Everytime a Log Switch occurs, if your db is in Archive Log Mode then the Archiver Starts and begins to write to the disk.

I've seen terrible performance degradation when doing bulk loads into the databases with smaller log files.

If the OS can handle continuous writes, ie if the Archive Destination is on a separate disk drive, then log switch should not be an issue. It becomes an issue only when logs are switching in terms of seconds. A log switch defines a state of consisteny of a DB.