Xbox Series S vs Xbox Series X: What's The Difference?
Posted on November 09, 2020 By Rory Keane
The Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S are respectively the premium-tier and entry-tier consoles in Microsoft's current gaming console lineup. Though these consoles are both built to handle all of your modern gaming needs, there are a few things to bear in mind when looking to buy one. Both have the capability to play the same games, but there are significant differences between the two; these lie mainly in the hardware, design, and price point.
The Hardware
The hardware differences are vast between the Xbox Series X and Series S. As of this writing, the Xbox Series X is one of the most powerful game consoles ever released. Capable of delivering native 4k resolution at frame rates up to 120 fps, it rivals even some decent gaming PC builds. In comparison, the Xbox Series S can display a max resolution of 1440p at frame rates up to 60 fps.
Another important piece of hardware information is memory, and this can be determined by looking at the amount of RAM available in each unit, as well as the size of the SSD (solid state drive). The Xbox Series X has 16 GBs of RAM in it, while the Xbox Series S offers 10 GBs. This means that the Series X is better at multitasking than its smaller sibling. When it comes to storage space, the Series X comes with a 1 TB SSD installed, while the Series S will come with a 512 GB SSD. This means the Series X has more game and app space than the Series S. This is especially important to note as, even in this past generation, there have been several games that cracked the 100 GB download threshold.
To put a rough estimate on how powerful the Xbox Series X is, we can look at the number of Teraflops the console can output. A Teraflop is the number of floating-point operations per second a machine can do, and while it doesn't tell the full story, it is often a strong indicator for how powerful a piece of hardware is. The Series X has 12 Teraflops of power, while the Series S comes in at 4 Teraflops of power. For comparison's sake, both the Disc and Digital-Only versions of the PS5 come in at 10.28 Teraflops of computing power.
The Design
With the Xbox Series X having significantly more hardware under the hood than its Series S counterpart, it needed somewhere to put it all. As a result, the Xbox Series X is a very large console. It has a design more comparable to a compact gaming PC, and as a result it will be challenging to fit it within a TV shelf space. The Xbox Series S, on the other hand, is quite a bit smaller than the average game console and can be discreetly fit into a slim space with ease.
The Price
The final important difference between these two consoles is the price. The Xbox Series X has a higher list price than the Series S, and clearly the costs Microsoft saved by reducing the power of the Xbox Series S have been passed onto the consumer. For anyone who's on a budget, who doesn't need the maximum visual fidelity, or who's looking to buy a relatively inexpensive console for their children, the significantly lower price of the Series S is an incredibly compelling offer.
Is It Better to Get an Xbox Series X or Series S?
With all of the pros and cons now laid out, it's time to answer the ultimate question, which should you get? It really comes down to budget, and preference. If you're a hardcore gamer who wants top of the line specs to help you dominate competitive games, and that can immerse you in your favorite story games, then you're probably going to want all of the bells and whistles that come with the Series X. If you're more of a casual gamer, or you want to make the next-gen jump without breaking the bank, while only sacrificing minimal features, then the Series S might suit you more.
Microsoft took a decidedly fresh approach when it came to launching its next-gen consoles. By creating two different options for consumers, they allowed more people to access quality gaming systems, and next-gen games, regardless of their budget. Between these two consoles, and all of the other models on the market, your options for gaming have never been greater.