XBOX - help me choose please!
Discussion
Hi all, sorry for the boring post but I am going round in circles here as not traditionally an XBOX owner. I have always been a PS man and currently have a solid old PS3 still going strong since I bought it nearly 15 years ago...but all my son's mates have XBOX so it makes sense to switch so am looking at buying one as a "family" Christmas present (the wife is thrilled).
However, I am not sure what model to buy. We are not massively hard-core gamers in our house. Kids maybe play every other night and a bit more on the weekends (we are quite strict); myself very rarely when the wife is out (the PS3 hooks to the lounge TV which is always taken for s
t TV viewing). So for next-gen it seemed to make sense to get a S series as they are cheaper - for our volume of play-time is a X worth it?
But then people say the S is good for Game Pass as it's all digital - but in our house, boring as it sounds, we play a fairly narrow range of games so that got me thinking a monthly sub to play as many games as you want also wouldn't be worth it! Like paying for Netflix and just watching Friends...
Then I come back to the last gen One X - I read that there is a big difference in having the SSD in the S/X in terms of load times / graphics etc. But if all I know is a PS3 won't the One X still feel like a big step up? And then also I can buy all those lovely cheap physical games from CEX / Vinted etc. I can get a good 2nd hand Project X model with a few games chucked in for £150.
But not future-proofed....
Help!
However, I am not sure what model to buy. We are not massively hard-core gamers in our house. Kids maybe play every other night and a bit more on the weekends (we are quite strict); myself very rarely when the wife is out (the PS3 hooks to the lounge TV which is always taken for s
t TV viewing). So for next-gen it seemed to make sense to get a S series as they are cheaper - for our volume of play-time is a X worth it? But then people say the S is good for Game Pass as it's all digital - but in our house, boring as it sounds, we play a fairly narrow range of games so that got me thinking a monthly sub to play as many games as you want also wouldn't be worth it! Like paying for Netflix and just watching Friends...
Then I come back to the last gen One X - I read that there is a big difference in having the SSD in the S/X in terms of load times / graphics etc. But if all I know is a PS3 won't the One X still feel like a big step up? And then also I can buy all those lovely cheap physical games from CEX / Vinted etc. I can get a good 2nd hand Project X model with a few games chucked in for £150.
But not future-proofed....
Help!
I think its a false economy going last gen.
Game pass is superb - some huge games launch on it for free.
What sort of games are you looking to play?
New AAA titles? or something random?
I would go for Series S if you are going to Gamepass / new AAA games.
The new Series X if not - as this way you can buy second hand games.
Worst case if it doesn't float your boat you can always sell it on.
Game pass is superb - some huge games launch on it for free.
What sort of games are you looking to play?
New AAA titles? or something random?
I would go for Series S if you are going to Gamepass / new AAA games.
The new Series X if not - as this way you can buy second hand games.
Worst case if it doesn't float your boat you can always sell it on.
I checked gumtree and it looked like you could get a 2nd hand xbox one x for abour £80.
Could buy it, run it for a bit and if it's not getting use you could sell it back on for the same money.
I have an Xbox one x, with the xbox one kinnect attached to it. My girls use it for the dance games. Nice piece of kit really (especially for the price).
WHen you say you play a narrow set of games, what are they? Also is it important to have the same one as his mates (xbox) if he doesn't really plan on playing with them?
It all comes down to budget and how often you are going to use it and what for. If you are still with a PS3 then it sounds very much like you are not that much into gaming, so watch and not spend more than necessary. Xbox one x attached to a 4k tv is a big step up on a PS3. I've got them all and still really like my PS3 but its an old console generation nowadays.
Cheers
Could buy it, run it for a bit and if it's not getting use you could sell it back on for the same money.
I have an Xbox one x, with the xbox one kinnect attached to it. My girls use it for the dance games. Nice piece of kit really (especially for the price).
WHen you say you play a narrow set of games, what are they? Also is it important to have the same one as his mates (xbox) if he doesn't really plan on playing with them?
