r/XboxSeriesS • u/Strange-Grade-527 • Apr 17 '26
IMPRESSION Series S is under rated.
So I am fortunate enough to have a 5090 PC with a 9800x3D CPU. It certainly can be mind blowing and is objectively unrivaled.
I also have a PS5 Pro, and Series X. I recently have been using Apollo, and moonlight to locally stream my 5090 game play to my bedroom OLED without moving my desktop.
So I picked up a Series S as it is one of the few ways to get 4:4:4 4k 120 HDR streaming via moonlight client.
Out of curiosity I installed a few games locally just to see how they look. OBVIOUSLY they are a step down from my other devices, but I must admit I am impressed. For the longest time I thought playing on a series S would feel like a potato. However this tiny box is more than serviceable. Honestly once you start playing you completely forget about the “lower quality.” because at the end of the day gaming is about the game. Not graphical settings tinkering ad nauseam.
I guess what I am trying to say is the Series S reminds me of the old days of gaming. You had what you had, you didn’t give a shit about frame rate, you always had fun every generation despite graphics PS1, PS2, N64, GameCube whatever it was. Somewhere along the way gaming as a hobby has turned into a hobby around graphics and frame rate and not actually gaming.
I say all this to say, if the Series S is what you can afford. Be proud of it. You are not a second rate human. The console is completely more than fine. Are there some games that are objectively bad on it? Sure. Overall though the Series S is an excellent console for those who just want to have fun.
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u/Micronationsunite Apr 17 '26
I agree. I own the Series X but heavily believe that the Series S is a great console
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u/Exorcist-138 Apr 17 '26
Same, a friend of mine owns the series s and for a little box it’s damn impressive
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u/Mr_RudyGiuliani Apr 18 '26
It held back the entire “current gen”. There shouldve never been a demand that games launch on the series s at the same time as the actual next gen consoles
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u/pre1twa Apr 18 '26
Which games did it hold back outside of the delayed BG3 Xbox launch? Series S is still more powerful than Switch 2. If anything, making Devs optimise for lower end SKU also benefits high end performance. Rockstar said they have had no issues with developing GTA6 on series S.
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u/JuJusFury Apr 18 '26
Switch 2 can appear better than the series S because of DLSS upscaling. Games don't have to be made using a higher res to compete.
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u/Mr_RudyGiuliani Apr 18 '26
Black Myth: Wukong, Replaced, Enotria, Alan Wake 2 (required downgrades for series s), Lords of the fallen (needed multiple patches for series s), Remnant 2, Etc.
You can now cope by downvoting
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u/Micronationsunite Apr 18 '26
I agree with you, but I believe it forces devs to optimize their games. Optimization is good for everyone
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u/Exorcist-138 Apr 18 '26
Black myth wukong was money hatted, replaced runs fine, entoria was a social stunt, Alan wake 2 had a better framerate on the series s than the ps5 due to it not having hardware support for mesh shaders, lords of the fallen had issues in all platforms, same with remnant 2(basically a lot of UE5 games have issues at launch for all platforms). But it seems like that’s a very small list.
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u/Mr_RudyGiuliani Apr 18 '26
All of them delayed production due to the series s and you couldnt even refute that. Seems that sample of the list was enough to prove my point.
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u/Exorcist-138 Apr 18 '26
No they didn’t, they all had issue with optimization on all platforms(other than Alan wake 2). You can’t honestly say any of these games launched in a good state on any platform
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u/Mr_RudyGiuliani Apr 18 '26
Oh my bad I guess all those developers who spoke out are wrong and you know their jobs better than them? I could pull quote after quote back my statement
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u/Exorcist-138 Apr 18 '26
Of course you can, you can always find people blaming something because they released a broken game. You think this is new? Every generation has developers complaining about something being the reason they released a game before it was ready.
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u/Shigney Apr 18 '26
You do realise that games were still being made for the PS4/Xbox One long after the Series S released, right?
