Switch 2 Tech Specs Revealed, Here’s How They Compare To Xbox Series X|S
By The major update for today involves the Nintendo Switch 2 and Digital Foundry‘s unveiling of the essential technical specifications for the console before its release in June. This prompted us to examine the Switch 2 in comparison to the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
This isn’t exactly a level playing field, of course, and Nintendo isn’t aiming to dominate in this area, yet it remains intriguing to assess how these consoles measure up against one another. The Switch 2 appears to be a highly capable system, especially when contrasted with its dated predecessor launched back in 2017.
Some comparisons may not be directly equivalent, so we’re doing our best with the data available (just a note, we are definitely not tech specialists!), but here’s our compilation so far. Special thanks to Digital Foundry for sharing most of this valuable information initially.
To begin, let’s focus on the Nintendo Switch 2 and the original Switch:
| Switch 2: Nvidia T239 | Switch 1: Nvidia Tegra X1 | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU Architecture | 8x ARM Cortex A78C | 4x ARM Cortex A57 |
| CPU Clocks | 998MHz (docked), 1101MHz (handheld), Max 1.7GHz | 1020 MHz (docked/handheld), Max 1.785GHz |
| CPU System Reservation | 2 cores (6 available to developers) | 1 core (3 available to developers) |
| GPU Architecture | Ampere | Maxwell |
| CUDA Cores | 1536 | 256 |
| GPU Clocks | 1007MHz (docked), 561MHz (handheld), Max 1.4GHz | 768MHz (docked), up to 460MHz (handheld), Max 921MHz |
| Memory | 128-bit/LPDDR5 | 64-bit/LPDDR4 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 102GB/s (docked), 68GB/s (handheld) | 25.6GB/s (docked), 21.3GB/s (handheld) |
| Memory System Reservation | 3GB (9GB available for games) | 0.8GB (3.2GB available for games) |
| Internal Storage | 256GB UFS | 32GB UFS |
| Resolution / FPS | Max 4K / 60FPS (docked) or 1440p / 120FPS (docked & handheld) | Max 1080, 60FPS |
Let’s now see how the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S compare to the Switch 2:
| Xbox Series X | Xbox Series S | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Eight-core AMD Zen 2 | Eight-core AMD Zen 2 |
| CPU Clocks | 3.8GHz/3.6GHz (SMT on) | 3.6GHz/3.4GHz (SMT on) |
| GPU | AMD RDNA 2 | AMD RDNA 2 |
| CUs | 52 | 20 |
| GPU Clocks | 1.825GHz (12.2TF) | 1.565GHz (4TF) |
| Memory | GDDR6 | GDDR6 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 10GB at 560GB/s, 6GB at 336GB/s | 244GB/s |
| Memory System Reservation | 2.5GB (13.5GB available for games) | 2GB (8GB available for games) |
| Internal Storage | 1TB SSD | 512GB SSD |
| Resolution / FPS | Max 4K / 120FPS | Max 4K / 120FPS |
In all honesty, we’re likely more excited about how the upcoming Xbox handheld will compare with the Nintendo Switch 2. Numerous prospective buyers will have to choose between the two in the approaching months.
The Switch 2 appears poised to emerge as a stronger third-party contender this time, suggesting that the Xbox handheld will need to showcase substantial benefits to allure many of the more casual gamers.
In any case, we’ll keep you updated on the Xbox handheld developments, but it’s worth mentioning about the Switch 2 that Digital Foundry indicates the new Game Chat feature has “a considerable impact on system resources,” which could become “a point of concern for developers.” This definitely brings to mind the previous Xbox “Snap Mode” feature from the Xbox One era, which was eventually eliminated due to excessive resource utilization.
Will the Game Chat feature—where users can communicate with friends while watching their live gameplay—face a similar fate in the future? Only time will tell, but it’ll be intriguing to see if it negatively affects the experience as Snap Mode did.
What are your thoughts on all these numbers and specifications? Share your feelings in the comments section below.
[source eurogamer.net, via nintendolife.com]