Tech company Microsoft recently released the specifications of its new Xbox Series X, which will include a 1-terabyte custom NVMe solid-state drive (SSD) and expandable storage, said BGR. The console will allow users to expand their storage in two different ways, namely via USB and a proprietary Expansion Card.
Slated to be launched this year, the new Xbox console will have 8x Zen 2 Cores which has a speed of 3.8GHz for its CPU. It will have a GPU of 12 TFLOPS, 52 Cus at 1.825 GHz and custom RDNA 2.
When it comes to memory, the console boasts of a 16GB random access memory (RAM) and the aforementioned built-in storage of 1TB custom NVMe SSD. NVMes or non-volatile memory express devices are deemed to give over 10 times the performance which typical hard disk drives (HDDs) have to offer. For comparison, non-NVMe SSDs are only 5 times faster than HDDs.
Given the already superior-than-average built-in storage of the Xbox Series X, Microsoft developed a feature that could help gamers maximize their gaming experience through memory expansion. This is because most AAA games nowadays eat up a lot of space, with many going over 100GB. The storage required for future games is only expected to increase because of the advanced graphics, sound and code used in developing them.
The console gives two options to expand. The first is via a USB connection, which allows users to plug in an external HDD through the console’s built-in USB port. The second is through Microsoft’s proprietary Expansion Card to be exclusively manufactured by Seagate.
The proprietary storage device will have its own port. When it comes to performance, the built-in one as it is also a 1TB NVMe SSD. This can bring the total the Xbox Series X could handle to more than 2TB of NVMe storage with the addition of space provided by the USB port for HDD.
Fans are comparing, this feature to Sony’s next-generation console the PlayStation 5, which will have a custom-built 825GB internal SSD., according to Polygon.
Aside from the CPU and GPU, as well as the storage tech mentioned above, Microsoft’s new console is also expected to have an optical drive with 4K UHD Blu-ray tech, support for 12 frames per second and a potential for 8K resolutions. Other notable features that would be beneficial to gamers include ray tracing technology and compatibility with Xbox One accessories.
