Are you looking for a modern device that will only be used for gaming? Do you want maximum performance for the cost? So let's put the $500 Xbox Series X on November 10 as a nomination. There is currently no way to assemble a PC with the same performance as the Xbox Series X, Microsoft's next-generation console series, for $500. This is a claim that PCWorld has tried and proven.
But when weighing the Axbox Series X and gaming PCs, there's a lot to consider besides the price. Let's compare it in detail now.
Xbox Series X vs. Gaming PC specs: Microsoft's overwhelming value for money
First, let's start with certain things. New game consoles usually have a much higher price/performance ratio than comparable gaming PCs for a year or two after launch. The Xbox Series X is no exception. In terms of performance, it is no lagging behind gaming PCs, and the price is only $500, which is relatively cheap.
The Xbox Series X comes with a custom AMD chip with eight Zen 2 CPU cores and a Radeon graphics card using the new RDNA 2 GPU architecture. If it's a PC, these two parts alone will already cost over $500. The CPU is at the level of a slightly lowered clock from the last-generation Ryzen 7 3700X, which costs about $300. The 40 RDNA 2 graphics computing units operate at 1,815 MHz.
The RDNA 2-based Radeon RX 6800 graphics card, released on November 18 at a price of $579, differs from the graphics card in the Xbox Series X in that it has the same clock speed and 60 computing units. Therefore, the Xbox Series X parts can be seen as similar to the Radeon RX 6700, which is one notch lower. The performance is a little less than the last generation RTX 2080.
The storage device is an ultra-fast PCIe 4.0 SSD, and Blu-ray disc playback is also possible. In the end, the value for the hardware price of the Xbox Series X completely overwhelms its equivalent gaming PC. In addition to these two basic parts, a PC also needs a case and a motherboard, and the cheapest PCIe 4.0 SSD alone costs $200.
Overall, PCWorld's first attempt to create an Xbox Series X-class PC cost about $1,800. After experiencing the Xbox Series X, my colleague Mark Hackman decided not to invest in a gaming battle station.
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| Microsoft Xbox Series X and Series S |
The Xbox Series X, and the less expensive, cheaper, $300 Xbox Series S also offer some important features that Windows computers don't have. The quick 'Quick Resume' feature saves the play state of multiple games in system memory, allowing you to proceed almost immediately. You can't find similar functions on a regular PC.
In addition, the Xbox Series X can fully utilize the advantages of expensive high dynamic range TVs by applying similar HDR to non-HDR games. Of course, the design that focuses on simplicity is also an important advantage, as you can enjoy sitting on the sofa after the day's work. On the Xbox, you don't have to worry about driver updates or blue screen errors.
PC Advantage
But the PC isn't as bad as you might think.
Microsoft has invested heavily in making games available to anyone who owns both an Xbox and Windows. Gears Tactics can now be played on the old Xbox One, on the new Xbox Series X, on the less-than-performing Xbox Series S, or on a gaming PC. Xbox Live Friends are also linked, and there are many games that support the sharing of game achievements and save files between systems.
The Xbox Game Pass subscription, similar to Netflix, works across multiple platforms, and now Microsoft has Direct Storage, the core of the Xbox Series X's ultra-fast velocity architecture storage, even on Windows 10 PCs to reduce game load times when an NVMe SSD is installed. I am implementing (DirectStorage). The Series X boasts DirectX 12 Ultimate, which also works on PC, and includes ray tracing and variable speed shading. (Actually, these two features come from the PC!)
More importantly, except for the price of new hardware, everything that keeps PC games cost-effective than consoles is still there. When you buy an Xbox, you are trapped in Microsoft's closed ecosystem. However, on PC, you can freely move between games and game platforms such as Xbox Game Pass, Steam, Epic Games Store, Origin, GOG, Ubisoft Connect, Battle.net, and Valorant and League of Legends.
The competition is fierce, so there is also an opportunity to buy a masterpiece game at a significantly discounted price or get it for free at various stores (such as Epic's weekly free game). Microsoft's efforts for backward compatibility with the Xbox deserve praise, but on a PC, you can play decades-old DOS games as long as you can.
On PC, you don't even have to pay monthly fees to play online multiplayer games. The same goes for Microsoft's cross-platform Xbox Live game. There is no room for tricks like monthly subscription fees on the PC platform, where competition controls everything.
You don't really need a new gaming PC
Also, from a broader perspective, the hardware value of the Xbox Series X is somewhat diluted. If you buy a new system for gaming, of course, Microsoft's console is cheaper than a gaming PC. But you can do a lot more than games on your computer.
You can do year-end payments, send and receive emails with friends, enjoy online shopping, edit your own videos, add music, enter numbers into spreadsheets, and much more. So when choosing hardware, you must also consider whether you need hardware for both work and games.
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| Finally, we welcome console gamers to the world of SSDs |
Also, if you already own enough, relatively new PCs, you don't have to replace them all with parts equivalent to the Xbox Series X. Scalability and upgrades are still an important advantage of PCs. The new consoles far outperform the previous generation consoles in terms of performance, with much of the improvements made on the Xbox Series X coming from the slow 5,400RPM hard drive to SSD transition, and the almost relic, the slower AMD Jaguar CPU core at the time. It's like the change to the latest high-performance AMD Ryzen processors. In other words, in other words, the latest consoles have just caught up with what they've done in the last five years on gaming PCs.
If the performance of the current CPU and SSD is not bad, then the performance of the Xbox Series X can be similar to the performance of the Xbox Series X as long as there is an equivalent graphics card. Of course, the choice is not simple. It is mainly a matter of the point of purchase. The frame performance of the Xbox Series X is comparable to that of the GeForce RTX 2080, which costs about $800. But now is the time when the GPU generation replacement is in full swing. The $500 GeForce TX 3070 already offers the same performance as the previous generation's $1,200 RTX 2080 Ti flagship at less than half the price. The $ 500 GeForce TX 3070 already offers the same performance as the previous generation's $1,200 RTX 2080 Ti for less than half the price. The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which was released for $400, also beats the last-generation RTX 2080 Super. The graphics output of the Xbox Series X also goes beyond.
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| The Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are just catching up with the performance of last-generation graphics cards like the GeForce RTX 2080 Super |
If such a graphics card is actually available, the cost of upgrading an existing PC to the level of the Xbox Series X performance will be cheaper than the price of a new console. Even with a standard SSD, you won't have any problems playing games for the time being, and if Microsoft's Direct Storage technology delivers really innovative results, you can always upgrade to an NVMe SSD to enjoy faster loading times. Upgradeability is a big advantage.
If you have a laptop or an old desktop PC like my colleague Mark Hackman, but you're looking to buy a new gaming-only system altogether, you can get an excellent price/value from the Xbox Series X. However, if you already own a relatively new computer and your goal is to enjoy the latest games at a high frame rate even with all visual effects turned on, it is better to take advantage of the flexibility of the PC and replace only the graphics card with the latest product when you have money. Not only is the gaming experience on par with the latest consoles, but you can also enjoy more games, and you get other benefits that only the PC platform offers.
Who will be the winner in the Xbox Series X vs. Gaming PC? It depends on what individual users need. Now, all you have to do is launch an Xbox gaming laptop that can connect the two worlds.
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