Digital Foundry: Xbox Series X Backwards Compatibility Tested - And The Performance Is Extreme

Hawk269 · Sep 28, 2020

dallow_bg said:
Page 2 update.
External SSD is near identical to internal.

Xbox Series X hands-on: The big back-compat dive begins [Updated]

Xbox Quick Resume impresses. Plus: New controller, auto-HDR, venting holes, and more.

arstechnica.com

Thanks. So we can assume when we have legit Series X/S games and/or Optimized X/S games that must run from the internal or the expansion that load times could be even faster! That is great. It is also great that a USB SSD almost matches the speed for non Series X/S games. I have a 1tb external SSD on my Xbox One X paired with a 8tb HDD that i will hook up to the Series X and also the SSD Expansion. Will keep most common played BC titles on the SSD External and all Optimized/Native Series games on the SSD Expansion and Internal.

Deleted member 70824 · Sep 28, 2020

Big shoutout to everybody who downplayed the value of backwards compatibility... but simultaneously gloated about the hundreds of games they have in their PS Plus and Gold subscription library

xD

Spinluck · Sep 28, 2020

Noob Pilot said:
They'll work on a PS5 FYI.

They'll work but they aren't getting these sexy boost.

Chettlar · Sep 28, 2020

rajinus said:
If someone hasn't "gotten around to" a title released 8 months ago for a console they own, that implies they had very little interest in the game in the first place, and that cannot be simultaneously true with being super hyped about being able to play it at a higher framerate in the future

Jesus Christ dude lmao.

People have lives. And multiple games they are excited to play. Or games they were excite for but that excitement was dampened due to poor performance or something like that.

What a presumptuous, insulting, and really dumb take.

ElNerdo · Sep 28, 2020

Spinluck said:
They'll work but they aren't getting these sexy boost.

"According to the official PlayStation blog post about the PS5 specs, "backward compatible titles will run at a boosted frequency on PS5", which will allow these titles to "benefit from higher or more stable frame rates and potentially higher resolutions.""
Seems like they will.

Spinluck · Sep 28, 2020

ElNerdo said:
"According to the official PlayStation blog post about the PS5 specs, "backward compatible titles will run at a boosted frequency on PS5", which will allow these titles to "benefit from higher or more stable frame rates and potentially higher resolutions.""
Seems like they will.

Guess I'll have to see it.

Sony hasn't really shown anything.

xem · Sep 28, 2020

ElNerdo said:
"According to the official PlayStation blog post about the PS5 specs, "backward compatible titles will run at a boosted frequency on PS5", which will allow these titles to "benefit from higher or more stable frame rates and potentially higher resolutions.""
Seems like they will.

of course they will. how high is yet to be seen. i could easily see a handful of titles that actually run better on PS5 considering so many targeted lower resolution on Pro

Black Chamber · Sep 28, 2020

K.Jack said:
Is this a bold prediction for a game that is originally developed for the Xbox One, and has the GTX 1060 in the recommended specs for PC?

You're really out on a limb here.

Considering that the majority of users here seem to think that even the next-gen upgrade version with RTX and all the "bells and whistles" enabled wouldn't be capable of 4K/60fps ... I'm not just out on a limb; I'm leaping around the entire forest

🤷‍♂️

MirageDwarf · Sep 28, 2020

Everyone is testing Series X. Any video of BC performance on Series S?

Rosol · Sep 28, 2020

Spinluck said:
They'll work but they aren't getting these sexy boost.

I don't see why PS5 won't have similar boosts - Sony would have had to botch their BWC setup pretty bad to make any use of the new processor. We'll see I guess.

plagiarize · Sep 28, 2020

ElNerdo said:
"According to the official PlayStation blog post about the PS5 specs, "backward compatible titles will run at a boosted frequency on PS5", which will allow these titles to "benefit from higher or more stable frame rates and potentially higher resolutions.""
Seems like they will.

This isn't as clear as you might think. PS4 Pro boost mode didn't use half the compute units, instead just running the same number of compute units as the PS4 vanilla had at the Pros higher clock speeds. If they aren't leveraging all the CUs again (and I haven't seen confirmation either way) then it's not going to offer the same levels of performance increases as TFlops might make you think. That'd be a very respectable 2.5 times increase in available GPU power for PS4 Pro titles and a rather disappointing 2.5 times increase for PS4 titles without pro support.

Sparks · Sep 28, 2020

Have they done a SSD comparison test yet?

edit:Oh I just got there in the video... NM

Ra · Sep 28, 2020

Black Chamber said:
Considering that the majority of users here seem to think that even the next-gen upgrade version with RTX and all the "bells and whistles" enabled wouldn't be capable of 4K/60fps ... I'm not just out on a limb; I'm leaping around the entire forest

🤷‍♂️

Oh you mean 4K/60fps with ray traycing? Now you have my attention.

Because you're talking crazy.

Unless you mean with just the token little RT we've seen so far from the consoles.

ArchedThunder · Sep 28, 2020

Pargon said:
If your display supports 120Hz VRR, it should be active from 0–120 FPS.
It's 60Hz displays which will have issues when a game runs below the minimum supported refresh rate (typically 40/48Hz).

