BGR's article has an arithmetic slip, so the numbers below are recalculated from its own figures.
The console price to beat
Nintendo raised the U.S. Switch 2 MSRP by $50. The increase began September 1, 2026, taking the price from $449.99 to $499.99. Nintendo's announcement attributed the change to market conditions, and Nintendo has not announced any plan to reverse the increase. The relevant benchmark for a November 2026 comparison is therefore $499.99, not the $449.99 launch price.
One backdrop matters to PC builders. Coverage from Tech Times linked the hike to an AI-fueled DRAM shortage. That is the same memory-cost pressure that makes the DDR5 line in a desktop build so expensive.
What "equivalent" means here
No desktop part matches the console, so every figure below is approximate. Nintendo's own spec page says only that the Switch 2 has a custom NVIDIA processor. The more detailed figures come from hardware analysis. Switchbrew documents a custom T239 chip with eight Arm Cortex-A78C cores, a 1,536-core Ampere GPU and 12 GB of LPDDR5X shared across the system.
BGR's earlier GPU comparison points to a downclocked mobile RTX 2050 as the nearest NVIDIA analogue, or a desktop card from the GTX 1650 era. The console runs its GPU at modest clocks to save heat and battery, so raw specs only partly describe real performance. Developers also tune games for one fixed hardware target, which a generic PC doesn't get.
Treat the desktop parts below as a rough performance band, not a like-for-like match.
BGR's component estimates
These are BGR's approximate U.S. prices. They are not live listings, and the article doesn't name exact models, sellers or check dates.
| Component | Estimate |
|---|---|
| GPU: desktop RTX 2060 | At least $225 |
| GPU: GTX 1050 Ti (third-party) | About $160 |
| GPU: RX 560 | $110–$120 |
| CPU | $110–$150 |
| CPU: refurbished Ryzen 7 2700 | About $75 (about $120 new, third-party) |
| 16 GB DDR5 | About $300 |
| 256 GB SSD | About $50 |
| Basic motherboard | About $120 |
| Air CPU cooler | About $30 |
| Case | About $70 |
| Power supply | $45–$90 |
Where the math goes wrong
BGR says the RAM, SSD, motherboard and cooler bring the build to "at least $720." Those four items total $500. The $720 figure doesn't follow from the parts listed, and BGR doesn't explain it.
Using BGR's own prices, the remaining parts (RAM, SSD, motherboard, cooler, case and PSU) come to $615 to $660. Adding one GPU and one CPU gives:
- Lowest combination: an RX 560 at $110, a refurbished Ryzen 7 2700 at $75 and $615 of other parts comes to about $800.
- Highest combination: an RTX 2060 at $225, a $150 CPU and $660 of other parts comes to about $1,035.
- New Ryzen 7 2700 at $120: the low-end build rises to about $845.
BGR's own low-ball figure with the refurbished Ryzen is $775, which is $25 below my recalculation. The article's conclusion that a build can pass $1,000 holds up at the high end. The intermediate subtotal doesn't.
Adding the peripherals
The tower isn't a usable setup on its own. BGR prices a 1080p, 120 Hz monitor at about $100, budget speakers at $25 or more, and an 8BitDo Ultimate 2C controller at $30. That adds about $155. On the corrected figures, a complete desk setup comes to roughly $955 to $1,190, against $499.99 for a console that includes its screen, speakers and controllers.
Even so, that isn't a fair value comparison. The Switch 2 packs a 7.9-inch 1080p screen with HDR10 and variable refresh up to 120 Hz, a 5220 mAh battery rated at about 2 to 6.5 hours, Joy-Con 2 controllers and a dock into one device. No desktop reproduces that portability. BGR itself says a truly portable equivalent would mean buying an RTX 2050 laptop.
CPU and memory caveats
BGR suggests an Intel Core i3-12100F as a practical modern choice. It has four cores and eight threads, so it doesn't match the console's eight cores on paper. BGR leans on Geekbench scores and a Galaxy S21 chip as a rough stand-in for the console's CPU, which is a proxy, not a test of the console itself. Matching core counts across Arm and x86 says little about real performance.
BGR also suggests a Ryzen 7 2700. It uses the AM4 socket, which should make compatible motherboards easier to find. Its low price depends on buying a refurbished part.
On memory, the console's 12 GB LPDDR5X pool is shared between CPU and GPU. The 16 GB DDR5 kit that BGR prices is a practical substitute, not a direct equivalent. The desktop also splits system RAM from graphics memory, and the RTX 2060 and GTX 1050 Ti carry their own VRAM.
The takeaway
- The desktop tower alone costs roughly $800 to $1,035 on BGR's numbers, about $300 to $535 more than the $499.99 console.
- A full setup with monitor, speakers and controller lands near or above $1,000.
- The estimates are a rough survey, not verified shopping lists, and the build leans on aging parts. BGR itself calls the exercise a "fun theoretical scenario."
If you want a Switch 2-class experience on Windows, this exercise suggests a handheld PC or an entry-level gaming laptop is a better fit than a desktop. Current prices for those weren't part of the evidence here, so check them yourself. The exercise also shows how much cost the consoles hide in custom silicon and tightly optimized software.