We're taking a look at another Digital Foundry analysis this afternoon, as the outlet has embarked on a teardown of the Xbox Series S hardware (which you can watch above), calling it a "genuine engineering marvel" in the process.
The teardown, performed on a dead console by DF's Richard Leadbetter, is said to have revealed "simply excellent" design and construction, and the Xbox One S's mainboard is "frankly massive" by comparison. He notes that "Microsoft clearly worked extra-hard in making Series S as small as it could possibly be."
You can watch him go into the process of actually taking it apart in the video, but the conclusion he comes to is that if a PC manufacturer was doing the same thing as the Xbox Series S for the same price, it would get rave reviews:
"If a PC manufacturer had put together an ultra-small form factor unit like this, packing this much performance into this small a box, the reviews would be stellar. The idea that Microsoft is shipping this at $299/£249 is remarkable."
"Yes, Xbox Series S is a 'cheap' console but perhaps 'inexpensive' would be a better description - as the quality of the engineering from top to bottom is simply first-class."
The Xbox Series S has definitely had its critics — both pre and post-launch — but the overwhelming majority of owners have shown nothing but love towards it so far, and it continues to impress with the ability to run games at up to 4K resolution and/or 120fps in some cases. We at Pure Xbox think it has a very bright future ahead!
What are your thoughts on the Xbox Series S in general? Let us know in the comments below.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 50
Works perfect. I have the X and got the S for my partner for us to play coop together. I still can't believe how small the console is. No complaints here.
Went with X but I’m starting to see the place for S, even though I didn’t at the beginning of this generation.
Just got an LG C1, all linked to my sound bar and Series X. Wow everything works perfect, looks and sounds amazing.
Have Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos working perfect as well on the series X, no hand shaking issues. It just works perfect.
Got 120hz with Dolby Vision thanks to the LG update. It really is a series x gamers tv.
@The_New_Butler
Spot on! I've had one for two months now and I love everything about it. Storage space is probably dependent on what games you play. I usually play one space hog at a time and supplement it with a few smaller games. Right now I have 7 games installed and still 180 GB free. Once these Seagate expansion cards drop in price I'll get one for sure, though. A great console to complement my PS5. Microsoft has done a great job with both XSX and XSS this gen.
I bought a s to play fifa, nhl, f1 and wrc. I’m very happy with what I am using it for.
I said it before i'll keep saying it, If the Series S had a disc drive i would of gotten the Series S over the Series X..
I am seriously considering getting one as a Game Pass machine to go alongside my PS5 and Switch...
@Razputinman I use mine strickly as a Game Pass machine. I play everyday. Good games just keeps arriving and I have a few old ones I always keep in the loop. No regrets.
I love my series s. No regrets at all.
I have been a PS owner since the beginning, but got a Series S and Game Pass. Was wowed by the value and performance. Now got a Series X for the main room, and two Series S consoles for my children. Have been playing games for over 30 years, and believe this is the best era for gaming. Microsoft Flight Sim is just stunning.
I don't own a next gen console, but if I did, it would be a series S.
Nobody can deny that as a piece of technology its incredibly well made and a ridiculously cheap price for what it is, an equivalent PC CPU alone would be that price
Absolutely love my Series S. I'll get a Series X when I can but in the meantime I'm very happy with my S, it's a fantastic little machine.
Both Series X/S are what they have been promised to be. Series S is a perfect 1080p Next gen console. Totally worth the price.
Got mine a month back and i've been loving it, its a great little machine.
@Rural-Bandit
Well apart from the tv is amazing and works extremely well with the Series X like in perfect harmony.
Maybe look into screen size and your viewing distance on the internet, there are some recommendations.
I was one of the initial, VOCAL, few who were asking "why series s? Just get an x. This is stupid." I was also one of the many who couldnt get a hold of a series x. Come early april, I find a series s available at walmart. Ordered it, and have been eating my words, ever since. Its compact form, is superb; quick resume and the ssd, with the faster loads, game changing😉; faster downloads, magik. Enjoying "optimized" games and the fps boost helps with the backlog.
Will I still get a series x, if and when I can, but til then I'll enjoy my series s with the same enthusiasm as an x.
@Dezzy70 I’ve also just joined the LG C1 club, having previously owned the C7. Fantastic combo having the Series X, TV and soundbar all working together, the picture and sound are amazing.
Back on topic, I was initially a little sceptical about the Series S however got one for my son. He’s never complained once about the small differences in performance, and the size of the console itself makes it perfect for a bedroom. Couldn’t be happier with it.
