Microsoft reveals Xbox Series X specs and technical details

Microsoft has announced almost all technical details of the Xbox Series X. The console will receive a ‘custom’ 1TB SSD and a soc consisting of eight Zen 2 cores at a maximum of 3.8GHz and a GPU with 52 compute units. The CPU and GPU share 16GB of GDDR6 memory.

The chip in the Xbox Series X is made on TSMC’s 7nm process and contains eight cores that are related to AMD’s Zen 2 cores. The CPU reaches a maximum of 3.8GHz and with simultaneous multithreading that is a maximum of 3.66GHz. The GPU consists of 52 compute units based on AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture. AMD has not yet released video cards with that new architecture. The current RX 5700XT, currently AMD’s fastest video card, has 40 compute units based on the first RDNA generation.

Some details were already known, Microsoft had already announced that the Xbox Series X will get a CPU with Zen 2 cores and that the GPU is based on the RDNA 2 architecture with hardware support for ray tracing. Now the Xbox manufacturer provides extensive details about the clock speeds and it is also clear that the console will be equipped with a 1TB SSD.

The Xbox Series X is a major advance compared to the Xbox One X, especially in terms of CPU computing power and storage speed. The switch to an NVME SSD for primary storage should make the loading of large game worlds much smoother. According to Microsoft, the storage achieves a throughput of 4.8GB/s when using compression. Without compression, that’s half.

In a video, Microsoft shows the effect of this on the loading times of games compared to the Xbox One X. The manufacturer also demonstrates the Quick Resume function that works with different games at the same time.

Microsoft is also showing a new version of the Xbox Wireless Controller, which will ship with the new console. The controller’s d-pad has been modified and a share button has been added. The Xbox Series X will be released in the fall. The price has not yet been announced.

The console can be expanded with an external 1TB SSD. It turns out that it is not a CFexpress card as suspected, but a proprietary format. Microsoft has partnered with Seagate for this. The extra storage would be just as fast as the internal SSD.

Microsoft publishes the information and pictures of the inside of the console on its own website. The Xbox maker has also provided extensive information to Digital Foundry; Eurogamer’s technical department. That site has made an analysis of the specifications. YouTuber Austin Evans has also had his hands on the new console and is publishing his experiences in a hands-on video.