Xbox Series X review

Our Verdict

The Xbox Serial X is the meridian of Microsoft's gaming efforts, blending the promise of powerful side by side-generation performance with superfast loading times and a huge library of games spanning multiple Xbox generations.

For

• The only Xbox you demand
• Lots of power
• Games load very fast
• Clean and cool design
• Stellar backwards compatibility

Against

• Few next-gen launch games
• Large and heavy

Tom's Guide Verdict

The Xbox Series X is the pinnacle of Microsoft's gaming efforts, blending the promise of powerful next-generation performance with superfast loading times and a huge library of games spanning multiple Xbox generations.

Pros

• +

  The only Xbox yous need

• +

  Lots of ability

• +

  Games load very fast

• +

  Make clean and cool blueprint

• +

  Stellar backwards compatibility

Cons

• -

  Few next-gen launch games

• -

  Big and heavy

Microsoft's Xbox Series Ten is the ultimate Xbox, simply considering it's the all-time console on which to play Xbox games new and old.

It'southward notwithstanding far from piece of cake to buy but is well worth the effort. Having been out for more than a year now, the Xbox Serial X has a better roster of games for lucky owners to endeavor out, including a scattering of new titles as well as enhanced versions of some of the all-time Xbox One games.

• PS5 vs Xbox Serial 10: Which console should yous buy?
• On a upkeep? Check out our Xbox Serial S review
• The best gaming PCs all the same outperform the latest Xbox

People expecting a new console generation to accident their minds from the previous i might be a scrap disappointed, as the graphics leap from the Xbox One 10 to Series X isn't listen-blowing. But it does ways a lot of games that may have chugged on older hardware volition run much more smoothly and at 4K resolution.

Furthermore, there'southward merely a lot of other stuff to adore virtually the Xbox Series 10. So read on for our full Xbox Series 10 review to see whether the new console has been worth the expect.

Xbox Series Ten specs

	Xbox Series 10	Xbox Series S
Price	$500, £449	$300, £249
Processor	Custom AMD Zen 2, 8-core, 3.8GHz	Custom AMD Zen ii, eight-cadre, three.8GHz
GPU	AMD RDNA two, 12 teraflops, i.8 GHz	AMD RDNA 2, 4 teraflops, 1.6 GHz
RAM	16GB	10GB
Storage	1TB	512GB
Brandish (Targeted)	4K, threescore fps	1440p, threescore fps
Display (Max)	8K, 120 fps	1440p, 120 fps

Xbox Serial 10 review: Price and availability

Released worldwide on Nov ten, 2020, the Xbox Series X is nearing its first birthday, at the time of writing. And it's still stupidly hard to buy.

We've been tracking Xbox Serial X restocks for month upon months, and notwithstanding nearly retailers are out of stock. When they do get new stock in, it sells out in moments. Sadly, with semiconductor shortages ongoing and probable to continue into 2023.

If you do find an Xbox Series 10 in stock, then expect prices to get-go at $499 in the U.Southward. and £449 in the U.1000. On paper at least, the Xbox Series X matches the price of the PS5 in those respective nations.

All the same, information technology'southward more than expensive than the PS5 Digital Edition, which costs $399, or £349. Merely these consoles are oftentimes establish in bundles that come with a higher ticket price.

Xbox Series 10: Buy now or wait?

Accept you lot managed to track down an Xbox Serial X restock, which seem to be lasting piddling longer now we're more than a year after the console's launch? Or are yous wondering if all the console searching is worth information technology?  Then you lot may also be request if the Xbox Series X is worth buying correct now?

Before the end of 2021, I may have suggested you waited. Only at present with the likes of Halo Infinite out and running very nicely on the Serial X, I can thoroughly recommend it.

The Xbox Series X may not be cheap and it's not perfect, just it's got a much healthier game library and superb backward compatibility (more on both after), which justifies its price.

Xbox Series 10: Blueprint

You'd be forgiven for saying that the Xbox Series X looks like a small-course-gene PC, because information technology does; at least when it's standing upright. Its monolithic design could exist seen as uninspired. But I rather like the system's clean and unfussy appearance. Information technology's big, still.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Measuring 15.1 ten 15.1 x 30.one centimeters (5.9 10 5.9 10 eleven.nine inches) and weighing 9.viii pounds, the Serial 10 is a rather bulky machine, though not as big as the PS5. This ways you'll struggle to fit it into an entertainment unit of measurement, unless you lot place the device on its side. There's a quartet of soft pads on one side of the panel to show you which fashion it should be positioned when lying sideways. These likewise forestall the console from slipping around.

