Microsoft Shows Off Xbox Series S’s Loading Speeds and 120 FPS Performance in New Video

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Image: Microsoft

Microsoft has shared a video that delves into the tech behind its cheaper (but highly capable) next-gen console, the Xbox Series S. As director Jason Ronald points out, the Series S may have a weaker AMD RDNA 2 GPU than the flagship model (52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz vs. 20 CUs @ 1.565 GHz), but it can still provide a relatively great next-gen experience thanks to a similar hardware and feature set.

The video includes a clip of Gears 5’s multiplayer mode running at 120 FPS on the Xbox Series S, which seems pretty impressive for a $299 box. According to The Coalition, the console packs more than four times the power of the Xbox One S.

It also gives us a peek at the Xbox Series S’s speedy loading times, which is made possible by the new Xbox Velocity Architecture and custom NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. The Series S finishes loading The Outer Wilds in twelve seconds, while the Xbox One S takes a yawn-inducing 53 seconds.

There’s even a demonstration of Microsoft’s new Quick Resume feature. As its name suggests, this feature will allow Xbox users to quickly switch between different games. What’s really cool is that it even keeps the save state.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYtJWIxt3-M

Here’s the specifications of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S again for comparison. It’s interesting how the processors are effectively the same – both are 8-core Zen 2 CPUs, but the Series S’s is clocked .2 GHz lower. The Series X also comes with a much bigger SSD, 1 TB vs 512 GB.

The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will be available on November 10 for $499 and $299, respectively. Preorders begin September 22.

Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

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