The world of Xbox is full of interesting stories, and we came across a particularly unique one recently in the form of a Reddit post from an Xbox owner complaining that their Xbox Series X games were running 5% slower than intended.
The reason? According to them, it seems like they're suffering from a system clock issue:
"I have two XSX and one of them runs consistently slower by 5% in a game because the system clock timing is off. I don’t know if the cause is the crystal oscillator or CMOS battery. I searched for hours and did not find anyone with this problem. Is this a widespread XSX issue no one noticed?"
The Redditer went on to explain that they tested this by going to the Microsoft Edge browser and then using the TestUFO website, which revealed that their slower Xbox Series X was supposedly running at 63 FPS and 63Hz, rather than the expected 60FPS and 60Hz. According to them, "this is consistent with a slow clock".
They also pointed out that King of Fighters XV's training mode was indicating there was an issue when counting frames, and their system clock time on their slower Series X "will drift by 2 minutes in 40 minutes".
"My system clock time will drift by 2 minutes in 40 minutes. I restarted both and the system clock synchronized over the internet to 10:00 AM. Twenty minutes later one was 10:20 and the slower 10:19. Twenty three minutes later one was 10:43 and the slower 10:40."
"King of Fighters XV, a new fighting game, has a training mode that shows how many frames you hold a direction or button. The game counts fewer frames on the slow XSX if I hold and release a button down at the same time on both XSX. For example, the normal XSX shows I held a button down for 100 frames and the slow XSX shows 94 frames. Character idle animation and menu transitions run noticeably slower. If I reset a character on both XSX, the idle animation on the slow XSX will drift behind the normal XSX."
A weird issue, then, but there's plenty of reason not to panic. We haven't seen anyone else report the same thing as this Redditer as of yet, so it certainly doesn't seem to be widespread, and it appears more likely that it's a simple hardware defect more than anything else. The person in question has been trying different things to see if they can figure out the cause, but ultimately this might just be a job for the team at Xbox Support to figure out.
We'll keep an eye on it though, and let you know if we get a proper conclusion. In the meantime, maybe give the TestUFO website a try for yourself, and let us know if you come across the same problem in the comments below.
"I want to see if anyone else is affected and if there’s an easy fix instead of waiting 16 business days for repair or a refurbished replacement."
Have you had a similar issue like this? What do you think is the cause? Tell us!
[source reddit.com]
Comments 34
Not had that issue thankfully but i did have the disc install issue where it won't install from a disc because the cache is full
Uh...I feel ignorant for not knowing whether 5% slower is a lot or not because on paper it doesn't seem that way.
Games run well on Series X, to me.
@IronMan30 5% is 30fps to 28fps, 60fps to 55fps, or 120fps to 114fps.
@InterceptorAlpha tbh, I wouldn't really notice in most instances.
Have you guys opened the https://testufo.com/ website on your Series X/S browser? I get 55-59fps and "Sync failure". On the laptop everything is fine. TV is LG C9 55". I'm always wondering how to check that VRR works fine.
@Banjo- I did test it while writing this and got 60fps and 60hz, but I've seen other people suggesting they got the same as you as well, so I don't think it's a foolproof testing method really.
@FraserG I see. I'm also curious to see if VRR is working fine on my Series X + LG C9 setup. I turned VRR on but I don't know how to check it.
@Banjo- on the magic wand remote, press the grew button with two white dots seven times. Will open an info menu that tells you current frame rate, resolution, bit depth, and VRR status.
Unfortunately it isn't full proof because some games, like Halo Infinite, tell the Xbox to report that VRR is enabled when it is not.
Do you have the C9 as well? I pressed the white dots button seven (and more) times and nothing happens. I point at the top left corner and press on "Xbox" banner and it says the resolution and aspect ratio but no VRR information.
@Banjo- You are pressing the green button?
I pressed the black and white button with three dots. Now I pressed the green button with two dots many times and nothing happens either. I have Allow variable refresh on in Series X settings but I can't get any information about VRR on the C9.
@Banjo- I'll give it a try when I get home, pretty sure I spammed the green button though. Unless c9 is different than cx
@Moto5 They might be different in menus although C9 also supports VRR. Do you know a game which frame rate difference is obvious with VRR on and off on Series X?
Elden Ring, Guardians of the Galaxy, CP2077, RE8 with RT and Ghostrunner with RT are games I found VRR to be noticeable
@Banjo- As I was simply curious, I tried the UFO site on my Series S and get a solid 60 on a Sony X900h without a hiccup. As I understand that the Xbox browser doesn’t support 120hz.
Switching over to VRR mode didn’t make any difference in the Xbox browsers performance nor does it indicate that VRR is supported that I can see.
cant be a CMOS battery issue as series X doent have a cmos battery
@trev666 I was about to post exactly that. So I’m not sure how knowledgable this person is with this issue, I don’t think it will affect performance in anyway but if the clock is losing time like that he should be contacting Microsoft really.