(Paradigm credit: Tom's Guide)

I recall the Xbox Serial X looks a little clunky and clumsy on its side, a bit like the lovechild of an audio amplifier and a brick. I keep mine upright and sitting partially backside my TV, and information technology looks rather squeamish in that space, peculiarly as you tin can peer into the tiptop vent of the panel, which has some green accents effectually the holes towards the middle.

(Paradigm credit: Tom's Guide)

Given that the Series X sucks in cool air through the bottom of the console and vents it out the top, I retrieve orienting the console vertically is probably ameliorate for its cooling organisation. Speaking of which, that system runs very quietly and coolly, though y'all can feel a waft of rut if yous touch on the top vent. Information technology'due south a testament to the engineering science Microsoft has put into the Series Ten, given its powerful hardware in a rather compact form. Y'all'd struggle to make a gaming PC this modest with equivalent capabilities.

In fact, while information technology might look a petty clunky peeking out from backside my TV, I think the Serial Ten looks rather expert sitting on a desktop. If you plan to plug the system into a 4K or high-refresh-charge per unit monitor, you could be pleasantly surprised.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

While I wasn't a fan of the VCR-like expect of the original Xbox, the Series 10 appears to be borrowing from the make clean design of the Xbox One X, only making information technology bigger. At that place's no light bar here or spinning LED rings. Rather the only illumination comes courtesy of a jewel Xbox power button that glows a clean white when the Series 10 is turned on.

I don't remember the Xbox Series Ten will go downwardly in console history as a loftier point in tech pattern. But the simple aesthetic isn't likely to age quickly, and I reckon it'll easily get something that melds into your amusement setup.

Xbox Serial X review: Ports

Keeping with the clean look, the Xbox Series 10 has merely a USB 3.ane Blazon-A port and a Blu-ray disc drive on the console's front. There'due south also a wireless controller pairing button. That makes it very like shooting fish in a barrel to chop-chop plug in a controller to charge, or an external hard drive to transfer games and saves to and from the Series X.

(Paradigm credit: Tom's Guide)

Around the back of the Serial X, at that place's a much wider port selection. You lot'll find ane HDMI 2.1 port: crucial for gaming at 8K, and allowing TVs with 120 Hz panels to have reward of the 120 frames per 2d frame rate for sure games. (See the best gaming TVs for recommended models with HDMI 2.i.) There are likewise two more than USB three.1 ports - handy for external storage that you lot plan to keep connected to your console - as well as an Ethernet port and Kensington lock.

In that location'south no optical audio connection or HDMI-in port, like there were on the Xbox One and One 10. However, dropping optical audio is likely to be a pain for only people with powerful audio systems, and the HDMI connectedness can nevertheless deport Dolby Atmos and environs sound signals. We're not really sure if many people used the HDMI-in, so dropping it from the Series 10 isn't a big deal. It also avoids any run a risk of plugging an HDMI cable into the wrong port, then wondering why your Goggle box isn't getting a signal: something that'southward happened to me before.

The most noteworthy port however, is the expansion slot. This is for the proprietary external PCIe four.0 SSD that will let you expand the Serial X with an extra 1 TB of speedy storage.

Xbox Serial X: Interface and Quick Resume

(Paradigm credit: Tom's Guide)

You'll be disappointed if yous were expecting a big user interface modify with the Xbox Serial Ten, as its UI is pretty much identical to that of the Xbox One. That's not a bad thing, every bit that UI was pretty comprehensive, with a whole suite of options from managing games and apps, to transfer data between drives, to finely calibrating HDR displays and sound kit.

There are all manner of interesting options that carry over from the Xbox One to the Serial Ten, such as the ability to remotely admission your panel and stream games over a local Wi-Fi connectedness. Somewhen, we expect to be able to stream games from the Series X over cellular broadband. Simply that was part of Microsoft'southward Projection xCloud game steaming initiative, and has yet to be integrated into any Xbox console.

However, if you take an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, you can stream a range of Xbox games to an Android device, and those will sync with the progress y'all've made on the Series X or Xbox One. In fact, cross-platform syncing is one of the joys of the Series X. Every bit soon as I installed Xbox 1 games on the Series X, the interface pulled my saves from the cloud and allowed me to behave on from where I left off.

