Official: Nintendo Switch 2 Leveled Up With NVIDIA "Custom Processor" & AI-Powered Tech

[T0@st]

The Nintendo Switch 2, unveiled April 2, takes performance to the next level, powered by a custom NVIDIA processor featuring an NVIDIA GPU with dedicated RT Cores and Tensor Cores for stunning visuals and AI-driven enhancements. With 1,000 engineer-years of effort across every element—from system and chip design to a custom GPU, APIs and world-class development tools—the Nintendo Switch 2 brings major upgrades. The new console enables up to 4K gaming in TV mode and up to 120 FPS at 1080p in handheld mode. Nintendo Switch 2 also supports HDR, and AI upscaling to sharpen visuals and smooth gameplay.

AI and Ray Tracing for Next-Level Visuals
The new RT Cores bring real-time ray tracing, delivering lifelike lighting, reflections and shadows for more immersive worlds. Tensor Cores power AI-driven features like Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS), boosting resolution for sharper details without sacrificing image quality. Tensor Cores also enable AI-powered face tracking and background removal in video chat use cases, enhancing social gaming and streaming. With millions of players worldwide, the Nintendo Switch has become a gaming powerhouse and home to Nintendo's storied franchises. Its hybrid design redefined console gaming, bridging TV and handheld play.




More Power, Smoother Gameplay
With 10x the graphics performance of the Nintendo Switch, the Nintendo Switch 2 delivers smoother gameplay and sharper visuals.

• Tensor Cores boost AI-powered graphics while keeping power consumption efficient.
• RT Cores enhance in-game realism with dynamic lighting and natural reflections.
• Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) via NVIDIA G-SYNC in handheld mode ensures ultra-smooth, tear-free gameplay.

Tools for Developers, Upgrades for Players
Developers get improved game engines, better physics and optimized APIs for faster, more efficient game creation.

Powered by NVIDIA, Nintendo Switch 2 delivers for both players and developers.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Dr. Dro]

Ahhh, the power of marketing.

 

[Zazigalka]

jazz jackrabbit 2 rtx demo coming 2026 to switch exclusively, a must-buy

 

[Cpt.Derrek]

Maybe we get a shield 2 finally!

 

[sephiroth117]

The only problem with this switch 2 for me would be the MSRP prices of the games

Already in france Mario Kart is 20EUR cheaper than their 90E msrp and DK too is at 60EUR, but for the life of me I cannot understand who decided on those prices and thought it would be a good idea

Anyone is speaking of the prices, not Mario Kart or DK. Very poor decision by Nintendo pricing-wise

 

[Aquinus]

With 1,000 engineer-years of effort across every element

Ehhhh. Whoever wrote this needs to read "The Mythical Man-Month," because as the wikipedia page says oh so eloquently:

Brooks's law says that the possibility of measuring useful work in man-months is a myth

Just because you throw a lot of man-hours at a problem doesn't mean that it will either be released on time or be of higher quality. It just means that a lot of resources were thrown at it and coordinating a lot of resources is hard in and of itself. To me, this statement is 100% meaningless.

 

[HughMungus]

Maybe we get a shield 2 finally!

Would be great as I'm a fan of the original and own multiple, lets just hope if they do we don't get a price gouge like the Switch 2 did over the 1.

 

[QuietBob]

The new RT Cores bring real-time ray tracing

Yeah, all six of them

 

[igormp]

Yeah, all six of them

Don't spread lies about it like that!

I'll likely have a grand total of 8 RT cores

 

[QuietBob]

I'll likely have a grand total of 8 RT cores

Eight TPCs then, the full Orin? With one RT core per TPC, it would be impossible otherwise
Unless they re-engineered the SoC and doubled the count to one per SM?

 

[tfp]

With Nvidia involved the price should spike.

 

[igormp]

Eight TPCs then, the full Orin? With one RT core per TPC, it would be impossible otherwise
Unless they re-engineered the SoC and doubled the count to one per SM?

