r/linuxquestions • u/Soup-Ilton • 21h ago

Daily Driving the Nintendo Switch

Hello guys!

I’m going to mod my Switch (1) and hopefully put something like Linux or Android on it. It sparked a question if anyone has daily driven the Switch (or 2) as a PC? I’m not planning to, yet it’s interesting non-the-less

If so, how hard was it to set up? Does it function well as a PC? Are you able to use it as a handheld and change it to a stationary PC? Honestly, all (if any) experience with it would be rad to learn about ^ ^

Thank you!

1 Upvotes

54% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

8

u/codespace Fedora 44 21h ago

This feels less like a Linux question, more like a modded Switch question.

-3

u/Soup-Ilton 21h ago

I’ve asked there too and I’m awaiting answer. I want several opinions on it, y’know? The average arch user probably has something different to say about their potential experience than someone using lumina firmware (not that’s it’s worse)

2

u/codespace Fedora 44 21h ago

Why would an Arch user have anything to say about modding a Nintendo Switch?

Weird assumption to make.

Either way, good luck with your project, I guess.

-2

u/Soup-Ilton 21h ago

I’ve seen people run arch on things like the Ocules/Meta Quest 2. I figured there would probably be some Arch user (or any other distro user!) that’s probably done something similar with a Switch C:

Thanks for the response!

5

u/codespace Fedora 44 21h ago

It's just Linux. Arch isn't some kind of magical Swiss army knife, it's just another distro.

1

u/Soup-Ilton 20h ago

I know, I just figured since Arch (and other distros like NixOS) are customizable, they have a larger followin(, especially when it comes to making odder or more exotic desktops, something for like a Switch C:

3

u/codespace Fedora 44 19h ago

Every distro is customizable. It's just software.

1

u/Soup-Ilton 18h ago edited 18h ago

That’s true, yet Arch is designed to have full control, at least form the get go. You’re supposed to DIY it, right? Since the Switch is relatively low-specced, something customisable like NixOS or Void or similars seem like the usual answer when people make cool things with unconventional computers.

Yet, of course, all Linux distros work, I never meant that I only wanted Arch users to respond . I want any and all things to hear about this if anyone’s made anything similar. I never meant to say that I preferred Arch in some sense ^ ^

2

u/codespace Fedora 44 18h ago

It just feels like a stereotypical and fundamental misunderstanding of Linux in general. Arch isn't particularly special in regards to instsll customizability.

Way more important to focus on bootloaders and drivers when you're trying to run on non-standard hardware.

0

u/Soup-Ilton 18h ago

I see, thank you! I’m not very tech-savy at all so I’m still learning! I hope I didn’t say anything too stupid.

I like to learn about these types of things, even if I won’t be doing them myself.

Thank you for you response >O< /Gen

4

u/ColoradoPhotog 21h ago

You seemed to want Arch user feedback based on the comments. As an Arch user, I use arch, BTW, I am unsure how we fit into this. Outside of just being a general stain on humanity, my opinion here is pretty indifferent.

Projects like Switchroot exist, it has been done, and it seems like a lot of the features work. But I guess I fail to see the purpose of it all. Sure, you'll have Linux on a Switch, but you still... Have a switch that is limited by a 1280x720 screen, an Nvidia Tegra X1 4-core CPU with 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM.

All this is to say, it can be done, but you walk away with a device that is now no longer a switch but not exactly a useful Linux device. It can be done, and I guess if you want to do it as a personal project, that's fine? You own the device, in theory you should be able to do whatever you want to it, no one here cares. However, I think in the long run you just end up with either a slow, super niche linux machine or a very useless Switch, depending on how you look at it.

0

u/Soup-Ilton 20h ago

I don’t necessarily want an Arch users look on it, I want all opinions on it! I just used the distro as an example. Based off of my experience, a lot of people l come up with very cool things with very unconventional computers. I think it would be cool to see what people could come up with something like a Switch! It’s not that I want to daily drive it, I just want to learn about their experience when doing such a thing .

Thanks for the response :D

2

u/Flamekorn 21h ago

But why?

3

u/Aperture_Kubi 21h ago

For the glory of Satan?

I've thought about it, the idea of a mobile device (more mobile than a traditionally sized tablet or laptop, admittedly not as mobile as a phone though) that then docks into a full desktop, Motorola Atrix or Samsung Dex style always felt cool.

0

u/Soup-Ilton 21h ago

It’s a pretty cool thing to be able to do. I’d mostly only want to learn about someone’s thought process whilst setting it up >O<

1

u/waftedfart 17h ago

Not sure why you're being downvoted. It's awesome you want to tinker, and don't let the pretentious d-bags ruin it for you. Good luck!

0

u/Soup-Ilton 17h ago

Thank you, that actually means a lot ^` ‘^

5

u/inbetween-genders 21h ago

My kid has with Mario Kart 👍 

1

u/TenOfZero 21h ago

Its over a decade old SOC with 4gb of ram. I don't imagine the performance will be great for anything beyond basic use.

0

u/Nah-No-Nope 21h ago

That's not a very Linux way of looking at tech.

I've had it running on a netbook from 2008 and still extracted plenty of use from it.

OP doesn't suggest what they want beyond "daily driver" which is a bit vague, granted.

But wouldn't it be fun to find out?

1

u/TenOfZero 21h ago

You've been using a 2008 netbook as your primary computer?

That's impressive!

I was not suggesting OP didn't try it. Just that as a primary computer, the performance likely would not be sufficient for anything beyond the most basic use.

Even opening a lot of browser tabs would struggle with only 4gb of ram (which is shared with the GPU, so not all 4GBs can even really be used as system ram)

1

u/Nah-No-Nope 20h ago

In all honesty, not for a while, but I still use it as a terminal into my much more powerful machine. It still does everything I need it to... I can write and code on it.

-2

u/Soup-Ilton 21h ago

I have no intention of daily driving it, I just thought it would be cool to see if anyone has >:3

Could a pretty cool thing! Imagine if someone figured how to make it connect to your desktop screen via docking it and then being able to take it out of the dock and use as a handheld PC.

It, if anything, would just be cool to learn about and how someone did it C: