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[mili2110]

I wanted to build my "own Xbox" at first , but I cant get a hold of a graphics card (for retail). I upgraded to a Ryzen 7 5800X, 32GB DDR4, ITX Mainboard, 750W ITX corsair PSU, ssupd meshlicius case etc. a couple months ago in hope I could buy a GPU in the near future, but I gave up. My PC has a cheap geforce 405 in it right now, just to work, so I cant game on it. Instead I found a used XSX + Turtle Beach 700 Gen 2 Headset for 550€ and went for it. I had the OG Xbox, Xbox 360 and now the Xbox Series X. Havent had a Xbox in almost 10+ years and I never thought I would buy one again, since all Xbox Studio Games come to PC too, but fuck it. I actually bought the 20 yr anniversary xbox controller for my PC before I got the XSX, just because it looked so cool and reminded me of the OG Xbox Controller (the plastics and rubber back feel way better than the controller that comes with the XSX btw).

So here are my impressions as a "longtime" Playstation owner and PC player:

- The hardware is MUCH better than PS5. Smaller footprint, looks sleek, more powerful (at least on paper), bigger SSD (approx. 800GB usable vs. 667GB or so), SILENT under load, much quiter than my PS5 (mine has pretty loud coilwhine, e.g. COD Vanguard with 120Hz)
- Startup from standby is almost INSTANT!!! (2-3seconds vs 20 seconds PS5 rest mode - Can someone confirm this too!?)
- the UI feels much more joyful to use and is pretty customizable (custom wallpapers, accent colors, pinning apps and games , dark mode, night mode, etc.)
- 120Hz +4k output on all games (my LG C1 says so at least, which should reduce latency and input lag even on 30fps games!?)
- Dolby vision in all HDR10 games (I think!?)
- Quick Resume (I dont think PS5 will ever get this feature, maybe PS6)
- better BC and FPS boost on many old titles
- Dev Mode for emulation (didnt try that one for now)
- Many more features (VRR, 1440p support, freesync support, controller button mapping, linking player profiles to controllers e.t.c.)


I also must mention some things I DONT LIKE:
- The controller feels "dead" and oldschool. No speakers/mic, not rechargable. The vibration is almost never used (in games I played at least) and I miss the adaptive triggers (Returnal used them heavily)
- MS Games dont look and feel "next gen" (except flight sim maybe) compared to PS Studio Games like Demons souls, Spiderman MM, Ratchet & Clank, Returnal etc.
- MS Games are very big (mostly around 100GB for Flight Sim, Halo Infinite, Forza, Gears etc.)
- Cant upgrade SSD with regular m2 SSDs (bought a 2TB Samsung 980 Pro for my PS5 on black friday for 250€)
- Edit: Achievements suck compared to Trophies. I forgot that one.

I will probably use the XSX as a game pass machine and will still buy 3rd party games + 1st party titles for PS5 since I prefer the controller and I only know one other person with an Xbox LOL.

Am I missing something? Please correct me If I told BS.

PS. Oh and did I mention Game pass? I bought 3yrs for 80€ or so (thx to mydealz.de), which is like the price of one PS5 game over here.

 

[mansoor1980]

whats a geforce 405?

 

[LordOfChaos]

whats a geforce 405?

Youths

NVIDIA GeForce 405 OEM Specs

NVIDIA GT218S, 589 MHz, 16 Cores, 8 TMUs, 4 ROPs, 512 MB DDR3, 790 MHz, 64 bit

www.techpowerup.com

11 year old GPU dang OP, slummin it

But yes. There's a lot Sony could serve to improve so I'm happy to call many aspects of the SX better.

 

[ManaByte]

The controller feels "dead" and oldschool. No speakers/mic, not rechargable.

You can buy a rechargeable battery for them. I have one in each of my controllers. Better than going through AAs.

And welcome to the green rat army.

 

[dcmk7]

Glad you like it OP. Good piece of kit.

Cant upgrade SSD with regular m2 SSDs (bought a 2TB Samsung 980 Pro for my PS5 on black friday for 250€)

This is the biggest gripe for me.

 

[Sosokrates]

Yep Xbox make the best console hardware at the moment.

