"The hideous Xbox One X is the best way to play console games."
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Improves performance for all games
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Xbox One X Enhanced games look and run great
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4K UHD Blu-Ray player
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Sleek design
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Very easy to use
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4K recording options are limited
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The timeliness of the Xbox One Enhanced Patches is unclear
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Performance improvements can be unpredictable in non-expanded games
When Microsoft introduced Xbox One X, an updated version of Xbox One at an intimidating price of $ 500, the company claimed the new hardware was "the most powerful console ever made". Years later, with the console in hand, we can confirm that the Xbox One X is delivering on that promise. Well, at least until the Xbox Series X comes out later this year. However, performance does not always lead to improvements. Both loyal Xbox fans and potential PS4 owners want to know if the new Xbox really improves new and old games.
Short answer? It does.
Every game we played, regardless of whether it received an "Xbox One X Enhanced" patch or not, has seen a noticeable increase in performance over Xbox One and Xbox One S. This happens regardless of your setup – although the gain is most noticeable if you have a 4K HDR10 TV.
Even though games look better and run better, the differences aren't so big that you can't live without them. Like its PlayStation counterpart, the PS4 Pro, it is aimed at players who simply cannot tolerate a second best experience. Still, the Xbox One X is the best console for most multi-platform games until the next generation.
In the black box
The Xbox One X is a further development of the Xbox One design. It is, as Microsoft has often said, 40 percent smaller than the original Xbox One. It's about the size of the Xbox One S, though a little denser at 8.4 pounds. However, don't be fooled by the number "40 percent smaller". The PlayStation 4 Pro from Sony is about the same size and the PS4 Slim is even smaller.
We prefer the matte black finish of the Xbox One X over the white Xbox One S, which tends to show more wear over time. We also prefer the placement of the fans. The sides of the device are covered with small, subtle air holes, unlike the One S, which had numerous large fan holes over half of its case. This should make it easier to stack Xbox One X with other devices without restricting airflow.
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The Xbox One X is the most power-hungry console of this generation.
Les Shu / Digital trends
However, you won't buy the Xbox One X because it looks like this. As previously reported, the Xbox One X has the most impressive console hardware to date. It has an 8 core 2.3 GHz x86 CPU, a custom AMD GPU that can produce 6 teraflops, and 12 GB DDR5 RAM. Even compared to the PS4 Pro, that's a lot of graphics processing power. The Pro, which is far more powerful than the standard PS4, has a GPU that calculates 4.2 TFLOPS and “only” 8 GB RAM.
The only disappointing hardware in the Xbox One X is the terabyte hard drive. Twice the storage space of the standard Xbox One model is an improvement, but it's still not enough to find storage space for anyone who frequently buys games online. Even if you only download the Xbox Live Gold games that the publisher provides every month, most players will fill this hard drive in no time. Even worse, 4K assets and uncompressed audio files can increase the file size of games. We recently saw several games slightly exceed the 100 GB mark. So it's fair to say that some big games take up this space pretty quickly.
Still a solid home theater device
The One X maintains all connections of the Xbox One S and for players who prefer to buy games in the store, it has a 4K UHD Blu-Ray player. The console has HDMI input and output if you want to filter your TV service via Xbox and want to switch channels with Cortana instead of your remote control. This function works just like the One S – and we still prefer a remote control. You will also find three USB 3.0 ports – two in the back and one in the front – which can be useful if you want to use the console's recently added mouse and keyboard support or if you want to connect an external hard drive to store more games. Finally, there are IR-Out and S / PDIF connections for advanced surround sound setups and of course a good, old-fashioned Ethernet connection.
Every game runs at least a little bit better on an Xbox One X.
Many of the above features don't directly contribute to games, but can be useful for your home theater setup. We liked how the Xbox One S can simultaneously serve as a 4K UHD Blu-Ray player, game console and TV streaming box. The Xbox One X can do the same. 4K Blu-Ray and HDMI pass-through are features you won't find on any PS4.
The console also supports advanced surround sound options like Dolby Atmos. Atmos, which reflects sound from walls and ceilings to simulate the effect of sound movements, can be spectacular, but an Atmos surround sound system is extremely expensive. There are headphones, including gaming headsets, that simulate the experience, but they are rare.
Like the Xbox One S, the One X does not have a dedicated Kinect port. Players upgrading from an original Xbox One will still be able to use it, but you'll need to purchase a Kinect USB port. It's a small but noticeable inconvenience to upgrade Xbox One players. Microsoft has already stopped producing the Kinect, so the lack of a port is not surprising.
Xbox One improved, but some games more than others
What does all the power do to make your video games better?
The important things first; The games that show the most improvements are the ones where developers spend extra time and are optimized for the hardware. These games, which Microsoft calls Xbox One Enhanced, show the maximum potential of the console. First and foremost, this means that you are working with 4K resolution in the high dynamic range without affecting the frame rate of the game. All Xbox One Enhanced Games we played showed great visual fidelity improvements and a smoother frame rate. At a time when it feels like bugs and performance issues are pulling games down, it's good to see games run better than before.
Les Shu / Digital trends
Les Shu / Digital trends
Microsoft has announced over 100 current and upcoming games that have or will have Xbox One X Enhanced Patches. While we have a handy list of enhanced games that are already available, you can use Microsoft to filter your game list to display only your Xbox One X Enhanced games. It may not help you decide what to play, but it's a nice touch, especially for new owners who want to put the console through its paces.
