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63 About this deal
Though I've wanted the thing ever since it hit shelves, I've spent a long time thinking about whether or not I should actually buy it. On the one hand, I'm hopelessly addicted to drinking soda while gaming, and thought it would be pretty sweet to be able to just reach behind me to grab a cold Diet Pepsi out of a giant Xbox Series X instead of (gasp!) having to walk downstairs to the kitchen. But on the other, you can get similarly sized mini fridges for considerably less than the MSRP of the replica, which is positioned somewhat as a collector's item. I found it hard to justify spending that extra money, even though I'm a big Xbox fan. As a streaming device, the Xbox Series S presents a solid case too. Playing Altered Carbon via Netflix, the Series S produces a watchable picture, with none of the artificial appearance that can sometimes be served up by poorer streaming devices. The Xbox Series S will play all the same games as the Xbox Series X, they just might not look as glossy. If you're up against a strict budget, though, there's far more power in this tiny device than you might think at first glance.
The Series S is "similar in CPU" to the Series X, but not identical. The Xbox Series X uses an 8-Core AMD Zen 2 CPU running at 3.8GHz (3.6GHz with SMT enabled) while the Series S uses the same CPU working at 3.6GHz (3.4GHz with SMT enabled).
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Despite being a next-gen console, we’re still left scratching our heads at the way some audio settings have been implemented. Oddly, during set-up we are greeted by a pop-up from the console asking if we want to pass Blu-ray audio directly to our AV receiver – someone clearly forgot that the Xbox Series S is a disc-less console. As we mentioned at the beginning, the main benefit of a console mount is space. For most people, space around the TV is limited, so it can be tough to find a good place to put your console. Unless you’ve got an old-school entertainment center, space is liable to be at a premium. By putting your console up on the wall, you get it out of the way. This frees up space for other things, like a soundbar or media controller. It can even create a remarkably cleaner look. Depending on your setup, you might be able to mount your console behind the TV, making it disappear entirely. Improved Ventilation The main benefit of a wall mount is that you have some options for positioning your console. For example, let’s say the nearest outlet is way off to the side. You could put your Xbox right under the TV and run an extension cord, but that’s ugly. Instead, you can put the console off to the side, and use the standard cord. The same principle applies when your TV is high up, or where there’s simply no shelf space for a console. Essentially, you’ve got more options and more freedom. Improved Cable Management
The Series S doesn’t have the graphics grunt of its sibling, meaning that resolution is a big difference between the consoles. The Xbox Series S has been geared towards outputting 1440p at 60Hz, up to a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. It can upscale the picture to 4K to match your 4K TV, but you won’t be able to see next-gen games in native 4K. You can only play games in native 4K resolution (at up to 120Hz) on the Xbox Series X. The chassis is essentially an off-white plastic. It doesn't feel particularly expensive, but that’s hardly a surprise, given the bulk of Xbox’s budget has been spent on what’s inside. Xbox Wireless Headset, Xbox Rechargeable Battery + USB-C®, and Xbox Wireless Controllers sold separately. The Xbox Series S price is particularly cheap - but with the tech cuts from the Series X's spec sheet is that cash actually worth it? The key to answering this question lies in the feature set of the console itself. This is a digital-only console, so it's clear what Microsoft intends it to be used for - Xbox Game Pass. This has given our living rooms a cleaner, more organized appearance. But it’s also been a challenge for console gamers. Now that your TV is on the wall, where do you put your console? How do you run your wires, and keep things both attractive and organized? There are a number of options, but one is to use a wall mount. With a wall mount, you can attach your console to the side of your TV, or even around the corner. This keeps everything on the same level, as well as freeing up shelf space. This can be especially helpful in shared spaces. By keeping your controller off a shelf, you can keep it out of harm’s way.Xbox has been pretty smart with the Xbox Series S – the price tag alone will be enough for some to give it serious consideration. However, if true 4K resolution gaming or playing 4K Blu-rays matters to you, it won’t even be on your radar. The TotalMount, available for either Xbox Series X mount or an Xbox Series S mount, it’s a great choice if you value ease of installation. With the built-in level, it’s easy to make sure you’re attaching it correctly. Not only that, but this is an exceptionally quiet mount. The rubber dampers do a great job of eliminating sound. If that’s an essential feature for you, you’ll be very pleased with this mount. Compatibility depends on device and operating system version. Experiences may vary. Go to www.xbox.com/controller-compatibility for more information. The availability and sale of Xbox Series S is subject to required regulatory approval(s) in your jurisdiction.