It all comes down to budget and how often you are going to use it and what for. If you are still with a PS3 then it sounds very much like you are not that much into gaming, so watch and not spend more than necessary. Xbox one x attached to a 4k tv is a big step up on a PS3. I've got them all and still really like my PS3 but its an old console generation nowadays.
Cheers
Split between me and the kids we have a PS5, Xbox X, Xbox S and a Switch so can offer some good thoughts here!
What TV will it be connected to? Does it meet HDMI2.1?
You say you want Xbox to play multiplayer, but a lot of games are multi platform now (I can play PS5 online against my friends on Xbox etc) - What kind of games will you play?
The Xbox gamepass is good, and you can use some simple quirks to get 3 years worth of it for about £100.
In my opinion the PS5 is the best console, owing to the exclusives, and the controller (the haptic feedback on the triggers is excellent)
Buying second hand from CEX is worth looking into - they do 2 year warranty on consoles, and you can part ex your PS3 and games.
The Series X is worth it over the S. you could well still have this console in 10 years time, so the extra 150 quid is nothing over that timeframe. Top games are 100+ gb and you will fill the S HDD in no time
What TV will it be connected to? Does it meet HDMI2.1?
You say you want Xbox to play multiplayer, but a lot of games are multi platform now (I can play PS5 online against my friends on Xbox etc) - What kind of games will you play?
The Xbox gamepass is good, and you can use some simple quirks to get 3 years worth of it for about £100.
In my opinion the PS5 is the best console, owing to the exclusives, and the controller (the haptic feedback on the triggers is excellent)
Buying second hand from CEX is worth looking into - they do 2 year warranty on consoles, and you can part ex your PS3 and games.
The Series X is worth it over the S. you could well still have this console in 10 years time, so the extra 150 quid is nothing over that timeframe. Top games are 100+ gb and you will fill the S HDD in no time
I bought Series X (and a new TV - check whether you need one) a couple of months ago.
Graphics and load times are way better than a One. May son was amazed at how good Red Dead looked, and Cyberpunk actually works!
However, the SSD isn’t really big enough - I think we have 7 or 8 games and it is around 90%. At the moment there is no room for Forza without deleting something else. Beauty of Game Pass is you can add and delete easily though.
Graphics and load times are way better than a One. May son was amazed at how good Red Dead looked, and Cyberpunk actually works!
However, the SSD isn’t really big enough - I think we have 7 or 8 games and it is around 90%. At the moment there is no room for Forza without deleting something else. Beauty of Game Pass is you can add and delete easily though.
Defcon5 said:
Split between me and the kids we have a PS5, Xbox X, Xbox S and a Switch so can offer some good thoughts here!
What TV will it be connected to? Does it meet HDMI2.1?
You say you want Xbox to play multiplayer, but a lot of games are multi platform now (I can play PS5 online against my friends on Xbox etc) - What kind of games will you play?
The Xbox gamepass is good, and you can use some simple quirks to get 3 years worth of it for about £100.
In my opinion the PS5 is the best console, owing to the exclusives, and the controller (the haptic feedback on the triggers is excellent)
Buying second hand from CEX is worth looking into - they do 2 year warranty on consoles, and you can part ex your PS3 and games.
The Series X is worth it over the S. you could well still have this console in 10 years time, so the extra 150 quid is nothing over that timeframe. Top games are 100+ gb and you will fill the S HDD in no time
I'll quote this one but thanks for all replies.What TV will it be connected to? Does it meet HDMI2.1?
You say you want Xbox to play multiplayer, but a lot of games are multi platform now (I can play PS5 online against my friends on Xbox etc) - What kind of games will you play?
The Xbox gamepass is good, and you can use some simple quirks to get 3 years worth of it for about £100.
In my opinion the PS5 is the best console, owing to the exclusives, and the controller (the haptic feedback on the triggers is excellent)
Buying second hand from CEX is worth looking into - they do 2 year warranty on consoles, and you can part ex your PS3 and games.