@Rural-Bandit LG have an app called LGTV-AR which uses augmented reality to show you what your TV will look like in your setup. Worth downloading on your phone or tablet to see if the size of TV you want is right for what you have.
@ChopperCampbell
Amazing tv glad you joined the LG C1 gang.
I actually returned the Sony A80J and got the LG C1 and give me the LG C1 any day.
Also with movies and sky q tv.
That Sony tv is overrated and over priced
At £1599, my LG C1 55 £1360 Costco 😊
@Joe20255 I completely agree. Best time to game is now.
the Xbox series s is only a genuine marvel to only non hardcore gamers
@The_New_Butler i am the person u described. Ive got a switch, and even a ps4 pro, but i probably play tha series s the most. Gamepass is dope, and since im not buying as many games, i dnt feel bad now for getting different dlc.
Series S is tempting but I still think I’d prefer to save for the Series X.
Love the Series S, an amazing machine. At some point when I get a 4k TV then I'll probably upgrade to the X.
I have a series s and x. I travel a lot with work etc and the s is absolutely perfect. I have a 14inch fold up 1080p monitor and I am amazed by how good this tiny little console is.
@uptownsoul Glad we have an expert on here...literally rolling my eyes at your comments.
@SpecialT Exactly. At 1080p the series s is fantastic value for money.
I love the Series S, it's an amazing GamePass machine.
I'm sure the people who talk it down forget that it costs less than a Switch while delivering current gen gaming.
@The_New_Butler I would argue storage isn’t an issue. The smallest amount of games you could fit on it from a next gen perspective is 5, based on a 95gb installation size.
Are you really playing this many games at once?
@The_New_Butler i agrree but if your playing on a 4k tv that doesnt do 120hz the One X is better choice as it can do 4k , the quick load times are nice but 512gb on the Series S is nothing if you load up COD, Flight Sim, your alrready at 50% capacity and no disc drive F that, used games are cheap. all these reasons are why i believe MS stopped making the One X a year before the Series X/S came out. i had a Series S forr a 4k tv my one X looked better and being it was for a second system i ended up reselling the series S in less then a week... Series X or bust imo... that and a bunch of 3rd party developers have made comments that the Series S is holding back this gen as they make the games for the lowest common denominator....point is the Series S is for people who dont own any xbox dont have a 4k tv or plan on buying one and plan on buying a expansion card down the line. or people who use PC monitors with 120hz 1440p resolutions.
@RadioHedgeFund yes! with gamepass im constantly playing at least 4 games from gamepass... right now MLB the Show, Hellblade now that the series X/s upgrade came out, Flight Sim, and Mechwarrior 5... on top of that i have Apex Legends(on external drive right now) Madden, NBA 2K21, and Fifa 21 the sports games are all series X/S games if i had a series S i would need a expansion card just for those, not to mention i play Mortal Kombat 11 Halo MCC and Dirt 5 from time to time... yes i could swap from drive to drive but thats a 10-15 mins each time for each game as my externals are only 7200rpms, or i could download my games again which is faster but i have data caps(F comcast) so point is 512gb is not enough neither was 1tb for me i got the expansion card(free due to walmart f'ing up and forgeting to ring it up but i was gonna pay for it) if i had to i could make it work but why bother...my real feeling on the Series S is it was like it was the original Series X design but then MS got a peak at sonys specs and upped the anti to the Series X but then didnt want to lose all that money on RR&D on the Series S so thats how we got where we are(this is all my weed soaked brains idea)
@The_New_Butler all the things you mentioned are things you can deal with longer load times and what notand i agree the cpu is weaker but on a 4k tv its resolution looks sharper, and if both are gonna play at 60fps or 30fps as the case may be other then load times i see no point in the series S if your on a 4k tv. to me its a waste of 300$ id rather spend the 200$ extra get the extra storage space and have 4k or spend 100$ less and get the One X used and have 4k and the slower load times...i have both series X and One X as my second system.
my point was specific to 4k tvs if you have one i think the Series S is a waste of your money...if you got 1080p Series X is a waste unless you plan on upgrading soon to a 4k screen...this is my opinion how i feel and how i recommend to friends and family...really if you can save and get the Series X and be done with it.. i feel it has a niche market which is why i can walk into my walmart right now and walk out with a series S they arent really hard to find here in Jersey.
