Xbox Series X vs. PS5: Which should you buy in 2024?

When it comes to pure gaming power, two of the best systems the world has ever known are the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. Both platforms deliver brilliant 4K HDR performance, on top of terrific internal storage, great designs, and web-connected features.

While these systems are made by two different companies, the peripherals have many things in common. But they also have a few key differences, and we’re going to cover them all in this side-by-side comparison of the Series X and PS5.

Specs

Xbox Series X
PS5 Dimensions 15.1 x 15.1 x 30.1 cm 39cm x 26 x 10.4 cm Weight 9.8 pounds 10.54 pounds Color Black Black and white CPU 3.8GHz Custom Zen 2 3.5GHz Custom Zen 2 GPU 12 TFLOPS 1.825GHz RDNA 2 10.28 TFLOPS 2.23GHz Memory GDDR6, 16GB GDDR6, 16GB Memory bandwidth 10GB at 560GBps, 6GB at 336GBps 448GBps Storage 1TB custom NVME SSD 825GB SSD Optical drive 4K Blu-ray Yes 4K Yes Yes HDR Yes Yes Ports HDMI x 2, USB 3.2 x 2, Ethernet, storage, power Includes USB and NVME slot Online subscription Xbox Live Gold/Game Pass PS Plus Price $499 Digital: $399

Disc: $499

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On the PS5 side, the console uses AMD chips across the board. This includes an eight-core CPU running on a modified version of the Ryzen line. This CPU uses 7nm Zen 2 microarchitecture. Its CPU is, on paper, slightly less powerful than the Xbox Series X CPU.

The PS5’s GPU is also from AMD, based on the Radeon Navi line, and it supports the resource-intensive process known as ray tracing. This information comes from an interview that the lead system architect, Mark Cerny, had with Wired. The GPU runs at 10.28 TFLOPS with 2.23GHz, which puts it in relative competition with the Xbox Series X GPU. The PS5 also comes with a 4K Blu-ray player, placing it in line with the Xbox One S and Xbox One X. The discs have a capacity