Microsoft has published a deep dive into the console’s specs, including just what the company hopes to achieve with all that tech. To begin with, the semi-custom AMD Zen 2 processor runs its eight cores at 3.8GHz (3.66GHz with SMT in use), with one core set aside for basic system functions. The Xbox will also have 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, although just 10GB of that will have the full 560GB/s bandwidth games will want for GPU-friendly tasks. The remaining 6GB runs at a ‘standard’ 336GB/s for less demanding tasks and the operating system.
The GPU might be no small achievement. The 12 teraflops of computing power and 52 compute units (for reference, an RX 5700 XT has 40 compute units) may not mean much in the abstract, but Microsoft claims both much higher visual detail and higher frame rates — it’s aiming for 4K at 60 frames per second, with support for 120FPS. As an example, you can play an optimized version of Gears 5 at the PC version’s Ultra Spec detail settings at more than 100FPS with features that even a high-end gaming rig can’t manage, like contact shadows and self-shadow lighting. Hardware-boosted raytracing is also an option, although it’s not clear how many games will make use of the advanced lighting.
The system will come with a 1TB NVMe-based SSD that takes advantage of an Xbox Velocity Architecture to make 100GB of in-game content “immediately accessible.” You could enable gigantic open-world games, for example. It also helps speed up the Quick Resume feature that lets you jump between multiple games. And while that 1TB built-in might not be a lot, Microsoft is also promising support for a 1TB “expansion card” that delivers the same performance as the internal drive, as well as USB 3.2 support for slower external drives. There’s a 4K Blu-ray disc drive, though it’s clear optical media isn’t the focus.
One of the most obvious improvements that Microsoft is demonstrating with the Xbox Series X today is load times. In one tech demo (above), State of Decay 2 loads a full 40 seconds quicker on the Series X compared to the Xbox One X. That’s a massive improvement over current consoles.
Microsoft is using a solid-state drive on the Xbox Series X, and the focus is on speed and load times for next-gen games. The Xbox maker is using something called “Xbox Velocity Architecture,” that is designed to improve the integration between hardware and software for streaming of in game assets. The result will be seen in large open world games, where developers can use this system to create high fidelity environments that load dynamically using the processing power and SSD of the Xbox Series X.
All of this should reduce latency from when you press a button on an Xbox controller to when you see that movement show up on screen. Speaking of the controller, it’s now USB-C, uses AA batteries, and supports Bluetooth Low Energy. There’s also a new share button for sending clips and screenshots to friends, and existing controllers will work just fine on the new Xbox Series X.
Today’s spec unveiling comes ahead of Microsoft’s plans to fully detail the console to developers later this week. Microsoft is also planning to unveil more details about the games we’ll see for the Xbox Series X in June.
