The Nintendo Switch 2 was designed to boost higher in docked mode than its predecessor while maintaining good efficiency in Handheld mode, according to rumors circulating online.
Answering a fan question in a recent video, Moore's Law is Dead commented on the console's power efficiency and expected performance, making a comparison with the popular Steam Deck. The YouTuber stated that the console was designed to boost higher than the original Switch while offering better battery life in handheld mode. In handheld mode, the console will run at 5 watts with a fanless cooling solution, whereas in docked mode, it will operate between 15 to 30 watts with an adequate cooling solution for the additional power draw. To provide a comparison, the YouTuber mentioned that, compared to similar 5nm chips from AMD, the Nintendo Switch 2 chip was competitive in efficiency, primarily because it was designed with power efficiency in mind.
As mentioned above, Moore's Law is Dead also commented on the Nintendo Switch 2 performance, saying that the console should be able to run every game that runs on Steam Deck, but with some important differences. As the Nintendo's console cores are expected to be not as powerful as those of the Steam Deck's chip, the system is likely not going to run games as well as Valve's system does. A game that runs, for example, at 90 FPS on Steam Deck will likely run at around 60 FPS on the Switch 2, while a game running at 60 FPS on Valve's system will probably run at 40, 45 FPS on the Nintendo console, with VRR to smooth things out. Thanks to the console's GPU and NVIDIA DLSS support, however, the Nintendo system is likely going to run them at higher resolution and likely with some ray tracing as well than on Steam Deck. While this may sound disappointing to people who expected the Nintendo Switch 2 to perform better than the Steam Deck, it will still be a significant improvement over its predecessor, which will be appreciated by all current Nintendo Switch users.
The Nintendo Switch 2 has yet to be officially revealed, and it will launch on a yet-to-be-confirmed release date. No matter when it launches, Nintendo is going to make sure it will be widely available in stores at release.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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