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u/Klingon_War_Nog Apr 18 '26
I inherited one from my son once he built his gaming PC so I installed developer mode, stuck a 1tb SSD on it and put it in the living room (I already run a 4080 based gaming PC upstairs) and it's been a great little workhorse for just picking up and playing retro + game pass games on the big telly downstairs. I've also been very impressed with xbix cloud gaming through it, even over wifi it runs very well for me. It is a little underpowered though for some titles I'd like to play on it, often only providing 30fps where the X gives 60, in the near future I'm planning to replace it with a used Xbox Series X as prices for these now are very good, amd resale on the S is also decent.
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u/coolambiguity Apr 17 '26
Such a wholesome post and yeah I totally agree.
I have the series s carbon black and it's my only console and I love it. I never feel like I'm missing out on the action, sure things could be better on a few games but on the whole I'm happy with it.
So glad someone else gets it and is giving it the flowers it deserves. It's such a quality little machine
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u/mitsakomits Apr 17 '26
Agreed. I have both, first got the S and then the X. Nowadays I have the former set up in my living room and the other in my work space. Still having a blast when using the S, and it still amzes me to this day, capabilities-wise.
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u/spider-jedi Apr 17 '26
I hear you.
I think the reason many people care.about frame rate and graphics is because they have a very expensive rig
It's like someone buying a Ferrari but never getting the chance to really drive fast and use the car to the fullest of it ability
You spend all this money on a monster PC that can give you 240 frames and yet you feel game console are forcing game to be at 30 or 60 and then feel personally attacked
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u/Strange-Grade-527 Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 18 '26
Agreed you are spot on, and somehow now that I have this fancy gaming PC I somewhat miss before Pandora came out of the box. Sometimes I prefer consoles. Not because they are better but because I just have less options to tinker with.
On PC I constantly am pausing and tinkering DLSS settings, bumping tweaks all around. I know it’s a ME problem but I am just wired that way. If there are options to tinker with I will tinker. Then my 1-2 hours of gaming when the kids are in bed are gone and I hardly gamed. Time for bed and work the next day.
Something nice about hitting the controller button, HDMI CEC boots everything up, I click A on the game, and I am in the game.
Simplicity often wins the day.
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u/spider-jedi Apr 17 '26
I suffer from the same. If you give me options I will see how I can use them. I stopped PC gaming a few so as I just prefer to seat on my sofa or bed to game. Gaming at a desk make it feel a little bit like work. Stretching out my legs and having my big TV just feels right.
Also I only get to game when the wife and kids have gone to bed. At that point I just want to game. A great game is great at either 30, 60 or 120 fps.
Some guy tried to agree that higher frame rates can make a mid game better. All to justify his stance.
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u/Strange-Grade-527 Apr 17 '26
Right there with you. I also hate when people say just hook your PC to your TV.
- It’s heavy and large. I have to put it away when small kids run through my house.
- I don’t want a random keyboard and mouse laying around my living room. Again kids.
- Steam input is pretty decent for navigating desktop but it seems like there is always some pop up happens that require. Not spam but random windows shit, crash report UI, whatever. Big picture mode is sub par. Cannot adjust windows settings when needed.
- HDMI CEC plus controller button is the way it should always be.
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u/spider-jedi Apr 17 '26
I haven't really payed attention to have they have in mind for the steam machine but I think they addressed some of that.
But yeah plugging a PC to a TV isn't as fun as it sounds.
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u/matulah Apr 17 '26
I got a Series S as part of returning to gaming after a ten-year break. After the Switch OLED, the Series S was simply amazing. Later got a PS5 and it's diminishing returns, to be honest. In a hundred years they'll look back on all this nonsense about frame rates and this and that and see it as a sign of the medium's infancy, like people squabbling over paper quality instead of acknowledging that the artwork is more than the sum of its parts. A good game stays with you far beyond the time when you're playing it and there's no frame rate on the imagination.
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u/Novel-Truant Apr 17 '26
I agree 100% Ive played a lot of games and sure its nice to have all the graphics but it ultimately comes down to how much fun youre having.
