Nintendo Switch 2 GPU: Is it equivalent to an RTX 2050? 🔥
The Nintendo Switch 2 It's already a reality, and thanks to data revealed by NVIDIA we know key details about this console's GPU. Although some aspects such as the exact number of shaders are still to be confirmed, we have enough information to understand its performance, ideal resolutions and the PC graphics card that most resembles it.
In this article we will answer that big question, but first, it is essential Check the technical specifications of the Nintendo Switch 2 GPU, which will allow us to make an accurate comparison in the vast world of computer graphics cards.
Nintendo Switch 2 GPU Estimated Technical Specifications
GA107 graphics core manufactured with 8nm technology by Samsung.
1,536 shaders running at an estimated speed of 561 MHz in dock mode.
12 second-generation RT cores for real-time ray tracing.
48 texturing units to enhance visual details.
32 raster units that optimize graphics performance.
48 third-generation tensor cores for artificial intelligence tasks.
128-bit memory bus with unified architecture, offering bandwidth of up to 120 GB/s.
This GPU integrates advanced capabilities such as support for accelerated ray tracing and NVIDIA Ampere technologies. It also includes tensor cores that enable NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution and advanced ray reconstruction.
The rescaling method of NVIDIA DLSS It is more efficient than the AMD FSR technologies found in other consoles. Nintendo Switch 2 Supports the DLSS 4 transformational model, allowing for a significant improvement in graphics quality and stability when scaling from low resolutions.
However, this console does not support frame generation, since this technology is reserved for Ada Lovelace architectures and Blackwell.
If the frequency of 561 MHz is confirmed on the GPU, we estimate a total power of 1.72 TFLOPS at FP32 precision, a relevant figure for current games and applications.
What is the equivalent PC graphics card to the Nintendo Switch 2 GPU?
There is no exact equivalent, but the closest PC GPU to the Nintendo Switch 2 is the GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile, although the latter is clearly superior. Despite the name, the RTX 2050 uses the Ampere architecture, just like Nintendo's console, but with more shaders and a higher clock speed.
GA107 graphics core manufactured using Samsung's 8nm technology.
2,048 shaders with frequencies between 735 MHz and 1,245 MHz.
16 second-generation RT cores.
64 texturing units for detailed graphics.
32 raster units, same as the console.
64 tensor cores to power AI and DLSS.
64-bit bus with 4GB of GDDR6 memory at 14Gbps (112GB/s bandwidth).
This RTX 2050 Mobile offers performance of up to 5.1 TFLOPS in FP32, three times that of the Nintendo Switch 2's GPU. However, it can't run all current games at 1080p smoothly, implying that the console isn't designed for that resolution either.
Where the Switch 2 slightly outperforms the RTX 2050 Mobile is in memory bandwidth, thanks to its 128-bit bus, as long as it maintains speeds of 7,500 Mbps in laptop mode. Although some sources indicate that in laptop mode it could be reduced to 68 GB/s, almost half the bandwidth of the RTX 2050 Mobile.
In summary: The Nintendo Switch 2’s GPU isn’t an exact copy of a GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile; in raw power (FP32, number of shaders, and frequencies) the RTX 2050 Mobile clearly dominates, with up to ~5.1 TFLOPS compared to the Switch 2’s estimated ~1.7 TFLOPS, plus more RT Units and Tensors in its typical laptop configuration 🎯.
However, the Switch 2 combines a wider memory bus, Tensor Cores for DLSS (including DLSS 4 support), and a console-optimized GPU implementation that delivers very efficient real-world performance and superior upscaled image quality at lower target resolutions; this reduces the perceptible gap in real-world titles, although it doesn’t negate the technical advantage of the RTX 2050 Mobile 🎮✨.
Practical conclusion: If you’re looking for PC equivalency in pure power, the RTX 2050 Mobile is still ahead; but if you value the console experience—optimization, DLSS, and the balance between docked and handheld play—the Switch 2 represents a significant leap forward from its predecessor and offers very competent performance within its intended use case 🔋🕹️.
