Opinion: Xbox Series X or Series S, which one should you buy?

A few days ago, Microsoft unveiled its new Xbox Series S console along with price and pre-orders information. Later, we also learnt about the official price of the Xbox Series X.

We also got to know about the all-new 'Xbox All Access Program', which enables the players to buy the next-gen Xbox of their choice along with 24 months of Xbox Gamepass Ultimate, with no upfront cost.

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Related: Xbox Series X and Series S price in India officially announced

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Which Xbox next-gen console is best for you?

Image Credit: Xbox

The Xbox Series X($499 or 49,990 INR) and Series S($299 or 34,990 INR) differ by $200(or 15,000 INR). This raises one of the biggest questions for players, 'Which one should they buy'?

The difference in terms of GPU and resolution

Xbox Series S offers a Custom AMD Radeon RDNA 4 Teraflops, 20 CUs at 1.55 GHz. Meanwhile, Series X offers a 12 TFlops, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU. Both the consoles offer Direct X-Ray Tracing support.

In terms of resolution, the Series X offers Native 4k at 60 FPS (goes up to 120 FPS) and an upscaled 8k support.

The Series S only supports 1440p at 60 FPS (goes up to 120 FPS). This is one of the most significant differences we can see while comparing the Series X with Series S.

Storage and Optical Drives

Image Credit: Xbox

The Xbox Series X comes with a 4K UHD Blu-ray drive and a 1 TB custom NVME SSD which can process 2.4 GB/s (Raw data) and 4.8 GB/s (Compressed data). Meanwhile, the Xbox Series S does not come with an optical drive. The Series S does offer a 512 GB custom NVME SSD with same processing power as Series X SSD.

The lack of an optical drive, along with a lesser SSD storage and GPU, is the main reason why the Xbox Series S is priced at 299 USD, while the Series X is priced at 499 USD.

Storage is one of the most significant buying points for gamers. We all know next-generation games will require a lot of storage space.

The difference in terms of RAM and Multi-tasking

The Series X offers 16 GB GDDR6 RAM with a 320 MB bus. Meanwhile, the Series S offers only 10GB GDDR6 RAM. The lack of extra RAM is not going to affect the FPS in games. But it might affect multitasking and seamless switching between games and other applications.

Games Pass and Xbox All Access Program

Image Credit: Xbox

The Game Pass Ultimate and Xbox All Access program is the same for both the consoles. The Xbox All Access Program gives you access to the following items and subscriptions:

• The next-generation Xbox console of your choice
• Over 100 high-quality games to play on console, including Optimized next-gen games
• Over 100 high-quality games to play on PC
• An EA Play membership to play more than 60 of EA's biggest and best console and PC games
• And over 100 games to play from the cloud

Related: Xbox Series S unveiled, officially priced at 299 USD

The Xbox Series X costs you $34.99 a month for 24 months. Meanwhile, the Xbox Series S will cost you around $24.99 a month for 24 months.

Xbox Series X technical specifications

• CPU: 8x Cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.66 GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU
• GPU: 12 TFLOPS, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU
• Die Size: 360.45 mm
• Process: 7nm Enhanced
• Memory: 16 GB GDDR6 w/ 320mb bus
• Memory Bandwidth: 10GB @ 560 GB/s, 6GB @ 336 GB/s
• Internal Storage: 1 TB Custom NVME SSD
• I/O Throughput: 2.4 GB/s (Raw), 4.8 GB/s (Compressed, with custom hardware decompression block)
• Expandable Storage: 1 TB Expansion Card (matches internal storage exactly)
• External Storage: USB 3.2 External HDD Support
• Optical Drive: 4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive
• Performance Target: 4K @ 60 FPS, Up to 120 FPS

Xbox Series S technical specifications

• GPU: Custom AMD Radeon RDNA 4 Teraflops, 20 CUs at 1.55 GHz (Supports DirectX Ray Tracing)
• Performance Target: 1440p, 4K Support through playback or upscaling (120fps)
• Storage: 512GB NVME SSD Storage Drive
• Ram: 10GB GDDR6 RAM
• Optical Drive: N/A

Conclusion

Choosing a console depends on three major factors, i.e. the storage, resolution support and pricing. If the 1440p resolution and 512 GB of SSD storage(in which around 100 GB will be used for the operating system and other) work for you, then you should go for the Xbox Series S.

But if you can't compromise on your gaming experience, then you should go for the Xbox Series X.

Going with the Series X means that you don't have to invest in a gaming console for the next 6 to 8 years.