One of the biggest leaks about the Nintendo Switch 2 came after a technical analysis by a Chinese fan was published online. The new console's motherboard appeared on resale sites in the Chinese market, allowing for a complete disassembly. This led to detailed images and previously unreleased information about the hardware being released online.
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The new Switch will be equipped with the NVIDIA T239 chip, created exclusively for Nintendo. It features LPDDR5X RAM, fast storage, and more advanced graphics.
New Nintendo Switch 2 leak happened in China
The content was released by the channel 极客湾Geekerwan, known for detailed analyses of electronic components. Although the obtained board is not yet functional, it has been powered on. This allowed partial testing and confirmation of several specifications that had already been circulating in rumors.
Analysis based on chip engineering and performance simulations indicates that the new console can achieve up to seven times more performance than the current version.
SoC T239 combines modern architecture and energy efficiency
The heart of the Nintendo Switch 2 will be the NVIDIA T239 SoC, a custom chip that combines an eight-core ARM Cortex-A78C CPU with a GPU based on the Ampere architecture. Each processor core has 256 KB of L2 cache, while the system shares 4 MB of L3 cache. The chip is manufactured using the Samsung 8N process, an advanced variation of the 8nm node that prioritizes energy efficiency and transistor density.
The GPU, with 1,536 CUDA cores, represents a notable leap over the Tegra X1 chip used in the original Switch. It's organized into six texture processing clusters (TPCs), each with two stream processors (SMs). Furthermore, the graphics unit is more closely modeled on the Ada Lovelace architecture used in the RTX 40 series than the traditional Ampere architecture of the RTX 30 series.
With support for modern technologies like DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) and basic ray tracing, the new GPU significantly expands the console's graphics potential. According to the analysis, the chip's die measures 207 mm², twice the size of the previous graphics processor. This indicates greater processing power and more room for complex graphics capabilities.
Fast memory and expanded storage reinforce technical upgrade
Another point confirmed in the leak is the presence of two 6GB LPDDR5X memory chips. This totals 12GB on a 128-bit bus. With a maximum specification of 8,533 MT/s, this configuration guarantees high bandwidth. Although the final version of the console is expected to operate at lower speeds to save power for portable use.
Internal storage also improves, with the inclusion of a 256GB UFS 3.1 chip manufactured by SK Hynix. This represents a significant improvement over the previous model, which featured only 32GB of flash memory and much slower read and write speeds.
Simulations indicate performance up to 7.5 times greater than the original Switch
Since the motherboard isn't yet fully functional, Geekerwan used a notebook RTX 2050 with GA107 architecture to simulate the T239 SoC's performance. By limiting frequency and power consumption, the test aimed to reproduce realistic scenarios in both portable and docked modes.
In docked mode, the GPU reaches 755 MHz and the CPU runs at 998 MHz. In this configuration, tests estimate performance similar to that of a GTX 1050 Ti with DLSS support, with a score of around 2,100 in the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark. In portable mode, with the GPU at 421 MHz and the CPU at 1.1 GHz, the simulated performance is equivalent to that of a GTX 750 Ti, scoring around 1,300 points in the same test.
This performance represents a leap of up to 7.5 times over the first Switch, although it falls short of NVIDIA's initial expectations, which projected up to ten times more power.
Demanding games should run with adaptive resolution and DLSS
Based on simulations, popular, graphics-intensive games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Black Myth: Wukong will be able to run on the Nintendo Switch 2, thanks to the extensive use of DLSS to compensate for native resolution limitations. In docked mode, Cyberpunk 2077 should hit 30 frames per second at 1080p with DLSS, starting from an internal resolution of 720p. In handheld mode, the internal resolution can drop to 360p, maintaining between 30 and 40 frames per second.
For Black Myth: Wukong, estimates indicate the game will be able to reach 30 FPS in docked mode with 626p internal resolution and balanced DLSS. On handheld, performance is more limited, even at lower resolutions and with DLSS enabled.
Other titles, such as Monster Hunter Wilds, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and Call of Duty, also appear in the forecasts. Performance, while variable, points to an experience closer to last-generation consoles like the PlayStation 4, with the advantage of modern upscaling technologies.
Nintendo Switch 2's Limited CPU Is the New Generation's Weak Point
Despite the graphical advancement, the Switch 2 can be a bottleneck. With a frequency of just 1.1 GHz in handheld mode and 998 MHz in docked mode, performance in more demanding tasks is likely to be lower than that of rivals like the Steam Deck. In simulated tests, the multi-core score in Geekbench 6 was approximately 2,500 points, which represents about two-thirds of the performance of Valve's console.
The leak confirms several previously speculated pieces of information, but also provides concrete information about what to expect from the new Nintendo Switch. Featuring real images of the motherboard, details of the T239 SoC, and performance simulations in real games, the content has become the main technical source for Nintendo's upcoming console.
