Xbox Series X: Microsoft spills everything about console except pricing

While Sony continues to withhold any details regarding the upcoming PS5, Microsoft is doing the opposite. The Redmond, Washington-based tech outfit struck the first blow when the Xbox Series X debuted at The Game Awards 2019. After another no-show for the PlayStation 5 at CES 2020 in succeeding months, the new Xbox is quickly attracting consumers. A few weeks ago, key specifications and features were revealed. Now even more information has been listed by the manufacturer.

Almost everyone knows that aside from the custom chipsets used by the PS5 and Xbox Series X, the spotlight belongs to the new speedy storage medium. The Verge reports that Microsoft will be arming its next-generation console with a 1-TB custom NVMe SSD. Moreover, if owners want more space, the machine is compatible with expansion cards that can be connected through a port on its rear section. It seems the speculation about an expansion slot was right all along.

Within the Xbox Series X is a custom octa-core AMD Zen 2 CPU with each unit clocked at 3.8 Hz. Accompanying it is a custom AMD RDNA 2 GPU capable of 12 teraflops and 52 compute units – each clocking in at 1.825 GHz. The chipmaker is manufacturing these on a 7-nm process and comes with 16 GB of GDDR6 RAM. To optimise its performance, 10 GB is allocated for the GPU, 2.5 GB for the operating system, and 3.5 GB for standard memory usage.

To keep its components cool, the console draws cool air from the bottom, which then exits through the large vent on top. So far, testing shows that the machine has significantly faster load times than its predecessor. For example, "State of Decay 2" loaded 40 seconds quicker than on the Xbox One X. Meanwhile, ray tracing bumps up the quality of visuals, which the system can even output at 60 to 120 frames per second.

HDMI 2.1 compatibility supports Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) as well. These improvements should reduce the latency the moment the user presses a button on the controller and the action happens on-screen. Moreover, the new Xbox Series X controller will use a USB Type-C interface also. As indicated by Microsoft previously, the console is backward compatible with all games as well as accessories from the Xbox One lineup.