Nvidia Tegra T239 performance projection utilizing RTX 2050-based laptop leaves Nintendo Switch 2 as more than potential PS4 wannabe

An in-depth look at the Nvidia Tegra T239 and the Nintendo Switch 2 specifications has been published by Digital Foundry’s Richard Leadbetter. The journalist has posted a couple of videos and a detailed article full of speculation about Nintendo’s next-generation console. It’s important to state how speculative the information is, as only estimates, predictions, a couple of handy leaks, and rumors are currently available. However, it is widely expected that Nvidia’s custom T239 chip is headed to a console, with the Switch 2 being the likely recipient.

Obviously, Leadbetter did not have a T239 chip or Switch 2 at hand to run a performance projection comparison, so he decided to opt for a Dell Vostro with an Intel Core i7-1360P CPU and a GeForce RTX 2050 GPU (4 GB). The graphics component was downclocked to 750 MHz and featured an Ampere-based GA107 chip (nearly all GeForce 20-series cards were Turing based but the mobile 2050 advanced to Ampere). The author opines that this configuration can be considered as a reasonable substitute for the T239, which is also based on Ampere, thanks in part to a similar memory bandwidth (see screenshot below).

There are many discrepancies, as it is just speculation; for instance, the Dell Vostro substitute shuffles along with the 2050’s 4 GB of VRAM whereas the Nintendo Switch 2 could come with anywhere from 8 GB to 16 GB RAM depending on which rumor you believe more, with 12 GB being one of the most popular choices. Clock rates for the Nvidia Tegra T239 are also unknown, but the original Switch’s Tegra X1 GPU can hit 768 MHz when docked, so it is reasonable to expect that the Switch 2 GPU’s clock rate will be higher even if Nintendo caps the rate for the sake of power savings.

As for being more than a potential PS4 rival, the argument here is based on the rumored numbered specs for the T239 and Switch 2 (RAM amount, clock rates, memory interface, etc.) and the developer features that could boost the console’s performance. Based on pure speculated numbers, the Nintendo Switch 2 is expected to match and even outperform the PS4, but with DLSS goodness and the file decompression engine (FDE; Cf. the PS5) included there might be even more to hope for in terms of graphics performance. Leadbetter achieves up to 52 FPS in 720p native on Death Stranding with his Switch 2 substitute, and he also shows gaming at 1080p DLSS quality level is attainable here at an average of 34.9 FPS.

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