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Switch benchmarked running PC games Natively - GoW, DMC5, GTAV, Genshin, PSV, PS2. Cinebench, 3DMark, Geekbench scores vs Snapdragon - Full breakdown

Raploz

Member
The channel Geekerwan used a hacked Switch to run Android and Linux on it. He overclocked it and ran PC games with Wine, DXVK, and Box64. Some titles were surprisingly playable, like Honkai: Star Rail. He also ran multiple benchmarks with an overclocked Switch. The full video can be seen below:




Full breakdown:

Benchmarks on Android + OC:

1.jpg


All 4 cores of the Nintendo Switch at stock clocks score lower than a single core of the cheapest current generation Snapdragon chip:

2.jpg


On handheld mode stock clocks, the Switch GPU performs slightly below the Snapdragon 845, a high-end chip released in December 2017:

3.jpg


At stock docked clocks, the Switch GPU comes closer to the Snapdragon 855, from 2018, but doesn't quite reach it:

4.jpg


With an overclock to 1.26GHz on the GPU but stock memory clocks, the GPU surpasses the Snapdragon 855:

5.jpg


With an overclock to memory, the GPU comes closer to the Snapdragon 865, a chip from 2019:

6.jpg

Android Gaming Benchmarks:

The results below come from an overclocked Switch:

Genshin Impact at Medium settings ran with extreme stutters and was severely CPU-limited, not GPU limited. Lowering the resolution didn't help. On GPU-limited scenes, it could run above 30 FPS (check the number on the top right):

7.jpg


However, CPU-limited scenes ran much worse:

8.jpg


Honkai: Star Rail runs much better than Genshin Impact, at around 44 FPS on Medium settings, and around 58 FPS at Low settings:

9.jpg


10.jpg



PS2 emulation is slow, but it was tested with one of the most demanding PS2 titles (Gran Turismo 4):

11.jpg


PSVita emulation has bugs but the performance isn't bad (He didn't show FPS figures)

12.jpg


Switch emulation on Switch using Yuzu is impossible currently due to driver compatibility.

Half-Life 2 Android port runs mostly at 60 FPS with dips to 30-40 on heavy scenes.

Linux on Switch - gaming:

First of all, it needs three translation layers that affect performance:

Wine for Windows > Linux
Box64 for X86_64 > ARM
DXVK for DirectX > Vulkan

On Linux, it was possible to overclock the RAM way beyond Android. Memory clocks reached 2500MHz, from 1600MHz on stock and 2100MHz on Android. Voltage was tweaked as well. CPU was pinned at 2.3GHz versus 1.0GHz on stock Switch, and the GPU was running at 1.26GHz vs 768MHz (docked) on stock.

With all the translation necessary, Switch's single-core Cinebench score is lower than a 10-year-old Chromebook (83 vs 90), even when heavily overclocked:

13.jpg


Native PC gaming on overclocked Switch:

15.jpg

Steam on Nintendo Switch

Titanfall 2 runs at around 15-25 FPS. Some specific scenes run above 30 FPS:

16.jpg


17.jpg

18.jpg


GTA V runs at 7 FPS at 720p and Normal settings. CPU is the main bottleneck.

19.jpg


DMC 5 at low settings and 720p runs at around 15 FPS. Even cutting resolution by half doesn't help, showing it's again CPU limited.

20.jpg


God of War ran at around 7-10 FPS at low settings and native 720p, lowering resolution doesn't change anything. Heavily CPU limited.

21.jpg


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conclusion: From those benchmarks, anything Nintendo uses on Switch 2 will be an extreme upgrade over the Nintendo Switch, so I wouldn't be worried. Also, the video shows there's a lot of untapped potential on the current Switch chip, and Nintendo could've released a Switch Pro with binned chips if they wanted. I was surprised that some games ran at all, and some even at medium settings.

What do you think?
 
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Haint

Member
Most interesting takeaway is that Nvidia's GPU was 4 years ahead of Qualcomm's Adreno without Nintendo's miserly handicaps applied to save pennies.
 
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MrA

Member
This doesn’t tell me anything about how these games would run when native and properly ported to Switch or Switch 2.
It does say if Nintendo wanted to they could allow user to unlock full clocks at their own risk and get great performance on nearly all native software
 
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Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
But can it run Doom?

…wait
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
You mean to tell me an ARM CPU from 2015 has issues running current PC games natively?
The fact that an ARM CPU from 2015 is running x86 games at all should be considered groundbreaking and telling of technology's future. I'm surprised how lukewarm the responses here are when you consider that this is running on tech weaker than your phone.
 

tkscz

Member
The fact that an ARM CPU from 2015 is running x86 games at all should be considered groundbreaking and telling of technology's future. I'm surprised how lukewarm the responses here are when you consider that this is running on tech weaker than your phone.
Admittedly the fact that it's even running the games at all does speak volumes. With an added translator from x86 to ARM, it would cause games to run even slower. Something like DMC V running at 15fps with all that going on is impressive.
 

Eotheod

Member
When you see how powerful is the S23 ultra with the SD 8 gen 2 and apple with iphone soc switch is so outdated even 200$ phones are more powerful
I mean, yes a 2015 product is going to run worse then current SoC's. I'm not sure what your statement is trying to achieve here? You are pointing out the very obvious difference and phrasing it like that's a gotcha?
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Even with the evidence, some Switch users will continue to ask for GTAV and the likes.
Because GTAV was developed for hardware weaker than the Switch and yet Rockstar hasn't made a port for it on one of the most popular consumer handheld devices of the past decade. The shitty ass Definitive Editions in 2021 are more demanding despite being less technically advanced and running worse... they're on Switch but GTAV is not. Would be a major boost in sales for Rockstar if they just ported GTAV to Switch.
 
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RoadHazard

Gold Member
You mean the game that runs just fine on a 360?

Switch has a weaker CPU than the 360 and PS3 I think, and also slower memory (although there's more of it), so I'm not sure how an actual native port would fare on it.

Edit: Looking this up a bit more, the Cell/Xenon are more powerful than the Switch CPU in terms of raw numbers, but maybe not in terms of actually running a game (due to the Tegra X1 having a more modern architecture). So yeah, probably the Switch could get a decent port of GTA V if Rockstar wanted to. It's weird that they haven't, given how much they've ported that game around otherwise. Why ignore that huge install base? Maybe it's mostly about the game's sheer install size, which the Switch just can't really support.
 
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lmimmfn

Member
This is one of the funniest sentences I've seen in a while.
Emulating the Switch using Yuzu on a Switch is Switchception.

The Switch is so underpowered in today's market, when unlocked it would make a fine handheld MAME emulation system though.
 
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UnNamed

Banned
Switch Mariko/OLED has a faster CPU/GPU.

Since Mariko was made at 10nm FINFET+ (?) vs original Tegra chip (16nm), it's more overclockable.

Original Switch has 1.7/0.9 Ghz CPU/GPU. Mariko is up to 2.3/1.3 IIRC.
 
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