Nintendo’s latest console, the Switch 2, has been shrouded in mystery since its announcement in January. However, recent leaks have shed light on the console’s hardware specifications, revealing significant upgrades and concerns about performance.
The Switch 2’s system-on-a-chip (SoC) is a custom-designed Nvidia T239 processor with an eight-core ARM Cortex A87C CPU, compared to the four-core ARM Cortex A57 in the original Switch. This boost in processing power should result in improved performance, especially when docked. However, the exact impact of this upgrade on gameplay remains unclear.
The new console’s GPU has a typical clock speed of 1007MHz when docked and 561MHz in handheld mode, with a maximum clock speed of 1.4GHz. This represents a significant improvement over the original Switch’s Maxwell GPU, which ran at 768MHz when docked and up to 460MHz in handheld mode.
The most notable upgrade is the increased memory allocation, with 12GB of RAM allocated for game development. This nearly triples the amount of memory available for developers compared to the original Switch. However, this increase comes with a cost: GameChat, Nintendo’s new online feature, appears to be resource-intensive, affecting system performance.
The presence of a built-in cooling fan in the dock suggests that the console is capable of maintaining higher performance levels when docked. However, it remains to be seen how well developers can optimize their software to take full advantage of this upgraded hardware. For now, gamers will have to wait for the Switch 2’s release to experience its true capabilities.
While on-paper specs provide a glimpse into the console’s potential, real-world performance is often a different story. It’s only when games are developed and optimized specifically for the Switch 2 that we’ll be able to see the full extent of its capabilities.
Source: https://lifehacker.com/tech/nintendo-switch-2-leaks-performance-docked