While some of the Xbox Series X technical specifications were already known, Microsoft is sharing more details about the gaming hardware coming this holiday season. Perhaps one of the most relevant information is that the Xbox Series X console is now confirmed to be capable of 12 teraflops of graphics performance.
In other words, the next-generation console will be twice as powerful as the Xbox One X and eight times more capable than the original Xbox One. This essentially means that gamers will see a significant improvement on gaming performance, including higher frame rates, larger, more sophisticated game worlds, and a more immersive experience.
Although Microsoft has previously announced that the console will support Variable Rate Shading (VRS), it will actually be a new “patented” form of VRS. According to the company, instead of spending GPU cycles uniformly to every single pixel on the screen, developers can prioritize individual effects, resulting in more stable frame rates and higher resolution. In addition, the console will support hardware-accelerated DirectX ray tracing for more dynamic and realistic environments.
Microsoft is also confirming that the Xbox Series X will feature a custom designed processor using an AMD Zen 2 and RDNA 2 architectures. And this time around, the console will use an NVMe SSD, which should help to significantly speed up load times.
Xbox Series X will include HDMI 2.1 to enable 8K gaming, and features like Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR). In addition, the console will support high refresh rates up to 120fps.
Alongside the hardware details, the company is also sharing details about other features, including “Quick Resume” and “Dynamic Latency Input (DLI).”
Quick Resume is a new feature that will allow you to resume multiple games from suspended state nearly “instantly.” And Dynamic Latency Input is another feature available with the Xbox Series X that synchronizes input immediately with what is currently on the display, and makes controls are even more precise and responsive.
As for compatibility, the Xbox Series X has been confirmed to be backwards compatible with Xbox One, Xbox 360, and the original Xbox games.
Microsoft is announcing Smart Delivery, which is a new feature that basically allows you to purchase the game once, and the right version will download no matter the console that you’re using. This means no more buying a game for Xbox 360, and then paying again for the same game on Xbox One.
The Xbox Series X console is expected to launch during the 2020 holiday season, and the company says that will share even more details in the coming months.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].