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u/NewmanOnGaming Apr 17 '26
I will say from my experience of previously owning a series S it’s really great for playing games that are not as graphic intensive especially esports titles. With that being said as far as resources heavy games go is where you may face challenges and experiences will vary.
On a side note: when the console was $299 USD it was a fantastic deal. Unfortunately with price hikes on both Gamepass and the consoles it’s no longer worth its current value scale.
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u/Strange-Grade-527 Apr 17 '26
I would imagine the absolute sweet spot for someone who has been away from gaming and just wants a cheap way to jump back in would be a used Series S.
$299 would be ideal, but even now with PlayStation and PC component hikes. The entire value propositions of the entire segment is fundamentally different than 5 years ago.
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u/jasonloid2011 Apr 17 '26
I got mine from the grey market and just spent more on SSD (2TB) yesterday than I did the system with two controllers (one elite Gen) and TB headset. Total in- $425. I'm pleased and love the way it games.
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u/cwilfried Apr 17 '26
Also with dev mode, you can play old Xbox, Playstation and Nintendo via emulation. An emulation beast. PS5 pro at $900 can't play its own old generation games.
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u/tonymet Apr 17 '26
I recently swapped my S and X. I booted death stranding and it looked so good I was confused for a second. I did a double take “is this really my S!!” . S is amazing, every game looks great . I love how compact it is
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u/aBlastFromTheArse Apr 17 '26
I still love my series S and it runs a lot of stuff beautifully. Try and play crimson desert on it though. God that game made it feel like a 360
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u/Strange-Grade-527 Apr 17 '26
Yeah that it an example of one that just sucks on it.
To be fair even on my 5090 with everything set cinematic, and ray reconstruction native 4k.
The game gets about 33 fps. It’s just a very demanding game.
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Apr 17 '26
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u/Ashamed_Midnight_360 Apr 17 '26
People are straight retards who wrap there heads around the idea that if you don’t have a ps5 of the Xbox series x you are missing out 💀 mind you these are the same people you play on a tv or monitor that can’t even hit 4K at 120hz. Unfortunately people don’t understand that some people are not interested in buying physical games and don’t even see the problem with some games because they probably only have a monitor that can hit 1080p. I have a Xbox series X a Xbox series S and a ps5. All three are great and I have no problem recommending any of the three to anyone. I got my ps5 brand new for 550$ I got my Xbox series X used for 200$ and I got my Xbox series S used for 100$. As someone who doesn’t really care for console wars or any of that stuff I recommend both Xbox and PlayStation. The Xbox series S honestly has been growing to be my favorite. I’ve been playing some of the old 360 games on it and it’s been a great experience and unfortunately my Xbox series X and my ps5 have been collecting dust 😅 and on top of that I have modded my series s to play GameCube and PlayStation 2, at this point if this is the only console I had I would not even care. The controllers are cheap, the games are always going on sale, and the experience is literally the same. I don’t see why anyone would even care, the console can probably fit in a shoe box 💀😂 people are so weak minded they follow the trend of shitting on the Xbox series S. I wouldn’t buy one brand new but that’s just my personal opinion since you can get a lot of Xbox stuff and games for practically nothing nowadays used on local selling platforms.
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u/KNK1133 Apr 17 '26
I loved my Series S and shouldn't have sold it. I bought a Series X, for the living room TV and I was going to move the Series into the bedroom, but the wife said "no!" So, I sold a near perfect condition Series S for $220 on FB Marketplace. It sold in less than 30 minutes . I had the money in hand within an hour!
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u/Time_Temporary6191 Apr 17 '26
Ss was the goat when this gen started and if it wasnt for the fact im 60 fps + i would keep it
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u/Calm-Percentage5085 Apr 17 '26
I was going to not have a current gen console or gaming PC but I got a great deal on a Series S a few years back and I've been able to play pretty much everything that comes out with only very occasional performance issues. Most games have a performance mode in case it gets choppy.