Isn't that only if the TV has LFC, and not all 120hz ones do?

Ikarus · Sep 28, 2020

Looks rad. Great job MS. I got my preorder in so I'm ready for this. :)

RF Switch · Sep 28, 2020

I just don't understand how anyone can say this isn't important to the future of a console

Black Chamber · Sep 28, 2020

K.Jack said:
Oh you mean 4K/60fps with ray traycing? Now you have my attention.

Because you're talking crazy.

Unless you mean with just the token little RT we've seen so far from the consoles.

Yes, I mean with Ray Tracing.

If you watch the Digital Foundry video I linked below; it details that the Xbox Series X accomplishes DirectX Hardware Accelerated Ray Tracing in parallel to the standard processing shaders - what would have taken an extra 13 teraflops to accomplish [over 25 teraflops in total] the Xbox Series X can process on a case-by-case basis:

*10:23 if the timestamp doesn't take.

Beer Monkey · Sep 28, 2020

LOL nextgen can't even run last gen at 4K/60 is some serious cringe shit. These games haven't been patched. A lot were were coded for a fixed platform or two fixed platforms.

As far as Sony goes, I believe AMD designed the BC so I at least have good hopes for compatibility but I'll be shocked if the improvements are on the scale of Series X.

Given I have both PS5 and Series X on order, I really, really hope I am wrong and we see the same scope of improvement.

Ra · Sep 28, 2020

Black Chamber said:
Yes, I mean with Ray Tracing.

If you watch the Digital Foundry video I linked below; it details that the Xbox Series X accomplishes DirectX Hardware Accelerated Ray Tracing in parallel to the normal processing shaders - what would have taken an extra 13 teraflops to accomplish [over 25 teraflops in total] the Xbox Series X can process on a case-by-case basis:

*10:23 if the timestamp doesn't take.

He's simply explaining how hardware acceleration works, not something unique to the XSX.

JeffG · Sep 28, 2020

Hawk269 said:
Thanks. So we can assume when we have legit Series X/S games and/or Optimized X/S games that must run from the internal or the expansion that load times could be even faster! That is great. It is also great that a USB SSD almost matches the speed for non Series X/S games. I have a 1tb external SSD on my Xbox One X paired with a 8tb HDD that i will hook up to the Series X and also the SSD Expansion. Will keep most common played BC titles on the SSD External and all Optimized/Native Series games on the SSD Expansion and Internal.

I believe that is exactly what I am going to do

I have the 8tb drive already. It will become long term storage. I was going to pick up the 1 tb plug in for 300 Canadian, but instead will get a sata 3 ssd in USB enclosure and use it for bc games. It will cost just over 100 bucks.

Equanimity · Sep 28, 2020

ShinobiBk said:
Yeah same here

It's a massive improvement over the Xbox One X performance though and hopefully we see a patch for XSX improvements when they add the small DLC updates later

That's a perfect opportunity for From to update the game with next-gen support.

Equanimity · Sep 28, 2020

WickedGame said:
Nobody is going to name every user who mocked BC. Just know that people did mock the feature.

One user would suffice. I have come across people that have downplayed the importance or impact of BC in any given system. But mocking is not something I'd associate with a feature that only serves to add to the overall experience.

Deleted member 70824 · Sep 28, 2020

Equanimity said:
One user would suffice. I have come across people that have downplayed the importance or impact of BC in any given system. But mocking is not something I'd associate with a feature that only serves to add to the overall experience.

Singling out users for their comments is not conducive to productive conversation.

Equanimity · Sep 28, 2020

WickedGame said:
Singling out users for their comments is not conducive to productive conversation.

That's true. I haven't come across anyone though, so I can't take your word for it.

Shirkelton · Sep 28, 2020

Hahaha, what a swerve. "Oh, naming everyone would be too much, but it did happen, oh just one? No, that would be cruel."

Deleted member 70824 · Sep 28, 2020

Equanimity said:
That's true. I haven't come across anyone though, so I can't take your word for it.

Shirkelton said:
Hahaha, what a swerve. "Oh, naming everyone would be too much, but it did happen, oh just one? No, that would be cruel."

Oh, I didn't realize you guys were trying to win an argument to prove some nebulous point. I should have realized that sooner. That's on me.

Bradbatross · Sep 28, 2020

Imagine acting liked BC hasn't been mocked and downplayed heavily on here in the past. Come on..

Shirkelton · Sep 28, 2020

If you make a statement, either put up or shut up, because dancing around it is just funny.

Pargon · Sep 29, 2020

ArchedThunder said:
Isn't that only if the TV has LFC, and not all 120hz ones do?

Low frame-rate compensation (LFC) is not a display feature. It's a feature of the output device.
Any display can support LFC if the VRR range covers at least 2.5× (48–120).
I can't think of a 120Hz VRR television which does not.

Deleted member 70824 · Sep 29, 2020

Shirkelton said:
If you make a statement, either put up or shut up, because dancing around it is just funny.

Hmm, a predictably aggressive tone. I've seen it before.

