XBOX ONE X is the third game console in the XBOX ONE series, created by the American company Microsoft. It was released for sale in November 2018 and from the moment of its release to today it is considered the most powerful gaming console in the world. In many respects, it significantly surpassed its predecessors, XBOX ONE and XBOX ONE S, and is considered the main competitor to the PlayStation 4 Pro in the game console market.
Figure 1. Xbox One X Console
XBOX ONE X owes its high-profile fame to a number of improvements that developers have provided to this model. To understand what is the uniqueness of this console, it is worth considering its main features.
Description of appearance
In terms of exterior design ONE X continues the traditional course for the company towards minimalism. The case of the set-top box retained the canonical simplicity and clarity of the lines that were observed in previous models. Most of all, the console looks like the XBOX ONE S, but the shell has a black color with a matte finish. At the same time ONE X decreased in size compared to its predecessor. The dimensions of the set-top box are only 240x60x300 mm, and it does not look much like the bulky XBOX ONE, which consumers dubbed the "video player" at one time.
Figure 2. Comparison of the sizes of the Xbox series consoles (bottom to top): One, One S, One X
Despite its modest size, the console became heavier. Its weight is 3.8 kg, which is almost a kilogram more than the mass of the older version. However, this difference is due to the fact that the new model is the owner of more powerful iron.
On the front panel of the case there is a start button, a pairing button for the controllers, an optical drive slot, a USB connector and an IR receiver.
Air intake perforations are located on the sides. Thanks to them, as well as the internal liquid cooling system, the console works silently and practically does not heat up even when loading the most modern games. To achieve a balance between power and performance, the XBOX ONE X uses the “Howis method”. This name is called modern power technology, the principle of which is to individually adjust the voltage of each individual console.
Figure 3. Rear console
On the back there are connectors for external power and HDMI, a pair of additional USB drives, an output for an IR blaster, an optical S / P-DIF audio connector and an Ethernet connector.
As in ONE S, this console does not have a connector for Kinect, however, it is still possible to connect it if you purchase a special adapter for this purpose.
Upon purchase, the following items and accessories are included in the XBOX ONE X package:
- Bluetooth controller
- two AA batteries for the gamepad;
- the prefix itself with the instruction manual;
- two-meter HDMI cable;
- power supply cable;
- activation codes for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass services for a period of 2 weeks and 1 month, respectively.
Figure 4. Options
Specifications
Memory
The creators solved one of the main problems of previous models, namely, they figured out with small amounts of RAM. ONE X is equipped with 12 GB of high-speed DDR5 memory, unlike the XBOX ONE S, which at the time of its release in 2016 had 8 GB of DDR3, which was already not very fast. And although the additional 32 MB ESRAM was supposed to balance the operation of the device, they did not greatly fix the matter.
The standard volume of the console hard drive is 1TB. At first it may seem that this is not so small.But since most modern games have very high picture quality and, accordingly, take up a lot of space on the hard drive, additional memory may be required later.
CPU and graphics card
XBOX ONE X boasts an improved processor compared to previous versions of the console. So, the octa-core 8-core AMD Jaguar processor increased the frequency from 1.75 GHz to 2.3 GHz, which positively affects the smoothness of games.
Figure 5. CPU
The throughput of graphic memory has also increased. Now it is 326 GB / s as opposed to the previously 204 GB / s.
The graphics card has also undergone changes for the better. The AMD Radeon chip has 40 computing units operating at a frequency of 1172 MHz, while the XBOX ONE S had an AMD Radeon GCN-12 graphics card at 914 MHz. Such a significant modernization entailed an increase in productivity, which is 6 teraflops. And this, in turn, allowed to significantly increase the quality of the picture.
Resolution
At the moment, XBOX ONE X is the only console that supports native resolution, as close as possible to 4K. Experimentally, a value of 3584 × 2016 was established, while the true value of 4K is considered to be 3840 × 2160. This is several times higher than the PS4, the average resolution of which in games is 2560 × 1440.
Such a high resolution affects the quality of detail and texture rendering during the game, not only on a 4K TV. It also improves the image on screens with a resolution of 1080p, as the so-called “supersampling” technology is used in the game console. It makes the picture smoother, and dynamic scaling allows you to shrink the image without losing clarity.
A more complete immersion in the game contributes to the modern optical drive Ultra HD Blu-Ray, which is able to support Dolby Atmos surround sound technology and HDR format.
Cost
It is logical to expect that with such technical equipment, the XBOX ONE X will surpass previous versions in price. The cost of the console is about $ 500, which automatically makes it not only the most powerful, but also the most expensive of all available in the series.
Review of available games on the XBOX ONE X
The manufacturer even before the official release of the console released dozens of games exclusively on ONE X. Among them you can find games of completely different genres, ranging from action games and shooters to sports races. You can enjoy 4K resolution by playing in the sequel to the titles that many XBOX fans love, such as Forza Motorsport, Gears of War, State of Decay, Crackdown, and others. Also on sale there are several original projects, for example, “Sea of Thieves”, and a lot of independent items.
Compatible with other games in the series
A lot of hit games that went to the consoles of the entire line of XBOX, also became available for XBOX ONE X due to the fact that the developers were anxious to provide them with special patches.
Figure 6. Xbox One games
Adapting existing games to the new console model is not difficult at all. It is enough to download the update and save the settings to an external drive. After that, transfer the data to the console hard drive.
Today, there are over 200 games supported on the XBOX ONE X, including the acclaimed Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Dishonored 2, Overwatch, Life Is Strange 2, Minecraft, and the latest Red Dead Redemption 2. . The quality of the picture and the range of drawing in 4K resolution really pleases the eye. The only drawback is that in some cases the patch for the game can take up as much disk space as the game itself. However, for many, this is not too big a fee for the opportunity, for example, to relive the events in your beloved CS GO with modernized video and sound.
You can download patches for a game console for free from the Microsoft website.
Where to buy games for the console
Since most XBOX ONE games are backward compatible, this makes it much easier to find and purchase game content for ONE X.The average price of games adapted for this console is from 2000 to 4000 rubles. You can purchase them both in numerous online stores, and on the official website of developers.
Figure 7. One X controller
On the Microsoft website, you can also find a number of free games for the console, including "World of Tanks: Mercenaries", "Hitman" and "Crossout" and others.
Conclusion
This prefix is a worthy representative of the eighth generation gaming electronics. Paying attention to the main characteristics of the XBOX ONE X console, we can conclude that the developers took into account all the shortcomings of the previous versions and tried to fix them in this model, adding technical innovations along the way to achieve maximum performance and an impressive picture. Of course, with such high quality, the prefix has an appropriate price. Whether it is worth such an expense, everyone decides for himself.
