Xbox Series X Performance
- 4K/60fps gameplay
- Auto HDR
The Xbox Series X is an absolute powerhouse, rocking an eight-core AMD Zen 2 processor running at 3.8GHz, a custom RDNA 2 AMD GPU that puts out 12 TFLOPs of processing power, 16GB of GDDR6 memory, and a 1TB Custom NVMe SSD.
Heres what the Xbox Series X specs look like on paper:
- CPU: 8x Cores @ 3.8 GHz Custom Zen 2 CPU
- GPU: 12 TFLOPS, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU
- Die Size: 360.45 mm2
- Memory: 16 GB GDDR6 w/ 320b bus
- Memory Bandwidth: 10GB @ 560 GB/s, 6GB @ 336 GB/s
- Internal Storage: 1TB Custom NVME SSD I/O Throughput: 2.4 GB/s , 4.8 GB/s
- Expandable Storage: 1TB Expansion Card
- External Storage: USB 3.2 External HDD Support
- Optical Drive: 4K UHD Blu-ray Drive
- Performance Target: 4K @ 60fps, Up to 120fps
So what does that mean in terms of real-world performance?
Xbox One Review: Is The Original Xbox One Worth Your Money
Read T3’s official Xbox One review now to find out
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Hulking brute of a machine
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Lack of killer launch titles
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ByT3 OnlineLast updated 2021-03-30T15:36:58.496Z
The Xbox One abandoned almost all original ‘features’ and slowly refocused itself on the one thing it should have always been about: the games.
While it lacks the more recent hardware improvements offered by the Xbox One S and the Xbox One X , the original Xbox One is still a powerful machine that can play every single game on the system, and plenty more from the previous two gens thanks to support for Backwards Compatibility emulation.
Kinect 2.0 has been abandoned, so there’s no need to worry about having to buy an accessory you’ll never really use. With the introduction of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate – an ever-evolving subscription service – you’ll now have access to a huge library of games, including ALL of Microsoft’s current and upcoming first-party exclusives.
While Microsoft has definitely lost the battle of the exclusives in this generation, it’s already preparing for the next with a newly bolstered line-up of in-house studios. So even if you’re investing in an Xbox One now, you’re getting a console that’s slowly been re-evolved into a proper gaming system.
So to get you ready for your next big gaming purchase, we’ve broken down everything that you need to know when buying an OG Xbox One. From its hardware capabilities to the raft of current Xbox One games, T3 has you covered!
Five Reasons The Xbox One Is A Better Buy One Year After Its Launch
One year ago today, Microsoft launched the Xbox One in 13 markets around the world, including the US. While we thought that Microsoft’s third game console was an excellent gaming machine as well as good video playing device in our extensive review back in December, the truth is that the Xbox One is a much better product 365 days later.
In fact, a case could be made that Microsoft has worked much harder to make the Xbox One a better buy than Sony has done with the PlayStation 4, which launched a week before Microsoft’s machine. In this article we offer five reasons why the Xbox One is better than it was a year after its launch.
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Xbox Series X Optimized
Xbox Series X Optimized games should have an icon in your game library denoting that theyre optimized.
A handful of Xbox One games have been optimized for the Xbox Series X. These titles have been upgraded or built with the Xbox Series X in mind, in order to make the most of the consoles power and boy, do they show it.
We tested a few Optimized titles including Gears 5, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, The Falconeer, and Dirt 5, and found that these games boasted minimal loading times, improved stability, and considerably enhanced visuals.
For example, Gears 5 on Xbox Series X boasts ray tracing and 4K at 60fps, making the campaign mode look better than ever before, and load faster. Its immediately more immersive, thanks to more stable frame rates and a lack of loading screen walls. The difference is even more noticeable in Gears 5s multiplayer, which allows for 4K at 120fps, resulting in buttery smooth performance that feels much more responsive and which is critical in online multiplayer. With Dolby Atmos support as well, the game is a brilliant showcase for the Xbox Series Xs unbottled power.
Xbox Series S: Microsoft Confirms Price And Release Date
Microsoft has confirmed that it will release a second next-generation console after a leak prompted it to unveil the Xbox Series S.
It said the machine would be the “smallest Xbox ever”.
The firm’s UK, US and French Twitter accounts are among those to have subsequently confirmed local launch dates of 10 November.
Company watchers have said the advertised price is significantly lower than had been expected.
Microsoft has said the machine is set to cost £250/$299/â¬249. It is £50 more than the lowest-priced version of the firm’s existing Xbox One range.
The company has yet to give a launch date or price for the larger and presumably more powerful Xbox Series X.
Beyond a photo that appears to show a large air vent on the Xbox S’s side, Microsoft has yet to reveal how exactly the console will differ from its larger sibling.
