Microsoft has been hinting at their next console for some time now; in fact, it was first teased at last year’s E3 gaming expo. Now, a full year later, Microsoft has finally taken the cloak off of “Project Scorpio” as it was previously called and unveiled the Xbox One X. Yes, I too wish they stuck with Scorpio.
But what exactly sets the Xbox One X apart from its predecessor, the Xbox One, and, furthermore, what will persuade consumers to buy it over its rival Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro? Right off the bat, it’s significantly more powerful than both, it’s predecessor and the PlayStation 4 Pro. Under the chunky exterior, the Xbox One X features a custom 8-core AMD CPU clocked at 2.3GHz, a 6 teraflop GPU clocked at 1.17GHz and 12GB of GDDR5 video RAM. In comparison, the GPUs on the Xbox One and Sony max out at 853MHz and 911MHz, respectively.
This setup lets the Xbox One X easily handle 4K/HDR gaming with Dolby Atmos support. Furthermore, if you lack the display for 4K viewing, the XBox One X will also make games look better in 1080p thanks to supersampling. Customers will also get one terabyte of hard disk space. To keep it all from overheating and turning your brand new console into a puddle of plastic, Microsoft developed a liquid-cooled vapour chamber.
It’s interesting to note that these powerful specs will also allow the Xbox One X to run virtual reality content, something Microsoft hinted at last year, although they remained quiet on the subject this year.
When it comes to discs, the new console will also feature a 4K Blu-ray drive, much like the Xbox One S. Furthermore, existing owners of the Xbox One can rejoice as their games from the console are compatible with the Xbox One X. You also won’t have to rebuild your game library or buy new accessories for the Xbox One X, as it’ll be compatible with everything from the Xbox One.
Microsoft also announced a slew of games that will be available to play on the new console when it launches. Forza Motorsport 7 will be one of the 42 titles available to play, with 22 being console exclusive.
The Xbox One X will launch on November 7 to at a price of $499.
Source: Microsoft
