Dilemma over Xbox Series S

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vyral_143

vyral_143

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Hello,

I had recently bought Xbox One X. Originally I did not plan to get GamePass as I am very irregular gamer. I planned to play some classics from discs using backward compatibility and may be, just may be get GamePass after few months. At this time, I still had GTX1060 in my PC.

Fast forward to last week, I had sold off GTX1060 and once-in-a-lifetime deal of GamePass happened. Now I am contemplating if I should get Series S.

Apart from faster load and operating times, is it an improvement over One X in terms of 1. FPS (smoothness, less framedrops, more consistent 60 fps) 2. Visuals (I am not much nitpicker of graphics but would be good to know) ?

At the moment, I have 1080p display with very slim chance of upgrading it to higher resolution or refresh rate. I can liquidate my One X at price equal to my buying price. Financially, Series S costs me about 1.67 times of liquidation amount from my One X. I also have option of getting RTX 3060 Ti for about 2.5 times that of Series S or 4.35 times of liquidation amount from One X; but I am leaning against it cause of my irregular nature in gaming.

What are your views ?
 
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My 2 cents with the context you've provided.
If you plan to replace your gaming medium from PC to console, Xbox Series S is the console you should go for.
If you plan to buy a graphics card in the near term (6 - 12 months), One X should keep you occupied. It is a good stopgap/auxiliary console.
The problem with recommending One X for the long term is the aging APU design that will hold it back in future titles. [Refer Farcry 6 gameplay]
Have been doing some extensive thinking and "research" on the same lines since the past week, hence sharing my opinion.
Edit - This being said, if you are able to find a pre-owned Series S, you can save some cash and potentially bring down the "liquidation ratio"
imran_chennai said:
My 2 cents with the context you've provided.
If you plan to replace your gaming medium from PC to console, Xbox Series S is the console you should go for.
If you plan to buy a graphics card in the near term (6 - 12 months), One X should keep you occupied. It is a good stopgap/auxiliary console.
The problem with recommending One X for the long term is the aging APU design that will hold it back in future titles. [Refer Farcry 6 gameplay]
Have been doing some extensive thinking and "research" on the same lines since the past week, hence sharing my opinion.
Edit - This being said, if you are able to find a pre-owned Series S, you can save some cash and potentially bring down the "liquidation ratio"
Click to expand...

Adding a few links for reference
 
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I'd download some more recent/demanding stuff on the Game Pass, like Avengers or Outriders, to put the machine through its paces. If you're personally happy enough with the performance, may not be worth considering an upgrade until there are signs that the 'One' generation won't be supported for longer. If you aren't happy, then you could make the switch right away, and if you have the budget, potentially consider a Series X instead of a GPU as well.
 
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The above reply is really good.
Just want to add that if you decide to get Series S,get during diwali (or any big sale) it would shave another 3-3.6k by using CC discounts.
 
imran_chennai said:
My 2 cents with the context you've provided.
If you plan to replace your gaming medium from PC to console, Xbox Series S is the console you should go for.
If you plan to buy a graphics card in the near term (6 - 12 months), One X should keep you occupied. It is a good stopgap/auxiliary console.
The problem with recommending One X for the long term is the aging APU design that will hold it back in future titles. [Refer Farcry 6 gameplay]
Have been doing some extensive thinking and "research" on the same lines since the past week, hence sharing my opinion.
Edit - This being said, if you are able to find a pre-owned Series S, you can save some cash and potentially bring down the "liquidation ratio"


Adding a few links for reference
Click to expand...
Let me put it in absolute numbers. I am in Hong Kong. Here my One X would fetch Rs.12K-ish at max. Series S from people who get it for standby (by the time they get PS5), often goes on sale for Rs.19K-ish. Series X is not available easily; its as scarce as PS5 here. Pricing wise Series X is Rs.50k-ish (Microsoft mandatorily bundles 12-months’ GamePass at full local price of about Rs.13.5K).

Zotac RTX3060 Ti could be had for Rs.51K-ish. But again why I am hesitant is 1. My irregular nature to game 2. Plonking that much of an amount for 3-4 years of longevity.

I am/was wondering if Series S is good middle ground for me which could do 1080p at 60fps without hassle ! I dunn care much about 4K as I doubt I will upgrade any soon to better display than my TV :(
 
Scenario 1: You retain the One X and enjoy games @ 30 fps with no additional money spent.
  • You are maximizing cost-effectiveness here.
Scenario 2: You sell the One X and buy a Series S to enjoy games @ 60fps/30fps with potentially an in-warranty console providing an overall better 1080p gaming experience.
  • You are going for a quality of life improvement in gaming for the short term and opening up a possibility to enjoy upcoming games down the line
Scenario 3: You sell the One X and buy the RTX 3060Ti to re-join the PCMR.
  • You are maximizing gaming performance here.
If I were you, I will go ahead with scenario #2 because
- I will treat Series S as a parallel upgrade. Since 4K is not a concern, the series S does play games better than One X @ 1080p.
- I will be using to use the console for the next 3- 4 years to enjoy recent games. Once prices drop, I will upgrade to Series S or just buy a GPU again.
- Unless I plan to use the RTX 3060Ti for Video editing, ML work, or mining, I will not be purchasing a GPU just to game during the current market.
 
