Nintendo Switch hacked to run Windows 11 on Arm, and it's just about as awful as you can imagine

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Forget Doom Eternal, this thing barely plays Peggle

PatRyk's Windows 11-equipped Nintendo Switch, mid-frustration-strike.
PatRyk's Windows 11-equipped Nintendo Switch, mid-frustration-strike. (Image credit: @PatRyk on Twitter)

As Nintendo Switch unlocks and homebrew software develops, people are inclined to explore the possibilities and whether or not they actually provide a good experience. Our new prime example seems to be a full install of Windows 11 Arm on the Switch. As noted by @PatRyk on Twitter, who actually set this up, the experience is pretty grueling! The initial installation took three hours, and even basic system tasks were unresponsive.

Things really start looking bleak when we try to game on a Switch with Windows 11 installed. The optimization, performance overhead, or both are simply so extreme that even extremely basic games (graphically speaking) like Peggle struggle to run under this environment. Compare this to the regular Switch, which can run Doom Eternal at 30 FPS most of the time with resolution scaling, and the performance loss is staggering.

So why would anyone do this, and is there any way that replacing the default Switch OS can improve the Switch gaming experience? In this case, the "why" seemed to be for the sake of fun or testing, though perhaps PatRyk should have considered using Tiny11 Core for Arm instead of base Windows 11 for the best results. Of course, the best results you'll get on Switch's Arm architecture these days is a Linux OS, and that's where we can start talking about slightly more applicable uses of Switch OS replacement.

In ARM Linux game testing from Taki Udon on YouTube (embedded above), the Switch shows off some gaming chops at resolutions up to 4K. However, only old and emulated games were used to refrain from taxing the hardware. Still, Crispy Doom ran quite well in the 240 Hz mode, and GameCube games were running at 4X native without issue on the Switch hardware under Linux. Not bad!

The best modern experiences with a Switch console will, of course, only be experienced within the constraints of the main Switch OS and its games. However, a hacked Switch is good enough to moonlight as an emulation/streaming PC, and if you aren't scared to wander outside The Garden Nintendo, the Steam Deck and its alternatives may also serve you well.

Christopher Harper
Christopher Harper
Contributing Writer

Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.

5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • oofdragon
    Well of course it barely runs peggle, it's a potato with a screen attached to it. If the average Joe knew better Nintendo would not have sold a single one of these and would be forced either to leave hardware market or actually design and launch a console with performance on par with present day. The Switch 2 is shaping to launch next year on par with a 2022 Steam Deck smh.. consumers really are the only ones to blame
    Reply
  • thisisaname
    oofdragon said:
    Well of course it barely runs peggle, it's a potato with a screen attached to it. If the average Joe knew better Nintendo would not have sold a single one of these and would be forced either to leave hardware market or actually design and launch a console with performance on par with present day. The Switch 2 is shaping to launch next year on par with a 2022 Steam Deck smh.. consumers really are the only ones to blame
    Yes a well optimized potato but still a potato.
    Reply
  • adamboy64
    oofdragon said:
    If the average Joe knew better Nintendo would not have sold a single one of these and would be forced either to leave hardware market or actually design and launch a console with performance on par with present day.
    Nintendo seem to be quite good at proving time and again that the specs don't correlate to success.

    Although the system being low-powered is definitely a holdback,
    I find not being able to turn on the system from the controller (as well as how difficult it can be to turn the system on when you're using the dock full stop), and mandatory power/screen timeout settings you can't change to be far more annoying. Oh, and that's not mentioning the controller drift rendering so many thousands of controllers useless... lolz.

    Actually, the more I think about it, the more it starts to annoy me... so, I get where you're coming from, albeit for different reasons.
    Reply
  • Ogotai
    oofdragon said:
    actually design and launch a console with performance on par with present day
    a lot a good better hardware does if there are no games on it that a person wants to play. and i am in that boat, i own a switch, and wouldnt buy a PS or xbox as there are maybe 5 games between them that i want to play. while you think the switch is a waste, others do not.
    Reply
  • TheHerald
    Im using my switch as a moonlight streaming device. Works like a charm
    Reply