But there has been speculation it will:
- only run digital downloads rather than discs
- have a less powerful graphics card and therefore be unable to run some games at higher resolutions, and be unable to show off some lighting effects
- have less internal storage
The move might help Microsoft woo consumers who might otherwise wait for the price of the Xbox Series X and Sony’s PlayStation 5 machines to fall before deciding which platform to adopt.
“It could be a real winner for the average gamer and an advantage against Xboxâs main rival.”
Microsoft already offers an “all digital” version of its current console.
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Xbox Series X Price Analysis And Release Date
- Xbox Series X release date: Out now
- Xbox Series X price: $499 / £449 / AU$749
The Xbox Series X launched globally on November 10, 2020, giving Microsoft a two-day head start against Sony’s PS5, which released on November 12 .
Xbox Series X stock is hard to come by. Select retailers have shown Xbox Series X stock available to order, but supply has been snapped up almost immediately.
The Xbox Series X is priced at $499 / £449 / AU$749. A lower-specced, digital-only version of the console, the Xbox Series S, also launched on November 10, priced at $299.99 / £249.99 / AU$499.
While this isnt exactly pocket money, its a pretty decent price for the new Xbox. Its the same price as the Xbox One was at launch, and matches the MSRP of the Xbox One X, both of which are nowhere near as powerful as the Xbox Series X. And, considering that the Series X has specs similar to a gaming PC, the $500 mark is pretty good going youll be hard pressed to find a gaming PC at this price tag.
However, as mentioned, if you want get the most out of your Xbox Series X we recommend picking up an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which costs $15 / £10.99 / AU$15.95 a month . While this is an additional outlay, it does grant you extra access to hundreds of Xbox Game Pass games , Xbox Live Gold, cloud gaming and monthly free games, which should save you money in the long term compared with buying games separately.
- Emits same amount of heat as Xbox One X
- Minimal UI and dashboard updates
The Xbox Live Gold Subscription Is A Better Value
A year ago, the value of an Xbox One Gold subscription was, well, poor. Yes, you had to get it in order to play online multiplayer games, but it was also needed to access the many streaming media apps for the console, including Netflix, Hulu and more. Many people wondered why Microsoft was adding another subscription price for accessing apps that were available on other consoles without that extra price.
Thankfully, Microsoft saw the light and eliminated the Xbox Live Gold requirement for watching those apps in June. Even better, signing up for the service gave Xbox One owners at least one free downloadable game each month starting in June, which certainly makes the subscription worth it in the long run.
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Xbox One Gets Price And Release Date For Australia
Microsoft has revealed a few more details of its new console, including local pricing and availability.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo is underway in Los Angeles, and Microsoft has kicked off with some new information on the Xbox One.
As expected, the Microsoft press conference focused strongly on games and gaming after the criticism that the company received for its home entertainment-heavy launch conference.
New, exclusive titles were announced, including a new Halo title, Dead Rising 3, Ryse, Crimson Dragon and more.
More importantly, the audience was told that the Xbox One will launch in November for US$499. Microsoft Australia has since confirmed that the console will also launch in November locally, for AU$599.
Microsoft also unveiled a new-look, even slimmer Xbox 360, though with no corresponding price cut it will still retail for AU$199 for the 4GB version and AU$299 for 250GB.
Xbox One Review: Controller
While the Elite controller is the best version of the Xbox One pad, this standard edition is still a brilliant little controller.
At first glance, the Xbox One’s controller looks like a dead-ringer for its predecessor. Dual thumbsticks, face buttons, shoulder bumpers, D-pad and twin triggers are all where you’d expect to find them. But pick it up and play with it and the improvements become apparent.
The triggers feel smooter, the D-pad and shoulder buttons feel more responsive and the twin-sticks meld snugly to the player’s thumbs. The pad overall feels more molded to the player’s hands and the smooth surface is svelte to the touch. Instead of a Start and Select button, you have an Apps and Menu button, but they serve the same purposes in-game.
The most notable improvement are the rumble-filters beneath the controller’s casing that give players a sense of immersion the Xbox 360 didn’t have physically.
Much has been made of the control pad’s re-design, but believe the hype this controller is a marked improvement on its predecessor. It’s build quality still feels a little plasticky, but it’s analog sticks are of a high quality when compared to easily frayed sticks on the PS4’s DualShock 4.
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The developers of Football Manager 2022 have announced that the latest title to the series will be available for Xbox Game Pass on release.
The news comes after Sports Interactive tested the feature initially for last year’s game for the first time in the company’s history and have opted to keep it this time around, further widening the scope as far as player accessibility is concerned.
With FM22 just under a month until its official launch, the developers are slowly starting to reveal more of their poker hands as the momentous day rapidly approaches.
The Football Manager is easily the dominant force of this part of the gaming sector, with no other virtual football management sim coming close to the detailed and precise database that SI have built over the past 10 years.
With this in mind, they are looking to build upon their legacy once more which has an array of new features that will continue to set them apart from similar titles.
