Nvidia claims 10x graphics performance boost on Switch 2, with DLSS and ray tracing support

[Cal Jeffrey]

A little bit more to share: When Nintendo unveiled the Switch 2, it was vague about the chip powering the device, only mentioning that it was a custom design from Nvidia. No technical specifications were provided – just general information like support for up to 120fps on-device, 4K at 60fps, VRR, and similar features. Fortunately, Nvidia has since shed a bit more light on the subject.

Nvidia recently posted a blog highlighting features of the hardware powering the Switch 2, going beyond what Nintendo initially shared. Among these features is support for ray tracing.

While ray tracing is also available on other consoles, it took a while for developers to start actually using it. Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Cyberpunk 2077 were among the first titles to implement ray tracing on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. According to The Shortcut, as of January, the number of PS5 games with ray tracing support has grown to 58. However, some of those only offer ray tracing on the PS5 Pro.

Another bragging right that Nintendo can claim is DLSS support, which is now a mainstay for desktop gaming. AMD's platform-agnostic alternative, FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), has recently trickled into gaming laptops, consoles, and handheld PCs. Both technologies enhance image quality while maintaining performance, but the Switch 2 is the first gaming handheld to offer Nvidia's arguably superior DLSS. Thanks to its Tensor Cores, Nvidia claims that Nintendo's hybrid console delivers 10 times the graphical performance of the original Switch.

Elden Ring hits Switch 2 later this year, which would be a good testing ground for its DLSS and RT features.

All of this looks great on paper, but here's the rub: it's ultimately up to developers to implement these technologies. We shouldn't expect widespread adoption right away. It took time for developers to prioritize ray tracing and DLSS on the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Rockstar, for example, didn't add ray tracing to GTA V until 2022 – two years after those consoles launched. Given the Switch 2's smaller screen and handheld focus, adoption may take even longer here.

Even with its increased resolution when docked to a TV, the Switch 2 is still heavily marketed as a handheld device. Its 8-inch, 1080p display running at 120fps is more than adequate for handheld use, so developers may not feel an urgent need to integrate DLSS or ray tracing in new releases or patches – at least not right away. Nvidia hasn't mentioned any specific games currently in development that will showcase either technology.

The more pressing concerns around the Switch 2 are its price point and the cost of its games.

At $450 for what is still sub-console performance, many current Switch owners are taking a hard pass on the upgraded model. Nintendo's new $70 to $80 pricing strategy for both new and remastered titles has also raised eyebrows among fans. While the Switch 2 is clearly a capable handheld, it doesn't quite measure up to home consoles – except when it comes to price.

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Nvidia claims 10x graphics performance boost on Switch 2, with DLSS and ray tracing support

 

[The Talking Tech]

And still not even close to the power of the PS5 for practically the same price and more expensive games.

 

[SRB]

With DLSS and tensor cores, you'll get the same performance as the 4090!

 

[Neatfeatguy]

Just like how the 5070 is equal to the 4090.

Yep, the 5070 is just as fast as the 4090....

Only those that are truly stupid will believe what Nvidia says about performance gains.

 

[Watzupken]

10x? Jensen should say this will run like a RTX 4090, just like he did for RTX 5070. Basically they are just throwing in DLSS number to make it sound impressive. But I believe it should be possible to run some sort of FSR even on the existing Switch.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

And still not even close to the power of the PS5 for practically the same price and more expensive games.

The OG switch is easily outselling the PS5 with toaster specs. You dont need a RTX 5090 server farm to enjoy games, unless you INSIST that every sweat pore and wax scar be rendered in 8k resolution.

 

[The Talking Tech]

The OG switch is easily outselling the PS5 with toaster specs. You dont need a RTX 5090 server farm to enjoy games, unless you INSIST that every sweat pore and wax scar be rendered in 8k resolution.

If most gamers wouldn't care for graphics NVIDIA and AMD wouldn't have the money they have made out of gamers and gaming entities ensuring graphics fidelity.

Sure the original Switch has surpassed expectations that was thanks to its lower pricing which we can no longer say the same not even on its future games

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Nintendo lives, breathes, and dies on their first party titles.

Thing is for all the complaining about recycled uninnovative games... That's kinda what has happened to Nintendo first party titles.

Mario is Mario, Zelda is Zelda, Kart is Kart etc etc etc.

Some of this stuff works because millennials/Gen X have nostalgia boners but I have to imagine there is ultimately a limit to how much of the exact same reskinned **** can carry a console.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

If most gamers wouldn't care for graphics NVIDIA and AMD wouldn't have the money they have made out of gamers and gaming entities ensuring graphics fidelity.

Sure the original Switch has surpassed expectations that was thanks to its lower pricing which we can no longer say the same not even on its future games

You're simultaneously arguing that "most gamers care about graphics" and admitting that the Switch succeeded despite having far worse hardware. Price shouldn't matter if it was that slow....

Oh yeah, and most PC players have PCs below PS5 console specs. RTX 2000 and GTX 1000 series cards, RTX 4060s, ece. 1080p and below still makes up the vast majority of the Steam user base.

It's the games that sell, not the hardware. This has consistently been true for decades.

 

[The Talking Tech]

You're simultaneously arguing that "most gamers care about graphics" and admitting that the Switch succeeded despite having far worse hardware. Price shouldn't matter if it was that slow....

