The next biggest clash of consoles. We will take a closer look at the hardware differences, upgrades, Quality of service and the price to value offered in the Xbox Series X vs PS5 Specs. However this will not be a comprehensive review as the consoles have not been released yet. Nevertheless we can still form a decent buyers guide and be in anticipation.
It was made possible when Xbox released a blog post revealing some information about their latest piece of tech, and wired.com did an interview with Sony. So without further procrastination lets go ahead and take a long hard look at Xbox Series X vs PS5 Specs.
Xbox Series X vs PS5 Specs
| Xbox Series X | Sony PS5 | |
| CPU | 8x Cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.6 GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU | 8-core 3.5 GHz AMD Zen 2 |
| GPU | 12 TFLOPS, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU | 10.3 TFLOPS RDNA 2 |
| RAM | 16 GB GDDR6 | 16 GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 10GB @ 560 GB/s, 6GB @ 336 GB/s | 448GB/s |
| Optical drive | 4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive | 4K UHD Blu-ray |
| Graphics | Native 4K, 8K Support, Up to 120hz | 4K, 120hz refresh rate, 8K Support |
| Internal Storage | 1 TB NVMe SSD Storage Drive | Custom 825GB SSD Storage Drive |
| Expandable Storage | USB 3.2 External HDD Support, External 1TB SSD Expansion Card | NVMe SSD Slot, USB HDD Support |
| I/O Throughput | 2.4 GB/s (Raw), 4.8 GB/s (Compressed) | 2.4gB/s (Raw), 4.8GB/s (Compressed) |
| Price | $499 | $499,$399 for Digital Edition |
Well this is the basic hardware layout for both the next gen consoles. The Xbox series X is set to release on November 10, while the PS5 on November 12. The Xbox upgrades have been based primarily on power, speed and compatibility. Although the processors are similar the clock speeds of the Series X is a bit higher. Still it is not a significant step ahead of the PS5 CPU.
Xbox Series X vs PS5 Build
The Xbox is more of a rectangular PC tower build. The symbol is on the top corner and the disc drive in front of the console. The black chassis and shape are perfectly proportionally built for a console.
The PS5 on the other hand has gone unorthodox mode. Resembling an oversized optimus prime head for the build. It has 2 white fin like structures that enclose the whole console and sort of coming closer to a triangular look at the bottom.
The PS5 is available in two versions. The standard and the digital. The latter doesn’t have the disc drive.
Xbox Series X vs PS5 graphics
The Series X is 1.7 teraflops ahead of the PS5. Xbox states that it’s not about games looking better, but making games play better. Both the companies Sony and Microsoft have been aiming towards hardware accelerated ray-tracing. Which was done so long ago by Nvidia RTX. And now this technology has been implemented with the next gen consoles.
As you can see both the consoles support 60 frames per second at 4K resolution and aim at 120Hz. Although game developers are responsible for resolution and frame rates both Sony and Microsoft are ensuring everything is perfect on their end.
Therefore although the Xbox is a bit ahead on GPU power doesn’t necessarily mean every game will utilize it. Also since both consoles have used SSD you can definitely expect faster loading times. PS5 developers commented on this feature excitedly. Not only the faster loading speeds but the added efficiency of the SSD over HDD.
SSD unlike HDD do not require duplicated data, thus saving space and developers can use this extra space as they please. Also game installations will be different in the PS5. Meaning you can choose to install different parts of the game separately. For example you play the single player campaign first, delete it then install the multiplayer and continue.
Game compatibility
Given the feedback of the community for the 360 backward compatibility in 2015 the developers worked even harder to progress. So that the games on Xbox One, Xbox 360 and original Xbox games, will play even better on Xbox Series X. Hence the introduced ray-tracing. Players will definitely enjoy the power of upgraded hardware for backward compatible games.
The gaming saves and the progression are also improved along the way. Also new features such as Smart Delivery which means you have to make the purchase only once. You will get the latest version of the game as you upgrade the console. A new system is available for cross generation multiplayer.
The PS5 lacks a little in the backward compatibility area. The developers have said that most of the PS4 games run very well on the PS5 although it might not work for every title. However the PS1, PS2, PS3 games will not run on PS5. Only the PS4 titles can be upgraded. As they will utilize a common software to run PS4 games on PS5 while the upgrades made for the PS4 Pro are still in place.
Xbox Series X vs PS5 Games
Xbox first demonstrated its capacity with the release of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II.
Some other titles include Scarlet Nexus, Chorus, Assassin’s creed valhalla, Cyberpunk 2077. Many existing titles have promised to leverage the maximum out of the Series X. Gears 5 will have an optimized version available at the launch and they will make use of smart delivery as well. Halo Infinite is also a much awaited gameplay on the Series X.
Also another striking factor is the Xbox game pass. A common library possessing collections of all the games for you to access from all your devices. The number has passed 10 million count across the community for those who joined the Xbox game pass.
PS5 also has some exclusive titles to claim. Final Fantasy XVI will be released on PS5. No details about a PC version though. Some other titles include Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Horizon: Forbidden West. Also games such as The Ghost of Tsushima, The last of us: part II can be expected to be played on this console too.
Controllers for both
We can all recall the Sony’s Dualshock 4 controller. With the latest controller, few hardware changes has been made and aren’t even purely visible. However the grip is improved with the angular adjustments to the trigger.
There are a few notable internal changes that kick out some positive attributes. Improved feedback during gaming, dynamic resistance adaptivity with the game flow are some of them.
The same can be said for the Xbox controller as well. An addition is the share button in the middle of the controller just like the Dualshock 4. Performance wise the latency is improved to reduce the delay.
Conclusion is that both the controllers haven’t abandoned their original prototypes, but made a few minor outward adjustments. Nevertheless the tech is developed to enhance positive user interaction. Regardless, most experts recommend the PS5 DualSense is ahead of the Xbox Series X controller.
Xbox Series X vs PS5: Price
Don’t forget that there are two consoles to be released by Microsoft. The Xbox Series X and the Series S. The Series X is priced at $500 while the Series S is tagged $300. Pre-orders for the Series X began on the 22nd of september.
Sony announced the price of PS5 to be $500 and that is the full package with the integrated disc drive. The digital edition costs $400. It is impossible to predict which one has the fair price tag although the PS5 Digital Edition is the same as the PS5, minus the disc drive.
Conclusion
Well there you have it. We cannot call this an actual Xbox Series X vs. PS5 Specs review since the performance part is yet to be investigated. But as soon as they are released we can examine whether or not those proposed performance metrics are actually real. Maybe FPS won’t go as high as 60 or maybe it will.
Yet both the consoles contain the latest tech upgrades and are tempting to interact with. Regardless I stick to my choice of a well built-mid range gaming PC. Nevertheless console gamers have a ton of performance updates to experience with the new consoles.
