Microsoft details Xbox Series X specs: custom 8-core 3.8GHz AMD Zen 2 CPU, custom 1.825GHz AMD RNDA 2 GPU, 16GB RAM, and 1TB SSD with expansion card support
Richard Leadbetter / Eurogamer.net :
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the second act of Microsoft's slow-drip Xbox Series X reveal: after teasing raw performance in February with the 12-teraflop GPU figure — double the Xbox One X — the company has now published the full internal blueprint, down to clock speeds and memory configuration. The cadence mirrors the run-up to the 2017 Project Scorpio reveal, where Eurogamer again broke the specs ahead of launch.
The timing matters because it frames a head-to-head: Sony published its full PlayStation 5 specification just two days later, and both machines turn out to be built on the same custom AMD Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU foundation. With the silicon nearly identical, the differentiators Microsoft is staking out are the faster-clocked parts, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD with proprietary expansion card support versus Sony's 825GB custom drive.
First-order effects
- AMD now powers both next-generation consoles at the component level, locking in its position as the sole merchant supplier of console CPUs and GPUs for the coming generation.
- Eurogamer's Richard Leadbetter has again established himself as the outlet that gets first detailed access to console internals, repeating his Project Scorpio role and setting the terms of the spec comparison press and consumers will use.
Second-order effects
- Sony's follow-on PS5 spec disclosure forces an explicit numbers comparison — 10.28 teraflops against Microsoft's 12 — turning raw GPU throughput into the headline battleground even though both chips share the same architecture.
- The 1TB SSD with expansion card support opens a new proprietary accessory market: Microsoft controls which storage cards work on its console, unlike the commodity drive upgrades previous generations allowed.
Third-order effects
- With both consoles converging on near-identical x86-plus-RDNA 2 designs, cross-platform development gets cheaper and generational exclusivity based on hardware architecture weakens — pushing platform competition toward services, storefronts, and ecosystem lock-in rather than chip-level advantage.
- Proprietary SSD expansion formats point toward a structural shift in how console makers monetize hardware after the sale, trading open upgradeability for licensed-accessory revenue.
The trend: Console generations are converging on shared AMD silicon, shifting competition from raw specifications toward storage design, services, and ecosystem control.