Microsoft reveals the Xbox Series X's hardware specs

In a new blog post, Microsoft has revealed how powerful their Xbox Series X console is, stating that it can deliver "four times the processing power of the Xbox One X".

Unfortunately, Microsoft hasn't told us how this data point was calculated, whether it is in terms of raw GPU power, benchmark performance, CPU throughput or some amalgamation of all hardware upgrades. We know that this 4x performance is likely a reference to GPU performance, but not to the TFLOPs numbers that Microsoft used when they revealed their Xbox One X console. Remember that the Xbox Series X uses AMD's RDNA graphics architecture, and as such can deliver more performance per TFLOP than older Radeon GPU designs. 

Microsoft has also confirmed that their Xbox Series X console will feature AMD Zen 2 CPU cores (not Zen 3) and a "next-generation RDNA" graphics component. This next-generation Radeon graphics card will feature support for "hardware accelerated ray tracing" and "Variable Rate Shading (VRS)", neither of which are available on today's RDNA graphics cards on PC. 

In addition to these CPU and GPU features, the Xbox Series X console will feature a "next-generation SSD" that will "virtually eliminate load times" and utilise features like Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and developer functions like Dynamic Latency Input (DLI) to help games feel more responsive. 
 
Thanks to full HDMI 2.1 support, 4K 60Hz and 4K 120Hz resolutions will be supported alongside 8K, with support for Variable Refresh Rates allowing games to have their framerates dip without as many graphical or gameplay downsides, assuming your display supports VRR. 

Microsoft claims that its Xbox Series X console is set to be the "world's most powerful console", showcasing the company's confidence that it can surpass Sony's PlayStation 5.