We’re less than a month away from the Nintendo Switch 2’s scheduled launch on June 5, 2025, and while we've had hands-on time with the Switch 2, questions regarding what's going on inside the portable console remained unanswered.
Leaks about the long-awaited successor to the original Switch have been floating around since as early as 2018, but they've often focused on specific aspects of the console, and fans have always been advised to take them with a grain of salt. To top it off, Nintendo went notably light on the specifications when it posted the official Switch 2 specs on its website.
That ends now, as Digital Foundry claims to have finally gotten its hands on what the $449 console packs under the hood. Unlike previous leaks (including what Digital Foundry had reported), they now claim to have “rock solid confirmation on the Nintendo Switch 2 console specifications.”
So, for the first time, we have a solid idea of whether the Switch 2 will be able to deliver the kind of performance fans have been (patiently) waiting for.
Switch 2’s CPU is a big upgrade, but clock speeds are lower than expected
In January 2025, before the Switch 2 became official, we reported on a Switch 2 photo leak from Reddit that revealed Nvidia as the console’s chip manufacturer.
Eurogamer claimed the gaming console would have a T239 processor based on an “octa-core ARM A78C CPU cluster.” When Nintendo finally revealed the Switch 2, the official specs published on their site listed it as “a custom processor made by Nvidia.”
Thanks to Digital Foundry, we now have more clarity. As the rumors suggested, the Switch 2 will indeed run on a custom Nvidia T239 processor designed specifically for Nintendo and mobile gaming, using eight ARM Cortex A78 CPU cores. The Switch 2’s variation of the ARM Cortex A78C features 64KB of L1 instruction cache and 64KB of L1 data cache.
Additionally, each of the eight cores has 256KB of L2 cache, while all eight cores share 4MB of L3 cache. What does that all add up to? Smoother performance and shorter load times, which you can never go wrong with.
Digital Foundry confirmed that even though the total number of CPU cores in Switch 2 has doubled, Nintendo still reserves the same proportion for system software. In the original Switch, there were four CPU cores, with one reserved for the operating system, meaning three were available for developers.
The Switch 2 will have six cores available for developers, with two cores reserved for system software. Strangely enough, what’s still a mystery is the Switch 2’s CPU clock speeds.
Nintendo is still reserving the same proportion for system software.
Nintendo confirmed that the CPU has a max clock speed of 1700MHz, but Digital Foundry claims that according to the confirmed specs, the Switch 2’s CPU will run substantially lower in practice — 1100MHz in handheld mode, dropping even further to 998MHz when docked. This marks a drop of roughly 35–40%.
Digital Foundry speculates that memory bandwidth drops in handheld mode, which would likely impact CPU performance. However, that hit could be slightly offset by the handheld mode’s slightly higher CPU clock.
Though an Ampere GPU is confirmed, don’t expect RTX 3050 power
Coming to the GPU, Digital Foundry confirmed that the leaks that surfaced before the announcement of the Switch 2 were accurate. The console features a custom Nvidia GPU built on the Ampere architecture, as seen in the RTX series. Similar to the CPU, though Nintendo’s official specs reveal a maximum clock speed of up to 1400MHz, it’ll operate at 561MHz in handheld mode and 1007MHz in docked mode.
While the Switch 2's Ampere-based GPU is similar to what's in an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050, you shouldn't expect full-on RTX 3050-level performance. It has 512 fewer CUDA cores and runs at much lower clock speeds. That said, while Nintendo’s clearly aiming for efficiency over raw power, it's still a big jump over the original Switch.
Thanks to the custom Nvidia processor, another feature coming to Switch 2 is Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS), which uses AI and machine learning to boost game performance. Similarly, ray tracing capabilities are confirmed, with the Switch 2 rated for approximately 10 giga rays/second, doubling up to 20 giga rays/second in docked mode.
Switch 2’s system software will use a surprisingly large chunk of RAM
As previous leaks suggested, the Switch 2 will include 12GB of LPDDR5X DRAM, delivered through two 6GB modules. What’s surprising is that 3GB (or 25%) of that memory will be reserved for the system itself.
For comparison, the original Switch shipped with 4GB of RAM, of which only 0.8GB (or 20%) was allocated for system processes. Given that it’s a quarter of the total memory, seeing Nintendo allocate that much memory for purely non-gaming functions is frankly a bit disappointing on the surface.
Digital Foundry also confirmed that the Switch 2’s File Decompression Engine (FDE), built specifically for the console, will help make load times significantly faster and more power efficient. Since the FDE is responsible for file loading and decompression, instead of the Switch 2’s CPU handling it, the FDE will offload that workload entirely. This means the CPU can focus on other tasks, potentially leading to smoother performance and less power consumption during gameplay.
Nearly everything else Digital Foundry covered is mentioned in Nintendo’s official specs. Ironically, a lot of what we’re seeing now closely mirrors what earlier “Switch Pro” leaks suggested back in 2021 — a beefier GPU, DLSS support, and more RAM. While that console never materialized, it's clear those reports weren’t too far off base. It just took until 2025 to become a reality.
Nonetheless, the Switch 2 is set to launch on June 5th for $449, and from what we’ve seen, it’s shaping up to be an excellent successor to the original Switch that debuted in 2017.
More from Laptop Mag
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
