Xbox Series X: just how big is it – and how does it compare to Xbox One X?

It’s not a PC-style mini-tower – really, it isn’t. We’ve spent some time with Xbox Series X at Microsoft’s Redmond campus and even put the actual system side-by-side with an Xbox One X – and while it’s clear that Microsoft has radically revamped the console form factor, it is still a living room friendly design. It’s just somewhat and definitely somewhat portlier than the kind of gaming box you may be used to. Crucially, it’s still very much a console.

The design of the Series X is essentially a factor of the performance target, a machine designed to operate at fixed clocks at what are – for a home console at least – unprecedented frequencies. A console has never run its CPU component at 3.8GHz before. We’ve never seen a fixed design games machine run its GPU at clock speeds that match the kind of frequencies we’ve seen in a discrete PC graphics card. On top of that is another key design goal – to back away from fluctuating ‘boost clocks’ seen in PC parts and mobile devices and instead deliver high-end performance with rock solid consistency.

So, to kick off with, here’s a new Digital Foundry Direct episode recently shot in the US, where myself and colleague John Linneman discuss our impressions of the Series X hardware itself, roll out all of the Xbox One X form-factor comparisons you need and come to the startling conclusion that Series X is indeed rather similar to two GameCubes stuck together. OK, so we had to strap on a couple of GBA Players to get broadly equivalent height, but you get the idea.

The video also has some footage of my attempts to construct an Xbox Series X from its component parts – and I think you’ll find it enlightening. Pushing this much power through the system and ensuring adequate cooling brings out a surprisingly tight, super-compact design that has some echoes of how the bin-shaped Mac Pro is put together. Cooling air is pulled in from the bottom of the unit, pushed through the internals and vents from the top, dissipated by a 130mm fan.

But it’s the nature of the internals that fascinates me most. Series X actually has mainboards, one for the main processor, its 320-bit memory interface and 10 modules of GDDR6 memory. These are mounted either side of a solid piece of aluminium. A weighty heatsink comprised of a copper vapour chamber and aluminium heat sink then strap onto the SoC. Other major components such as the power supply and 4K UHD Blu-ray fit into place before the axial fan (complete with its Master Chief Easter Egg on the side) sits on top. The whole arrangement then slides into the case and the rear panel is attached.