Digital Foundry Dives Into the Xbox Series X Thermal and Power Consumption - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 November 2020 / 3,975 Views
Digital Foundry has done testing on Microsoft's more powerful next-generation console, the Xbox Series X, and has done an analysis of the thermals and power consumption of the console.
Several games were tested with Gears 5 drawing the highest power of up to 211 watts, while most games ran well below 200 watts. For reference, the Xbox Series X comes with a 315 watt power supply. Yakuza: Like a Dragon in its default mode was using between 140 to 160 watts with a rare spike of over 170 watts. Dirt 5 was using up around 170 watts.
The Xbox Series X dashboard was using 42 watts, while the Xbox One X dashboard uses around 48.5 watts. Two Xbox One games were tested running on the Xbox Series X and Xbox One X. Rise of the Tomb Raider peaked at 151 watts on the Xbox Series X and 170 watts on the Xbox One X, while Dead or Alive 6 peaked at 165 watts on the Xbox Series X and 177 watts on the Xbox One X.
View the video of the Xbox Series X analysis of the thermals and power consumption below:
Digital Foundry used Gears 5 to test the thermals of the Xbox Series X, since it had the highest usage in terms of power consumption. They used a scene where they could keep the console using just over 200 watts.
Using a thermal camera the metal sandwich core of the processor and southbridge boards run between 48c and 49c and in these areas the console feels warm, but not hot. The bottom of the console feels cold to the touch.
The hottest part of the Xbox Series X unsurprisingly is the top where the fan blows the hot air out of the console. The thermal camera showed a maximum temperature of 62c. This is hotter than any console they have tested before, but it is also the most powerful console.
"You can definitely feel the heat escape but I'm sure the reports of using Series X to 'heat your flat' are tongue-in-cheek observations because we can tell from the watt meter that our peak power consumption is around 210 watts," said Digital Foundry Technology Editor Richard Leadbetter.
"There's an incremental increase in heat output compared to Xbox One X, but what we're seeing here is nothing compared to something like a high-end PC - an RTX 3080 will easily pull 320W from the mains without factoring in the rest of the PC it is attached too.
"And as for the 1TB Seagate storage card getting uncomfortably hot, I tested this by copying data on and off the card for 20 minutes and noted a warm-to-the-touch maximum of 49c - again, nothing to worry about. Transfer times also remained consistent, meaning that the card was not overheating to the point where performance throttled."
| Power Consumption | Xbox Series X | Xbox One X |
|---|---|---|
| Power Off | 0-2W | 0.5W |
| Dashboard | 42W | 48.5W |
| Rise of the Tomb Raider (Peak) | 151W | 170W |
| Dead or Alive 6 (Peak) | 165W | 177W |
"My ultimate conclusion is that Series X is a larger than average console, but still very much a console - and its extra size and innovative design are there to handle higher power demands than prior console generations," continued Leadbetter. "Crucially, the design pays off. Series X is to all intents and purposes silent and excess heat generation is successfully dealt with. Heat dissipation does require somewhere for the heat to escape to though - that much is obvious - so don't keep Series X or indeed any modern console in an enclosed space.
The Xbox Series X and Series S will launch worldwide on November 10.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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It looks like really good engineering....
It was a very good video with good info. Still would like to see the results with it on a 35C or more room, with little shelf space on a demanding next gen game for several hours to stress it (as most certainly MS done and the console passed, won't overheat, but that would certainly show a lot higher readings).
The power draw to the improved performance is great achievement.
"35C or more room"? Forget about the console. Spend that money on the AC unit
Not all places can have AC installed. For example my apartment doesn't the structure or approval to install AC.
And sure your reply would do well if you were Don Matrick.
"If your Series X overheat we have a solution for you, buy an AC".
Lol. It was a joke ... chill (sorry, I had to). It will be fine. PS4 recommended max ambient temp is 35C (I believe) and that's with the PS4's potato cooling. In the worst case scenario the fan might get audible, that's it.
Hey no problem. But do you agree this is the type of PR we would get from Don right?
It's all fine and dandy till people put it in some enclosed cabinet/unit and ignore the manual of keeping it well ventilated.
That is why I said it would be good to show it running on next gen exclusive, for several hours on a over 35C room with enclosed cabinet. I'm certain MS done this test, but would be good to see DF doing a real stress test instead of a mild one.
Worth noting that these are all BC games. The system will almost certainly be sucking up more wattage and producing more heat with actual, native Series X titles.
Its an odd timing for this test without any actual games for it. This pretty tells us nothing yet unless you are planing on playing bc games exclusively. I'm pretty sure its just to calm the rumors going around.
I guess you are both saying the same thing but different way. He is calling BC because it is available in past gen, while you are saying it is the version for Series X. But what he is really complaining is that the game tested wasn't a truly nextgen exclusive that would possibly push the system even further... but looking at the video Gears 5 go over 200W while the other titles were near 170 or lower (even DOA6 which they saw as very demanding, even though I don't understand why).
Haven't you seen the video? They're using the 4k mode for DoA6 which the Xbox One X was only able to do with 30-40FPS. Thus it's one of the most demanding BC titles.
It's true that BC titles don't use the full potential of the hardware. Native games however do and that's what Gears 5 and Dirt 5 are.
Btw. the console only has a 315 watt PSU but of course it will never get that high.
Yes I watched the whole video. And again you didn't understood his point. He isn't even saying if the game was made considering Series X as well (and considering the time of release, nope Gears 5 isn't a native Series X game), he wants to see a nextgen only title (which MS doesn't have any to release in the near future except Medium if I'm not wrong). But yes perhaps by the end of the gen we may get to dunno 250W used on the console and even that I don't think will happen. 200-220W is were I believe the most demanding will end up.
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