So is using 1080P bad for performance compared to lower resolutions?
It depends. Disclaimer: I know very little about the switch hardware but I do know general programming. A game that is designed to run at 60 frames per second completes all the needed functions in a game and displays the graphics required for that frame within 16 milliseconds. If it takes a shorter time, it waits until the 16 milliseconds is up before moving on to the next frame's functions. If it takes longer, however, it takes up to 33 milliseconds, "dropping the next frame" so it can complete the laggy frame.
If, due to minimal graphics requirements and well optimized code, the added processing power from docking the switch reduces the time taken to process each frame more than the increased resolution taxes the system's graphical hardware, then no, docking leads to an improvement. (This might be a rare case though, I'm not sure exactly how much resources processing vs rendering consumes in todays games)
If the code is poorly optimized and the models are clumsy and high poly, or there are a lot of other graphical expenses that cause the frames to take longer than 16ms to display, then upscaling the graphics will have a negative effect on framerate. However, this only applies if your system cannot keep up. A poorly optimized game will still run well upscaled provided its simple enough to complete all the needed code on a frame by frame basis with time to spare.
I haven't played a lot of the switch but I have played quite a variety of games. I think the only games I have played to have dropped framerates in docked mode are Zelda, Mario Kart, and Portal Knights. Oh I think ARMS did but not noticably
Last edited by HexZyle,