The Xbox Series hard drive enables several of the console’s unique new features.
The combination of the SSD (solid state drive, where game downloads will be installed) within each console with various technologies under the Xbox Velocity Architecture banner allows for much faster loading times than previous console generations, as well as fast resumption between multiple games.
Xbox has also confirmed how Xbox Series storage expansion cards can be used to provide more hard drive space beyond what’s included inside the console, as well as the USB 3.1 drives already supported by consoles. current generation.
This page explains the Xbox Series SSD speeds and features it enables and what to expect from size and expansion options at launch.
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We know several other things about Microsoft’s new console, including Xbox Series X specs, confirmed Xbox Series
How does the Xbox Series SSD work and what are its advantages over the Xbox One HDD?
As with the PS5 SSD, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are based on a custom SSD solution.
This, combined with various Xbox Velocity Architecture technologies, allows for more consistent load time performance and console-exclusive features.
Here’s what the Xbox Series SSD offers:
- The console’s ability to access 2.4 GB/s of data per second, or 4.8 GB/s uncompressed, is around 40 times more than what is currently possible on Xbox One.
- The main benefit this brings is faster loading times; Microsoft released a video of how State of Decay 2 runs on Xbox One
- The custom SSD is designed around “sustained performance” and not “peak performance,” according to Microsoft. “Many PC SSDs ‘fade’ in terms of performance as they heat up, and similarly to CPU and GPU clocks,” explains Digital Foundry when breaking down the final specifications and therefore having a new form factor, allows for more consistent performance. What does this mean in practice? It allows developers to plan and design consistent loading times and asset access for their Xbox Series games.
- SSD storage is also used to increase memory through various technologies under the ‘Xbox Velocity Architecture’ umbrella. “The idea, at least in basic terms, is pretty simple: the game package sitting on the storage essentially becomes extended memory, allowing the developer to instantly access 100GB of game assets stored on the storage. SSD,” Digital Foundry continued in the breakdown. – which also explains more about the other Velocity Architecture technologies at play, from Sampler Feedback Streaming to high-speed hardware decompression, if you want to know the ins and outs of how this works:
- One feature this allows is “Quick Resume”, where multiple games can be suspended mid-game and resumed within seconds. Microsoft released a video showing this in action using several backwards compatible Xbox One games, and while the number of games supported in Quick Resume was not confirmed (likely due to the variation in memory each game would use), a minimum of three series. X games will be supported:
How big is the hard drive storage on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S?
Depending on the Xbox Series console you purchase, the built-in storage capacity varies.
- The Xbox Series X will come with a custom 1TB NVMe SSD at launch; in other words, 1000 GB.
- The Xbox Series S will come with a custom 512GB NVMe SSD at launch, half that of the Series X.
Regardless of which model you get, the result is that it’s much, much faster than any Xbox One’s hard drive, even its own installed SSD, thanks to other Xbox Series X technologies designed to make the most of it.
Again, here’s Digital Foundry with a comparison of what the Xbox Series X storage offers at a glance:
| Xbox Series | Xbox Series S | Xbox One | Xbox One S | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal storage | 1TB Custom NVMe SSD | Custom 512GB NVMe SSD | 1TB hard drive | 1TB hard drive |
| I/O performance | 2.4 GB/s (raw), 4.8 GB/s (compressed) | 2.4 GB/s (raw), 4.8 GB/s (compressed) | 120MB/s | 120MB/s |
| Expandable storage | 1TB expansion card | 1TB expansion card | – | – |
| External storage | USB 3.2 hard drive support | USB 3.2 hard drive support | USB 3.2 hard drive support | USB 3.2 hard drive support |
As you can see, it is possible to expand your storage if the default 1TB is not enough. But how exactly does this work?
Interested in learning more about Microsoft’s next-generation plans? Here’s everything we know about Xbox Series S vs X, the full set of confirmed Xbox Series Delivery. The Xbox Series line of consoles will also support the current library of Xbox Game Pass games. When you’re ready, you can search for Xbox Series X/S stock.
How you can expand Xbox Series X and Xbox Series X storage with expansion cards
With the custom SSD for Xbox Series comes a surprisingly old-fashioned solution to adding more hard drive space: expansion cards.
Xbox’s storage expansion card approach is more like memory cards from 2 or 3 generations of previous consoles than a traditional hard drive, and offers the same performance as the internal SSD included with every Xbox Series S.
The storage expansion card works as follows:
- The storage expansion card acts much like any external drive; you can play games from it, move installations between internal and external drives and set it as the default location to install games
- It is plug and play and can also be inserted into another Xbox Series X or S that you do not own to take the installed games with you.
At launch, Seagate will be the official Xbox storage expansion card supplier, with a 1TB card available for purchase in late 2020.
This 1TB Seagate card is priced at $220 / £220.
You can see Digital Foundry inserting the expansion card below:
According to Digital Foundry, the Xbox storage expansion cards feel “quite heavy, likely due to the solid metal construction,” which helps keep temperature and, in turn, performance consistent.
How you can expand Xbox Series X and Xbox Series X storage with USB 3.1 hard drives
In addition to internal and external custom SSD solutions, traditional USB 3.1 external hard drives are also supported.
These drives can store and play backwards compatible Xbox games directly from the drive. If you currently have an external USB 3.1 drive on an Xbox One, you can plug it into an Xbox Series
A USB 3.1 drive can also carry Xbox Series games as storage, which can be transferred to the internal SSD or Series X or S storage expansion card for later playback.
Do you want to read more about Xbox Series X? You can read our list of all confirmed Xbox Series
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Source: ptivs2.edu.vn