Xbox Series S, Specifications and Technical Characteristics

Microsoft has not launched a single new generation console but two different ones, with the same catalog but with different specifications. Both run the same games but under different conditions. Being the Xbox Series S the less powerful of the two and the one that we are going to discuss in this article. Read on to learn its secrets.

What is the Xbox Series S?

Xbox Series S

The Xbox Series S is one of the two new generation consoles that Microsoft has launched this year under the name of Xbox Series, it is the more modest of the two bets since they have lower technical specifications than its older sister, the Xbox Series X, with which, despite the difference in power, it shares several elements and technologies in common.

The reason for this is that Microsoft has created a common development platform, where the only difference between having one console or another is the graphic power. In theory it is the same as having a PC with the same specifications, but in which only the graphics changes. Later we will see that it is not like that one hundred percent, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The console is designed to be played on 1080p televisions and 1440p monitors, we must not forget that the television standard for high definition and 4K televisions does not have Quad HD or 1440p resolution as standard. In any case, it is interesting to know that the Xbox Series S supports this resolution but not 4K.

The Xbox Series S SoC

XSS SoC

The Xbox Series S is not a trimmed version of the Xbox Series X, so it makes use of its own SoC, which encompasses all the components of the console in a single chip with the exception of RAM, storage and chips radio frequency for Bluetooth, WiFi Direct and WiFi connections.

It is a 190 mm 2 SoC, so this is a SoC half the size of the Xbox Series X, with which it shares a good part of its components except for the GPU, which is less powerful and the memory interface.

Xbox Series S CPU

XSS CPU Zen 2

Microsoft has decided to use the same CPU and with the exact same conditions of the Xbox Series X in the Xbox Series S, which means that we are facing 8 complete Zen 2 cores, whose configuration derives from those used in the AMD Ryzen 4000 PC. That is, two CCX units where four Zen 2 cores and 4 MB of L3 cache are included inside each one.

Like its older sister, it can operate in two different modes, the first of them at 3.4 GHz having the SMT active, the second without the active SMT reaches 3.6 GHz. The fact of using exactly the same CPU model but at somewhat lower should make it easier to move versions between the two Xbox Series. The problem with this? That the memory configuration is different and in the case of the Xbox Series S, the fact of having three times less memory assigned to the CPU than in Xbox Series X supposes a less computational load in the games.

This means that although the console is the least powerful of the three, the conditions in which its CPU works are less heavy, so the console is more optimized to achieve higher frame rates than its rivals. Of course, with lower resolution and quality of detail.

The Xbox Series S GPU

XSS GPU

Base architecture AMD RDNA 2 custom
Base clock speed 1565 MHz
Boost clock speed Does not have
Compute Units twenty
ALUs FP32 by CU 64
Power in FP32 4 TFLOPS
Power in FP16 8 TFLOPS
Power in Int 8 16 TOPS
Texture Units 80
Texturing rate 125.2 Gtexels / s
ROPS 32
Fill Rate 50 GPixels / s
Cache L2 2 MB
Mesh / Primitive Shaders Yes
Variable Rate Shading Yes
Ray tracing Yes
Sampler Feedback Streaming Yes
Infinity Cache Not

The Xbox Series S GPU is based like the Xbox Series X on a custom version of Microsoft’s RDNA 2 architecture and despite being a lower capacity version it has not been cut in terms of graphic functionality. So the smallest of the current generation consoles has all the features of its older sister such as Ray Tracing, Variable Rate Shading and Sampler Feedback Streaming.

However, it is necessary to clarify a series of concepts and misunderstandings regarding this console, the fact that its memory location is different from that of Xbox Series S makes it not possible to take the game from Xbox Series X and run it at a lower resolution and requires special versions. At the moment the console is satisfied running versions for Xbox Series S, which it executes with incredible ease due to the difference in power and the use of a superior architecture such as RDNA 2, with respect to the GCN architecture, not to mention the difference as for the CPU.

So we are facing hardware that today is not used by the hardware that runs it and that contrary to what many people believe it is not a cut-out version of its older sister, but a separate console. by itself that requires its own optimizations. Which in the Xbox development environment at the moment is not a problem, since developers can optimize their games for this console and get unique performance profiles. Of course, it is not a 4K console, so do not expect to be able to play the games at that resolution natively, since it cannot do so.

RAM

Troquel Xbox Series X

Channel 1 Channel 2 Total
Area 1: 8 GB 114 GB / s GPU 114 GB / s GPU 224 GB / s
Area 2: 6 GB 56 GB / s CPU 114 GB / s GPU 170 GB / s

The Xbox Series S has a particular memory configuration, since we are facing a SoC with a 128-bit GDDR6 bus at a speed of 14 Gbps, so Microsoft uses the same memory chips in its two consoles. But in the case of the Xbox Series S we have about 10 GB of memory. The explanation at 10 GB is simple, the fourth channel uses the Clamshell mode or GDDR6 x8 mode, in this mode 2 memory chips can be placed under the same channel instead of one. To do this, the first chip is placed in the first 8 bits of each channel and the other chip in the other 8 bits. The result of this is that the bandwidth is not increased but is distributed between both.

The 10 GB memory configuration is less than the 16 GB configuration of the Xbox Series X, and at first glance given how memory is distributed between CPU and GPU in Series X and that the CPU part is essential, we could get To think that we are facing a configuration of 6 GB for the CPU part and 4 GB for the GPU, which would make sense when it comes to porting games. Reality? It is not like that and the part assigned to the CPU is only 2 GB of information and the rest is for the rest of the system functions. We cannot forget that the operating system and the background functions also take up space in the RAM.

The memory reserve in the Xbox Series X is 2.5 GB, but we have to bear in mind that within it is part of the RAM reserved to record the content at 4K, which is much more occupied space. Furthermore, Microsoft’s operating systems leave a very small portion of their power to render the console interface running in the background in the background, so the memory reserve for the operating system is less.

SSD storage

Xbox Series S SSD

The Xbox Series S has the same storage technology as the other two consoles, the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X, with the latter it shares all the storage technology without any change, so in this aspect Microsoft has not cut at least in appearance, and this is a negative point that we have to take into account.

As I write this article I have an Xbox Series X with 1 TB of storage in my field of vision and I honestly lack space to store all the games. Let’s not forget that Microsoft’s Killer App at the moment is the Game Pass where they offer a huge number of games for a modest subscription and the fact of installing and uninstalling games for only having 0.5 TB, less really, is a nuisance. It would not have cost Microsoft anything to have included a 1 TB SSD, it would have been really easy using the same SSD disk that they have included as standard in the Xbox Series X. Being the most negative part of this console from the point of view who writes these lines of this Microsoft console.

Almacenamiento externo XSS

In terms of expansion options, the console supports the same memory cards as its older sister, the Xbox Series X, which uses variants of the CF Express cards made by Microsoft’s Seagate. Which, as we already mentioned, have a high price and for what it costs an Xbox Series S and one of these cards is much better to go for an Xbox Series X, which has much better hardware and is more prepared for the future.