 

[mansoor1980]

Youths

NVIDIA GeForce 405 OEM Specs

NVIDIA GT218S, 589 MHz, 16 Cores, 8 TMUs, 4 ROPs, 512 MB DDR3, 790 MHz, 64 bit

www.techpowerup.com

11 year old GPU dang OP, slummin it

But yes. There's a lot Sony could serve to improve so I'm happy to call many aspects of the SX better.

 

[Lupin3]

Just ordered one myself (finally in stock). Have been trying to convince myself for so long now that I don't need one since I have a "gaming" PC. But playing on the Switch reminds me of how nice it is to be able to just sit in the sofa instead of by the desk. Can't wait to try it out and see if I'm going to keep it or not.

 

[BlackTron]

I'm actually in this same boat. Never thought I'd get another Xbox because PC exists. But now Halo Infinite actually seems pretty good, and XSX will run it at 120FPS with a mouse and keyboard. I really like the game but it's really testing my GTX 1060 and compared to a new video card, it's pretty tempting to buy a console as a Halo box that will also run Gamepass and old 360 games.

In fact, I'm halfways tempted to get a Series S because they actually exist and I want to play Halo without it crashing every 3-4 games. I just really want 120FPS and a disk drive though...I'll probably wait until I can secure an X but there's no telling what I'll do if I spot a $299 Series S in a store lol. After all, worst case scenario is it ends up being an extra Halo client for MP if I get an X.

edit: 5 hours later, I managed to order a Series X online. I'm excited to finally be "next-gen" but TBH if it wasn't for the shortage I would probably have gotten a video card instead lol.

 

[Kagey K]

- Cant upgrade SSD with regular m2 SSDs (bought a 2TB Samsung 980 Pro for my PS5 on black friday for 250€)

You can buy any external SSD, plug it into one of the USB ports and it’s almost as fast as the internal for all games that aren’t X enhanced.

 

[BlackTron]

Just ordered one myself (finally in stock). Have been trying to convince myself for so long now that I don't need one since I have a "gaming" PC. But playing on the Switch reminds me of how nice it is to be able to just sit in the sofa instead of by the desk. Can't wait to try it out and see if I'm going to keep it or not.

Ironically, I too like the couch/controller/UI/ease of consoles, but if I get an Xbox, it's getting plugged into my 144hz monitor at my desk with a mouse/kb for its main role in life, playing Halo for hours lol. However, part of the attraction is that it's just a console and I can easily move it around, use it on TV or even someone else's house. No way I'm moving my PC around lol.

 

[Topher]

I will probably use the XSX as a game pass machine and will still buy 3rd party games + 1st party titles for PS5 since I prefer the controller and I only know one other person with an Xbox LOL.

Same here although I prefer my Elite Series 2 controller on XSX, but DualSense is great as well. If Microsoft improves their achievements then I might start buying more games on Xbox but I like hunting for Platinum trophies. As it is, Game Pass and MS Rewards give a ton of games without paying a dime. So both my consoles get plenty of love.

 

[MOTM]

Sold my PS4 pro 2 years ago, got a Xbox One X first then a Series X a few months ago.

As long as MS have Gamepass I’m never going back to PlayStation. It’s been an absolute game changer for me and made me fall in love with gaming again.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

 

[mili2110]

I really hope MS will release a new and improved "mid gen" Xbox Series Controller next year with better rumble, adaptive triggers, integrated battery etc. I think Major Nelson or Phil Spencer mentioned that they are looking into it or something. But I guess older titles would need to get patched.

 

[CrimsonSquall]

Sold my PS4 pro 2 years ago, got a Xbox One X first then a Series X a few months ago.

As long as MS have Gamepass I’m never going back to PlayStation. It’s been an absolute game changer for me and made me fall in love with gaming again.

What if Playstation comes out with a considerably challenging GP competitor?

 

[N30RYU]

Pros... bigger SSD... Cons... bigger installs...

 

[ReBurn]

What if Playstation comes out with a considerably challenging GP competitor?

Then we should probably fight about it in a thread about gamepass vs the competitor and not fuss about it in this post.

 

[jshackles]

I really hope MS will release a new and improved "mid gen" Xbox Series Controller next year with better rumble, adaptive triggers, integrated battery etc. I think Major Nelson or Phil Spencer mentioned that they are looking into it or something. But I guess older titles would need to get patched.