While playing Gears of War 4, one of the few games that we had access to and that received an Xbox One Enhanced patch before launching the console, we found that the game looked much sharper on the One X, even in the Compared to Xbox One S 4K upscaling. We found that non-essential details in the area, including brick walls and trees, retained their sharpness even when we weren't around. The face of JD Fenix, which usually has tremendous detail in cutscenes and is viewed from close up, retained its definition in combat sequences where the game's camera was further away.
The new console's increased fidelity can change the way you experience games in unexpected ways.
Super Lucky’s Tale, an Xbox One console-exclusive adaptation of the 3D platform by Oculus Rift, which is launched next to the One X, does not offer a high level of detail, but simply runs sharply with an incredibly high and uniform frame rate. It runs the way all games should run with no problems, stuttering or quirks. To be fair, it simply means that the game is well done. It's not like there have been significant issues with other Xbox One models – rather, the One X maximizes the game's colorful cartoon aesthetic.
The new console's increased fidelity can change the way you experience games in unexpected ways. In a section of Gears 4, we looked up at the moonlit sky and found that not only was the moon brighter and more detailed than on the Xbox One S, but we could also see streaks of light and energy around it. The Gears of War franchise takes place on a fictional, earth-like planet called Sera. When we first played the game, we ignored this fact – but with the increased fidelity of the Xbox One X, the game felt more like a fully realized world.
X will give it to you
Every game runs at least a little bit better on an Xbox One X. Even games that weren't optimized for Xbox One X and ran on a non-UHD monitor at 1080p ran a little better on the One X than on the One S. I think that's obvious, but it's anything but Of course. Even with the general "boost" mode added months after launch, the PS4 Pro's benefit is largely limited to platform-optimized games, and these benefits are often most noticeable only on a 4K screen. The Xbox One X does what most players expect from a more powerful device. This power is automatically used to make games run better.
Les Shu / Digital trends
Les Shu / Digital trends
However, there is a catch. The way a game's performance improves, especially when playing on a 1080p television, varies from title to title. For example, DOOM showed slightly improved graphics and almost imperceptibly shorter loading times. But even on a monitor without HDR, the colors and lighting in Destiny 2 became brighter and the details on my ship were more clearly highlighted. Destiny 2 also showed a smoother frame rate on a 4K TV compared to the Xbox One S 4K upscaled graphics. Most games we tried showed one or two of the following – sharper graphics, improved frame rate, or slightly improved Loading time.
Would you rather buy the console with the best games or the console that great games can do their best with?
Simplicity is both a blessing and a curse. If you have a 4K HDR10 TV with a refresh rate of 60 Hz, the console automatically detects and adjusts your settings. At the system level, however, there are no options to customize or optimize how the console uses its additional performance. Especially for non-4K players, the option to choose between improving fidelity, smoothing a frame rate or minimizing loading times would be an advantage.
Since the PS4 Pro launched in 2016, some games have added additional options like this. None of the over 10 games we played on the console showed such options, although not all of them had received "Xbox One X Enhanced" patches that would likely add these features.
4K video recordings are possible and not easy to share
With Xbox One X, you can not only play games, but also take screenshots and record 30-second video clips in 4K. Although it's a nice touch, the functionality feels extremely limited. Video clips recorded in 4K will appear at a lower resolution when you publish them to Xbox Live. You can set your screenshots and videos to be recorded directly on an external hard drive. However, the hard drive must be NTFS formatted. This means that you cannot save your clips and videos on the same external hard drive that you would save additional Xbox One games on.
In other words, recording gameplay in 4K is primarily a feature for tech-savvy owners who are willing to take the extra steps required to bring their high-definition gameplay online.
Our opinion
Xbox One X is the best console for playing popular multi-platform games. Though the $ 500 price tag is hard to accept, the hardware is impressive enough to feel like it is money well spent, and it's regularly on sale for much, much less than that today, as the Xbox Series X is coming soon.
However, when we look at the players who are most likely to buy it – players who already have a game console – it becomes more difficult to sell. There are no exclusive Xbox One X games, and the console's greatest strength is an expensive peripheral: a 4K TV.
While we can absolutely recommend the Xbox One X at the hardware level over the $ 400 PS4 Pro, the PlayStation 4 platform offers a much larger number of exclusive games, including some of our favorite games of the year. In contrast, Microsoft software release from first-party vendors appears to have decreased in recent years.
Ultimately, the Xbox One X offers an interesting fold for serious gamers. Would you rather buy the console with the best games or the console that great games can do their best with? It's a decision console players have never had to make.
Is there a better alternative?
Not right now because we're still waiting for Xbox Series X and PS5 to be released. If all things are the same, Xbox One X offers the best technical experience of all game consoles. If you're ready to invest in a high-end gaming PC, this has its advantages, but it's also more complicated.
How long it will take?
The original Xbox One remains relevant even after the Xbox One X is introduced. The Xbox Series X will be released later this year. Fortunately, almost all games are expected to be compatible with the Xbox Series X at least in the first year the new generation comes out. However, it is getting faster and faster when the Xbox One X is not worth it, how backwards compatible the upcoming consoles are.
Should you buy it
Yes, if you don't have a console in this generation. The Xbox One X is regularly on sale. The price is easily justified by incredible performance, a wide range of functions and a huge library. However, the Xbox Series X will be available later this year and will be compatible with most if not all Xbox One games. So better wait for it or for the PS5.
This article was last updated on April 27, 2020 by Cody Perez, a Digital Trends employee.
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