Nintendo Switch 2 Tested: Revamped Internals Deliver Major Boost

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Okay, semiconductors. Power, power, power. Get a chip that’s low on energy but high on magic? Your gadgets suddenly become sleek and battery-friendly. Nintendo? They went against the grain. While others wanted bigger, hotter chips, Nintendo said, “Nah.” They popped a tiny Nvidia Tegra X1 into their first Switch. Fast forward to now, and bam! 150 million units out there. Enter Switch 2: bigger, shinier screen, those Joy-Cons (they grew!), and a second USB Type-C just because.

So, me? PC gamer at heart, but my partner? Total Nintendo buff. A console’s always camped under our TV. Portable gaming on the Switch? Meh. But it’s the only portal to some out-of-this-world adventures. Zelda, anyone? Still feel that sun from Hyrule blinding me. Wow.

Nintendo wasn’t just chilling all these years. Squeezed the juice outta the first Switch, getting creative with constraints. But hey, time’s ticking. Pokémon fans weren’t too thrilled with the performance lately. Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom? Felt so next-gen it should’ve had its own console. Fortnite? Drop it on the Switch, and honestly, it’s a dud. Needed more muscle. Now? It’s here!

If Switch 2 follows its elder sibling’s path—millions will hop on. Grabbed one recently, spent days just digging into it. Surprises? Sure. A few design choices had us scratching our heads.

Now, get inside the Switch 2. Nintendo and Nvidia? Teamed up again, but this time? Custom-built. They’re hush-hush about what’s inside. But Digital Foundry? They’ve got secrets. This new chip’s got eight Arm Cortex-A78C cores. Can’t benchmark it exactly, but it’s modest compared to your latest phone, forget PCs.

Its GPU? Ampere with 1,536 CUDA cores, one Graphics Processing Cluster. On paper, kinda like a high-end laptop’s graphics. In docked mode, boasts 3.072 TFLOPS. Portable? Just 1.7 TFLOPS. Leading mobile GPUs today do 4+. That 12GB LPDDR5X RAM? Huge boost from the original’s 4GB.

But numbers are just numbers. We can’t see the full data flow inside yet. Hardware’s set? Then optimize that software, easy peasy.

SoC’s power draw? Nintendo says 19 W docked. Handheld? They’re tight-lipped. Testing? Yep, draws close to 19W docked. Portable? Between 11W-12W. Battery test results soon.

Now, let’s chat screens. Switch 2 packs a 7.9-inch 1920×1080 LCD. Way better than the old muddy one. Fans of OLED? Might miss those vibrant colors. But trust me, on this screen, even tiny texts are crystal. Seen zippier response times on LCDs, but nothing to complain about here.

HDR10 support? Technically, yes. But don’t expect those super bright or deep blacks like true HDR. Yet, the colors pop—Mario’s reds, Luigi’s blues? Eye candy.

Oh, and the refresh rate? Clocking a smooth 120 Hz and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) to boot. Fortnite’s good example: aims for 60 FPS. Even with hiccups, VRR keeps things smooth. The catch? VRR works on its display, not monitors or TVs. Why? Beats me.

Touchscreen? Yes. Tap-to-wake? Nope. Power or Home button taps to wake it.

Top side here’s busy—power, volume, vents, USB-C, cartridge slot. Love the dual USB-C; cozy charging, even when propped on a kickstand. Bottom hosts stereo speakers. Mic and Express slot under the kickstand.

Speaker quality? Meh, does its job. Get yourself Bluetooth earbuds for serious matinees.

Kickstand? Huge upgrade. Metal, steady, no sagging. Better than gen-1’s afterthought.

Controllers? Slide in with magnets now—no more aligning rails. Feels snug.

Buttons? Tactile. Triggers? Button-like; no analog finesse. Joysticks? Bit bigger, but drifty with time. Disappointing.

In handheld mode, eh, not comfy. Sharp, angular edges. Too light, it shifts around. Who’s winning? The old Switch’s comfy curves.

Performance? Trickiest part. No fancy metrics from me. But years of gaming? Yep, got opinions.

Screenshot-wise, comparing docked 4K gameplay to a rig. Cyberpunk 2077 first up. PC-iest game, right? Tried on Switch 2. Mixed mode options. Performance vs. Quality. On a big fancy TV? Differences pop.

DLSS tech helps, but not miracle-level. Night City’s not so crowded on the Switch 2.

And finally, Zelda Breath of the Wild. Makes Switch 2 shine. 4K? No dramatic overhaul. But it’s fluid, sharp. Combat and challenges? The game’s now less frustrating thanks to polished responsiveness.

Fortnite? Got a soft spot for it. Nostalgic cultural mash-up fest. On the original Switch? Clunky and meh. Now on Switch 2? Smoother, PC-esque vibe.

When docked, Switch 2’s whisper quiet. Even thermal checks say—it’s just lightly warm.

Downsides? Yep, storage is tight. Network speeds crawl. VRR for external displays? Someday. MicroSD card price? Ouch. Stick drift woes? Yep.

Verdict? Switch 2’s got heart—all giggles, little flaws. More game hours? You bet. Ratings coming!