# How dbrand's Switch 2 Dock Adapter Works With the Switch 2 out in nearly one month, I am in need of a case. This wasn't a problem for the original Switch since the Master Edition of *Breath of the Wild* came with a Sheikah Slate case that I still rock to this day. I wanted to buy a [screen protector](https://dbrand.com/shop/prism/nintendo-switch-2-tempered-glass-screen-protectors) as well and my go-to for those is dbrand.[^1] I new they were making a case as well so I looked at the [Killswitch](https://dbrand.com/shop/grip/nintendo-switch-2-cases). As expected, the product page is slick and packed with insulting humor. The Killswitch appears to be a rubbery, grippy case that adds ergonomics to the console in handheld mode without using adhesives. When clicking through the photo carousel, I had two questions. The first was just a curiosity of how the Joy-Con 2 will feel in mouse mode with those protrusions on them. I'll find out. The second was a bit more theoretically concerning. The fourth photo in shows off a dock Adapter. It brings the Switch 2 outside of the dock making it a sort of display, while still functioning as a dock for the TV. dbrand says that it is "a custom-built adapter that preserves the OEM cooling, maintains 4K60, and turns your dock into a display stand for the console." It looks neat.  Then I got to thinking about the "preserves the OEM cooling" bit of that sentence. How? The dock fan is on the backside of said dock. Moving the Switch 2 outside of the plastic sandwich housing would take it away from the fan. I wasn't sure how this could maintain the designed cooling. So I decided to ask the robots at dbrand. Turns out, the answer is quite simple. The dock fan doesn't cool the Switch 2: it cools the dock. From dbrand support; > Nintendo says it assists with cooling because the fan does, in fact, cool the dock, which means that the dock won't transfer its own heat to the console. The Switch itself still handles all cooling for its own internal components; it doesn't need a "boost" from the dock, nor did Nintendo design it to get a boost. All it does is spin the console's fans up faster to compensate for outputting to a TV, which is what the Switch 1 already does. > > Our setup takes the console physically outside of the dock, completely negating any heat transfer from the dock to the console. The dock fan will still operate entirely normally, however, and continue to provide cooling to the dock, as it was designed to do. The console's fans will similarly operate entirely normally, and spin up to cool down the console as it outputs at 4k resolution. In my head, the fan in the dock was for the console, since that is what will be the main source of heat production. I hadn't considered the dock producing its own heat. All good to know and see, especially before ordering one. dbrand hasn't said a price, but comparing to the Steam Deck's Killswitch case, it sounds like the price might be in the ball park of $80-100. That'd be for the console case, stick grips, travel cover, game cartridge case. The Dock Adapter Kit for the Steam Deck is only $7.95, so perhaps the cost is the same for the Switch 2. Happy I was able to get clarity on the cooling and dock adapter. I am much more confident about my impending purchase. [^1]: My Switch doesn't have a screen protector, but with a toddler in my life now, I am more concerned with screen preservation. 😅