Microsoft’s newly launched Xbox One S hardware isn’t just smaller than first-generation Xbox One consoles – it’s also noticeably faster, with many games seeing increased performance and improved framerates, according to a recent Digital Foundry study.
In testing the new hardware, Digital Foundry discovered that the Xbox One S boasts a GPU clock speed of 914MHz, compared to the original hardware’s 853MHz. Despite Microsoft’s pre-release claims to the contrary, the revised GPU delivers in-game performance boosts for select titles that employ dynamic resolutions and unlocked framerates.
Digital Foundry’s side-by-side comparisons reveal that titles like Hitman, Project Cars, and Rise of the Tomb Raider achieve more consistent performance on the Xbox One S. Backward compatible releases like Alan Wake’s American Nightmare also benefit from the Xbox One S GPU, with Digital Foundry noting significantly fewer framerate dips on Microsoft’s revised hardware.
The Xbox One S GPU’s 7.1 percent increase in clock speed also has the potential to bridge the performance gap between multiplatform titles. One especially demanding Hitman level actually achieves a slightly faster framerate on the Xbox One S than it does on Sony’s PlayStation 4. In this particular case, Digital Foundry reports that the performance difference between the Xbox One S and the PlayStation 4 is “a margin of around nine percent” in the Xbox’s favor.
Players hoping for noticeably faster framerates across the entire Xbox One library will be disappointed, however. Digital Foundry’s Richard Leadbetter reports that Batman: Arkham Knight simply runs “a touch smoother” on the Xbox One, while Fallout 4‘s performance is “an uncanny match between the two iterations of Xbox One hardware.”
“The bottom line is that even your standard 30fps capped title will see improvement if the original Xbox One hardware can’t meet the performance target,” Leadbetter writes.
The 2TB launch edition of the Xbox One S is now available at retailers across North America for $400. A limited edition Xbox One S featuring Gears of War 4 branding will be available exclusively at GameStop and the Microsoft Store on October 7.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.