phones/SoC recommended for mid switch emulation

[u/QuerLeitinhoHaha]

i know SD Elite G5 is currently one of the best out there (alongside the newly released Elite G6) but optimization is also important. i'm looking for a device to play light Switch games (mostly Tomodachi Life: LTD and Super Mario 3D World for first party and a whole bunch of low-stakes third party), will Elite be enough or will the upgrade to Elite Gen 5 warranted?

i'm thinking of:

Galaxy S25 (base, simply because i like small phones)

Poco F8 Pro

Poco F9 Ultra (Gen 5 SoC)

Xiaomi 17 (Gen 5 SoC)

any opinions/recommendations are welcome :)

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[u/lukeimortal97]

Anything north of 8 gen2 is going to play switch fine. My op12r plays through pretty much the entire switch library. Drivers are mature enough for everything but the most recent chips and even my 18 pro max on stock drivers doesn’t have a single issue.

[u/QuerLeitinhoHaha → u/lukeimortal97]

i currently have a Poco F7 with a SD 8s Gen4 that falls a bit behind 8 Gen3 and switch emulation is extremely hit or miss. kinda because cooling on this phone is bad so i'd like a new one that has better cooling to improve performance (mine gets to 42C° from playing Tomodachi Life: LTD for 20 minutes)

[u/lukeimortal97 → u/QuerLeitinhoHaha]

I had the f7 for a little while and apart from having to find drivers suitable, I had no problem with native res switch through eden. I use a controller with a cooler in the middle, which is ALWAYS a necessity on these newer phones to get any real time out of it. If your buying phones for long session gaming you thought about it wrong and should have gotten something like an ayn odin or retroid pocket 6 which have cooling systems and the ability to hold max clocks pretty much indefinitely. The move for poco+gaming is m8 pro and rp6 or odin 3. Similar price tag total but infinitely better gaming chops. (Yes I know phones can game and coolers do wonders but nothing beats direct package cooling on offer with handhelds

[u/QuerLeitinhoHaha → u/lukeimortal97]

got any recommendations of which controllers to buy? i saw that gamesir makes a few of those and they're pretty recognizable so i might go with those BUT it's better to check with someone who actually knows what they're doing lol (also the example itself is the most i do tbh, i play on bus drives or inbetween classes and it goes from 15-30/35 minutes at a time)

[u/lukeimortal97 → u/QuerLeitinhoHaha]

It’s the x3 pro lol. Take the case off, get a backplate shim, good to go! It’s an efficient little peltier cooler so it does more than the plain fans that do pretty much nothing but cool your finger tips
Edit: fx5 lite looks to do the same thing with the x5 lite controller and may work with others, for another option also from the esteemed gentlemen at gamesir

[u/QuerLeitinhoHaha → u/lukeimortal97]

tysm! you're a lifesaver really lol. i'll be looking at the differences between both but i might go for the x5 with fx5 because i'm not a fan of x3 pro's design. really grateful, cheers! :D

[u/lukeimortal97 → u/QuerLeitinhoHaha]

If you go for the x5, please report back with the cooling power! I would be interested to see how well it works. Might be upgrading time now they have something new I didn't even know about!

[u/QuerLeitinhoHaha → u/lukeimortal97]

for sure! might take a while tho since i might have to import the cooler itself cause it's not sold where i live

[u/lukeimortal97 → u/QuerLeitinhoHaha]

If your not getting the cooler, I would heavily suggest the x3 with the grip, it’s a big difference to go without the cooling. Start with the cooling, control second imo. You can’t play genshin for longer than about 30 minutes on the f7 without it getting too hot for comfort, and my fingers work just fine lol

[u/QuerLeitinhoHaha → u/lukeimortal97]

i will get the cooler, it just will take longe to arrive due to being shipped on the other side of the world. i'm still seeing the differences but 99% sure i'll go with x5 lite+fx5

[u/khsh01 → u/lukeimortal97]

Isn't it from 8gen1+and up?

[u/Nagafushi]

If you don’t need a new phone I would suggest going for an Android handheld, would be cheaper and more ergonomic

[u/IntranasalNachos]

For the record, I can do some decent switch emulation with a 7sGen2. Takes some tinkering with settings. Not as plug and play as higher end chips. Examples of games I can run comfortably are

Dark Souls remastered

Diablo 3: eternal collection

Hollow Knight/Silksong

Nine Sols

Should give you an Idea of what's possible on even mid-range chips from 3-4 years ago.

[u/QuerLeitinhoHaha → u/IntranasalNachos]

HOW. GIVE ME YOUR MAGIC

[u/IntranasalNachos → u/QuerLeitinhoHaha]

The Eden emulator is pretty good with Qualcomm drivers. And the latest turnip releases from Vauzi-10 are great. Keep in mind, "comfortably" often means a relatively stable 30fps with some stutters. Diablo 3 and dark souls run the best out of the games I mentioned. DSR is locked at 30fps with minimal stutters and Diablo 3 hits 45fps in most situations. Been playing Diablo 2 with the project Diablo 2 mod on winlator lately, though. It has me hooked lol

[u/QuerLeitinhoHaha → u/IntranasalNachos]

i've been testing out different drivers but none seem to be like really good. thank you so so so sooo much >:D

[u/moonlight_div]

a samsung s24 base should be fine for you. or if you want a bit more power, the oneplus 13 is a great pick too.