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vyral_143 said:
Hello,

I had recently bought Xbox One X. Originally I did not plan to get GamePass as I am very irregular gamer. I planned to play some classics from discs using backward compatibility and may be, just may be get GamePass after few months. At this time, I still had GTX1060 in my PC.

Fast forward to last week, I had sold off GTX1060 and once-in-a-lifetime deal of GamePass happened. Now I am contemplating if I should get Series S.

Apart from faster load and operating times, is it an improvement over One X in terms of 1. FPS (smoothness, less framedrops, more consistent 60 fps) 2. Visuals (I am not much nitpicker of graphics but would be good to know) ?

At the moment, I have 1080p display with very slim chance of upgrading it to higher resolution or refresh rate. I can liquidate my One X at price equal to my buying price. Financially, Series S costs me about 1.67 times of liquidation amount from my One X. I also have option of getting RTX 3060 Ti for about 2.5 times that of Series S or 4.35 times of liquidation amount from One X; but I am leaning against it cause of my irregular nature in gaming.

What are your views ?
Click to expand...
This is similar to my kind of situation.

Had a GTX 1060. That died in Sep.

Then got the great deal on Gamepass and subsequently bought a XBOX One X. I also wanted to play some old classics [namely FABLE , GEARS OF WAR etc ] but even first Gears game plays and looks better on PC. Fable controls seems too clunky. But overall experience was Meh !

My advice is to retain the XBOX one X for the next few months. You have already bought the console. No more money to be spent. Use it for the time being and get the 3060Ti when the prices come down to a decent level. You must be using PC for other activities too besides gaming. And trust me the experience is much better on PC than on a XBOX.
 
joy.das.jd said:
But overall experience was Meh !
Click to expand...
Can you please elaborate on this ? Was it subpar textures compared to GTX 1060 PC ? Was it inconsistent frame rates ? Is your observation only for few games or all ? Are these few games from previous gen or Xbox One gen ?
 
I would say go with the Series S without any doubt. This is specially true when you are planning to play at 1080p. In most games, One X renders at higher resolution compared to Series S but at 30 FPS. All that extra resolution gets wasted on a 1080p display, so you are better off gaming at 1080p 60FPS on a Series S.

Plus don't forget, despite both consoles having similar power figures, the Series S is the newer console which will be supported for the rest of the generation & with all the future games that are going to be available on game pass, you would not want to miss out on playing them on the newer consoles as many of them will not be supported in the last gen machines. Additionally Series S will be much easier to sell should you need to do so a couple of years down the line.
 
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vyral_143 said:
Can you please elaborate on this ? Was it subpar textures compared to GTX 1060 PC ? Was it inconsistent frame rates ? Is your observation only for few games or all ? Are these few games from previous gen or Xbox One gen ?
Click to expand...
Yes the textures look much worse on the Xbox one X. Rocks , foliage and draw distance is bad especially.

I have compared few of the games. Most of them are of this generation only. Namely gears of war, gears 5, Halo games. NFS, burnout paradise remastered.
In addition to all this bad texture then there is inconsistent frame rate. Halo games run very well on it but there is a certain jitter here and there. Minute but noticeable. My guess is that most of the times it runs at 60 FPS but occasionally dives down to 40 and then back to 60 and hence the jitter. I don't think that my TV supports V synch or anything similar. Other games also play similarly. Most of the time the frame rate is pretty good but occasionally jitter. Gears 5 runs butter smooth @60 fps on a GTX 1060 and it definitely looks better on PC.

And the most important part is that there are actually few games that you have not played on PC. Most of the games on Gamepass are ones that are available on PC.

These are all my own observations. Not trying to short sell the Xbox console, but PC is the best option.
 
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joy.das.jd said:
Yes the textures look much worse on the Xbox one X. Rocks , foliage and draw distance is bad especially.

I have compared few of the games. Most of them are of this generation only. Namely gears of war, gears 5, Halo games. NFS, burnout paradise remastered.
In addition to all this bad texture then there is inconsistent frame rate. Halo games run very well on it but there is a certain jitter here and there. Minute but noticeable. My guess is that most of the times it runs at 60 FPS but occasionally dives down to 40 and then back to 60 and hence the jitter. I don't think that my TV supports V synch or anything similar. Other games also play similarly. Most of the time the frame rate is pretty good but occasionally jitter. Gears 5 runs butter smooth @60 fps on a GTX 1060 and it definitely looks better on PC.

