New Xbox Series X packs a hidden upgrade — here’s what’s changed (2024)

This week sees the launch of multiple new Xbox consoles including the Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition, and the Xbox Series X 1TB All-Digital Console in Robot White. On the surface, these appeared to be little more than a colorway swap (and a hard drive boost in the case of the Galaxy Black Special Edition). However, now that these new Xbox consoles are in the wild, it appears they’re actually packing a useful hidden upgrade.

Tech YouTuber Austin Evans got hands-on with both refreshed models of the Xbox Series X (there’s also a new Xbox Series S 1TB in Robot White in the range) and decided to teardown these new gaming machines after discovering a weight discrepancy when compared to the original base Xbox Series X that launched in November 2020.

The first thing that Austin noticed after cracking open the back of these new Xboxes (note, don’t try this at home if you’re not experienced, you will probably brick your console), was a new heatsink that uses copper heat pipes instead of the vapor chamber found in the original Series X. But this may not be an upgrade per se as the tech enthusiast notes that the latter is a “better cooling solution but is more expensive”, implying that Microsoft may have switched out the heatsink to reduce the production cost of the console.

Delving further into the console’s innards, Austin found that the motherboard has been redesigned, with everything from the board’s shade of green altered. Perhaps most significantly, the new version of the Xbox Series X sports a smaller version of the console’s original 6nm processor. Again, the YouTuber suggests this may be a change made to reduce manufacturing costs, but it could have benefits for gamers as well.

Austin concluded that “the new Xbox Series X is better” after running a series of thermal, noise and power draw tests. In the first two categories, the new Xbox Series X consoles and the base unit posted pretty much identical scores, but it was power draw where the new consoles emerged victorious.

Testing revealed a reduction of around 10W for the 2TB Galaxy Special Edition and a massive drop of more than 20W for 1TB All-Digital in Robot White compared to a standard launch Xbox Series X when idle on the main menu. When booting up Forza Horizon 5, the results were similar with the launch Series X demanding a noticeably higher amount of power.

What this means for gamers is that the new Xbox consoles require less power, which in turn should benefit your electric bill. However, this upgrade is largely perfunctory and isn’t a reason to rush out and replace your existing Series X, unless you’re desperate for a larger hard drive and a Special Edition design.

These tweaks are also not an attempt to match the PS5 Pro, which is a full mid-generation refresh of the base PS5, and is expected to offer a tangible visual and performance boost when playing the best PS5 games. Instead, these Xbox Series X upgrades are minor, under-the-hood changes that are relatively nice to have but far from game-changing.

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