Xbox Series S/X: Thread 02

[dataDave]

So just to clarify, the S will do everything the X can do game wise, just to a lower resolution? And the difference in resolution between the two systems is almost imperceptible?

That's right.

The Series X is for people that sit very close to 4K TVs and want the best out of them.

Worst case scenario its an OG xbox and crt to play it. Or emu via an nvidia shield. Good old licensing issues.

Yeah, I have the JP PS2 version hooked up to my PVM. Good enough, I suppose. Still, it'd look glorious being upscaled to 4K at 55".

[endo]

I didn't know this ... will try it out later today.

Let us know if it works.

[Atticus]

Let us know if it works.

Will do

[Neon Ignition]

Genuine question - is there genuinely any merit to the idea that resolution will be the only difference between Series S and Series X?

I ask because it's been said a lot but even on Era the basis seems to always be using current gen games as the basis. I can't think of any example where simply knocking down the resolution addresses performance issues enough to maintain parity without further compromises in effects, shadows, frame rate etc to maintain a like for like frame rate when a game already pushes the higher spec machine.

[Atticus]

Another attractive thing about the Series S is it'll fit neatly under a tv easier than the Series X (assuming the X can go on its side it's still a big chunk).

[fishbowlhead]

Genuine question - is there genuinely any merit to the idea that resolution will be the only difference between Series S and Series X?

I ask because it's been said a lot but even on Era the basis seems to always be using current gen games as the basis. I can't think of any example where simply knocking down the resolution addresses performance issues enough to maintain parity without further compromises in effects, shadows, frame rate etc to maintain a like for like frame rate when a game already pushes the higher spec machine.

From what I understand 4k bumps the performance required up dramatically over even 1440p, so by limiting its native output to 1440p and just upscaling (which lets face it is more that good enough for 55tv’s, they save the overhead needed to run the game rather than outputting at native 4k.

[dataDave]

Genuine question - is there genuinely any merit to the idea that resolution will be the only difference between Series S and Series X?

I ask because it's been said a lot but even on Era the basis seems to always be using current gen games as the basis. I can't think of any example where simply knocking down the resolution addresses performance issues enough to maintain parity without further compromises in effects, shadows, frame rate etc to maintain a like for like frame rate when a game already pushes the higher spec machine.

With both resolutions taken into consideration the S is actually the more capable of the two, at least speculatively.

[MartyG]

Yes of course it has an impact, you're pushing around 2.25 as many pixels at 1440P compared to 1080P and 4 times as many pixels at 4K compared to 1080P.

You can do this experiment on a PC - run a game at 4K then run it at 1080P - my GTX 1080 will run max settings all day every day at 1080P, but at 4K it starts to struggle with max settings (I believe that card is rated at about 9TF performance wise) - the cards have less work to do at lower resolutions.

I'd suspect that we'll still see a lot of dynamic resolution scaling in games. but really for the casual market. they don't care if a game is using SSAO, MSAA vs FXAA, trilinear vs biinear filtering or not, they just want to be able to run the games they want to play for low cost.

If you're bothered about that level of graphical fidelity, you're buying the PS5 or Xbox Series X and hooking it up to a 4K screen or you've joined the PC master race

[Cassius_Smoke]

So its the same guts as the X, but software restricts the resolution it can output? Wonder how long before someone cracks it and gets it running 4k

[Neon Ignition]

That's why it's a puzzle. It reflects on PS5 as well as on PC there's always ever increasing sacrifices required to maintain resolution and frame rates unless you upgrade. If 4K is perceived by most as not that noticeable next to 4K then Series X, PS5, One X and Pro were all pretty pointless when a much cheaper capable system at a lower res was all it took.

This all having the expected effect of starting to tempt me with the 30XX series as well

[MartyG]

Honestly out of XBSX, PS5 or an RTX3080 - my money is currently pointing at the PC kit.

[dataDave]

If the Series S is ever going to struggle with a particular game the Series X will be struggling slightly harder. Just think of it that way.

[CMcK]

So its the same guts as the X, but software restricts the resolution it can output? Wonder how long before someone cracks it and gets it running 4k

The S doesn’t have the sheet grunt or RAM to maintain a 4K resolution game with graphical parity to the X / PS5 version. With the smart delivery system the S console won’t even install the higher resolution textures of the X version.

I do feel MS are being a bit silly pushing the 1440p number. This is clearly a console aimed at 1080p full HD TVs and monitors. Ok it has enough headroom to run games at 1440p but how many people game on such monitors? I suppose the marketing peeps just like bigger numbers.

[Cassius_Smoke]

The like for like comparison videos are going to be interesting.

[superturd1]

I am unsure which of the new Xboxes to get

I have a lot of physical games, but dont have a 4K TV

any thoughts?