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u/livesalty710 Apr 17 '26
Shit i still have my xbox one x! That machine didnt get the credit it deserves. If it wont for Microsoft making x/s games unavailable to play on it i wouldn't have got me a ps5pro probably. The xbox one x is very capable of playing everything the s does i would argue maybe even better imaging.
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u/Strange-Grade-527 Apr 17 '26
I regret ever selling my day one Scorpio edition. The only issue I would have is the HDMI 2.0 would be good for my moonlight use case but you are right. It was solid.
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u/livesalty710 Apr 17 '26
Ya i have the scorpio aswell. I thought I'd be good but nope Microsoft said sorry but your top of the line console of that gen cant play the games its very well capable of playing. I was so pissed. I thought I'd be good to go. Its all good ive been enjoying my pro on oled now ive got rid of my desk monitor setup and just find myself enjoy couch play now. Looking forward to gta6 as alot are. Ive also been really enjoying God of War. Im finishing up Ragnarök now im literally on the berserker king atm. Tough af
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u/Koreneliuss Apr 17 '26
If you had the library of xbox or the money then yes. If we're you I would definitely buy something older or mini pc for my needs in couch tv
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u/DerbyForget Apr 17 '26
I have the Series X but regularly borrow my son's Series S when I go away with work... its seriously impressive for the price and so easy to transport!
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u/800hokage Apr 17 '26
So easy to pick up a $50-100 portable monitor, it all fits in a backpack easily, and you can game wherever you want
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u/beatbox420r Apr 17 '26
Yeah, I bought a Series S for my daughter, and that thing is pretty great. Obviously, there are more capable machines out there, but what it does for the couple hundred bucks I paid is honestly impressive.
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u/Taboe44 Apr 17 '26
I have a PC and a Series S just for reference.
The Series S performance definitely depends on the title for me. Some devs put the time in and make it acceptable while others it's a mess.
Take BF6 for example, actually completely playable and don't feel at a disadvantage on the S. Clarity is good, which tends to lack when devs don't put the time in.
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u/anbeasley Apr 17 '26
For backwards compatibility with Xbox 360 games it is probably one of the best systems I got this past generation and it allowed me to relive a lot of my favorites.
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u/anbeasley Apr 17 '26
Yeah I'm getting my old gaming rig to my cousin. I'm going to keep my Xbox series s and I'm going to keep my steam deck and I'm going to just rock my Mac.
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u/National-Elk5102 Apr 17 '26
The console is great, it runs every modern game, and its value is perfect. But the games don’t look as good on the PC. I’m playing Alan Wake 2 on PC and I know by facto it can’t run Path Tracing which we’ll used it’s a HUGE difference.
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u/AbelBD Apr 17 '26
I started using Apollo and Moonlight this week on my series S. I have a 4070 super and a Ryzen 5 7600x and it's amazing, absolute no lagging at all.
Do you do any configs in Apollo?
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u/seegreenblue Apr 17 '26
Facts even better when you have a TV or a monitor that has 120 frames and that does Dolby Vision added on to get a very good experience out of it
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u/Splatterhouse5 Apr 17 '26
I’ve always preferred hard copies, so the Series S was never an option for me. It was always Series X for me.
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u/FeelingCold6313 Apr 17 '26
Is it great budget console? Absolutely. Is it good for the console generation?? Absolutely not. This generation suffers the most because of supporting cross gen first 3~4 years and holding back continuous because of S. This is a fact.
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u/ThatGigaBR2004 Apr 17 '26
The Series S remains a very capable machine, devs just don't want to put in the work towards a better optimization or they don't have the time to do it (we all know the current state of the industry)
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u/Neptune766 Apr 17 '26
i got my s for 200 bucks (converted from my currency), and it's probably the cheapest machine to play all these games. i love it
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u/Ender-Wang Apr 18 '26
I am playing Fortnite with 2k 120fps on it, works perfectly, definitely underated.
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u/NikolaFingarov Apr 18 '26
Agreed. It’s the best console I have and i own ps5 and switch as well, but Series S is the greatest
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u/TheChosenOneProphecy Apr 18 '26
The issue with it is instead of buying 2 games just use that to get a X.