In Poland there are plenty of them in every electronics shops, no one wants to buy them. It may be because Xbox is not as popular in Poland as Playstation and also because maybe people don't want to buy inferior version of a console fearing it won't last long in terms of game performance and prefer Series X. I think if gamepass will be a success in long run when first party games will finialy release on regular basis, then will Series S succeed as second console for others. Think this is the main aim of Microsoft, to make it second console for Playstation owners.
@Dezzy70 when using my LG cx6, LG GX soundbar, xbox Series X and Dolby Atmos I keep having a 1/2 second of delay in the audio. How did you connect all?
@Rural-Bandit personally I'd say 48inch is too big to be playing comfortably at a gaming desk
As a PlayStation fan, I completely skipped the One Series last gen despite loving the 360. Came back onboard when I spotted the Series S at Best Buy. At only $299, I thought "why not?" ... and I've been loving it! The form factor is beautiful, Ultimate Game Pass is a stellar deal, and XScreen will turn this console into a gaming laptop that tops my actual gaming laptop, haha. Kudos to Microsoft for a job well done 👌
@Razputinman as a Switch owner who wanted access to games like Alien Isolation, Doom eternal and a bunch of indies, it was pretty cost effective to switch to Xbox Series X because it meant I could immediately access those games via Gamepass. Now a few months later, probably 30% of my Switch library is on Gamepass (Katamari, DOOM 1-2 & 2016, Dragon Quest XI, Octopath traveler, Enter the Gungeon, a bunch of others) plus other games I've always wanted to try. As someone who has original Xbox and 360 discs, I can play a good portion of those in the disc drive on top of that. Series S would be great if you want to save some cash and play a ton of super high quality games. Highly recommend it, almost pays itself off after you beat 5 AAA titles
@Blessed_Koz in the here and now perhaps the One X is a decent option but in a year or 2 that's going to have very little or no support. Even on a 4K TV Hitman 3 looks great on Series S and runs significantly better then on One X, with Cyberpunk also performing much better on it. The only real advantage One X has is on Xbox One games but cross gen and next gen it'll be left far behind
I bought one because i wanted to see what all the Game Pass fuss was about and they were cheap and available. Glad I did because I love it! Great little tidy machine.
@phoenix1 everyone is entitled to an opinion but you are commenting on an article where a gaming tech specialist has called the Series S a genuine marvel.
I love my Series X and when games stop being developed for last gen I will probably replace the wifes X1X with a Series S.
Great price yes, but m$ knew they'd make money back on games sold. Just like printer makers and ink.
I was a bit dubious at first but after doing a bit of research , I decided to purchase one back in March with seagate expansion card , really happy with series s , really small and runs like a dream and super quiet. Loving the fast loading , visuals and Quick resume . 😉😘
@Razputinman Exactly what I did and very pleased with it!
@Lupaie79
Ok,
Series x into LG C1 tv, HDMI.
Samsung Q950T sound bar EARC into LG C1 TV
EARC.HDMI.
Then do settings on tv and series x.
In all honesty the tv picked it all up and did all the setting from tv to sound bar apart from turning EARC on.
The series x, do the visual and audio settings.
I've been tempted to get a Series S because it's more readily available than the Series X has been near where I live. But, I also want to give myself as many options to play games as possible and I still prefer physical to digital, so I'm trying to hold out until MS can get more Series X out there on shelves.
@Dezzy70 done all that but keep having issues. I give up haha
@Lupaie79
Have you tried the lip sync setting
Mine are on the LG TV.
I love it. It’s my main console for now, I’ve sold my switch, gaming laptop and PS4 as I don’t have the time for all of them and really love my Series S. Perfect for game pass, all the streaming apps etc, just how quick and snappy everything is your instantly in your games and switching between them so fast. Had it running on a 4K tv playing AC Valhalla, everything looked absolutely stunning and on a 1080p screen at 60fps. Basically for your money you aren’t getting a better gaming machine in my opinion and as I work away and travel back and forth every week it’s a perfect size. Storage is a pain but I have a 1tb HD and just transfer games back and forth so not too bad on that front even if a pain. I guess the only problem with the Series S will be longevity and getting left behind/ slowing down when more intensive hardware transfers over in the future, for me not too major a problem I’ll just make an upgrade but absolutely love my Series S since I bought it at launch.
I just wish there was a way to have a disk drive on it. Some games are just not available digitally anymore and only acquirable via second hand market, due to licensing or whatever other reasons.
I sold my PS4 pro to get one. wanted an X but i can't complain about the S at all.
do i miss buying second games? or playing certain games that may not be digital? a little bit; but overall what i don't miss is the clutter of all the disks.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...