The rules are changing, the nature of console design is radically evolving, the presumptions we have about the core design limitations in building a new games machine need to be re-evaluated. Microsoft has revealed Xbox Series X and its monolithic casing has almost twice the volume of an Xbox One X – and what this means for performance is tantalising. A full-on generational leap in power is indeed coming, but delivering this clearly required a profound reassessment of the core foundations on which existing console designs are based.
The games console has typically defined as a small, living room-friendly box that easily fits within a living room media cabinet. Dimensions have varied from generation to generation, but the fundamental nature of the form-factor has not – until now. In putting together Xbox Series X, the balance shifts. In its reveal coverage with GameSpot, Microsoft asks us to ‘do the math’ – Series X is over eight times more powerful than Xbox One, and 2x the power of the X, but the challenge in achieving that in a product that launches just three years later than the Scorpio project is not insignificant.
Part of the problem is that processor fabrication technology has not increased in step with Microsoft’s ambitions. Assuming it’s an accurate image, the 7nm chip we saw back at E3 is roughly the same physical size as the 16nm chip seen in the X – likely a touch larger. Transistor density is unlikely to have doubled, meaning that the primary route forward for increased performance is frequency – and lots of it. Increasing clock-speeds gets more performance and therefore more value from the silicon, but the harder you push, the more power you need. And the more power you need, the more heat you produce – necessitating innovation in terms of thermal dissipation.
Source: Eurogamer Xbox Series X rewrites the rules of console design – and the power level should be extraordinary