Microsoft has shut down the reports that the Xbox Series X does not dissipate heat effectively throughout the system, after a number of users stated that it's hot enough to grill a cheese toastie.
The designs of the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5 are like day and night. The former is a boldly blocky and imposing unit, boasting double the processing power of the Xbox One X, an AMD Zen 2 eight-core CPU which rivals high-end PCs, and a beefy one terabyte SSD drive. On the other hand, the PlayStation 5 is the biggest console ever made, with sleek panels encasing three vents, a custom-built RDNA 2 GPU, and impressive 3D audio through its AMD chipset.
While the Xbox Series X may look like a fridge, it's allegedly glowing with heat, like the user has plucked a rectangular star from the skies and placed it on their shelf. Jeux Video's Ken Bogard joked that the console could save you money on your heating bills (cheers VGC for the translation), and Giant Bomb's Jeff Bakkalar commented that the Xbox Series X was quite hot even in standby mode. The video of Bakkalar even seemed to show him burning his hand when he took out the expandable storage card from the console.
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Naturally, this has worried a lot of people who have pre-ordered the Xbox Series X. However, Aaron Greenberg, who is the general manager of Xbox Games Marketing, has allayed their concerns. "Our engineering team confirmed the heat leaving the console is not significantly different than Xbox One X," he said on Twitter. "This matches my experience at home quiet, fast & impressive power for the size." Now, Greenberg has an investment in the Xbox Series X's success, owing to the fact that he's employed by Microsoft. He may have downplayed the extent to which the console heats up while in use.
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But, other reports also dismiss the idea that the unit is unable to distribute heat effectively. The Guardian's Keith Stuart described the Xbox Series X as "really robust," and that the cooling fan has a "barely audible hum" while playing technically taxing games like Red Dead Redemption 2. Furthermore, The Verge's Tom Warren also suggested that the Xbox Series X heat output was exaggerated based on his own experience using it.
The final nail in the coffin of these overheating rumours is that lots of other media outlets have gotten an Xbox Series X, and they haven't made any mention of this problem. It is unlikely that Microsoft would send a console with this issue out into the wild, because it simply wouldn't be safe. Someone's apartment burning down as a result of the Xbox Series X would also be a very bad look for the company. Ergo, it's possible that these reports of overheating are specific to these people's homes or set ups.
The Xbox Series X launches worldwide on November 10.
Featured Image Credit: MicrosoftTopics: Xbox, Xbox Series X
