Late 2020 will see the launch of two highly anticipated next-generation consoles with the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5. Given the current state of things, you might be turning to gaming while in self-isolation. Find out what are the major differences between the Xbox Series X and PS5 to help you decide which next-gen console you should go with.
Xbox Series X
Microsoft beat Sony out of the game in terms of revealing their next-generation console back in December. A major distinction for many is the exclusives that will be available for a console. So far, it has been confirmed that Xbox Series X will have exclusive titles such as:
- Halo Infinite
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
- Scorn
- The Medium
As far as what features the Xbox Series X has to offer, the upcoming black-boxed console will have the following specifications:
- CPU: 8x Cores at 3.8 GHz (3.66 GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU
- GPU: 12 TFLOPS, 52 CU/s at 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU
- RAM (memory): 16 GB GDDR6 with 320mb bus
- Memory bandwidth: 10GB/s at 560 GB/s, 6GB at 336 GB/s
- Internal storage: 1 TB Custom NVME SSD
- I/O Throughput: 2.4 GBs (raw), 4.8 GBs (compressed, with custom hardware decompression block)
- Expandable storage: 1 TB
- External storage: USB 3.2 external HDD support
- Optical drive: 4K UHD Blu-ray drive
- Backward capability: Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, accessories
PlayStation 5
Sony recently revealed all the details of the PlayStation 5 at their Future of Gaming livestream event. Along with the console itself, several exclusive PlayStation 5 games were announced, including:
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Gran Turismo 7
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Horizon: Forbidden West
- Demon’s Souls
- Sackboy: A Big Adventure
Here are the specifications for the PlayStation 5:
- CPU: 8x Cores at 3.5 GHz (variable frequency)
- GPU: 10.3 TFLOPS, 36 CU/s at 2.33 GHz (variable frequency)
- RAM (memory): 16 GB GDDR6
- Memory bandwidth: 448 GBs
- Internal storage: 825 GB Custom NVME SSD
- I/O Throughput: 5.5 GB/s (raw), up to 8-9GB/s (compressed)
- Expandable storage: NVMe SSD slot
- External storage: USB external HDD support
- Optical drive: 4K UHD Blu-ray drive
- Backward capability: PlayStation 4 Games, PSVR
Major Differences Between Xbox Series X and PS5
Based on the specifications, the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5 have many of the same features. However, it appears Xbox Series X has the PlayStation 5 beat with memory and storage. Sony also announced that they will also be offering a digital-only version of the PlayStation5. As far as exclusives are concerned, both will have their own titles at launch and beyond, but right now it looks like Sony has Microsoft beat—of course, that’s all based on preference. No price for either of the consoles has been officially confirmed yet.