Xbox Series X Beta Review by Austin Evans

Microsoft recently revealed its next-generation gaming console, the Xbox Series X. The first people to have the closest look at it were, of course, the YouTube tech community. Austin Evans, a notable name in the community took a closer look at the console, giving us all a great idea of what is in store for the next generation.

Here are the biggest takeaways from Austin’s first look at the Xbox Series X.

The Xbox Series X Hardware

The most notable thing about the console design is how unremarkable it is. It is essentially a box, but that may be the smartest part of the whole device. The new Xbox fits in a huge amount of computing power into what is essentially a rectangular box.

It boasts an AMD Zen 2 CPU, with 8 cores, clocking at 3.8Ghz consistently. 7 of the cores are usually used for gaming, whereas the last core is reserved for holding up the OS and the background processes. The new CPU architecture also allows developers to focus more on 6 multi-threaded processors, or 8 fast cores at a time.

The biggest improvement of the new console is its 1 TB Solid State Drive. This is a huge increment from the previous generation’s slow Hard Drives. Now, data can be transferred to and from the SSD at the rate of 2.4 Gigabytes per second.

The system also houses the new AMD RDNA 2 graphics set up, with 16 Gigabytes of GDDR6 RAM. It is notable here that the PS5 also uses a very similar GPU setup.

Also Read – YouTube Tech Community React to the PlayStation 5

The New Controller

As is customary for Microsoft to do at this point, there has also been an update to the Xbox controllers for this generation. Austin spent a good amount of time examining the new tech, comparing it to previous iterations of the same controllers.

The new controllers are better suited for smaller hands. The top of the controller is a bit more narrow, which allows smaller hands to grip it better. Moreover, the most visible update is to the D-Pad. The d-pad has been refreshed, with better shaped and separated buttons. Evans commented on this, stating that the buttons seemed clicker, making for a better experience overall.

Heat flow and internal design

Although the Xbox Series X isn’t an alien-looking curvy device like the PS5, its design has a lot of thought behind it. Specifically, the positioning of the fans, air intake at the top, and the internal power supply, all work to facilitate the smallest, most powerful gaming machine possible. 

The custom made fans, massive vapor chamber, and positioning of the air intakes, all are evidence of excellent engineering behind the console. Until a direct comparison or benchmark can be taken, the power from the Xbox Series X can only be estimated. However, from what we’ve seen so far, the new Xbox will surely be a quiet and cool system in your living room.

The Xbox Series has laid the benchmark for the next generation of consoles. The PS5 may definitely have a more unique design, but the ‘box’ in the Xbox still impresses, all the same.