Nintendo Overclocks The Switch For Some Game Modes, Here’s How You Can Too

Yes A lot of gamers were hoping that Nintendo would be rolling out some new Switch hardware at E3 2019 as rumors had suggested. Sadly, Nintendo has now confirmed that there will be no new hardware at that event. However, something else interesting about the Switch has surfaced recently that allows gamers to get more performance out of the existing Switch hardware.

With the Switch being a hybrid system, game designers have to design games around docked and undocked performance modes. Inside the Switch is an NVIDIA Tegra processor that changes its clock speed depending on if the Switch is in docked or undocked mode. Hackers have found a way to gain access to change the clock speed of the Tegra chip inside using a tool called Freebird.

Freebird is an app that lets users change the GPU clock speeds as needed on a Switch console. What gamers using the app have found is that the normal graphics fidelity downgrade seen when using the Switch in undocked mode can be eliminated. Users of the hack also state that games that have stuttering issues when in undocked mode run better when using this hack.

There are sure to be caveats to using the hack, the reason Nintendo would have held back the performance of the Tegra chip inside would be to control battery life and heat output when mobile. Using the hack will undoubtedly shorten your battery life while producing more heat that could lead to an overheated Switch. Overheating the console frequently has the potential to cause severe damage and shorten the lifespan of the Switch.

With that said, users wanting to try the overclocking app for the Switch can get instructions and download the software here.