Digital Foundry Article Technical Discussion [2020]

[Jay]

Series S is 1440P at 30FPS... Series X only manages 1440P at 60FPS for a game that's OK looking. Options are good. If you want the highest resolution and don't mind 30FPS great, if you want 60FPS with lower resolution great.

As i suspected yesterday, the XSS isn't being placed in context when this is reported.

XSX for solid 60fps has a 1080p mode.
So how could XSS do it at 1080p60 that's just stupid.
I'm sure the PS5 will have equivalent modes as the XSX.
It seems really bad but it's the engine not the consoles.

When put into context of current gen and next gen, it's performing ok.
I'm actually surprised people aren't saying 1080p60 for the XSX and this is supposed to be next gen!

 

[mpg1]

As i suspected yesterday, the XSS isn't being placed in context when this is reported.

XSX for solid 60fps has a 1080p mode.
So how could XSS do it at 1080p60 that's just stupid.
I'm sure the PS5 will have equivalent modes as the XSX.
It seems really bad but it's the engine not the consoles.

When put into context of current gen and next gen, it's performing ok.
I'm actually surprised people aren't saying 1080p60 for the XSX and this is supposed to be next gen!

XSX is 1440p/60fps. But yes I agree with your overall point.

 

[Jay]

XSX is 1440p/60fps. But yes I agree with your overall point.

It has a 1080p60 mode also for a totally locked 60fps.

 

[iroboto]

That Yakuza running at 900p 60fps on XBSS doesn't make it look too appealing if you are looking for that 1440p machine.

indeed. It's pretty bad.

But the title seems painful across the board. Hopefully not too many of those going forward.

 

[Cyan]

Sorry, I didn't want to bother. XBSS is the best.

although I won't probably have a console this next gen, I think the philosophy behind XSS is the smartest of the new generation, imho. It's my fav next gen console.

haha, ah yes, this was definitely me. Or at least I was on this side of the argument. I think there is truth in it. But I also think the long term strategy when you are falling behind on compute power is to go back to resort to some form of baking.

that and also this....

Could be the consoles' saviour

https://twitter.com/x/status/1316342709368520704

 

[mpg1]

It has a 1080p60 mode also for a totally locked 60fps.

Oh ok, didn't know.

 

[iroboto]

although I won't probably have a console this next gen, I think the philosophy behind XSS is the smartest of the new generation, imho. It's my fav next gen console.

It's certainly weaker than the other 2 consoles for sure. But it's also affordable for families that can't really afford gaming.
As a tech enthusiast this is at contradiction for me. Of course on one side you want to see the best possible graphics. But on the other hand, you don't want that limited to only the people that can afford it.

 

[PSman1700]

As a tech enthusiast this is at contradiction for me. Of course on one side you want to see the best possible graphics. But on the other hand, you don't want that limited to only the people that can afford it.

True. Consoles are a compromise for that reason anyway, be it XSS or XSX at the top of the range with its 12TF of compute power. It's never going to be the best tech if it needs to be somewhat affordable.

 

[dobwal]

Good point, and these two are somewhat related. Racing games may hit the CPU hard at the start of a race with a full field of AI competitors in view. That was an issue with Dave’s (unfairly infamous) Redout review.

AI competitors hit on the CPU should remain constant. They are present throughout the race. Otherwise, the game is just spawning AI into the game to create a feeling of racing against other cars. A bunch of cars in view would hit the gpu.

 

[Cyan]

It's certainly weaker than the other 2 consoles for sure. But it's also affordable for families that can't really afford gaming.
As a tech enthusiast this is at contradiction for me. Of course on one side you want to see the best possible graphics. But on the other hand, you don't want that limited to only the people that can afford it.

that's why I think it's going to be a success, perhaps more so than the XSX, even if this one is way better. But on countries that are developing or going through the hardships of this global crisis and the pandemic....., it could sell more than the Series X

 

[Silenti]

I was trying to find an article or a graph. There was something about the modern price points at which the consoles sold. I could swear a very high percentage came at the $300 and under price, but now I cannot find the article.

 

[Jay]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1316342709368520704

How reliable is this person?
Obviously the stand out is DirectML upscaling.

Fully utilizing RT could mean anything really.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

It's certainly weaker than the other 2 consoles for sure. But it's also affordable for families that can't really afford gaming.

The problem I see with the XBSS is the SSD size. People who can't afford the XBSX or PS5 for price might indeed choose the XBSS however if and when they run out of SSD space, I doubt many will go looking for the slotted 1TB card due to it's price.

 

[iroboto]

The problem I see with the XBSS is the SSD size. People who can't afford the XBSX or PS5 for price might indeed choose the XBSS however if and when they run out of SSD space, I doubt many will go looking for the slotted 1TB card due to it's price.

Yes the size is hurting. I hope that they can get 10 games on there at least.

 

[mpg1]

The problem I see with the XBSS is the SSD size. People who can't afford the XBSX or PS5 for price might indeed choose the XBSS however if and when they run out of SSD space, I doubt many will go looking for the slotted 1TB card due to it's price.

I had the same concern but DF's testing of external drives makes me think an XSS paired with an external SSD would be workable...

 

[AzBat]

They would be better off waiting for a bump in internal storage on future systems & trading their system in for that. This is where the All Access program could come in handy.

Tommy McClain

 

[dobwal]

The problem I see with the XBSS is the SSD size. People who can't afford the XBSX or PS5 for price might indeed choose the XBSS however if and when they run out of SSD space, I doubt many will go looking for the slotted 1TB card due to it's price.

They can always buy a cheap external HDD for cold storage. Large amounts of SSD storage is a deep pocket feature.

 

[dobwal]

How reliable is this person?
Obviously the stand out is DirectML upscaling.

Fully utilizing RT could mean anything really.

Yep. It probably doesn’t mean solely RT rendering. At best it probably means full utilization of the RT hardware and not “we threw rasterization out the window.”

 

[mpg1]

They would be better off waiting for a bump in internal storage on future systems & trading their system in for that. This is where the All Access program could come in handy.

Tommy McClain

Not sure how All Access would be have any advantage over buying and selling/trading a console the normal way?...If anything it would be harder given the financing is handled by a bank separate from the retailer...at least here in Canada it is...

Either way given that they are already losing money on these consoles and the cost of flash storage...could be a while before they would bump it.

 

[AzBat]

Not sure how All Access would be have any advantage over buying and selling/trading a console the normal way?...If anything it would be harder given the financing is handled by a bank separate from the retailer...at least here in Canada it is...

Either way given that they are already losing money on these consoles and the cost of flash storage...could be a while before they would bump it.

Originally with All Access, you could upgrade from the Xbox One X to the Series X after you made 18 of the 24 payments. So my thinking is every 18 months you would just upgrade to the newest console & keep your same monthly payment. If they don't offer another Series system with bigger storage this whole idea is moot.

Tommy McClain