Speaking of Xbox Game Pass, a lot of the Series X's UI is geared effectually highlighting what'southward new on the subscription service, which is pretty handy if you're after a new game to play. This Xbox Game pass focus, plus the overall tile menu format can make it a little fussy, and occasionally tricky, to find what yous're looking for, unlike the very clean PS4 interface. Merely anyone familiar with the Xbox One UI will be completely at home on the Serial X. It further stands to highlight how the Series 10 is less of a next-gen panel, and is instead the flagship for an Xbox ecosystem.

If time is money, then the Xbox Series X is going to save you a lot.

One of the best new UI features is Quick Resume. In a nutshell, this allows you to have multiple games loaded up at the same time, and lets you bound out of the activity in one title, then start another game, so spring back into the first game exactly where you left off, nigh equally if you'd simply paused.

(Epitome credit: Tom's Guide)

This doesn't happen instantly, only it's much faster than loading games from scratch. And there are now a practiced deal more than optimized games for Xbox Series X and Serial S that can accept advantage of Quick Resume, not that both consoles have been out for a few months.

Quick Resume is a joy to use every bit well. Merely hit the Xbox push on the controller when you're in one game, navigate to another title and information technology'll load upwardly. Then, hop back to the game you were playing commencement, and you'll be able to go on from exactly where you left off.

Information technology feels like a true game-changer and is a feature that the PS5 doesn't accept an equivalent of, though PS5 games do load very apace. I found that Quick Resume is fantastic when yous want a quick outburst of gaming or want to hop from a single-player game into a multiplayer 1 when your friends come online.

Xbox Series X review: Performance

There are now more than Xbox Series Ten optimized games than in that location were at launch, showcasing what the 12 teraflops of graphics power can do when it'due south applied to patched games, both old and new.

I of the standout titles is Assassin'southward Creed Valhalla. While non a Xbox Series X exclusive it's a game with impressive visuals and graphics setting, and is best played on new games console hardware. When it starting time launched on the Xbox Serial Ten its performance left something to be desired as there were frame rate drops, some screen tearing and an overall performance profile that didn't stand up up to the PS5 version.

Merely afterwards a major patch, the game runs a lot more than smoothly on the Xbox Series X. It targets 60 frames per second, and in my experience more often than not reaches that. But information technology uses a dynamic resolution, which can scale from 4K down to 1440p when there's a lot of activeness on the screen. Then it's not delivering a truthful 100% native 4K feel.

Perhaps information technology's a testament to the quality of the upscaler in my 4K TV, but I can't actually tell when there was a resolution driblet. And for a game that looks every bit good as Assassin's Creed  Valhalla, it'southward impressive that a $500 box is pumping out crisp visuals and a steady frame charge per unit; similar operation on a PC would require an investment of at to the lowest degree $i,000.

(Image credit: Time to come)

Gears 5 is ane title that has been given the full Xbox Series 10 optimization handling. That means it tin run at 4K resolution and lx frames per second, or 120 fps if yous accept a uniform TV.

If you own an Xbox One X, and then you may have already played Gears 5 at 4K and threescore fps, as the console supports that. Even so, that'south a best-instance scenario, and the One Ten will downscale resolution in favor of frame rate when in that location'southward a lot going on in the game. This tin still happen on the Series X-optimized version of Gears 5, but the 12 teraflops of graphics power means that the organization usually maintains a 4K presentation and a reasonably steady threescore fps.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Once again, that might not audio too impressive until you realise at that place's quite a fleck going on to upgrade Gears five's visuals over the 1 X version. It's basically using the Ultra settings found in the PC version, which improves texture detail - though you'll demand to look pretty closely to notice huge differences - likewise as better lighting and improved shadow details.

The game likewise uses something called "screen infinite global illumination," which could be best explained as a "ray-tracing lite." This has the result of illuminating areas that might otherwise be a lot darker, besides as showing muzzle flashes reflected in the chunky Gears armor.

I'm not going to say these upgrades represent a pace into next-gen gaming, just they certainly look impressive and bear witness off Gears five in its best light (quite literally). The game looks utterly fantastic and runs smoothly.

Interestingly, Gears 5 doesn't run on the Xbox Serial X'due south Velocity Architecture, which promises to deliver super-fast loading times. Only it about doesn't need to, as information technology loads games in under 10 seconds. On an Xbox 1 X, you're looking at loading times of xl seconds or more.

(Prototype credit: Rockstar Games)

Simply the about noticeable departure was in Red Dead Redemption 2. Given the size of the game's open-world, it's no surprise that on the I X, a salve file takes well over a minute to load upwardly. In 1 exam, it took i minute 28 seconds to load from the main menu into my well-nigh contempo game save. On the Series Ten, the same save took simply 38 seconds to load, which is a huge improvement. If time is coin, then the Series X is going to relieve you a lot.

