Microsoft has revealed some of the hardware specs for its upcoming console, the Xbox Series X. The console was revealed at The Game Awards alongside a trailer for a sequel to Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, aptly titled Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga. It was also announced that Xbox Series X is slated for a Holiday 2020 release, marking next year as the official beginning of the next generation of game consoles.
Just last week, Xbox Boss Phil Spencer said he was already playing the new console at home. Up until yesterday, that new console was referred to as its codename, Xbox Scarlett. But in a typical twist, Microsoft has made the real product name even more confusing than the original alias. The next generation of Xbox has long been speculated to be more fluid than its predecessors. That is, there may be more consoles targeted at different consumer markets, such as budget, mainline and premium. The Xbox Series X name may very well be targeted at one of these market, most likely the mainline one. Many believe that there will be other "Series ~" Xbox consoles, similar to the Xbox One X and Xbox One S.
The tech specs for the Xbox Series X are here, and they're nothing to scoff at. Microsoft is certainly confident in the performance of the console as they begin the post with the slogan "Power your dreams with Xbox Series X." The company also describes the decision for a tower build in saying "Its industrial design enables us to deliver four times the processing power of Xbox One X in the most quiet and efficient way, something that is critically important in delivering truly immersive gameplay." Any console owner who has played a graphically demanding game in the last year knows that the Xbox One is known to run hot and sound like a jet plane taking off for orbit. Microsoft is cognizant of this fact and has built Xbox Series X to have better cooling.
As for raw specs and performance capability, Microsoft is equally confident. It says that Xbox Series X will support "world-class visuals in 4K at 60FPS, with possibility of up to 120FPS." In addition, the console will include support for Variable Refresh Rate and 8k. The (VRR) is sure to catch the eye of PC gamers and display aficionados as many swear by the fact that it's an essential feature. There will also be Variable Rate Shading, an Auto-Low Latency mode and Dynamic Latency Input, three features that will enhance graphics performance and give players increased gameplay responsiveness. All of these features are powered by a custom Zen 2 CPU from AMD, a proprietary Xbox Series X GPU, and a next generation SSD. It's unknown what the storage configurations for the SSD will be however.
Those outside of PC gaming may not appreciate the leaps and bounds Microsoft has made in transitioning from Xbox One to Xbox Series X. The SSD alone is something that will boost load times and performance by quite a bit. In addition, Microsoft has foregone the need to have a traditional console chassis and instead built what will cool the system best. There's plenty to be excited about when it comes to the performance capabilities of Xbox Series X, especially when Microsoft says it will support ray tracing, something that even the most expensive computers struggle to do.
Xbox Series X is slated for a Holiday 2020 release.
Source: Microsoft