Kinda expensive but this is what you're looking for

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 | Xbox

The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 features over 30 ways to play like a pro, including adjustable-tension thumbsticks, and interchangeable components.

www.xbox.com

 

[reksveks]

I really hope MS will release a new and improved "mid gen" Xbox Series Controller next year with better rumble, adaptive triggers, integrated battery etc. I think Major Nelson or Phil Spencer mentioned that they are looking into it or something. But I guess older titles would need to get patched.

Suspect that they will have one between 12-18months and suspect that they do a quick feature that converts sound into rumble for old games.

 

[MikeM]

Welcome. Having both boxes opens up a lot of gaming opportunities.

There are plus and minus points to both. Series X is objectively a better console, but PS5 is fantastic in other ways.

 

[lefty1117]

It's pretty nice to be playing a game on the couch on your xsex, and then later you're on your PC doing stuff and you can usually pick up that game and continue on where you left off on the console. Primarily this works with the Gamepass games. It's a nice, underrated capability all possible with tHe PoWeR oF tHe ClOuD

 

[Sir Vilhelm]

I really hope MS will release a new and improved "mid gen" Xbox Series Controller next year with better rumble, adaptive triggers, integrated battery etc. I think Major Nelson or Phil Spencer mentioned that they are looking into it or something. But I guess older titles would need to get patched.

 

[Topher]

Welcome. Having both boxes opens up a lot of gaming opportunities.

There are plus and minus points to both. Series X is objectively a better console, but PS5 is fantastic in other ways.

Well....not "objectively" better. They both have strengths and weaknesses. Which is "better" is purely opinion.

 

[Hendrick's]

 

[EverydayBeast]

Exclusives are overvalued

 

[ManaByte]

 

[elliot5]

get eneloops and never look back.

 

[MikeM]

Well....not "objectively" better. They both have strengths and weaknesses. Which is "better" is purely opinion.

I mean better as in more features. AutoHDR, FPS Boost, quick resume, better back compat, VRR etc are what I was alluding to.

 

[M1chl]

Congrats : )

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

I use a flat charging station for my Xbox controllers from PDP

 

[MOTM]

What if Playstation comes out with a considerably challenging GP competitor?

I would buy the PS5 sometime down the road I guess. Fact is 95% of the PS5/Xbox library is the same.

 

[kingpotato]

Lol, I thought of making this thread but decided against it because I was sure I was going to get hate mail based on my honest impressions of flight sim I recently posted.

I play on PS5, Switch, am in between PCs (my laptop sucks for gaming), and just got the XSS.

Things I like:

Console is small
Game pass - I'll never have to buy a game for this box assuming I hold out for deals.
Quick Resume a great idea, especially for games that take a long time to cold boot


Things I don't care for:

Bugs with the system - I've had an average of one OS hard lock every other day and the controller even seemed to crash once so far (had to remove the batteries). Hoping it's just bad luck and nothing is wrong with the hardware itself. Need some 'o them stability patches stat. The crashes didn't seem to affect my quick resume games so I don't know what is going on. Has only happened in the Xbox menus, never in game.
Controller feels cheap - I don't like the clickiness of the dpad, the feel of the grips, rumble is non-existent compared to dual sense, disposable batteries, and I've never liked how Xbox thumbsticks are less "springy" imo.
Interface is a bit cluttered - could just take getting used to it, I've already ditched the media and store stuff, just need home and Gamepass.
Gamification of the platform - it pops notifications I've since disabled suggesting I redeem points, use bing, download apps to my phone, play games I'm not interested in and spend money in the store to save up points to buy more services to get more points to double down in this ecosystem. Barf. I'm sure people are into that stuff, but I'm just here to play games, not be played.

Overall great box and I'm glad to have it in the mix.

- Startup from standby is almost INSTANT!!! (2-3seconds vs 20seconds or so)

I don't know if you are using rest mode on PS5 but mine boots in 5 seconds (and the XSS in 3). I just timed it. In both cases it takes longer for the screen to come on and change inputs than the console takes.

 

[SecretAgentHam]

I have both the PS5 and XSX as well as a pretty beefy gaming PC (RTX 3090 + Ryzen 5900x). I recently moved and could only unbox one thing while I'm getting the electrical redone. I landed on the Xbox because of the huge library of games available right now thanks to Game Pass, the ease of jumping in and out of games (Thank you Quick Resume!) and all of the multimedia apps available for the platform. I managed to snag a Halo Elite controller to add to the premium feel of the console and it's added a ton of fun to the gaming experience.

