Calling all gamers: why the Xbox Series S is worth your time
Right now, you’re about as likely to get your hands on an Xbox Series X or a PlayStation 5 as you are to see Half-Life 3 pop up for preorder on Steam—which is why we’re turning our sights on another console: the Xbox Series S.
A new dawn for video games
Starting in November 2020, the ninth generation kicked off with the release of the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PlayStation 5. As the most powerful consoles ever built, we’re entering a world of internal solid-state drives, support for real-time ray tracing graphics, 60–120 fps rendering speeds and 4K resolution. Not a bad time to get into gaming, in other words.
Xbox Series S specs: a svelte silhouette that packs a punch
The Xbox Series S console is a compact machine that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Xbox One S—but the specs are much improved.
How much storage does the S have? You can count on a 512 GB solid-state drive, which guarantees warp-speed loading times—although it’ll fill up quickly if you only play premium games. Don’t worry, though, as the Xbox Series S has an expansion slot.
How many teraflops does the Xbox Series S have? It comes in at 4 TFLOPS of RDNA 2 graphics. This is bolstered by 10 GB of RAM and an AMD Zen 2 8-core processor running at 3.6 GHz.
Can the Xbox Series S do 4K 120 fps?
Not exactly: 4K resolution isn’t native for this console; it’s capped at 1440p, though it can run up to 120 fps if you drop the resolution.
As for home entertainment, the Xbox Series S supports HDR, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. We live in a digital world now, so it has no physical disk drive.
Which is better: the Xbox Series X or the Xbox Series S?
You’re probably asking yourself: what’s the difference between the Xbox Series S and X? At the end of the day, both are super powerful machines that represent the next generation in gaming. Here’s a handy comparison of the Xbox Series S specs as well as the Series X, One X and PlayStation 5:
Xbox Series S
Memory: 10 GB GDDR6
Storage: 512 GB internal SSD
Resolution: 1440p
Xbox Series X
Memory: 16 GB GDDR6
Storage: 1 TB internal SSD
Resolution: 4K
Xbox One X
Memory: 12 GB GDDR5
Storage: 1 TB HDD
Resolution: 4K
Sony PlayStation 5
Memory: 16 GB GDDR6
Storage: 825 GB internal SSD
Resolution: 4K
The Game Pass – do you need it?
Absolutely. For a monthly fee, the Game Pass gives you access to a huge library of games along with exclusive deals, member discounts and release-day access to Xbox Game Studios titles. We recommend opting for the Ultimate subscription, because it rolls in Xbox Live Gold and allows you to stream games from cloud to PC, too.
Is the Xbox Series S worth it?
The ninth generation of consoles is here and we’re ready to play. Is the Xbox Series S better than the PS5? No. Is it a good substitute for the X? Definitely. This is a zippy little gem of a console that’ll scratch your gaming itch. Beef up that storage, grab yourself a Game Pass and settle in for some premium next-gen action.
