Recently information was released about the hardware that will have the new Microsoft console, which is the "Xbox Series X". Like its rival, Sony's PlayStation 5, this new game console will be powered by a custom chip based on the x86 Zen 2 architecture introduced during the introduction of the EPYC Rome chips and an 8K-ready AMD graphics circuit paired with GDDR6 and whose level of performance could be equal to that of the Radeon VII, a high-end GPU launched a year ago.
Microsoft recently confirmed the official specifications of its next game console, which is scheduled to launch this year. The specifications provided confirm the power of the console, with an integrated 12 TFLOP GPU which on paper proves to be eight times more powerful than the GPU built into the original Xbox One and twice as powerful as the Xbox One X, which is already capable of powering real 4K experiences.
On the CPU side, we will find an AMD Zen 2 CPU offering up to four times the processing power of Xbox One.
This 12 TFLOP figure is very impressive for a console and to understand its meaning, it should be remembered that AMD's most powerful graphics card, the Radeon VII announced last year, the maximum computing power of 13.4 TFLOPs.
Microsoft has also confirmed hardware support on your new console for the "Ray Tracing" which tends to confirm the integration of an AMD RDNA Gen 1 or 2 GPU, an SSD-based Storage system that can act as virtual RAM and dynamic display up to 120fps for smoother viewing.
This is the ultimate proof that AMD's upcoming RDNA2 architecture is capable of hardware tracking. The lack of HW-RT was clearly putting AMD GPUs at a disadvantage over NVIDIA Turing GPUs.
What's also interesting is that the new console will support HDMI 2.1, something that no graphics card supports.
Xbox Series X will also offer a "Quick Resume" multiplayer mode which allows you to save the state of a game or multiple games and resume them almost instantly exactly where you were, without waiting for long loads.
The Xbox One already has a similar function, but can only store a quick resume state for the last game played.
Regarding its new console, Microsoft maintains that:
"The Xbox Series X offers a true generational leap in processing and graphics power thanks to advanced technologies that enable higher refresh rates, larger and more sophisticated game worlds, and an immersive experience unprecedented in console games."
In addition, the company reaffirmed, for those who doubted it, that:
Existing Xbox One games, including backward-compatible Xbox 360 games and original Xbox games, could still be played on the Xbox Series X with 'more stable frame rates, faster load times, and improved resolution and fidelity visual, all without any development work required. '
Even more interesting, Microsoft appears to have announced a new commitment to ensure compatibility across the entire Xbox range. through a program called Smart delivery which allows you to buy a video game once and launch it optimally on any compatible Xbox Console.
Finally Microsoft is expected to provide more information about X series consoles at the Electronic Entertainment Expo of this year in June, which includes price of the different models.
While on the side of the competition (Sony) recently confirmed that it will not participate in E3 and will not be presented. With this, Sony is allowing more flexibility in determining when and how it will announce a price, as well as other details about its PS5 offer, although many are already concerned that the price of the new console may exceed the price of $ 500.
Measuring performance by TFLOPs is quite misleading, there are so many more factors that come into play. Also this console looks very good and I have to admit that it is the first in years that I see a decent console. The bad thing as always in the consoles will be the online part, that being paid is a chestnut.