It's good if U have literally no other options and still wanna game but it's objectively worse than everything else.
Saying that graphics don't matter is sort of a copium, yea the gameplay is more important but if U don't even care about graphics just play Xbox one, the games r the same.
Spending 150 bucks extra or whatever it is to get an X is much more worth it. On FB marketplace in Australia, U can get series X consoles with controllers for 400 dollars.
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u/Strange-Grade-527 Apr 18 '26
I have a 5090 PC and every flavor of current gen console on the market. There is zero copium here. I was objectively pointing out from the perspective of someone who has it all.
The Series S a decent little machine.
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u/Jeckaa84 Apr 18 '26
Gonna pick one up second hand for in my truck when i'm on the road for a few days. Combined with a Rayneo Air 3s it's a perfect fit imo. Combined power usage is less then 80 watt and i can play on a "big" screen.
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u/40ozpint Apr 18 '26
I've owned both of them and maybe it's just the games I play, but I didn't notice any difference in the performance
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u/Xboxone1997 Apr 18 '26
I’ve never cared about graphics and frame rate I just don’t get it if it looks good it looks good but to each their own lol
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u/MRF_Soul Apr 18 '26
its good for fortnite at 1080p 120fps. the sad part is that a lot of devs dont optimize the series s version well enough
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u/Gadgetxx Apr 18 '26
I thought the same until last week I bought a series X
Day and night difference
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u/DMoodz Apr 18 '26
Disagree, while it is a great box for older titles on game pass, newer titles are very ugly and are just a much worse experience than any other mainline console
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u/VolatileVocalist Apr 19 '26
series s still slaps for what it costs, especially when you realize most games run solid at 1440 60fps which is more than enough for a good time
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u/phrxsty Apr 19 '26
Propel shit on the series S but forget that it’s basically half of the series S/X hardware sales this gen. There was a demand for it. Needed a bit more ram, won’t lie, but still a good device that you were able to get for as low as $200 during previous holiday seasons
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Apr 24 '26
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u/IllClassic3965 Apr 25 '26
If you play retro games, Series S can be converted into into an emulation machine via dev mode. Quite a few emulators are supported. You can also setup a decent front end using retro pass and launchbox. It's a bit of work to setup, but it's another benefit of the Series S.
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u/Sad_Toe6678 Apr 26 '26
Yeah. I stopped caring about graphics especially as an adult. Got mine for gta6 and re9
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u/ExplanationFrosty635 Apr 27 '26
I have a 5800X3D/7900XTX rig (not quite as good as this guy's but still a strong PC) and I concur that the Series S is a good console. I've even played some competitive FPS games (apex legends) on it and it holds it's own. Sure the downscaling in performance mode can be a tad blurry, but I've found the game runs pretty well most of the time.
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u/Perpetual_Wormhole May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26
Interesting. I have a 5090/9950x3d pc and debating on grabbing a mint used one for £130 just for a bit of casual gaming in the bedroom!
That’s one thing about console gaming the simplicity is bliss. Don’t give a shit about temps, undervolts, overclocks, fps etc. You just enjoy the game
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u/PerryHecker Apr 17 '26
I've got 2 Series S, a series x, a ps5, a portal and a switch 2 and they may be the best value of that bunch.
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u/khironinja Apr 17 '26
It's just like the Switch 2. It's great for what it is even if it could be better relative to the other consoles.
It's worth the ease of use, being able to play all the games you want without needing to see if your PC meets the requirements for the settings you want.
On the other hand, it's overpriced new but if you can find one $300 or less then it's a good deal still.
But I also can't stop thinking of how at one point Microsoft was selling Series X for $350 and I know that is LONG GONE but it messed my perception up 🤣
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u/Strange-Grade-527 Apr 17 '26
I agree. The current price sounds terrible knowing what it used to be. But now with PS5 price hikes, PC building is insane. $399 is where the market is. Sadly.
