Current Events > Microsoft needs to be honest about how under-powered Series S really is

(+) Yeah! (+)

As I and a few others have pointed out for a while now, if you actually run the numbers, there's literally no way Microsoft can achieve the same visuals and performance at 1440p with the Series S. Which is why you see basically no games running above 1080p except for 2D platformers.

It has almost four times less compute power than the Series X, that is advertised as a machine that can handle 1440p 60fps. That's half the resolution of 4K, and far beyond the normal capabilities of a comparable PC GPU.

This thing is going to hold back the entire generation if developers have to make games run reasonably on it at 1080p or above.

https://wccftech.com/remedy-xbox-series-s-optimization-is-nowhere-near-as-simple-as-lowering-resolution-and-textures/


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Wasn't it specifically marketed as a 1080p variant of the series x? if so, I'm not really surprised it can't consistently run at a higher resolution.

Edit: just checked and the official Microsoft comparison page has it listed at 1440. I could have sworn it was originally marketed as a 1080p variant, but maybe that's just in my head.

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s0nicfan posted...

Wasn't it specifically marketed as a 1080p variant of the series x? if so, I'm not really surprised it can't consistently run at a higher resolution.

Edit: just checked and the official Microsoft comparison page has it listed at 1440. I could have sworn it was originally marketed as a 1080p variant, but maybe that's just in my head.

They explicitly market it as a 1440p machine. Which is about as laughable as NVIDIA marketing the 3090 as 8K.


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I mean, no one has a 1440p TV; people with 4K TVs are likely getting the Series X. Who does this affect?

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Honestly, the vast majority of people who buy that console dont care. The odds are high they dont even have 4K TVs. Especially not a 1440p monitor. Even if they did have a 4K TV, if they cared at all about the resolution then they wouldnt have even bothered to get the S. People who buy the S are mostly super casual who wont even notice the difference between 1080p and 1440p

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It's the same song and dance.

360 was supposed to be 1080p, it was mostly 690-720p

The xbone was supposed to be 1080p 120fps, it was mostly 1080p 30-60fps

Xbox X was supposed to be 4k, it was perfect for 1080p, some 4k


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DepreceV2 posted...

Honestly, the vast majority of people who buy that console dont care. The odds are high they dont even have 4K TVs. Especially not a 1440p monitor. Even if they did have a 4K TV, if they cared at all about the resolution then they wouldnt have even bothered to get the S. People who buy the S are mostly super casual who wont even notice the difference between 1080p and 1440p

They will notice the hard drive being large enough for 3-4 games total, though

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Do they even make 1440p TVs?

I figured the S is for people who dont have 4K sets and it runs 1080p just fine

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DarkRoast posted...

They will notice the hard drive being large enough for 3-4 games total, though

OK? That wasnt your original point. The PS5 has similar issues. Plus, I think they will care more about how fast their games load vs how many it can hold

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Tired-Insomniac posted...

Do they even make 1440p TVs?

I figured the S is for people who dont have 4K sets and it runs 1080p just fine

We have literally never had a console generation where one of the consoles is this significantly underpowered compared to the others, while still requiring all games to be compatible with it. It's like if the Wii had a requirement where every Xbox 360 and PS3 multiplatform game had to play on Wii as well. Could you even imagine Skyrim on Wii?

Hell, a lot of late generation multi-platform games ran like absolute garbage on the original launch Xbox One, and in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that much weaker than the PS4. I can't even imagine how badly this thing will hold back current gen titles.

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DarkRoast posted...

We have literally never had a console generation where one of the consoles is this significantly underpowered compared to the others, while still requiring all games to be compatible with it. It's like if the Wii had a requirement where every Xbox 360 and PS3 multiplatform game had to play on Wii as well. Could you even imagine Skyrim on Wii?

Uhh, not the same. At all. They both have the same very strong CPU. So games should run the same but the S has lower resolution and textures. Just like how it is on PC

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Anyone that buys Series S deserves to be scammed. Shit is a joke

DepreceV2 posted...

Uhh, not the same. At all. They both have the same very strong CPU. So games should run the same but the S has lower resolution and textures. Just like how it is on PC

That's exactly the original point, though. If we are scaling based on GPU alone, the Series S is so much weaker than the Series X that the numbers literally don't add up. Hell, even at 1080p it doesn't have the VRAM and compute units to match the Series X in titles that use more advanced graphical features like Ray tracing

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They don't 'have to' run games at 1440p just like they don't 'have to' run games at 4k on Xbox Series X and PS5. Which we have already seen several times.

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Another thing, even if it isnt as simple as reducing the resolution and textures, the S is still stronger than a ton of PCs out there. Devs have to develop for almost every PC rig combination imaginable. Developing for a 2nd weaker Xbox is a non issue

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ArianaGrandSlam posted...

o b s e s s e d

This lol. It's cheaper and performs better than the X1X that was the same exact price. Who gives a shit if they have another option for a lower price for people that want it? TC has made like 50 topics about Xbox performance this last year, get over it already.

