It won’t be long before the new generation of consoles sees the light of day. After Sony presented the hardware of the PS5 a few days ago, it became a bit quiet around the competition from Microsoft. Now a leak is making sure that the hints for the upcoming Xbox Series X are condensed. One feature in particular will put a smile on the faces of developers. They can use the Devkit to make specific optimizations for the weaker version of the new Xbox.
Two different consoles
Sony launches its PS5 in two different versions. One version has an optical drive. The other version will only be able to run download games as the “digital version”. As far as we know, there are no differences between the two versions of the PS5 in terms of performance. The new generation of the Xbox will also have two different versions. However, there are most likely also performance differences. And these are sometimes huge.
Performance differences with the new Xbox
Already in 2018, experts speculated that the new generation of the Xbox will come on the market in two different versions. Here the code names “Lockhart” and “Anaconda” haunted the rumor mill. While the Anaconda should be the new Xbox Series X, the Lockhart should be a slightly slimmed down Xbox Series X. Now a leak has most likely confirmed these rumors. So the weaker Xbox does not only do without an optical drive. It is also said to have weaker specs than the Xbox Series X.
A document is responsible for the leak
A Microsoft internal document was distributed on Twitter. This is from a leak that The Verge received from an unknown source. In this document you can see details from the devkit of the new Xbox. Here developers can choose between Anaconda and Lockhart mode. This way not only the games can be optimized for the weaker new Xbox. In addition, you can now see the performance of the games.
More common specs of the weaker version
The document makes it clear that game developers can use 7.5 GB system memory in the weaker mode. In comparison, the premium version offers 13.5 GB system memory. The processor’s clock rate turns out a bit lower in comparison to the Xbox Series X. The same applies to the graphics performance. This drops to just under four teraflops. The Xbox Series X offers three times the graphics performance with a proud 12 teraflops. As a result, gamers will probably have to make concessions, especially in the area of resolution. The maximum on the weaker new Xbox will probably be 1440p. However, this is a compromise that many players will probably make. After all, the weaker Xbox should probably only cost about half as much as the Xbox Series X.