And the most important part is that there are actually few games that you have not played on PC. Most of the games on Gamepass are ones that are available on PC.

These are all my own observations. Not trying to short sell the Xbox console, but PC is the best option.
Click to expand...
For him I thought Series S is the best bet but seeing your post I am thinking that xbox experience is not that great although I havent bought any Xbox console ever.
 
After days of dilemma and reading web, watching YT vids; I have observed few things.
1. Series S availability is easier than anything else.
2. Pricing on Series X and GPU (RTX 3060 Ti) both are scalped and similar level.
3. Not all games still run at 1080p60fps on Series S.
4. Series S is still in cross-gen mode; once support for XBOne genre is dropped, Series S might be showing it limitation more profoundly !

For now may be Series S could be bridge to next gen. Once prices stabilize a bit for GPU/Series X or if Series X is available near MSRP here, I would think on lines of getting it - if required.
 
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vyral_143 said:
After days of dilemma and reading web, watching YT vids; I have observed few things.
1. Series S availability is easier than anything else.
2. Pricing on Series X and GPU (RTX 3060 Ti) both are scalped and similar level.
3. Not all games still run at 1080p60fps on Series S.
4. Series S is still in cross-gen mode; once support for XBOne genre is dropped, Series S might be showing it limitation more profoundly !

For now may be Series S could be bridge to next gen. Once prices stabilize a bit for GPU/Series X or if Series X is available near MSRP here, I would think on lines of getting it - if required.
Click to expand...
I also have similar thoughts. Honestly for casual gamers with limited time, a Series S/X makes a lot of sense. I was lucky enough to get a 3060ti FE in the initial rptech sales, despite that I still would love the flexibility & ease of owning one of these... but my steam library & oculus vr requirement makes me think twice.

I reckon Series S will ultimately turn into a 1080-1440p DRS 30 fps machine in a couple of years for truly next gen games. It is seriously priced badly in India specially considering the huge performance delta, half of storage & significantly less RAM between it & Series X. I think that is the primary reason behind its relatively good availability. In normal circumstances (Lack of semiconductor supply constraints) Microsoft would have dropped its price very quickly to around 25k & that would have been perfect.

OT: Really wish the Sony also launch something similar to Game pass, that will turn PS5 disc less version into a very good deal compared to a Series S.
 
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DanteErodov said:
I reckon Series S will ultimately turn into a 1080-1440p DRS 30 fps machine in a couple of years for truly next gen games. It is seriously priced badly in India specially considering the huge performance delta, half of storage & significantly less RAM between it & Series X. I think that is the primary reason behind its relatively good availability. In normal circumstances (Lack of semiconductor supply constraints) Microsoft would have dropped its price very quickly to around 25k & that would have been perfect.

OT: Really wish the Sony also launch something similar to Game pass, that will turn PS5 disc less version into a very good deal compared to a Series S.
Click to expand...

True that; Series S would become 30fps machine once cross-gen time is over. Fortunately, pricing wise it’s pretty good here (MSRP level). I would take Series X if it’s available at MSRP level, cause it’s probably priced cheapest here - equivalent to US pre-sales tax pricing.

About Sony having GamePass equivalent, I along with many really wish that !
 
DanteErodov said:
I also have similar thoughts. Honestly for casual gamers with limited time, a Series S/X makes a lot of sense. I was lucky enough to get a 3060ti FE in the initial rptech sales, despite that I still would love the flexibility & ease of owning one of these... but my steam library & oculus vr requirement makes me think twice.

I reckon Series S will ultimately turn into a 1080-1440p DRS 30 fps machine in a couple of years for truly next gen games. It is seriously priced badly in India specially considering the huge performance delta, half of storage & significantly less RAM between it & Series X. I think that is the primary reason behind its relatively good availability. In normal circumstances (Lack of semiconductor supply constraints) Microsoft would have dropped its price very quickly to around 25k & that would have been perfect.

OT: Really wish the Sony also launch something similar to Game pass, that will turn PS5 disc less version into a very good deal compared to a Series S.
Click to expand...
+1 to that. If only sony would release something like Gamepass and that too at an affordable range.
 
Buy a series console. Period. Worth it for quick resume, game boost, next gen support and faster load times alone.

Yet, be vary of its disadvantages which iv mentioned below and consider how important they are to you.

Edit: As negatives, You'd be shocked by how crappy games like NfS heat, RE7 and Red dead 2 look though. They look absolutely blocky and pixelated like 720p games.

And storage is crap. You'll have to manage storage, this is its Achilles heal more than anything.
 
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I was contemplating getting a GPU , but considering I own a 2080ti already and the current cost of GPUs it would be better to get Series X & PS 5 (even both as its still cheaper) plus will support 4k/120hz going ahead. If gpu prices settle down will sell one of the consoles and 2080ti , get a beast of a card in future.
 
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