Xbox Series X vs. Xbox Series S: Which Xbox should you buy?

Xbox Series X vs. Xbox Serial South: Which Xbox should you buy?

an image showing the Xbox Series X vs. Xbox Series S

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The Xbox Serial 10 and Xbox Series S have been out for over a year and are now very much current-generation machines.

While the Series X is Microsoft'south flagship panel, the Series S is more than affordable, meaty and less powerful, though still a compelling console in its ain right. Both accept backwards compatibility features, making them peachy machines to supercede your old Xbox console, even though some games remain cross-generation.

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But while the Series Ten is the more than powerful games console, you sill might be request in a head-to-head betwixt the Xbox Series X vs. Xbox Series S, which is all-time? Well, nosotros feel it's more a case of 'which panel is improve for you?'

Xbox Serial X vs. Xbox Series S: Cost

Xbox Series X vs. Xbox Series S — (Image credit: Tom'southward Guide)

The Xbox Series Due south' price is one of only a few categories in which it definitely beats the Xbox Series X. Only put: the Xbox Series Due south costs $300, whereas the Series 10 costs $500. (Prices vary from land to country, but the differential is similar.)

You can make enough of arguments about how the Xbox Series X does more to earn its cost, or how "price" and "value" aren't the same thing, or how the Xbox Serial S might not exist equally useful in the long-term. But for correct now, the Series S is $200 cheaper than the flagship Xbox, and that might brand a big departure, depending on your budget and your current entertainment setup.

Of class the Serial S is also a lot easier to find, with restock issues nonetheless hampering Series X availability despite all the time that's by since its release. For that reason, anyone looking to purchase a side by side-gen console might well agree that the Xbox Serial S is the right console to buy right now.

Xbox Serial X vs. Xbox Serial S: Operation

Whereas the Xbox Serial S has a articulate price reward, the Xbox Series X has a articulate hardware advantage. While the two systems have the aforementioned CPU, they have different storage and RAM capacities. There'south too a pregnant difference in the two consoles' GPUs. Consult the chart below for a full breakdown of Xbox Series X vs. Xbox Series S specs:

	Xbox Series X	Xbox Series S
Cost	$500	$300
Processor	Custom Zen 2, 8-core, 3.8 GHz	Custom Zen 2, eight-core, 3.8 GHz
GPU	AMD RDNA two, 12 teraflops, 1.eight GHz	AMD RDNA two, four teraflops, ane.six GHz
RAM	sixteen GB	10 GB
Storage	i TB	512 GB
Display (Targeted)	4K, lx fps	1440p, 60 fps
Brandish (Max)	8K, 120 fps	1440p, 120 fps

In our tests, the Xbox Series Ten performed better than the Xbox Serial S beyond the board — not surprising, considering the Series Ten'southward hardware. While the Xbox Series South has 4K upscaling and HDR features, it's not quite the same thing as having a native 4K display. The Xbox Serial X supports ray-tracing on a huge diverseness of games, while the Serial S has much more than limited ray-tracing support. The Series X also has much better draw altitude in optimized games.

Qualitatively speaking, the Xbox Series S looks good and plays well, even on 4K displays. If you lot have a 1080p Television or 1440p monitor — and plan to keep using it for a few more years — the Serial S is an easy sell. But if yous have a high-end TV, salve your pennies for the Serial Ten. It'due south worth the upgrade toll.

The Xbox Serial X also has a 4K Blu-ray histrion congenital in; the Xbox Serial S is a purely digital panel. This means that if you have a lot of physical media — be they movies, Television set shows, or backwards-uniform games — the Xbox Series Ten offers a huge advantage over the Series S.

Xbox Series X vs. Xbox Series South: Design

While the Xbox Series X is a pretty panel, there's no denying that it'due south pretty big: 11.9 10 5.nine 10 v.9 inches, and nine.viii pounds. Information technology'south not at all guaranteed to fit in your entertainment centre, particularly if you desire information technology in a horizontal configuration.

This is where the Xbox Series S positively shines. The little white console (with the tasteful black vents on peak) is but x.8 x 5.nine x 2.half-dozen inches, and four.3 pounds. It's one of the smallest, lightest consoles in years, and it fits perfectly in an amusement center — or simply adjacent to a TV on a dresser. The Xbox Series S is like shooting fish in a barrel to fit into any setup, and easy to move around.

For this reason, the Xbox Series S makes a fantastic secondary console for a sleeping room, child's room, guest room — y'all go the idea. This is especially true since most Xbox Series Ten/S games are likewise available on PC, and your save data tin carry over — especially true if you lot use Xbox Game Pass Ultimate ($xv per calendar month). On the other hand, we also realize it'southward a luxury to own a unmarried console for the living room; an extra one might exist pushing it.

Xbox Series 10 vs. Xbox Series South: What'due south the aforementioned?

The interesting thing about the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series South is that they have many more similarities than differences. Their game library, interface, controller, backwards compatibility, app choice and CPU are all identical. You lot can still play 30 "optimized for Xbox Serial Ten/S" games at launch, including Gears 5, Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Forza Horizon 4 with slicker graphics and faster load times on both systems. Both the Xbox Serial 10 and Series S also support the Quick Resume feature, which lets you lot suspend multiple games and jump dorsum into them within seconds.

In other words, think of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series Due south like two different configurations of the same gaming PC. One is more powerful and has a few extra bells and whistles, only they can run still software — at least for the moment.

Xbox Series X vs. Xbox Series S: Verdict

xbox series x, xbox series s — (Image credit: Future)

There's no denying that the Xbox Serial X is the more powerful of the two systems, and the better investment, if yous tin can beget information technology. Nevertheless, there are a few circumstances under which an Xbox Series Due south might however be a smart buy.

The "secondary panel" example described above carries some weight. If you have a 1080p TV and no plans to upgrade someday soon, the Serial S is the way to go — and when you do become a 4K Television receiver, it'll nevertheless exist a good stopgap arrangement thank you to upscaling.

Otherwise, become the Xbox Series X, even if you lot have to put off your purchase and save upwardly for it. With more powerful hardware and ameliorate physical media features, information technology'south more future-proof and versatile than the Serial Southward. Yes, $200 can purchase a lot of games, but you may only be delaying a more than expensive purchase a few years down the road.

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom'due south Guide, overseeing the site'southward coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. Afterwards hours, you can observe him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.