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A cleaning note from the start: As part of an ongoing look at the Xbox Series X, this article (as well as the video above) will cover overall impressions of the box itself and the controller, along with the performance of the supported Xbox One. with previous versions and Xbox 360 Games and the Quick Resume feature that allows you to quickly switch from one active game to another. I’ll be covering the new and optimized Series X games and general Xbox Series X impressions in the coming weeks.
First, a word about the console itself: it is strong, But in a good way. When you hold it, it feels like a $ 500 premium, for what it’s worth. When you turn it on, the box makes the same startup chime as the Xbox One family of consoles, and I’m a bit disappointed by that, honestly. I get the consistency, but I would have liked a new sound. As I speak subjectively, I think the X Series looks great in its portrait orientation too. It looks bold and assertive in your entertainment center, with the green-tinted concave vent perforations on top adding some really nice visual appeal. I can’t say the same when he’s lying on his side; looks more like a fireplace log.
More importantly, this thing is quiet. It’s almost inaudible when idle, and in Red Dead Redemption 2, for example, it’s still pretty quiet, much louder than the Xbox One X, which gets noticeably louder under full GPU load. We’ll see what your acoustics look like when you have new games to use all 12 teraflops … It also boots from an always-on state almost instantly, and obviously faster than Xbox One X. Cold boot, too, is also much faster than the One X, taking 10-12 seconds compared to nearly a minute for the One X.
Meanwhile, the new controller is a slight improvement over the original Xbox One controller; I like the new D-pad and the grip texture on the rear handles and triggers, but it still pales in comparison to the Elite version 2 controller. Which, of course, should be for how much the Elite costs. Fortunately, Elite v2, like every other Xbox One accessory that doesn’t have the word Kinect, works well on the X Series.
Next, let’s talk about storage. It’s no secret that game install sizes are only getting bigger, and ISPs’ monthly bandwidth limits are a concern for many gamers (in fact, I popped mine for the first time while downloading a ton of games to try on Series X), so you’ll need to use your 1 terabyte wisely. To be clear, that’s 802 gigabytes of usable space, after OS and system files. When you plug in the expensive 1 terabyte Seagate storage expansion slot that gives you all the benefits of the internal drive, you add 920 gigabytes of usable capacity. A more affordable alternative is to use a cheaper USB 3.1 external hard drive to store next-gen games you’re not playing and simply move them around as you like, saving you the need to download them every time. Also, the transfer between the Xbox Series X NVME SSD and a USB 3.1 drive is quite fast.
Yes, you can play backward compatible games from an external drive, but you will want to run them from the internal SSD, because the loading time advantages are significant. I ran tests with Red Dead Redemption 2, Halo 5, Control, State of Decay 2, as well as the Xbox 360 games Grand Theft Auto 4 and Fallout 4. Results ranged from best to better. Newer and higher performing games like Red Dead 2 and Control got the most benefits, but every test I ran yielded a noticeable advantage. Also, I tried Quick Resume and Microsoft was not kidding. Works! I like that they even put a little “Quick Resume” icon in the upper right corner of the screen so you know you won’t have to wait for the whole game to load from scratch.
In conclusion, while I’m still waiting to play a next-gen game that makes the most of the Xbox Series X (stay tuned for coverage on that), it’s clear that your old catalog will get a boost from the new console regardless of whether your favorite game has received or not specific optimizations of the X Series. In fact, the SSD pampers it quickly. I never want to see my Xbox One X again.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive trailer editor. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked and send him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.
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