As RDR2 hasn't been optimized for Serial X, it will run at 4K, but won't run beyond 30 fps. However, it seems to stick rather firmly to the 30 fps mark, whereas on the One Ten, I'd occasionally encounter frame rate drops. I hope Rockstar releases an update that enhances Red Dead Redemption 2 for the Series X, as I have a feeling the new console would exist able to run the game at 60 fps and 4K, helping add together an extra layer of polish to a game that's already spectacular to behold.

Xbox Series X review: Games

Halo Infinite is coming to Xbox Series X (Image credit: Xbox)

On the whole, at that place aren't a huge corporeality of make-new Xbox Serial Ten games that are sectional for the console. And neither will there be, every bit games will likewise need to be playable on the Xbox Series South, likewise every bit come to Windows ten and Windows eleven PCs.

Sea of Thieves has been optimized for Xbox Series 10 (Image credit: Microsoft)

However, the Xbox Series Ten and Serial S will take upcoming console exclusives in the from of Fable 4 and Starfield, likewise every bit a bevy of other titles.

But while you wait for those games there'due south a bevy of Xbox Series X and Serial Southward enhanced games to play. The likes of Cyberpunk 2077, Forza Horizon 5, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Destiny 2: Beyond Low-cal and Sea of Thieves will all run better on the Xbox Series Ten than other Xbox hardware.

Xbox Series Ten review: Xbox Game Pass

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Xbox Game Pass has been effectually for a while now, offering an easy way to get access to a suite of games for a rather affordable monthly cost of $9.99 or £7.99. This has long fabricated it one of the best bargains in the gaming world.

Simply I'd argue that Game Pass is an essential partner for the Xbox Series X. While the aforementioned launch line upward of Xbox Series Ten games might be a little lacking, Game Laissez passer provides a huge range of new and one-time games to play on the flagship console. Furthermore, many of these come with Xbox Serial X and Series South enhancements, pregnant the Xbox Series Ten is the best place to play such games you may have missed on the Xbox One.

Fork out $14.99 or £ten.99 a month and yous'll get access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which provides admission to Xbox and PC games, equally well as deject streaming and relieve syncing between all three platforms. It'southward simply a fantastic deal — in fact, correct now I'd become as far as to say that Xbox Game Laissez passer is the all-time deal in gaming.

What'south more than a whole suite of upcoming Xbox One and Series Ten games volition exist released day-one on Game Laissez passer, meaning its one of the most affordable ways to get new games.

Xbox Series Ten review: Backwards compatibility

In the run-up to the release of the Xbox Series Ten, backwards compatibility was touted a lot by Microsoft, also as keen Xbox gamers. Such was the hype, I had steeled myself for thwarting. But I needn't accept worried as backwards compatibility on the Xbox Series 10 is superb.

Just put, getting an Xbox game from whatsoever generation to run on the Xbox Series X is merely a example of getting the disc and popping it into the console. If the game is backwards compatible, and many should be, then information technology'll brainstorm an installation process. If you have access to Xbox Game Pass, so yous tin simply download whatever game that'south listed on the service that dates dorsum as far as the original Xbox.

These games won't immediately be able to put the graphical horsepower of the Series Ten to employ, if always. But the fact they tin be installed directly to the console'southward SSD means they'll load up in seconds. And any games that used to run badly on older hardware, should at to the lowest degree be a lilliputian smoothed out.

There are limits in that a game locked at 30 frames per second won't suddenly run at threescore fps or more unless it gets optimized. I found that to be the case with Crimson Expressionless Redemption, which runs at 4K/xxx fps on the Series Ten, much similar it did on the Ane Ten. Throwing Assassin'south Creed two in the Series X results in a game that loads a lot faster and feels smoother than it ever did on the Xbox 360.

As Digital Foundry explains, Xbox I games with loftier-performance targets, performance modes, or dynamic resolution scaling, tend to run at the best settings available to them on the Serial X, thanks to the panel'south raw graphical power. It's important to point out that the Series 10 runs these games in a backwards compatibility way, which means they won't actually be able to benefit from the GPU improvements AMD's RDNA 2 architecture brings to the table, unless they are optimized at a later appointment.