Ampere already had 1 RT core per SM. I believe the switch 2 will be using a similar die config as the orin nano does, which has 8 SMs.

 

[QuietBob]

Ampere already had 1 RT core per SM. I believe the switch 2 will be using a similar die config as the orin nano does, which has 8 SMs.

I thought 12 SMs were already confirmed. The Orin datasheet states 1 RT core/TPC:

 

[Imouto]

DLSS is useless at such low resolution.

 

[notoperable]

I was wondering about the sudden $450,- price tag and I was wondering why, but all of the sudden I see that its an Nvidia SoC. Well, no surprises here anymore.
If Nintendo thinks it can squeeze the non-existing middle class for 500 bucks then I look forward for their next earnings call in 2026 or they sell it as a DIY Kit you
can solder yourself @ home for $150,-

I would love a serious Raytracing test of new games with 320px x 240px - so I can see them raytraced details finally on a 6" display!

And finally, mix green and red, what color do you get?

 

[wolf]

DLSS is useless at such low resolution.

I wouldn't be so sure, no mans sky had a fine tuned FSR implementation on switch to almost universal praise. I'd wager anyone leveraging DLSS on Switch 2 is going to end up with pretty good results. Especially relative to the first console, it bodes well for docked mode getting a more 4k like, well antialiased presentation. Docked mode switch 1 on a 85" 4k telly is preeeetty average.

 

[Visible Noise]

DLSS is useless at such low resolution.

4K?

Sure boss.

 

[_roman_]

For some reason switch 1 sold. Some will buy regardless of price, build quality and game performance.

500€ is kinda affordable. PC gaming graphic cards costs 1200€ or 800€ or 4500€. Cheaper and better? (not serious)

 

[Beermotor]

Ahhh, the power of marketing.

Well this is just a copypasta of a Nvidia blog post after all.

 

[Dr. Dro]

4K?

Sure boss.

Nintendo Switch 2's SoC is supposed to be based on the Tegra T239. It's based on the Ampere architecture used on the RTX 30 series, with 12 SM (1536 CUDA cores) present. The closest thing in performance to it, albeit it still punches significantly higher, is the GeForce MX 570, which is some sort of crippled RTX 3050 mobile limited to a very low wattage (15 W) and only half of the memory bus connected. Needless to say, it's the weakest "current" laptop GPU available in the market, and it can't measure up to even that. It is worth acknowledging the other claim, though, that it has 10x the graphics performance of the original Switch. This is likely to be true, there is an almost perfectly equivalent laptop GPU to the original Switch's - the GeForce 920MX, and it is more than 10 times slower than the MX 570 according to TPU's data.

The claims that this system will do 4K or 120 fps 1080p are quite grand. It was quite amusing to see the audience go nuts when they said that. While theoretically possible, only very simple games will be able to run at those targets with its hardware, which in all fairness, mostly works towards the intended audience for the Nintendo Switch, as long as they're happy playing games with a level of detail that was possible on the Nintendo Wii almost 20 years ago (and they are).

 

[R0H1T]

Ahhh, the power of marketing.

10x fake frames coming up, extra hot

 

[Dr. Dro]

10x fake frames coming up, extra hot

Ampere can't do DLSS fake frames though, only FSR fake frames

 

[igormp]

I thought 12 SMs were already confirmed. The Orin datasheet states 1 RT core/TPC:

View attachment 393208
View attachment 393209

Oh, I stand corrected. Indeed seems like the TPC config on the Orin is different from other Ampere GPUs. Regular ones have 1 RT core per SM (so 2 per TPC),

 

[TSiAhmat]

Ampere can't do DLSS fake frames though, only FSR fake frames

Can the nintendo devs even implement FSR Framegen for their games? Having the unholy duality of DLSS with AMD Framegen would be quiet funny.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Can the nintendo devs even implement FSR Framegen for their games? Having the unholy duality of DLSS with AMD Framegen would be quiet funny.

Should be possible, yes. Not sure about both at the same time (no PC game does this afaik), but FSR 3 should run on it