@Moto5 The 9 series is different to the X series in that regard. The B9/C9 does not really have any screen that tells VRR info, the best you get is the HDMI diagnostics from going into the settings menu, going to channels there and pressing 1 five times while having the first option selected.
@heksesang How exactly can I reach that option/menu?
@Moto5 I'm going to try it with Guardians of the Galaxy because it's on Game Pass and I wanted to play it anyway. Should I choose an specific video mode (performance...)?
@Dunric Probably, it's just the Series X browser that it's not optimised for video syncing and perhaps it doesn't support 120Hz either.
@Banjo- I have the B9, but I assume this is pretty much the same on the C9. In which case you open the settings sidebar and select the "All settings" option (the one that opens the full settings window and not just the quick settings), navigate down to the "Channels" section, select the section so that the first option in the section is highlighted (something like this, don't know if the menu has changed since they made this image, but you get the idea: https://displaycalibrations.com/images/posts/LG_OLED_Hidden_Diagnostics_01.png), then you press the 1 button on the remote five times.
What should happen is that you'll get an overlay with lots of diagnostics, and if you press right on the remote, it should highlight an HDMI option on this overlay - select that option and you'll get HDMI diagnostics which are more detailed than the banner information. At least on the B9 it does not specify the VRR directly, but it does report the frequency of the screen there, so it should be possible to test if you have a source which you know have a varied framerate.
@heksesang Thank you, that worked indeed 👍. I see the refresh frequency (60Hz because I have Dolby Vision on but I can turn it off if necessary). I'm going to try games and check if it reflects changes with VRR on and off.
EDIT: Nope, the frequency information is not synchronised with the frame rate but good to know how to trigger this menu anyway.
@Banjo- Yeah, performance mode. Most 30 fps modes are fairly locked in seems
@Moto5 OK, Guardians of the Galaxy in performance mode, then.
PS: OK, I noticed VRR working when spanning the camera. Is this just a system feature or do games need to be programmed to support it as well?
@Banjo- I thought it was supposed to be a system level feature like GSYNC on PC, but doesn't work for some games like Halo Infinite and Dying Light 2 (think it was fixed I a patch for this game) There also used to be VRR compatible tags on games in the online store, but those are gone now.
Sony blog post about VRR seemed to imply that support will should be patched in for existing games, but that there will also be a system level setting to force it. Sounds like the implementation of forced Super Sampling on PS4 Pro.
@Moto5 I see. Now that you mention that Halo Infinite doesn't support VRR, it would be great to know what games support it.
PS: Guardians of the Galaxy is fantastic!
@Banjo- Sadly there dosen't seem to be a reliable way to find out besides digging around forums and trying yourself.
Not a big deal for Halo Infinite in quality mode on XSX, but 120fps mode is pretty much trash for anyone sensitive to unstable framerate.
Also remember VRR dosen't make lower framerate "feel" like 60. Going between 55-60 isn't very noticeable in gameplay, but dropping to the 40-50 range still plays like an unstable game if control input or smooth camera scrolling are important. All it does it does is fix frametime judder.
And yes Guardians is awesome! I was very surprised with how much I enjoyed it
@Moto5 Yep, I think Halo Infinite is fine at 60fps. So, if a game is running at 45-59fps, VRR wouldn't make them 60fps but the frame pace would be fixed so they wouldn't stutter but run proportionately slower? Or would they run as if they were 60fps?
I also loved the films and the game makes more sense if you have watched them.
Yes, the display can adapt a variety of refresh rates, so the judder felt at anything other than native refresh (or a number divisible by it) are essentially gone. Game speed or framerate does not change due to VRR.
It's nice to have, but it's not magic. If you have access to a ps5 with R&C Rift Apart and a 120hz display you can get a good feel for how different framerate and refresh rates effect game presentation and input lag. The game can do 30fps, 40fps with a 120hz display, 60fps and a 60fps with lower input lag on 120hz display. It's interesting to see and feel differences.
Or if you have a good PC you play around with different refresh rates of course.
I don't know how slow or fast my xbox is. I don't pay attention. I just know that my xbox double presses buttons when I press once. When I use the same controller on pc, I don't have that issue.
@CutchuSlow I have this issue once in a while as well. Also get dropped inputs here and there. I quit playing Hollow Knight on that platform because of it actually, was infuriating. Maybe it could be related to clock issues.... I have some research to do
@Moto5 When the frame rate is 45, the game still runs at 45fps during those seconds with VRR, so it runs slower than 60fps but smoothly and there is no stutter, correct?
@Moto5 it is just like the c1 is different then the cx each is using a different ui so the buttons change not sure what the c9 one is or if it has it.
@Banjo- yes, there should be no frametime spikes that judder the image or introduce screen tearing
2 series x'x in the house and a series s and no such issue. I would personally send it in if it's under warranty but the way you describe it... Should have no effect on performance
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