Nintendo Switch 2 proves Ampere can still run modern games
Nintendo Switch 2 reached its first anniversary this week. The console launched on June 5, 2025, which means Nintendo’s second-generation hybrid system has now been on the market for one year.
Nintendo’s latest sales data lists Switch 2 at 19.86 million hardware units as of March 31, 2026. Software sales reached 48.71 million units. The original Switch is now at 155.92 million units, so the first model is still far ahead, but Switch 2 has already passed Wii U lifetime hardware sales in less than a year.
Switch 2 kept the same hybrid format but changed nearly every hardware component. Nintendo moved to a 7.9-inch 1080p LCD with HDR10 and VRR support up to 120 Hz. The console also supports up to 4K output at 60 FPS in TV mode, or 1080p and 1440p at up to 120 FPS.
Source: Nintendo
NVIDIA on board
The system uses a custom NVIDIA processor. According to previous reports, this is the T239 SoC with an Ampere-based GPU, 1536 CUDA cores and 12GB of LPDDR5X memory. This was a large jump from the original Switch, which used the Tegra X1 processor with a Maxwell GPU and 256 CUDA cores.
NVIDIA also brought Tensor Cores and RT Cores to Nintendo hardware. This gives Switch 2 support for DLSS, AI-assisted upscaling and ray tracing. NVIDIA claimed up to 10 times the graphics performance of the original Switch, although actual game performance depends on resolution, clocks, power limits and developer targets.
Switch 2 vs Switch 1 specifications
This hardware is enough for games that were not realistic targets for the original Switch. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition launched on Switch 2 on the same day as the console, bringing CD Projekt’s game to Nintendo hardware for the first time. It is a good example of how Switch 2 now supports modern PC and console titles, although often with lower settings, lower internal resolutions or DLSS reconstruction.
Ampere arrived with the GeForce RTX 30 series in 2020. Switch 2 launched five years later with the same architecture family, while PC GPUs had already moved through Ada and Blackwell.
The original Switch used Maxwell, while Switch 2 moved to Ampere. In consumer GPU terms, Nintendo skipped Pascal and Turing. If Nintendo keeps another eight-year cycle, Switch 3 would not be expected until around 2033. By then, even Rubin would be old.
| Nintendo Switch 2 vs Switch specs | ||
|---|---|---|
| VideoCardz.com | Switch 2 | Switch 1 |
| Picture |  |  |
| Launch | June 5, 2025 | March 3, 2017 |
| Size with controllers | 116 × 272 × 13.9 mm | 102 × 239 × 13.9 mm |
| Weight with controllers | 534g | 398g |
| Display | 7.9-inch LCD, 1920 × 1080, 120 Hz, HDR10, VRR | 6.2-inch LCD, 1280 × 720, 60 Hz |
| Docked output | Up to 4K at 60 FPS, up to 120 FPS at lower resolutions | Up to 1080p at 60 FPS |
| Internal storage | 256GB UFS | 32GB |
| Expandable storage | microSD Express | microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC |
| System memory | 12GB LPDDR5X | 4GB LPDDR4 |
| SoC | NVIDIA T239 | NVIDIA Tegra X1 |
| CPU architecture | 8x ARM Cortex-A78C | 4x ARM Cortex-A57 |
| CPU clocks | 998 MHz docked, 1101 MHz mobile, max 1.7 GHz | 1020 MHz docked/mobile, max 1.785 GHz |
| CPU system reservation | 2 cores, 6 available to developers | 1 core, 3 available to developers |
| GPU architecture | NVIDIA Ampere | NVIDIA Maxwell |
| CUDA cores | 1536 | 256 |
| GPU clocks | 1007 MHz docked, 561 MHz mobile, max 1.4 GHz | 768 MHz docked, up to 460 MHz mobile, max 921 MHz |
| Memory interface | 128-bit LPDDR5X | 64-bit LPDDR4 |
| Memory bandwidth | 102 GB/s docked, 68 GB/s mobile | 25.6 GB/s docked, 21.3 GB/s mobile |
| NVIDIA features | DLSS, ray tracing, Tensor Cores | No DLSS, no ray tracing |
| USB-C ports | Two | One |
| Networking | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, wired LAN through dock | Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth, wired LAN through accessory or OLED dock |
Source: Nintendo
