Yesterday, we had a closer view at the motherboard of the Nintendo Switch 2. It revealed some important parts, including an Nvidia SoC and 12 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. The markings on the SoC suggested it might be an Nvidia Ampere-based chip. Prior to this, another source claimed that the Switch 2 could run games at 4K 30 FPS when it is docked. Additionally, a recently discovered patent (big shoutout to Laura Kate Dale for finding it) indicates that Nintendo is planning to integrate a DLSS-like feature in its upcoming handheld console.
Upscaling Technology
The patent, which you can check out in full, discusses how images can be upscaled using a trained neural network. It uses an example of a 540p image being enhanced to 1080p. Interestingly, 540p is also the resolution used in DLSS 2.0's 'Performance' mode. The document also mentions converting 720p to 4K, which again hints at DLSS 2.0's 'Ultra Performance' mode. These transformations will utilize specialized hardware, such as Nvidia's Tensor cores, to improve graphics.
User Control and Battery Life
Typically, the upscaling features will be turned off when the console is using battery power and will activate when plugged into a dock or other power source. However, users can choose to turn it on manually. This, of course, could impact battery life due to the extra computational power needed. There is also a chance that this feature could be activated via a special button on the Nintendo Switch 2.
Future Considerations
It’s worth mentioning that companies frequently file patents for products that may not be released for many years. Yet, this may not be the situation here since the Nintendo Switch 2 will require every bit of performance enhancement possible from the aging Nvidia SoC. Moreover, technologies like DLSS, FSR, PSSR, XeSS, and others were specifically created for this purpose.
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