Thousands of comments are made daily on this forum. And you expect people to pick and choose which ones to save, specifically to use them at some later point in time; or take the time to find specific comments among the hundreds that a single user makes in a week?

Good luck with that.

Shirkelton · Sep 29, 2020

If you're going to make a statement about what you're claiming is widespread behaviour, it shouldn't be hard to backup.

Deleted member 75819 · Sep 29, 2020

Can't say I've seen anyone mock BC. What does that even look like?

Outtrigger888 · Sep 29, 2020

I need some Auto HDR impressions on these older games. It's going to be fun revisiting old titles like dead space with this feature.

Detective · Sep 29, 2020

rajinus said:
If someone hasn't "gotten around to" a title released 8 months ago for a console they own, that implies they had very little interest in the game in the first place, and that cannot be simultaneously true with being super hyped about being able to play it at a higher framerate in the future

Or maybe you know, They have a life?

CorpseLight · Sep 29, 2020

Equanimity said:
One user would suffice. I have come across people that have downplayed the importance or impact of BC in any given system. But mocking is not something I'd associate with a feature that only serves to add to the overall experience.

I visit this forum and its threads daily and I have 100% seen comments such as "I dont buy new hardware for old games" and " I dont expect my old games to work on new consoles".

Shirkelton · Sep 29, 2020

Ch3m61_ said:
I visit this forum and its threads daily and I have 100% seen comments such as "I dont buy new hardware for old games" and " I dont expect my old games to work on new consoles".

That is not 'mocking' backwards compatibility.

CorpseLight · Sep 29, 2020

Shirkelton said:
That is not 'mocking' backwards compatibility.

What would you define as 'mocking' then?

Shirkelton · Sep 29, 2020

Ch3m61_ said:
What would you define as 'mocking' then?

Actually making fun of it rather than saying it's not interesting to you?

Black Chamber · Sep 29, 2020

K.Jack said:
He's simply explaining how hardware acceleration works, not something unique to the XSX.

It sounds like he's explaining how the Xbox Series X will accomplish Ray Tracing. Why wouldn't the full next-gen version be 4K/60fps?

This is a game based on current-gen hardware, after all🤷‍♂️

4 Get! · Sep 29, 2020

Theorry said:

shadowsdarknes · Sep 29, 2020

Ch3m61_ said:
I visit this forum and its threads daily and I have 100% seen comments such as "I dont buy new hardware for old games" and " I dont expect my old games to work on new consoles".

That's just people talking about their opinion on BC.
Not everyone values BC on a personal level. That's nothing new.

Musubi · Sep 29, 2020

Geoff out here putting the XSX through its real paces.

Shirkelton · Sep 29, 2020

Kieghley having purchased a copy of Blinx after launch is making me like him a little more.

Dave. · Sep 29, 2020

mentok15 said:
That cold boot up time, damn.

Pretty sure that's a warm boot (from standby), no?

plagiarize said:
This isn't as clear as you might think. PS4 Pro boost mode didn't use half the compute units, instead just running the same number of compute units as the PS4 vanilla had at the Pros higher clock speeds. If they aren't leveraging all the CUs again (and I haven't seen confirmation either way) then it's not going to offer the same levels of performance increases as TFlops might make you think. That'd be a very respectable 2.5 times increase in available GPU power for PS4 Pro titles and a rather disappointing 2.5 times increase for PS4 titles without pro support.

I don't think that makes any sense. Even if it were the case: Are there any games without a Pro mode, that run badly / uncapped enough on a base PS4 to not be maxed out by half the PS5's CUs at 2.5x the speed? It'd have to be 1080p/60 but actually runs at ~20fps, and I don't think that happened.

Myself · Sep 29, 2020

shadowsdarknes said:
That's just people talking about their opinion on BC.
Not everyone values BC on a personal level. That's nothing new.

I typically don't care about BC because I keep my consoles for the most part.......but for someone who is getting their first XBox in the XBSX, the backwards compatibility will keep me in games the entire generation for low cost.

mentok15 · Sep 29, 2020

Dave. said:
Pretty sure that's a warm boot (from standby), no?

Nope its cold.
Xbox Series X Cold Boot

zoodoo · Sep 29, 2020

Were the Prototype games capped? I know the remasters were a shitty job but I'd like to replay them at 60fps if possible

Soriku · Sep 29, 2020

Is it also boosting or stabilizing resolution? The FPS boost on its own is impressive though.

Dave. · Sep 29, 2020

mentok15 said:
Nope its cold.
Xbox Series X Cold Boot

Ah my mistake, I should have followed your link and checked. I say Jeff Grubb and thought it must be this from his video: (16:35 if it doesn't jump there for you)

Xbox Series X HANDS-ON Impressions: The Console We Should Have Had Years Ago

I have an Xbox Series X, and I'd like to talk about it with you.

youtu.be

which is, while yes a warm boot - insanely quick.

Ringten · Sep 29, 2020

Great stuff, but I need to how one game runs in particular.

Dark1x / Dictator

How does AC unity run on the Series X?

It's one of the best looking games, that was annoying to play on current gen to say the least.

Digital Foundry: Xbox Series X Backwards Compatibility Tested - And The Performance Is Extreme

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