Xbox Series S Specs - What's Inside Xbox Series X's Little Brother?

The cheaper version of Xbox Series X, or Series S, can be up to 61% cheaper. Leak of console's specs shows that the explanation lies with the smaller number of GPU's computing units.

Arkadiusz Strzala

August 19, 2020 17:57

The above picture is still an artist's vision, we are waiting for Microsoft's official materials

IN A NUTSHELL:

Xbox Series S is expected to be cheaper (than Series X), but also up to 61% less efficient than its more powerful sibling, which is explained with the smaller number of GPUs computing units;
If the cheaper equivalent of Xbox Series X is to be aimed at Xbox One S s, will it be possible to run games on physical media?

A lot has been heard recently about the emergence of the cheaper Xbox Series S console. In addition to the lower price, we can also expect lower performance. According to TweakTown, S model can be up to 61% weaker than Xbox Series X. This is a result of a much smaller number of computing units and lower clock rates in the GPU (information from Tom Warren, Senior Editor of The Verge).

Xbox Series S is designed for less demanding s who are not interested in 8K or 4K resolutions and do not need a Blu-ray drive. However, a much lower price (than Series X) is associated with the shafting of some components. The table below compares the technical data of Microsoft's consoles (in the absence of official information, it is worth noting that many of the values below come from leaks):

	Xbox Series S	Xbox Series X
U	8-core Zen 2 3.8 Ghz, 7 nm	8-core Zen 2 3.8 Ghz, 7 nm
GPU	Navi RDNA 2, 1,55 Ghz 20 computing units	Navi RDNA 2, 1,83 Ghz 52 computing units
RAM	10 GB GDDR6	16 GB GDDR6
GPU Power	4 TFLOPs	12.15 TFLOPs
Storage	SSD, PCIe 4.0	1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD
Performance Target	1440p at 60 FPS	4K at 60 FPS, 8K
Drive	No physical drive	4K UHD Blu-ray

The GPU was hit the most - lower clocking and 32 fewer computing units. Xbox Series S is supposed to have less RAM, and of course, it doesn't have a Blu-ray drive. However, it is supposed to keep most of the advantages of Xbox Series X. The processor is the same - 7-nm Zen 2. The SSD should be just as fast, but it is not certain what capacity it will have. for the 120Hz refresh rate is also uncertain. We can see that it is primarily lower resolutions that are to be the main disadvantage of the cheaper console. On smaller screens, however, the computing power should be sufficient to provide a similar experience to Xbox Series X.

Xbox Series S is to run all games from the stronger console. It will also be fully compatible with older generations. Due to the lack of optical drive, the question is how the issue of backward compatibility will be solved. Some people comment that after sending discs to Microsoft we will receive digital licenses. What will it be like in reality? Currently little is known, but we hope that the console manufacturer will not forget about the owners of physical game collections.

Xbox - official website

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