I’ve been smiling from ear to ear for months anticipating the release of the next gen gaming systems. Both Sony and Microsoft are long overdue for new gaming products. As a bit of light in an arguably dark year, Sony announced their PlayStation 5 systems and Microsoft announced their Series X systems. Many people will be forced to choose between the two this holiday season. Here’s how they match up.
XBOX Series X Comes Out Swinging
Microsoft was the first to share details of their new system earlier this year. I’ve supported Microsoft in the past but in recent years, I’ve been more of a Sony gamer. That might change this year though.
The XBOX Series X sports a sleek design that is certainly different than anything I’ve ever seen. Aside from the rectangular design, it’s built with air flow channels that help it breathe. With substantial cooling, you don’t have to worry about the system fan being louder than your game. 4K visuals and Dolby sounds; Microsoft is looking to put a powerful product in the market.
Here are the specs as posted by Microsoft.
- CPU: 8x Cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.66 GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU
- GPU: 12 TFLOPS, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU
- Die Size: 360.45 mm
- Process: 7nm Enhanced
- Memory: 16 GB GDDR6 w/ 320mb bus
- Memory Bandwidth: 10GB @ 560 GB/s, 6GB @ 336 GB/s
- Internal Storage: 1 TB Custom NVME SSD
- I/O Throughput: 2.4 GB/s (Raw), 4.8 GB/s (Compressed, with custom hardware decompression block)
- Expandable Storage: 1 TB Expansion Card (matches internal storage exactly)
- External Storage: USB 3.2 External HDD Support
- Optical Drive: 4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive
- Performance Target: 4K @ 60 FPS, Up to 120 FPS
Playstation 5 May Be the Underdog.
The reason I say that is because of the lack of backwards compatibility. The PS5 will not be able to support older games from past systems like PS2, 3, etc. For many gamers, that’s a pretty big issue and I’ve got to be honest, I would enjoy being able to play NCAA Football 14 on my new PS5. The price for the PS5 systems is also slightly higher than what Microsoft is offering. But even with those odds stacked against them, Sony may still have the superior system in this fight. I’ve been a Sony customer for 26 years.
Let’s take a look at the PS5 specs. See more on Sony’s site.
- CPU: AMD Zen 2-based CPU with 8 cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency)
- GPU: 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency)
- GPU architecture: Custom RDNA 2
- Memory interface: 16GB GDDR6 / 256-bit
- Memory bandwidth: 448GB/s
- Internal storage: Custom 825GB SSD
- IO throughput: 5.5GB/s (raw), typical 8-9GB/s (compressed)
- Expandable storage: NVMe SSD slot
- External storage: USB HDD support (PS4 games only)
- Optical drive: 4K UHD Blu-ray drive
A side-by-side comparison? Thought you’d never ask. Shout out to my family over at IGN.
