Xbox Series S/X: Thread 02

[nonny]

By a bit more powerful you mean 3x more... But yes.

[Neon Ignition]

The Series S has at least been good for silencing the whole 10 vs 12 flops debate, it's amazing how important that was... until it wasn't

[cutmymilk]

Wtf why doesn't it play games as well as a one x?

[nonny]

Wtf why doesn't it play games as well as a one x?

It is a machine designed to hit 1440p and the One X was designed to hit 4K and it primarily did that using the same CPU as the One S but beefier graphics onboard.

This Series S is a whole leap ahead in CPU but actually has less graphical memory than the One X.

So what they're basically saying is it won't be able to utilise the specific tweaks they made for the One X when it came to upscaling older titles. What they're not saying is the Series S will still add tweaks to backward compatible titles but it will do them starting on the One S version.

It will add auto-HDR, better resolution, better frame rate over the original titles but not by using the One X version as a starting point.

I wouldn't be surprised if MS has gone back to the BC stuff they did before and begin optimising it for the Series S platform. Until we see what the difference is I wouldn't write about it being better or worse...

[Team Andromeda]

Wtf why doesn't it play games as well as a one x?

It will play games as well as the Xbox One maybe even better for frame rates, it just won't display them better since its not a 4K system

[hudson]

For someone who hasn't had much experience, if any viewing gaming at 4K, will I miss much? I mean I'm happy with 1080p still. I'm guessing until I see it, I'll be fine. Just... try not to see it...

[cutmymilk]

Ah that makes more sense. MS should have shut up as these headlines won't help.

[Dogg Thang]

You know what never had this problem? A hula hoop. You know what you're getting with a hula hoop. Clear messaging, strong price point, market leader. Yeah, I'm getting a hula hoop.

[wakka]

By a bit more powerful you mean 3x more... But yes.

What does that mean in the real world though? I thought the story now was that they're practically the same thing and the X just runs games at a higher res?

[nonny]

Ah that makes more sense. MS should have shut up as these headlines won't help.

To be fair MS had been pretty damn clear in their messaging for these consoles but once the media gets their hands on something it then spirals away from the original message and into more detail, none which is required by the average consumer.

MS have said directly:

-Both these consoles are compatible with all current main peripherals.
-Both are backwards compatible on all Xbox One titles and all those previously BC on that platform
-Both will provide enhancements to BC titles which may vary on a per title basis but includes running in higher resolution, higher frame rate and have auto-HDR

How they actually achieve all that has come from digital foundry making some logical assumptions and then several other sites quoting and misquoting them...

MS have only replied as far as to clear up the message from the rubbish some sites have run with as headlines.

[nonny]

What does that mean in the real world though? I thought the story now was that they're practically the same thing and the X just runs games at a higher res?

Well I guess we will see in the real world when they're available in the real world.

You're right in that the internals of the Series S are very similar to the Series X but on paper the X is 3x more powerful but then it has to be to push to the resolution it's aiming for at the same frame rate.

It's like saying Doom Eternal is the same in the real world on two PC running on different GPU cards one at 1440p60 and one that can achieve 4K120... Yeah it's the same game, and on your TV upscaled the lower powered unit might be all you need... But there's a clear difference in power to hit the higher benchmark.

[hudson]

They should have stuck to the Scarlet naming scheme.

Scarlet S and Deep Scarlet.

[nonny]

For someone who hasn't had much experience, if any viewing gaming at 4K, will I miss much? I mean I'm happy with 1080p still. I'm guessing until I see it, I'll be fine. Just... try not to see it...

From a console perspective I've got a One X and I've played it at 1080p and 4K on my TV (and 1440p on my monitor). There is a clear difference between 1080p and 4K... As in I can notice it, night and day.

That's on a 65" TV sat say 8ft away. For you that might be different but for me it's there.

The Series S might also look decent upscaling to 4K but for me I feel the Series X hitting native 4K is important enough to warrant the extra £ along with its other benefits.

[dataDave]

What does that mean in the real world though? I thought the story now was that they're practically the same thing and the X just runs games at a higher res?

That's right.

Comparatively the Series S has a quarter of the work to do with a third of the power.

[hudson]

I'm S target audience at the minute, I reckon. No 4K TV, not really feel the need for one, not feeling any of the next-gen at the moment, but the S price is inviting and so is Game Pass. Then when the next-start picking up pace, I get around to getting a PS5.