Nintendo Switch 2 Motherboards with Chips Available in China for $124 — Direct from Production Line

Ok, so imagine this. You just snagged a shiny new Switch 2, right? Two weeks in, not even time to get that new-console smell outta the box, and boom! Resellers in China have already grabbed the motherboards straight from production. Seriously, they’re already popping up for $120 on places like Goofish. Insane, right?

There are these pictures floating around – some reseller showed off the PCB (that’s like the circuit board, for us not-so-techy folks) all panelized. It’s how they churn out a bunch at once. So factories like Foxconn, who do this for the Switch 2, yeah, they slice and dice these up later. I guess what’s wild is these boards, even stripped of some metal shielding parts, match the retail versions. Not quite the real deal but pretty darn close!

So, here’s the kicker. If you mess up a board and need it fixed, Nintendo in Japan would ding you $175 to slap in a new one. Now, grabbing one of these boards and letting your local techie friend handle it could save you some cash. But here’s where it gets cloudy – who knows if Nintendo sticks some fancy tech in there to make sure parts don’t work unless it’s paired all nicely with others. Just throwing it out there, so keep that in mind if you’re into DIY repairs.

And okay, maybe my mind wandered a bit – but could someone MacGyver a Switch 2 from parts? Guess it’s a no-go for now since parts are scarce. But hey, dream big or go home, right? This new PCB? It’s packing Nvidia’s Tegra T239 – a geeky combo of Arm Cortex and CUDA cores. Sounds fancy, but I bet it’s not breaking the bank to make. Uses older tech from Samsung and those brainy designs from 2020.

Oh, and speaking of durability – some goofballs have already tried to smash it up. Guess it survives a good beating with pliers, but irony alert! The screen didn’t survive GameStop folks stapling stuff to the box. Seriously, what gives? So, should you be worried? Well, if past is prologue, Nintendo warranties don’t last forever, and you’re probably gonna face repair headaches down the line. But hey, who doesn’t love a good challenge and some glued-tight parts, right?

Anyway, if you’re still here and hooked, you might wanna keep up with all this tech rollercoaster drama on Tom’s Hardware or wherever this wild train stops next. Who knows, maybe they’ll have a remedy for those staples in your Switch.