The 'X' is powered by a 52CU (compute unit) RDNA GPU running at 1.825GHz, while its cheaper sibling has a 20CU, 1.565GHz GPU.It could also be an affordable console for a second room or to keep the kids happy. After all, you still get a huge chunk of future-proofing and day-to-day performance upgrades that make it a decent jump up from the Xbox One S. All the same, bear in mind that you won't find Xbox All Access in many stores besides Microsoft. Walmart fills that role in the US, and Game or Smyths provide it in the UK. Is the Xbox Series S price worth it? In practice, these features won't make themselves known if you've never had your hands on an Xbox Series X. You won't be juddering through the latest releases, and you won't experience significantly longer load times. However, because the Xbox Series S can't output at 4K resolution, your games won't look quite as crisp. That's not too large a pill to swallow if you don't have a 4K TV, of course, but if you have invested in a high quality TV for Xbox Series X, it might be worth holding out a little longer and investing in the main console. Over the past couple of decades, our living rooms have changed an awful lot. A lot of this has come from the transition from old-school CRT TVs to modern-day flatscreens. Simultaneously, screens got a lot wider, even as they got slimmer and lighter overall. This was bad news if you had an old-school entertainment system. There was simply nowhere to fit your TV. Nowadays, it’s more or less standard to mount your big TV on the wall. At the same time, a lot of our other entertainment equipment has gotten smaller. So instead of a big entertainment people, many people use a short cabinet or shelf for their electronics.
Once you take the massive roster of games available on the brand's highly popular subscription service into account, the true value of that low price point becomes even clearer. The Xbox Series S is currently the cheapest way to play current-generation games, and offers the best cash to game hour ratio out of all the consoles currently available. According to Liz Hamren, Head of Platform Engineering and Hardware for Xbox, the Series S delivers “four times the processing power of an Xbox One console". On paper, the figures are 4 TFLOPS of power for the Xbox Series S, compared with 12.15 TFLOPS for the Series X.As any parent knows, small children have a way of damaging nice things. And let’s be honest, a game console is inherently attractive to children. They make chimes, they have bright lights, and on the Series X, there’s a disc drive to play with. If your Xbox is within easy reach, you’re practically asking for it to get damaged. The same can also be true for pets. Cats are notoriously curious, and some dogs wag their tails furiously, no matter what’s in the way. With a wall mount, you don’t have to worry about any of those things. Your Xbox Series X or Series S is safely out of reach, and secured to the wall. Curiously, it doesn't just get you the console. Indeed, you're also receiving 24 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate baked into the Xbox Series S price. Because this is Xbox's version of Netflix for gaming (it provides you with well over 100 games to play, including some new releases), you're set with things to try right away. Especially when Xbox-exclusive games like Halo Infinite appear on Game Pass at no extra cost on the day of release. But we wouldn’t write off the Xbox Series S just yet. While it does lose out on graphical power and resolution, it still has a range of features that will appeal to anyone looking to make the jump from, say, an Xbox One S. Power up the console and you’re greeted with the traditional Xbox GUI. On the one hand, it’s nice and familiar but we can’t help but think it’s a missed opportunity. Couldn’t Xbox have created a more exciting and inviting interface to wow its customers and usher in its next-gen consoles?
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