New findings:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/d...h-of-the-wild-uses-dynamic-resolution-scaling
In conclusion both in docked mode and handheld mode and also the Wii U version drop the resolution to 90% on both axes when the game is pushing the limits.
Also, regarding the Wi-Fi fix:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/d...h-of-the-wild-uses-dynamic-resolution-scaling
First up, let's talk metrics. Getting a firm lock on this is challenging owing to the fact that right now, we can't grab direct feed video from the Switch in handheld mode, but based on screenshot dumps, we're pretty confident that when the game hits system limits, resolution drops to 90 per cent on both axes - so the portable mode dips to 1152x648. This represents 81 per cent of native 720p in total.
On the face of it, the utilisation of a dynamic framebuffer may explain how the portable mode runs more smoothly. However, further investigation confirms that the same scaling tech is utilised when Zelda is docked as well, with a native pixel-count of 1440x810 at stress points, dropping down from its usual 1600x900. Tellingly, this is also a 90 per cent scaling on both X and Y axes, just like the handheld scaling implementation.
The comparatively small bump in memory bandwidth between mobile and docked configuration remains our best theory here. Undocked, Switch runs its LPDD4 modules at 1331MHz, rising to 1600MHz when plugged into the dock. That's only a 20 per cent increase in bandwidth to sustain a 56 per cent uplift in resolution. Meanwhile, both CPU and GPU are tapping into that same pool of bandwidth, possibly causing contention issues.
yes, you've guessed it - the same scaling technology is also deployed on the last-gen version of Zelda as well. We used Kakariko Village here as an established testing point where performance is poor in order to confirm this. Wii U matches Switch's portable profile, offering up a 1152x648 resolution in these areas.
In conclusion both in docked mode and handheld mode and also the Wii U version drop the resolution to 90% on both axes when the game is pushing the limits.
Also, regarding the Wi-Fi fix:
In the meantime, we've seen this intriguing report about WiFi potentially impacting Switch performance. While this could possibly affect some users, we've quickly retested a few Switch titles in flight mode and we're finding that this has no impact on our existing results.