How Much Would It Cost To Build A PC Equivalent To The Nintendo Switch 2 In 2026?

Building a PC to match the Nintendo Switch 2 can be a difficult task, but it's certainly doable. Under the hood, Nintendo's latest console uses an Nvidia Tegra T239 with an eight-core ARM Cortex-A78C. Building an exact equivalent is impossible if you're relying on desktop components. However, we've already done the legwork estimating the graphical power of the Switch 2 to Nvidia's cards, and we've done the same for AMD GPUs, too. Once you factor in everything else, the final cost can reach above $1,000 — far above what a Switch 2 actually costs.

We pointed out the RTX 2050 as the closest Switch 2-equivalent GPU, but it's mobile-only. If you opt for an RTX 2060 on desktop alongside a low-end CPU, you're already facing a cost of at least $225. You can save a bit of cash by opting for the older GTX 1050 Ti or the AMD GPU equivalent, the RX 560. The former is priced at about $160 through third-party sellers, while AMD's ranges from $110 to $120. The CPU can range from $110 to $150, but pinpointing the right one can be tricky, so we'll discuss the other components first.

The Switch 2's particular type of 12GB LPDDR5X RAM can't be purchased for your PC, so you'll have to settle for 16GB of DDR5 RAM, costing around $300. It also has 256GB storage, which is another component that's jumped in price recently; a 256GB SSD will be about $50. A basic motherboard at $120 and a $30 air-based CPU cooler brings you to at least $720. Once you add a cheap case (around $70) and a decent power supply (between $45 and $90), you're looking at over $800 for the final build. And that's before factoring in the price of peripherals.

Looking for a direct x86 CPU comparison is a little difficult when it comes to the ARM processor the Switch 2 uses. x86 CPUs operate differently, and the system-on-chip design of the Switch 2's processor means the GPU and CPU share the same pool of resources. To match the eight-core, eight-thread specification, you might have to jump back a few generations to the Intel Core i7-9000 series, but opting for a weaker modern chip can save a bit of a headache with sourcing other parts.

Here, it's best to opt for a newer low-end processor, like the Intel Core i3-12100F, which offers eight threads across four cores. Synthetically, via Geekbench, this scores in a similar range to the i7-9700K. There's no type of officially-released Nintendo hardware that can use these same benchmarks, but — as elaborated by Tom's Hardware – the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G has a similar chip, and it achieved around 1,000 points with its single-core score. The i3-12100F scores nearly double that amount, providing a bit of extra beef in terms of clock speed and cache. 

Keeping things simple, you could also opt for the AMD Ryzen 7 2700. It uses the AM4 socket, which AMD still supports, so motherboards are easier to come by. Its single-core score matches the Galaxy S21 estimate pretty closely, and you can even save some cash by going with the Ryzen. It's currently around $75 refurbished, which would bring our estimated lowball price down to a rough $775. At brand-new prices from third-party sellers, the processor is still $120.

Making this PC into a fully portable device would be nigh impossible without just using an RTX 2050 laptop, but we can at least get everything else as close as possible. Adding to everything previously mentioned, we'd need to include some speakers, a controller, and a screen. To match the Switch 2's specs, a 1080p, 120Hz monitor will cost around $100. Speakers will be a minimum of $25 for something halfway listenable. And if you want a controller that can mostly match the functionality of the Joy-Cons, the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C budget controller will cost $30. 

All in all, we're looking at well over $1,000 for a PC that can match a Switch 2. On top of needing to rely on aging parts to match the Switch 2's specs, it's also more expensive than an actual Switch 2 in 2026, even with its MSRP being increased to $500. In terms of value, this kind of PC is arguably a heap of junk, and its equivalent power and capability don't mean much when the games aren't optimize for your specific machine. It'll still surprise some people with the games it can run, but it probably isn't a build you'll want to engage with outside of this fun theoretical scenario.