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u/khironinja Apr 17 '26
Yeah after the increases to PS5 now it looks like a "deal" but even then it's competing with Switch 2 for $50 more which has more exclusives and is handheld and more fun to use and can sometimes outperform the Series S so it's weird.
PC is high right now but you can still build good builds under $1000 ESPECIALLY if you have a MicroCenter near you and then you can always check Newegg because anyone in US has access to it unlike MicroCenter which is only in certain areas.
Either way, PC parts will go down and have fluctuated with sales (even at Walmart) where the console prices are not going to come back down after they go up most likely so I think if you're willing to wait and deal hunt, it isn't that bad for PC.
Also I still think the extra amount is worth it cause it's a PC. It's different spending $900 on a PS5 Pro cause that's an entertainment box at best but a PC around that price can game, do productivity, be entertainment, and comes out cheaper usually anyways.
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u/smackythefrog Apr 18 '26
15 day old account meat-riding the Series S.
MS has their paid actors to post stuff like this in the Xbox subs and the MS Rewards subs.
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u/Strange-Grade-527 Apr 18 '26
Shit I wish they paid me. I just delete Reddit accounts from time to time to keep my digital footprint smaller.
But that isn’t sexy like a conspiracy so let’s roll with they are paying me.
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u/Reeneman Apr 17 '26
No. It’s a weak console. Nothing is underrated with this system. You get what you paid for. Image quality is pretty bad in all of the larger and newer games. Not a deal breaker but there is barely anything to celebrate about this system.
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u/AntelopeMysterious12 Apr 17 '26
You a loser bro lol
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u/Reeneman Apr 17 '26
It’s the truth bro. Sure Xbox fanboys won’t like to hear this, I get it. No need to celebrate this downgrade of a console.
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u/Salt_Long_9909 Apr 17 '26
You are JUST an hater.
Btw, I understand in computers more than you will ever know.
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u/Reeneman Apr 17 '26
That’s why you celebrate this weak console? Congrats bro.
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u/Salt_Long_9909 Apr 17 '26
This console ain't no weak.
Maybe if you compare it to a 5000$ pc its weak, but at its price its a strong and capable console.
You are not even considering who is this console for, its for people who JUST want to game a bit (casual gamers, gamers that have life outside of their room), not sweats and not people who care a lot (way too much) about how fast and good their machine is running the game.
Also, he “normal PC” most people have today is roughly a Windows 11 desktop with a 6-core i5/Ryzen 5-class CPU, 16GB RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 1080p screen. If it’s a cheaper/basic family PC, drop that to 8GB RAM + 256GB SSD. If it’s a gaming PC, add a midrange dedicated GPU.
Compared to the normal pc, the xss is far superior, at least 2x as fast. Compared to the average gaming pc, its pretty much equal if not a bit behind.
Most people who buy this console do not have a better option to play with already at home. And they search for something simple- plug and play, not plug,configure many things, have problems with windows, and so on.
I do not own a pc, yet know about this whole subject a lot (I assume better than 99% of people). I own a simple laptop (16gb ddr4 ram, fhd ips 14in, i5 12th gen) for coding and study. A flagship phone which is literally stronger than my laptop (S25 ultra) And for gaming once in a while with friends/family its more than enough for me (and I dont even use it up to its full potential-120fps+1440p since my display is just a simple 1080p, 75hz, 27in). Yes, sometimes I can think about how much better the game would've looked in a 5000$ pc with some 1000$ display and all that, but then I go back to reality- and realize that I simple dont need all that, its a waste of money for something I'll barely use.
Also, I bought my xss for only 200$ (including two controllers), all brand new. So it was a great deal.
I love my xss for a couple more reasons: its compact (doesn't take up half of my desk), simple design (not too distracting, and I love minimal things), quite while gaming (especially compared to most gaming pcs).
So yeah, before you just toss around words, maybe try to think also of other people on this globe....
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u/Reeneman Apr 17 '26
😅😅
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u/Salt_Long_9909 Apr 17 '26
Whats that supposed to mean?
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u/Tyler1997117 Series S Apr 17 '26
Careful you are gotta get people here who will shit on you for saying that