The day is finally here. You can now pre-order Microsoft"s next-generation consoles, the Xbox Series X and S. Both consoles feature similar architectures and share some features, but the Series X is the more powerful and expensive of the two.
First announced at The Game Awards last year, the Series X has an octa-core AMD Zen2-based CPU clocked at 3.8GHz, and an AMD RDNA2 GPU with 52 compute units running at 1.825GHz, making for a total of 12.15 TFLOPS of performance. Additionally, it has 16GB of RAM, 10GB of which have bandwidth up to 560GB/s, while the remaining 6GB have a slower 336GB/s speed, and it comes with a 1TB NVMe SSD. All of that allows the console to target 4K resolution at 60 frames per second, with support for up to 120 frames per second. It also has a disc drive for those that prefer physical games.
The Xbox Series X costs $499 and you can get it here. You can also get it with Xbox All Access for $34.99 per month, including Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for two years.
The Xbox Series S was rumored for a long time, and finally got announced just this month. It features a slightly slower CPU running at 3.6GHz, and a less powerful GPU with 20 compute units running at 1.565GHz, making for a total of 4 TFLOPS of performance. With the lower power, the console targets 1440p resolution at 60 frames per second, though 120 frames per second gameplay is also supported. There"s just 10GB of RAM, 8GB of which have 224GB/s of bandwidth, with the remaining 2GB being slower at 56GB/s, and the SSD is also smaller at 512GB. The SSD on both consoles supports speeds up to 4.8Gbps, and both are expandable with a 1TB expansion card. The Series S also doesn"t have a disc drive, so all games will be digital.
The Xbox Series S costs $299 and you can get it here. It"s also available with Xbox All Access, but for just $24.99 per month.
Finally, if you"re interested, there are some accessories available for preorder, as Microsoft announced yesterday. The new Xbox Wireless Controller can be had in an all-new Shock Blue color in addition to Carbon Black or Robot White for $59.99, and there"s a new Rechargeable Battery + USB Type-C bundle for $24.99. PC gamers can also get the Xbox Wireless Controller bundled with a wireless adapter or with a USB Type-C cable for wired use.