PS5 And Xbox Series X Specs: Comparing The Next-Gen Consoles

Now that the raw specs for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are out in the wild, we have to ask the question everyone wants asked: which is more powerful?

Both consoles are incredibly powerful of course, and both are leaps and bounds ahead of their predecessors. We should get some fantastic, never-before-seen experiences on both... and for that, we should be excited regardless of which console we're planning to pick up.

But I know some of you might still be on the fence and are planning your purchase based entirely on which has the superior specs. Fair enough, if that's the way you want to do it. Without anymore messing around then, let's get down to it. You can see the full specs for the PS5 and the Xbox Series X below.

• CPU - PS5: 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency) Xbox Series X: 8x Cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.66 GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU
• GPU - PS5: 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency) Xbox Series X: 12 TFLOPS, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU
• GPU Architecture - PS5: Custom RDNA 2 Xbox Series X: Custom RDNA 2
• Memory/Interface - PS5: 16GB GDDR6/256-bit Xbox Series X: 16 GB GDDR6 w/ 320b bus
• Internal Storage - PS5: Custom 825GB SSD Xbox Series X: 1 TB Custom NVME SSD
• IO Throughput - PS5: 5.5GB/s (Raw), Typical 8-9GB/s (Compressed) Xbox Series X: 2.4 GB/s (Raw), 4.8 GB/s (Compressed, with custom hardware decompression block)
• Expandable Storage - PS5: NVMe SSD Slot Xbox Series X: 1 TB Expansion Card (matches internal storage exactly)
• External Storage - PS5: USB HDD Support Xbox Series X: USB 3.2 External HDD Support
• Optical Drive - PS5: 4K UHD Blu-ray Drive Xbox Series X: 4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive
• Backwards Compatibility - PS5: PS4 Xbox Series X: Xbox One, Xbox 360, Xbox

That sure is... a lot of information. But what does it all mean, really? Well on paper, it means that the Xbox Series X is the technically superior console, despite the fact that both machines are actually really similar in a lot of ways. Both consoles will support the use of expandable storage drives, both have high-speed SSDs to cut down on loading times and help create larger open worlds, and both make use of eight-core processors.

To be honest, it's almost kind of boring how similar these consoles are on a technical level, although I guess we've gotten to a point where video game hardware can really only go in one direction. But while Microsoft is packing more raw power than Sony this time around, we can't disregard the PS5's incredibly rapid SSD, which actually has the edge over the Series X's. Sony's new SSD is twice as fast, in fact, so look for some outrageous load times on PS5.

It's also been argued that Sony has taken a more dynamic approach with a smaller CPU clocked much higher. This could work in its favour in the long run. By comparison, Microsoft's superior CPU and GPU have hard limits. While we still won't know for sure the benefits and disadvantages of each console until we start to hear from developers, Sony's flexibility in this area could actually end up making the PS5 easier to develop for.

For now? Yes, the Xbox Series X is the superior console on paper. I also have to say that PlayStation's continuing refusal to embrace backwards compatibility for older gens is baffling, so Xbox clearly wins there. But as always, which ever console you choose is the right call, as long as you have fun with it.