandwidth	102GB/s (docked), 68GB/s (mobile)	25.6GB/s (docked), 21.3GB/s (mobile)
Memory System Reservation	3GB (9GB available for games)	0.8GB (3.2GB available for games)

Source: Digital Foundry

The Switch 2 sports 256GB of UFS storage, expandable via microSD Express cards up to 2TB. A custom file decompression engine offloads processing from the CPU, accelerating load times and improving overall efficiency.

The 7.9-inch display boasts 1080p resolution with HDR10 support and variable refresh rate (VRR) up to 120Hz in handheld mode. Unfortunately, the dock's HDMI conversion doesn't support VRR, which may be a limiting factor for those expecting smoother gameplay on larger screens.

The Switch 2 could struggle with some innovative features, like Game Chat. Developers have raised concerns about the resource demands of active voice chat during gameplay. In response, Nintendo included an API in the SDK that simulates latency and system load so developers can test the functionality under varying conditions. However, the impact on performance has yet to be determined.

Ultimately, the proof will be in the pudding when the Switch 2 launches on June 5. With early criticism over pricing, Nintendo is depending on developers delivering games that justify the expense – regardless of its specs.

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Nintendo's full Switch 2 tech specs confirmed: Nvidia Ampere chip with 1,536 CUDA cores, 12GB RAM

 

[WhiteLeaff]

The specs had been known for a long time...

 

[Kashim]

The specs had been known for a long time...

Nobody's disputing that, but they haven't been actually confirmed by Nintendo until now.

 

[Vulcanproject]

That's some dated tech. The chipset itself in the larger configs is like the Orin parts. Pushing three years old when the machine finally arrives. 8nm Samsung process originally. This is Ampere RTX3000 architecture in Geforce land.

I guess it's cheap and Nintendo just want strong profitability on the hardware from day one. Nobody really cares as long as it's a big upgrade from the OG Switch. It's enough for that.

It'll suck if games lean hard on DLSS though and still target lower framerates. The nature of DLSS is the more frames it has the better the resolve, particularly in fast motion. Otherwise you get lots of badly guessed interpolation and smeary trails. That's what we saw in the Cyberpunk demo.

 

[dangh]

I wonder if that's enough to run netflix... Or they going to continue this silly approach. Was thinking of buying but I guess steam deck is just a better device.

 

[Jarenien]

I wonder if that's enough to run netflix... Or they going to continue this silly approach. Was thinking of buying but I guess steam deck is just a better device.

The crapdeck is just that, a pile of crap. Targeting 720p30 is just laughable. I had the most expensive version pre-ordered, and as soon as they released that info, I insta-dropped it. At least the S2 will have 1440p+60 at launch for all 1st party games, if not up to 1440p+120.

Comparing the S2 to the crapdeck isn't even fair for the crapdeck, as it isn't in the same ballpark. Hell, it isn't even the same sport...

 

[Watzupken]

The crapdeck is just that, a pile of crap. Targeting 720p30 is just laughable. I had the most expensive version pre-ordered, and as soon as they released that info, I insta-dropped it. At least the S2 will have 1440p+60 at launch for all 1st party games, if not up to 1440p+120.

Comparing the S2 to the crapdeck isn't even fair for the crapdeck, as it isn't in the same ballpark. Hell, it isn't even the same sport...

I am not sure where are you plucking those numbers from, but 1440p @60 FPS is a tall order with or without DLSS, much less 120 Hz. Unless you are talking about light indie titles. First party games in the past few years are running on very low graphic settings and resolution just to keep it 30 FPS or slightly above. So unless there is 0 graphical uplift, I don’t think there’s any “magic” for a dated hardware on the Switch 2. In all honesty, handheld console is limited by power and ultimately perform around the same at a given 15W or so power level. Using ARM based SOC, power requirement is lower, but on Samsung’s 8nm (10nm essentially) it’s not going to be power efficient as compared to something like a TSMC 7nm, much less when compared with more advanced TSMC node. I think the Switch 2 is too expensive when factoring in extra cost on additional storage and significantly more expensive games. I guess everyone has their own preference. For me, I’m just sticking with the old Switch for party games with family. It’s the Steam Deck or Ally X for games that are not Nintendo exclusives.

 

[user556]

The KillSwitch 2 ... ;-)