Over the weekend, Microsoft fully revealed their new Xbox console, the Xbox One X. Known as “Project Scorpio” for a while now, the Xbox One X is a 4K console. Naturally, it draws comparisons to the PS4 Pro, Sony’s top console that released last year. So how do the two power consoles stack up to each other?
Let’s start with the price. The Xbox One X will be $499 when it releases on November 7. Meanwhile, the PS4 Pro is already available and is $399. That’s a $100 difference, which might be a big deal to some people. Obviously, Microsoft is positioning themselves as having the superior console. Let’s jump into the specs to see if that’s true.
CPU
Xbox One X: eight cores at 2.3 GHz
PS4 Pro: eight cores at 2.1 GHz
GPU
Xbox One X: 6 teraflops
PS4 Pro: 4.2 teraflops
RAM
Xbox One X: 12 GB
PS4 Pro: 8 GB
Storage
Xbox One X: 1 TB
PS4 Pro: 1 TB
On paper, the Xbox One X is more powerful than the PS4 Pro. In fact, it can be considered vastly more powerful. We’ve already heard that the Xbox One X unlocked potential for game developers to go all out and push the bounds when creating games.
While the PS4 Pro upscales to reach 4K on many of its games, the Xbox One X plays at native 4K. Microsoft’s new console isn’t even out yet, but the difference is potentially noticeable. Sony was criticized from the start when they announced the PS4 Pro because of the not-true 4K. Microsoft delivered it.
Both consoles improve the video quality of non-4K games as well. Meaning if you have a 1080p television but not 4K, you still get some benefit from both the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro. But it’s probably not worth the investment without a 4K television.
Another thing the Xbox One X has going is that it’s also a UHD Blu-ray player. Watching UHD 4K Blu-rays is about as good as it gets.
Finally, the Xbox One X (and also the Xbox One and Xbox One S) will soon have full backwards compatibility, dating back to the original Xbox games. Imagine playing games from the early 2000’s on your Xbox One X. This is a huge benefit and Microsoft deserves a lot of credit for making it happen.
The Xbox One X looks like—on paper, at least—a clearly superior console to the PS4 Pro. The $100 price difference seems justified, and if you’re willing to spend a few hundred dollars on a gaming console, chances are you will be willing to pay extra for top-level quality and features. However, when it comes to parents buying a gaming console for their kids, the $100 price difference will certainly come into play, and it’s something Microsoft probably should have considered more carefully.
The original Xbox One, Xbox One S, and PS4 are also all available and are certain to be popular choices. What you’re getting with the newer Xbox One X and PS4 Pro is mind-blowing graphics and the best performing console available. But if you don’t have a 4K television, it might not be worth it. If you do have a 4K television, chances are you’re into top-level picture quality—so the Xbox One X has to be rather appealing.
Either way, it’s not a bad time for purchasing video game consoles. There are options from the normal next gen consoles, to the new and powerful 4K consoles; not to mention the Nintendo Switch console, which isn’t nearly as powerful, but will appeal to a lot of people.
In the end, people should get whichever console makes them happy. If they like certain exclusives for PlayStation, they won’t care about the extra power the Xbox One X delivers. And if someone is just worried about picture and performance, they’ll probably go with the Xbox One X.
Research is important. A few minutes online can help someone figure out the console that’s best for them.