XBOX Series X (1TB SSD Console)

Microsoft’s new Xbox Series X console is designed to usher in a new era of gaming. We affectionally call it the “next gen” every time a big leap in console hardware arrives, promising new games and things we’ve never seen before. The Xbox Series X will undoubtedly deliver those in time, but for now, the big launch games, flashy new graphics, and next-gen games are still on their way.

Microsoft has built what feels like an exciting PC upgrade experience in a console form. The Xbox Series X comes the closest I’ve ever witnessed to re-creating the superior PC experience of playing games, thanks to SSD storage, a far more powerful CPU, 120Hz support, and impressive backward compatibility features that improve existing games.

Microsoft has squeezed all of the components of the Xbox Series X into a boxy, rectangular, tower-like case. It looks like a compact PC but with an unassuming design that looks far better standing vertically than it does laying horizontally (just like most PCs).

The base of the Xbox Series X isn’t removable, and (unlike the PS5) the console is not designed to be opened up. When placed horizontally, it’s fair to say that the Xbox Series X looks like it fell over with the base permanently attached.

I’m not in love with the design, but I’m also not bothered by it. It’s a black box you stick under your TV and forget about, as long as you’re able to fit it under your TV.