I'm really hoping Microsoft encourages developers to patch older games to have advantage of the Series X's power. Microsoft could also create a organisation that allows the Serial X to bring its full might to behave on older games. But in the meantime, the backward-compatible games roster keeps expanding with Microsoft calculation another 76 original Xbox and Xbox 360 games to the library, including 37 that tin benefit from FPS Boost, a characteristic that heave game frame rates even without developer implementation.

One backward compatibility feature I'm rather impressed by is Auto HDR, which uses machine-learning to effectively apply high dynamic range to games that were never mastered for HDR. In Cherry Dead Redemption and Gears of War Ultimate Edition, I call back the effect works rather well.

As with a lot of AI-based tech, this has the potential to become wrong, and oversaturate or overexpose some scenes. But I didn't encounter whatsoever problems, and fifty-fifty Assassin'south Creed ii looked rather squeamish, though the consequence wasn't hugely pronounced.

Combine this feature with the Xbox Series X's ability to basically bulldoze over unoptimized older games, and the Series X is arguably the best console on which to play Xbox games, from the latest Xbox I titles back to original Xbox games. And I feel there's a lot more potential for astern compatibility to exist improved in one case the Series Ten is out in the wild.

Xbox Serial X review: Controller

Always since Microsoft came up with the Xbox 360 controller, I've been a fan of the Xbox controllers, and the new Xbox Wireless Controller is a great evolution of its predecessor. Though glance at the peripheral, and y'all'd be hard-pressed to spot any major differences from the Xbox 1 controller.

Merely that's not a bad thing, as it'due south a fantastic controller. Minor improvements like textured triggers and an improved D-pad take a familiar controller and only make it meliorate.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The Xbox Wireless Controller has long been ane of the virtually comfortable controllers I've used, taking the Xbox 360 controller and building upon it. And the same is true with the new controller, though it does take a few extra features.

From a quick glance, the most notable change is the improver of a share button for sharing screenshots and recordings with a unproblematic tap. You lot'll then discover that the D-pad is a hybrid one: a concave deejay that should deliver more precision, particularly if you play traditional trounce-em-ups. The finish on the new controller has a more matte wait, with the blackness actualization smokier. The Xbox push is likewise now all-black.

(Image credit: Tom'south Guide)

The new controller fits my hands almost exactly like its predecessor. The triggers are slightly smaller and experience a petty more tactile, as practise the shoulder buttons. And the joysticks take a firmer, more satisfying click to them than those on the older controller.

(Prototype credit: Tom's Guide)

None of these changes are revolutionary — if you desire that and then check out the PS5's DualSense controller — but they all add together up to a nicely evolved Xbox Wireless Controller. The only existent hiccup is that the controller still gets its power from AA batteries. While they can be replaced with a rechargeable battery pack that charges via USB-C, the use of alkaline batteres seems a bit archaic.

To go with the controller, afterwards a fashion, Microsoft has the Xbox Wireless headset. This $99 gaming headset sports a clean design and volition connect to your Xbox via Bluetooth. And the over-ear headphones have support for premium audio formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS Headphone:X.

Xbox Serial X review: Verdict

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

The Xbox Series X is the one Xbox to rule them all. It's a single machine that'll run generations of Xbox games, and run them well. Furthermore, it'll do so without looking fussy or making a racket.

Sure, $499 is still a good wad of cash to driblet on a gaming machine that hasn't however shown any breathtaking next-gen capabilities. But I think it's a reasonable price to pay for the tech y'all're getting. The latest AMD processor and graphics technology promises a lot of ability, and the joy of loading games upward in mere seconds rather than minutes can't exist underestimated. While PCs have had SSDs for a while at present, you'd struggle to build a gaming machine with this ability and advanced storage for $1,000, permit alone one-half that price.

I was originally expecting to feel a petty disappointed with the Series X, given that there'south no one killer app or game to actually make it feel similar a next-gen powerhouse. But as games now wait so good, we're non going to get the graphical bound we've seen in previous generation consoles. Rather, the Series Ten is all well-nigh making the experience of gaming easier, faster and just better.

With that in mind, the Xbox Series 10 is a triumph in the here and at present. Only I can't expect to see what it will be able over the course of its lifetime.

• The best Xbox headsets for Microsoft consoles
• Xbox Series 10 vs. PC: Which is right for you?
• How to connect an Xbox wireless controller to a PC

Roland Moore-Colyer is U.K. Editor at Tom'due south Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He frequently writes nearly gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he's also got an involvement in cars. When not at his desk Roland tin be establish wandering around London, oft with a look of marvel on his face.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/xbox-series-x

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