I still love my PS5 and can't wait to hook it back up but I think having some one-on-one time with Microsoft the last month or so has really made me appreciate just how well made the machine is and how well developed the xbox ecosystem is. Bravo Microsoft!

 

[Topher]

I mean better as in more features. AutoHDR, FPS Boost, quick resume, better back compat, VRR etc are what I was alluding to.

Still subjective, but yeah if those features make Xbox better for you then nothing wrong with that.

 

[ReBurn]

I use a flat charging station for my Xbox controllers from PDP

I have that as well. I really like it. When I got my XSX it was in the bundle with the console and some Atmos headphones.

 

[kingfey]

Sold my PS4 pro 2 years ago, got a Xbox One X first then a Series X a few months ago.

As long as MS have Gamepass I’m never going back to PlayStation. It’s been an absolute game changer for me and made me fall in love with gaming again.

you have to try ps5 games sometimes. Its not a good idea to be mind closed for one console.

You will see the positive and cons of each console that way. Plus you get to enjoy both worlds.

 

[DaGwaphics]

Bugs with the system - I've had an average of one OS hard lock every other day and the controller even seemed to crash once so far (had to remove the batteries). Hoping it's just bad luck and nothing is wrong with the hardware itself. Need some 'o them stability patches stat. The crashes didn't seem to affect my quick resume games so I don't know what is going on. Has only happened in the Xbox menus, never in game.

I've never had any of these issues with mine. If those problems continue, you might want to contact MS. Could be something wrong with your hardware.

 

[mili2110]

Thanks for all the respones! Will buy rechargable batteries and a battery charger. I also like that the xbox controller lasts 2-3x as long as the DS5 controller. But I guess it wouldnt last that long if it had all the DS5 features...Cant have everything I guess!

 

[kingpotato]

I've never had any of these issues with mine. If those problems continue, you might want to contact MS. Could be something wrong with your hardware.

My friends said the same but they all have X's so I was wondering if that's a factor.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Great write up mili2110 and enjoy your gaming. Nice to see a post not having to bash any competitors while remaining critical of the good and bad aspects. Gamepass and the refinement of Series X/S is really a fun time to own these consoles. I and my family have been enjoying a wide range of games for pretty much a fixed price, insane.

 

[ManaByte]

Will buy rechargable batteries and a battery charger.

Don't even need that. MS makes a battery pack, and the X|S controllers are USB C.

 

[Topher]

Don't even need that. MS makes a battery pack, and the X|S controllers are USB C.

I agree. That is the better option to me as well.

 

[mansoor1980]

get a GPU soon OP , also your analysis is balanced and fair so i dont think you are a green rat.

 

[DaGwaphics]

My friends said the same but they all have X's so I was wondering if that's a factor.

I just have the XSS also, it always run perfectly. Other than some bad coil whine, my old X1 VCR always ran great as well. The Xbox OS seems very stable.

I avoid the beta testing rings and all that, so, maybe that helps.

 

[kingpotato]

I just have the XSS also, it always run perfectly. Other than some bad coil whine, my old X1 VCR always ran great as well. The Xbox OS seems very stable.

I avoid the beta testing rings and all that, so, maybe that helps.

I haven't signed up for any of the beta stuff... I'm still hoping it's solar flares. Really don't want to contact support and send it in when I've got time off coming up

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

This is the best xbox charger I've owned so far: https://www.gamestop.com/gaming-accessories/batteries/xbox-series-x|s/products/razer-universal-quick-charging-stand-for-xbox-controller-limited-edition/318733.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAqbyNBhC2ARIsALDwAsB5uplcPAynaFpidwmq8A6Pc0trDs4MY

Highly recommend it

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

get a GPU soon OP , also your analysis is balanced and fair so i dont think you are a green rat.

Clearly we need a mix of blue & green now. Honorary Cyan Rat. Nintendo is the third wheel and neutral like Switzerland.

 

[mili2110]

Ohh one question: Can I buy regular rechargable AA batteries and use a usb-c cable to charge them?

 

[DaGwaphics]

Don't even need that. MS makes a battery pack, and the X|S controllers are USB C.

For the price of a single battery you can get a charger and 4 Nimh AAs. Gives you a backup set that can always be charged and ready to go, plus about 500-600 mah better capacity.