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My friends series S hasnt worked in two weeks cuz its stuck updating for some reason. Anyone know a solution?
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DepreceV2 posted...

Another thing, even if it isnt as simple as reducing the resolution and textures, the S is still stronger than a ton of PCs out there. Devs have to develop for almost every PC rig combination imaginable. Developing for a 2nd weaker Xbox is a non issue

A ton of PCs out there aren't expected to keep up with modern games for the next 8 years.

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But they were clear about it since the selling point was cost + robust smart delivery >>> GPU.


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It's cheaper and performs better than the X1X that was the same exact price.

It literally doesn't. As exemplified by the fact that it's not compatible with Xbox One X versions of last gen titles.


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DarkRoast posted...

A ton of PCs out there aren't expected to keep up with modern games for the next 8 years.

Expectation =\= reality. Sure they arent expected to but they do it anyway.

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DepreceV2 posted...

Expectation =\= reality. Sure they arent expected to but they do it anyway.

We are talking about a console with what amounts to a GTX 1070 that is expected to be able to play all modern games at good frame rates until 2030.

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console makers lying about their system performance? no, not possible, they'd never do that!

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DarkRoast posted...

We have literally never had a console generation where one of the consoles is this significantly underpowered compared to the others

The PlayStation 2 couldn't even handle the same games as the Xbox.

Not even just a case of turning down some settings. Just literally could not do it.

DarkRoast posted...

We are talking about a console with what amounts to a GTX 1070 that is expected to be able to play all modern games at good frame rates until 2030.

1070 can't do ray tracing so no.

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Darmik posted...

The PlayStation 2 couldn't even handle the same games as the Xbox.

Not even just a case of turning down some settings. Just literally could not do it.

Not exactly the same thing since there wasn't even a unified GPU standard back in 2000.

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DarkRoast posted...

Not exactly the same thing since there wasn't even a unified GPU standard back in 2000.

That's less of a reason to be concerned.

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1070 can't do ray tracing so no.

Actually, yes it can. There are several titles that support it.

It just runs like absolute s***, and with the way AMD handled raytracing this generation, their literal absolute best card (6900 XT) pretty much performs on par with a mid-range RTX card from the previous generation.


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Did TC buy a series x?

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DarkRoast posted...

1070 can't do ray tracing so no.

Actually, yes it can. There are several titles that support it.

It just runs like absolute s***, and with the way AMD handled raytracing this generation, their literal absolute best card (6900 XT) pretty much performs on par with a mid-range RTX card from the previous generation.

And yet the Series S has a couple of titles that handle it fine. Or they just don't bother at all

It'll be okay.

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You seriously need to get some hobbies dude, you make this topic weekly. People who would pick up the lesser console will likely overwhelmingly not have a good enough TV for it to matter anyway.

CM_Ponch posted...

Did TC buy a series x?

TC buys every expensive electronic the week it comes out and then informally reviews it on CE. I think she has two samsung folding smartphones.

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Bloodporne posted...

You seriously need to get some hobbies dude, you make this topic weekly. People who would pick up the lesser console will likely overwhelmingly not have a good enough TV for it to matter anyway.

Cool, glad they'll be holding back this entire generation just so they could save a few bucks.

As far as I'm concerned, this is basically the equivalent of having the Wii be the de facto standard for which all games must be compatible.

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I've had a series S since launch, played it for hundreds of hours and love it to absolute pieces.

I love it as a games machine and for its power to rustle peoples jammies.

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DravenRainrix posted...

I've had a series S since launch, played it for hundreds of hours and love it to absolute pieces.

I love it as a games machine and for its power to rustle peoples jammies.

Stop holding back the generation, now people can't have reflections on objects 0.001% sharper.

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So whats the difference in the Series S and the Xbox One X? (Not to be confused with Xbox Series X)

I have a 1X and despite the Ss performance upgrade it seems to run games the same

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Ermac posted...

So whats the difference in the Series S and the Xbox One X? (Not to be confused with Xbox Series X)

I have a 1X and despite the Ss performance upgrade it seems to run games the same

Series has the SSD so it has vastly improved load times and quick resume

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Tired-Insomniac posted...

Series has the SSD so it has vastly improved load times and quick resume

id say the 1X is good enough at this already, especially considering the price difference

I just dont see the worth in buying an S. Either go series X or wait until price drops and more games release

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Ermac posted...

id say the 1X is good enough at this already, especially considering the price difference

I just dont see the worth in buying an S. Either go series X or wait until price drops and more games release

oh definitely, the One X is likely gonna run shit just fine for at least another couple years

edit: the only other benefit I can think of is the possible FPS boost for older games, but that may just be on the Series X

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DarkRoast posted...

As far as I'm concerned, this is basically the equivalent of having the Wii be the de facto standard for which all games must be compatible.

Wii wasn't designed to handle scaled down 360 and PS3 games.

Even then some games like COD figured it out.

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