Oh yeah, and most PC players have PCs below PS5 console specs. RTX 2000 and GTX 1000 series cards, RTX 4060s, ece. 1080p and below still makes up the vast majority of the Steam user base.

It's the games that sell, not the hardware. This has consistently been true for decades.

You could dress it anyway you'd like but the fact is the Internet right now is mostly criticizing the Switch 2 for the same reasons I laid out to you, and frankly Nintendo already might be preparing to lower their sales expectations.

 

[Lew Zealand]

You could dress it anyway you'd like but the fact is the Internet right now is mostly criticizing the Switch 2 for the same reasons I laid out to you, and frankly Nintendo already might be preparing to lower their sales expectations.

The Internet doesn't buy the Switch, regular consumers do. To the tune of 150+ million sales even with such low-end hardware. The Switch 2 hardware will not hold back sales as its relative performance to other consoles is irrelevant. The price is where the criticism is coming from and rightly so.

 

[The Talking Tech]

The Internet doesn't buy the Switch, regular consumers do. To the tune of 150+ million sales even with such low-end hardware. The Switch 2 hardware will not hold back sales as its relative performance to other consoles is irrelevant. The price is where the criticism is coming from and rightly so.

Dress it anyway you'd like while you think the Internet "doesn't buy the Switch"

 

[redgarl]

That's not even matching a 3050... Nvidia is gaslighting again...

 

[SRB]

The Internet doesn't buy the Switch, regular consumers do. To the tune of 150+ million sales even with such low-end hardware. The Switch 2 hardware will not hold back sales as its relative performance to other consoles is irrelevant. The price is where the criticism is coming from and rightly so.

You can do whatever you want with hardware, as long as the price is good and expectations are reasonable and match the price. You can say what you like about how the original switch sold, but the switch 2 is asking a premium price and setting expectations high. Not a formula for record sales. Add to that upping the price of the games at the same time, and this is looking more like the wii u than the switch.

 

[WhiteLeaff]

As fast as 4090, impossible without AI. XD

 

[Flayed]

There is a repeated paragraph in the article.

 

[Strawman]

And still not even close to the power of the PS5 for practically the same price and more expensive games.

How big is ps5s screen? How is the battery life? Hows the weight, can I take it with me?

 

[PaladinNH]

I understand how the 5070/4090 argument is deceptive (latency, artifacting, VRAM, etc.). But as someone who loved the 6800 XT and 7900 XT, I can run the 5070 at 175W with DLSS 4B and get a better picture and as smooth experience to my 7900 XT with FSRQ and AFMF2. Some slight transparency issues but it's not worth 100W+ in energy usage. Especially in something like a Switch.

 

[noblody]

DLSS and FSR "technologies enhance image quality while maintaining performance" -> this must be an excerpt from the marketing materials. It would be so if you manually set the resolution to 360p and then have a slider to set DLSS upscale to 1080p up to 4k, and then I would believe it is an enhancing technology. But, you set the resolution to 4k and then set DLSS "quality" to "performance" so, in effect you downgrade the resolution and gain more performance at the expense of quality. I agree that DLSS is better than a simple upscale, but it obfuscates things which is ok for most people, but not ok on a technology site like techspot

 

[BbN48]

DLSS and FSR "technologies enhance image quality while maintaining performance" -> this must be an excerpt from the marketing materials. It would be so if you manually set the resolution to 360p and then have a slider to set DLSS upscale to 1080p up to 4k, and then I would believe it is an enhancing technology. But, you set the resolution to 4k and then set DLSS "quality" to "performance" so, in effect you downgrade the resolution and gain more performance at the expense of quality. I agree that DLSS is better than a simple upscale, but it obfuscates things which is ok for most people, but not ok on a technology site like techspot

https://www.techspot.com/article/2957-nvidia-dlss-4-vs-dlss-3/

 

[Puiu]

I can also claim that people can fly 10x better than birds when they jump out of the window on the 10th floor. We have plenty of russians as proof of this.

 

[j4ni1]

With their 8nm chip.
RyZEN 3000 on TSMC 7nm was available mid 2019. On GPU side TSMC's 7nm came with RDNA 2 (6900XT) end of 2020.

 

[WhiteLeaff]

DLSS and FSR "technologies enhance image quality while maintaining performance" -> this must be an excerpt from the marketing materials. It would be so if you manually set the resolution to 360p and then have a slider to set DLSS upscale to 1080p up to 4k, and then I would believe it is an enhancing technology. But, you set the resolution to 4k and then set DLSS "quality" to "performance" so, in effect you downgrade the resolution and gain more performance at the expense of quality. I agree that DLSS is better than a simple upscale, but it obfuscates things which is ok for most people, but not ok on a technology site like techspot

All forms of "TAA" destroy the image, clarity and textures.
https://imgsli.com/MzQyODIy

TAA is garbage, but your eyes have become accustomed to it, so you think you're gaining something by catching up with TAA's already depreciated image.

 

[Dimitriid]

Hey if all I had was 1 dollar, having 10 dollars means I have 10x the money...And probably still can't afford your average fast food meal the way times are today.

There's never going to be merit in performance claims of perpetually underpowered consoles that are now exponentially more underpowered: I bet most budget phones out in 2025 are at least 5x more powerful than the original Switch even without DLSS or any other AI tricks.

 

[MSIGamer]

It'll already be outdated once it's released just like previous Nintendo consoles. Raytracing? Forget about it lol. It'll probably not even be as fast as the steam deck in pure raster either. 1080p screen is a waste.