Switch 2 GPU vs GeForce RTX 3060 Max-Q
Contents
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | not rated | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Architecture | Ampere (2020−2025) | Ampere (2020−2025) |
| GPU code name | GA106 | GA10B |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop |
| Release date | 12 January 2021 (4 years ago) | 5 June 2025 (less than a year ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $449 |
Detailed specifications
General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 3840 | 1536 |
| Core clock speed | 817 MHz | 561 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1282 MHz | 1400 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 13,250 million | no data |
| Manufacturing process technology | 8 nm | 8 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 60 Watt | 40 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 153.8 | 67.20 |
| Floating-point processing power | 9.846 TFLOPS | 4.301 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 48 | 16 |
| TMUs | 120 | 48 |
| Tensor Cores | 120 | 48 |
| Ray Tracing Cores | 30 | 12 |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).
| Laptop size | large | no data |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | no data |
| Length | no data | 272 mm |
| Supplementary power connectors | None | no data |
VRAM capacity and type
Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.
| Memory type | GDDR6 | LPDDR5X |
| Maximum RAM amount | 6 GB | 12 GB |
| Memory bus width | 192 Bit | 128 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1500 MHz | 800 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 288.0 GB/s | 102.4 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | no data |
| Resizable BAR | + | + |
Connectivity and outputs
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
| Display Connectors | No outputs | No outputs |
API and SDK compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |
| Shader Model | 6.5 | 6.8 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 2.0 | 3.0 |
| Vulkan | 1.2 | 1.3 |
| CUDA | 8.6 | 8.6 |
| DLSS | + | + |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 12 January 2021 | 5 June 2025 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 6 GB | 12 GB |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 60 Watt | 40 Watt |
Switch 2 GPU has an age advantage of 4 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and 50% lower power consumption.
We couldn't decide between GeForce RTX 3060 Max-Q and Switch 2 GPU. We've got no test results to judge.
Be aware that GeForce RTX 3060 Max-Q is a notebook graphics card while Switch 2 GPU is a desktop one.
Other comparisons
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
