Gamers considering purchasing Microsoft’s next-generation games console, the Xbox Series X, may be interested in a new video created by the team over at Digital Foundry. This video explores the best SSD storage options to store and play your backward compatible Xbox games from, providing valuable insights for optimizing your gaming experience.
The Xbox Series X is powered by Microsoft’s custom-designed processor leveraging AMD’s latest Zen 2 and RDNA 2 architectures. The new system on a chip (SOC) has been built from the ground up for speed and performance, offering gamers 12 teraflops of processing power. This immense power not only enhances the gaming experience for new titles but also offers compatibility for previous generations of games, ensuring that your favorite classics can still be enjoyed.
Understanding SSD Storage Options
One of the key considerations for gamers is how to manage storage effectively, especially when dealing with backward compatible games. The Xbox Series X comes with a high-speed internal SSD, but its storage capacity can quickly become a limiting factor given the size of modern games. This is where external SSDs come into play. The video by Digital Foundry delves into whether you need to use the precious storage space of the Xbox Series X internal drive for running backward compatible games or if standard SSDs connected via USB can still deliver a good performance.
In the video, Rich from Digital Foundry runs a range of Xbox One X titles on the internal drive and compares them against SATA, NVMe, and mechanical hard drive alternatives. The results are fascinating and provide a clear picture of what gamers can expect in terms of performance differences. For instance, while the internal SSD offers the fastest load times and smoothest gameplay, a good quality SATA SSD connected via USB can still provide a satisfactory experience for many games.
Performance Insights and Recommendations
The video also touches on the importance of choosing the right type of SSD for your needs. Rich mentions that a PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is essential for PC gaming, although he clarifies that a good SATA drive is still a great option for the current generation of games. This distinction is crucial for gamers who are looking to balance performance and cost. PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs offer the highest speeds but come at a premium price, whereas SATA SSDs provide a more affordable solution with still impressive performance gains over traditional mechanical hard drives.
Moreover, the video highlights that while mechanical hard drives are the most cost-effective option, they fall significantly behind in terms of speed and performance. This can lead to longer load times and a less responsive gaming experience, which can be particularly noticeable in fast-paced games.
The video by Digital Foundry provides a comprehensive analysis of the different storage options available for the Xbox Series X. It helps gamers make informed decisions about how to best utilize their storage space, whether by relying on the internal SSD or investing in external SSDs. By understanding the trade-offs between different types of storage, gamers can optimize their setup to ensure the best possible gaming experience.
“Do you really need to use the precious storage space of the Xbox Series X internal drive for running backwards compatible games? Or will standard SSDs connected via USB still do a good job? In this video, Rich runs a range of Xbox One X titles on the internal drive and stacks them up against SATA, NVMe and mechanical hard drive alternatives. The results are fascinating! BTW Rich says here that a PCIe 4.0 NVMe is essential for PC gaming – he misspoke here: a good SATA drive is still great in the here and now!”
Source: Digital Foundry
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