Read more: Football Manager 2022: Release Date, Mobile, Beta, Wonderkids, Switch, PS5 and More
E3 201: Microsoft Announces Sales Date For Xbox One
Microsoft has announced the launch date and price for its new Xbox One.
The new console will go on sale in November this year, with a recommended retail price of £429 in the UK, $499 in the US and 499 euros.
The announcement was made during its keynote opening event at the E3 games expo in Los Angeles.
Rival console manufacturer Sony said its console would be out during the “holiday 2013” period, although no official date has been set.
If both the PlayStation 4 and the XBox One go on sale in November this year, it would be the first time the two rivals have launched simultaneously. Previous consoles were released at least a year apart.
Aoife Wilson, a Staff Writer with Xbox 360: The Official Xbox Magazine, told BBC News that there did not appear to be any reason for the increased price in Europe compared to the US.
“There’s a 34% mark up on the price this side of the Atlantic and there’s no real reason I can see for that”, she said.
“The price seems to be a real sticking point for many people, based on the comments I’ve seen on Twitter. But the XBox One has so many unique capabilities over its rival, that it might just give them the edge.”
“I think people will be willing to pay that price and I do think that price will come down next year”, she added.
New games
Most of the event was used to showcase the new titles that would accompany the launch.
The first game shown at the event was Ryse: Son of Rome.
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Xbox One Has A Bigger Variety Of Apps
Speaking of those streaming media apps, there are a lot more to check out on the Xbox One since it came out a year ago. Apps like Plex, Comedy Central and most recently HBO Go have been added since the launch. Other apps that were part of the launch have since been updates, such as Twitch, which can now let owners stream their gameplay experiences live to anyone on the Internet.
Heck, you can even order non-gaming items via the Xbox One, such as the GoPro app and the recently launched Domino’s Pizza app . All in all, there’s a ton of things to do on the Xbox One for both the gamer and non-gamer.
Football Manager 2022 Xbox Game Pass
The developers confirmed this news on their official website, promising that they will provide you with “new and progressive ways to implement your footballing style and earn success with your fans.”
Sports Interactive have been fantastic over the years when it comes to providing an immersive football management experience, and these words certainly do have an element of truth to them.
However, the Xbox Game Pass they are referring to is only for the PC and not for Xbox consoles, as they aim to maximise the “power of Microsoft’s Play Anywhere technology.”
But what this does mean is that FM22 will be available to existing subscribers for no extra cost, meaning that they will be able to play on the game’s planned release date, which is excellent news for those concerned.
It will be interesting to see if this is extended to the console edition in the coming months, which tends not to target games until they are a few months or even a year old. Time will tell.
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Xbox One: Intelligent Tv And Apps
Microsoft has said the new Xbox will deliver truly intelligent TV. They’ve also confirmed the first wave of entertainment apps that will launch with the console. They are 4oD, Lovefilm, Netflix, blinkbox, Crackle, Demand 5, Eurosport, Machinima, TED, Twitch, Muzu TV and Wuaki.TV.
BBC iPlayer has not been given a date although we expect that to be coming to the platform. Sky’s Now TV was scheduled to go live at launch but has been pushed back to Summer 2014. Third-party apps will work alongside Microsoft’s with the Xbox Music streaming service central to Microsoft’s content offering.
Each Xbox One will come pre-loaded with the following apps: Xbox Fitness, Xbox Video, Xbox Music, Internet Explorer, Skype, SkyDrive and Upload. Access to these apps will depend on whether you’re on the Xbox Live Gold subscription.
Microsoft was bullish about Live TV at the Xbox One launch, and has secured a deal with the NFL in America to integrate live American football with a whole host of interactive functionality in to the Xbox experience.
Could Sky step-in and offer a similar feature in the UK? If so then it won’t be available this uear with Microsoft aiming for a 2014 UK launch for the OneGuide feature.
It’s clear that Microsoft sees live TV and enhanced interactivity as key features of the new Xbox, which it hopes will be much more than just a games console for more and more users.
Backwards Compatibility On Xbox Series X
Another of the Xbox Series X’s best features is the breadth of its backwards compatibility. There are well over 1,000 backwards-compatible titles available, meaning youll be hard-pressed to find an older game you have that isnt supported on the Series X.
As mentioned previously, we found these titles loaded faster and simply played better improved stability means fewer frame rate drops, which makes older games feel nicer to play, even if they’re otherwise a little outdated by the standards of modern blockbusters.
This backwards compatibility also extends to Xbox accessories. We found that we could easily connect the original Xbox Wireless Controller and the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 to the Xbox Series X with no issues, and we were also able to connect our headsets.
Any officially licensed Xbox One accessory that connects either wirelessly or via a wired USB connection should work on the Xbox Series X, such as the Xbox Wireless Headset however, its worth noting that optical port connections arent supported, although some of these products may work with a firmware update.
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