Microsoft team recently announced the launch of new Xbox console series- Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. The specifications puts the consoles in the light of power and fun. If you are a gamer, the probability of you testing every major gaming console is high. Also, the probability of you playing and desiring an Xbox is likely to be higher as the Xbox and PlayStation happens to be a few of the most loved gaming consoles.
As a gamer, this is good news. As an Xbox fan, it is even better news. Microsoft is on the verge of releasing its next generation gaming console “The Xbox Series X”, which is likely to be a power house.
However the Xbox Series X won’t be the only next big thing from Microsoft, as a cheaper alternative is also going to be released called “The Xbox Series S”. With the Series S, not being able to purchase the highly rated Xbox Series X would no longer be a thing.
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Below are key notes in specifications and features that might interest you, and help you decide which is more suitable to purchase for you.
Design
The Xbox console Series X and Series S look not so much alike. The Xbox Series X is designed to stand vertically, looking like a rectangular prism or cuboid. Spacious but not that huge. More like, a big black near-cube shape for the Xbox Series X.
The Xbox Series S is a smaller slim version in comparison to the Series X, with a grille that looks like a loudspeaker when it stands.
Processing power
These are the next generation of the Xbox, they are definitely a processing beast. The Xbox Series X comes with AMD Zen 2 and RDNA 2 structure or configuration which provides 12 teraflops of power. It can render 4K resolution at up to 120 frames per second, and can upscale to 8K.
Both Series will be powered by the Zen 2 eight-core processor as stated above for the Series X. The Series X CPU runs at 3.8GHz per core while series S at 3.6GHz. Both have the ability for multi-threading, with 3.6GHz and 3.4GHz for Series X and S respectively.
They also will possess the RDNA 2 graphics, but with quite differences. The Series X will come with 12 TFLOPS (52CUs at 1.825GHz) of RDNA 2 graphics, and Series S coming with 4 TFLOPS (20CUs at 1.565GHz) of RDNA 2 graphics.
The Series X will be able to run in 4K as stated above, but the series S will have to come with less, a 1440p which would still give you good quality, as both would still be able to run ray-tracing. Both will also run natively at 60fps and can go up to 120fps.
Storage
Internal SSD will be loaded on both console models, which will help in yielding faster loading times and other things that drives can also offer.
The Xbox Series X will cover all necessary areas in terms of digital distribution and physical media, having an optical drive to support Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. It will come with a 1TB SSD, a slot for additional storage expansion, which is a full load of storage.
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The Xbox Series S is also an all-digital console, but with no optical drive. So playing games via Blu-ray discs would not be possible. It comes with a 512GB SSD, which is still pretty big. All these reductions in comparison with Series X are to provide a cheaper version for the market or those unable to purchase the Series X.
With regards to RAM, the Xbox Series X possess 16GB of GDDR6, and while the Series S has 10GB RAM.
The two gaming consoles are different in specifications especially in the storage, RAM and resolution, but they still have some similarities. They both support DirectX ray tracing or ray-tracing, variable rate shading and refresh rate, also using the same controllers and support last-gen controllers.
They both benefit speed boost which is offered by a solid state drive instead of a hard drive for storage.
They will support Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and HDR for video and games, they are the first consoles to have Dolby Vision gaming support and that’s a plus in comparison to other gaming consoles.
With the specification and features rendered, the Xbox Series X is a superior sibling to the Xbox Series S, as it offers more processing power and 4K display ability. But it should be stated that it is more expensive, costing around £449 / $499 USD.
While Xbox Series S will also earn respect for its plenty of power, it is also said to be reliable. Though not able to play games by a disc can be disturbing as downloading games will be your basic resort. It is still just a lower spec to the Xbox Series X and is way cheaper, in the price range of $299 / £249.
Both Xbox Series X and Series S will be officially released on November 10, 2020.
