DigitalFoundry: Xbox Series X: What's The Best SSD Option For Back Compat Xbox Games?
- Thread starter Theorry
- Start date
OP
OP
So an external mechanical drive on Series X loaded a save faster than an external SSD on Xbox One X in FFXV.
Load times for BC games are pretty much the same between the internal and external SSDs.
This is cool.
This is cool.
What? It's USB3 in the end. The difference is the CPU being better at decompression of assets.
Hope they do something similar for PS5, now we know the USB port speeds, I want to know what the best solution will be for offloading PS4 games but still having them run as quickly as feasible.
I was under the impression that USB 3.1 is faster than 3.0... am I wrong?
the day 1, unpatched version of ac unity did not have a framerate cap. but then you'd be playing unity unpatched.
OP
OP
The weirdest thing tho. It says that under the One X version. But not under the Series X version.
it doesn't say it under the xbox one footage either because it's just a subtitle explaining what the footage is - there's no point putting that subtitle on series x, one x and xbox one footage. if you look at the monster hunter footage as well it only has that written under the footage on the left.
The only way to get that version is physical, right? The digital version downloads the most recent patch along with the game download, doesn't it?
i'm not sure how digital downloads work on xbox, sorry. 😅 but the unpatched, "gold" version of unity is really, really rough. you would be trading a functioning game for 60fps. 😅
Is this the Sabrent adapter Richard used?
Amazon.com: Sabrent USB 3.0 to SSD / 2.5-Inch SATA I/II/IIIHard Drive Adapter (EC-SSHD): Computers & Accessories
Buy Sabrent USB 3.0 to SSD / 2.5-Inch SATA I/II/IIIHard Drive Adapter (EC-SSHD): SATA Cables - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com
Damn, that's unfortunate. I wonder how hard it would be for developers to just patch current gen games with an optional unlocked frame rate option, I know Sucker Punch patched in frame rate options post launch of Second Son.
This is my experience on PC as well. Game loads don't increase a lot on a faster SSD. I don't notice much difference between my NVME drive and my older SATA SSD. As long as it's on an SSD. Keen to see what velocity architecture / Sony's custom controller can do to change that on true next gen games.
One thing to take into account is that PS5's USB ports run at 10Gbs speed vs 5Gbps on Xbox S/X. So results might be different on PS5.
That said, a cheaper NVME drive with external enclosure is same price as a SATA SSD in an external module. So might as well grab the NVME.
That said, a cheaper NVME drive with external enclosure is same price as a SATA SSD in an external module. So might as well grab the NVME.
That was extremely thorough I gotta say.
Rich's conclusion that the CPU is doing most of the heavy lifting is something that everyone that plays on both PC and consoles already knows. Over the years games on my PC have always loaded considerably faster than their console counterparts, even when only using a regular HDD.
Those Jaguar cores are just some serious trash.
Rich's conclusion that the CPU is doing most of the heavy lifting is something that everyone that plays on both PC and consoles already knows. Over the years games on my PC have always loaded considerably faster than their console counterparts, even when only using a regular HDD.
Those Jaguar cores are just some serious trash.
that would be ideal, i hope we see stuff like that, as long as they are careful to not break the 30fps options (see: ffxv's various modes on ps4 pro)
Damn Rich didn't link the specific Sabrent adapter he has. I wonder if its the USB 3.0 version or the USB 3.1 as this was what I was learning towards for my cold storage solution (which SSD remains to be seen.)
it looks like with the SSDs even on the SS it's more often than not the CPU being the limiting factor for loading once you have a OK enough SSD that is;
but obviously this is running old unoptimized code for XB1.
I mean, apart from the copy/read test which is actually legit limited by the external SSDs own performance (particularly in terms of writes for that sata drive I would think) and in general the USB interface.
it's really nice to see such vast improvements over the old gen,
the CPU on the PS4XB1 was really bad, same for the laptop hard drive, it really was/is a nightmare for loading the games.
but obviously this is running old unoptimized code for XB1.
I mean, apart from the copy/read test which is actually legit limited by the external SSDs own performance (particularly in terms of writes for that sata drive I would think) and in general the USB interface.
it's really nice to see such vast improvements over the old gen,
the CPU on the PS4XB1 was really bad, same for the laptop hard drive, it really was/is a nightmare for loading the games.
I grabbed a few as well. Granted, they are on the smaller side, but they will work fine for BC games that I play semi-regularly; the rest will stay on my 4TB external.
This is the one linked in the Eurogamer article (3.1 version):
On Amazon UK 3.0 is £8 and 3.1 is £11 so not massive price difference just getting the 3.1 for peace of mind.
Thanks, was just rewatching around the 4:30 mark and he states its the 3.1 version.
they do a USB 3.1 version (EC-SS31) and a USB-C 3.1 version (EC-HDSS)
Amazon.com: Sabrent USB 3.1 (Type-A) to SSD / 2.5-Inch SATA Hard Drive Adapter [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] (EC-SS31): Computers & Accessories
Amazon.com: Sabrent USB 3.1 (Type-A) to SSD / 2.5-Inch SATA Hard Drive Adapter [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] (EC-SS31): Computers & Accessories
www.amazon.com
edit: nvm answered above
Go with whatever is the fastest if you go with NVME. I don't think it matters on the SATA side though.