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Xbox Series X Is MUCH Cooler Than Initially Reported
Tests from an industry insider contend that the Xbox Series X might not be quite as warm as has been initially reported. The new console is set to release next month, alongside its competitor, Sony's PlayStation 5. As the release dates draw nearer, fans are being exposed to more and more information about the new machines and how they'll run. With the powerful new hardware on offer from both companies, heat is a major issue. Heat prevention is actually the main reason behind the distinctive size of the PS5; the massive console incorporates a very large fan and a heat sink.
Initial hands-on sessions with the new consoles confirm how vital these measures are. As critics got their first experience with the Xbox Series X, many of them reported that the console had a serious overheating problem. While many users agreed that the console ran remarkably quietly compared to its predecessor, several sources agreed that the heat being generated was excessive. To temper these remarks, Jeff Bakalar of Giant Bomb pointed out that it was only a preview model, and that the finished version of the console might properly address this issue.
But according to VGC's Jeff Grubb (via Game Rant), there might not be an issue at all. Grubb ran tests with his own preview console and compared it to the Xbox One X. He ran the same game on both consoles, Hitman 2, and searched for the hottest vent on both. Once he'd located the vents, he inserted a thermocouple thermometer to measure the heat output from both machines. What he found was that the Series X actually ran cooler than the older machine, about five degrees Celsius on average. He acknowledged that his test was far from perfect, and, again, this is only a preview build. But the numbers speak for themselves, and seem to confirm what Xbox Games Marketer Aaron Greenberg stated in a Tweet earlier this month.
With such conflicting messages about the performance of the Series X, it can be hard to figure out what to believe. A thorough test like the one performed by Jeff Grubb is an excellent start, but at the end of the day, fans likely won't have a definitive answer about how hot the Series X is until they try it for themselves. Of course, with preordering the way it is, that might be a challenge in and of itself; one retailer is charging four times the cost of the Series X for preorder vouchers.
The arrival of a new console generation is always a confusing time. Speculation and misinformation run rampant, and it can be very difficult for fans to get the right info before they get their hands on the actual machine. Fortunately, with the system's recently announced 30-game launch lineup, there's still plenty of reasons for fans to be excited for the Xbox Series X.