The Series X is worth it over the S. you could well still have this console in 10 years time, so the extra 150 quid is nothing over that timeframe. Top games are 100+ gb and you will fill the S HDD in no time
Current games that get mostly get played in our house across PS3 and Switch are Fortnite, FIFA, Rayman and Minecraft; I enjoy Mass Effect and LA Noire...we have a bunch of others that get limited use. BUT, I need to think about will that be the case in 3-4 years time - my boys would game a lot more if I let them! The one game I know they would play on XBOX is Forza (this is all they play when they are at their mates).
It would be hooked at best up to my old Panny plasma so nothing current-tech and definitely not 4K or HDMI 2.1. Worst case to a smaller TV or monitor in the office.
PS5 kind of makes sense but it's so flipping big and annoys me I can't play my PS3 games. I would probably keep it anyway for retro enjoyment.
Given I won't have the supplementary tech to get the best out of the X I wonder if the S is the one to go for...but keep coming back to the One X as a sort of "trial" - it's not a throwaway price but I could stand buying one for £100 then tossing it if it never got used. It would still be a big upgrade on anything the boys have here currently.
We got the series X last Christmas for our boys to replace a one x.
They love it. Only plugged into a HD Samsung which is probably ten years old but looks fab.
The HDD fills up quickly and the half size drive on the S wouldn't really last long. The latest Forza and Horizon would easily fill 50% of the HDD on a series S.
How quick is your internet? Is it a few hours downloading to get the new games or redownload ones they want?
The loading speed is a big improvement over the One X. Makes huge quality of life difference when using the console.
Game pass is really good. We picked up a 24 month deal from Game called Xbox Unlimited. About £28 per month over 24 months. Console is then you're and you get game pass. Worked out about £20 cheaper over the term than buying outright and paying game pass
They love it. Only plugged into a HD Samsung which is probably ten years old but looks fab.
The HDD fills up quickly and the half size drive on the S wouldn't really last long. The latest Forza and Horizon would easily fill 50% of the HDD on a series S.
How quick is your internet? Is it a few hours downloading to get the new games or redownload ones they want?
The loading speed is a big improvement over the One X. Makes huge quality of life difference when using the console.
Game pass is really good. We picked up a 24 month deal from Game called Xbox Unlimited. About £28 per month over 24 months. Console is then you're and you get game pass. Worked out about £20 cheaper over the term than buying outright and paying game pass
I've not gone to the new gen consoles yet, but I think you'd manage with one of the previous gen consoles anyway, IMO I think you probably wouldn't be getting the benefit of the newest ones without a 4k screen (but that's just my thoughts!)
I would say even going to an Xbox one or PS4 would likely be a big step up, using gamepass on Xbox one can still allow streaming of some of the newest next gen titles on the Xbox one.
Ignoring the subscriptions though, while I've been a sucker for physical discs as well, both Xbox and playstation stores often have very, very good deals on some games from a few years back, might be worth having a scan through their storefronts to see if anything is of interest.
I would say even going to an Xbox one or PS4 would likely be a big step up, using gamepass on Xbox one can still allow streaming of some of the newest next gen titles on the Xbox one.
Ignoring the subscriptions though, while I've been a sucker for physical discs as well, both Xbox and playstation stores often have very, very good deals on some games from a few years back, might be worth having a scan through their storefronts to see if anything is of interest.
Agree with all the comments on here when I read them through.
Forza on an Xbox one X (best of the previous gen) is a cheap proposition. You could buy the Xbox One X and forza (horizon and motorsport) and be playing for not that much over £100. Maybe £120 with some careful buying. That is a cheap as chips upgrade from your PS3 and is much more powerful. If you went all the way to PS5 which is a considerable difference in budget, you could keep your PS3 as you say and between the PS3 and PS5 you could have access to PS1, PS3, PS4 and PS5 games. As also said if its just a 1080p plasma screen you have you don't even need the Xbox One X model, you could just go for an Xbox One as the higher X model really mostly benefits when on the higher resolution 4k scenario. Again that would be a cheap as chips solution and do you for a year or two no probs. Personally for the sake of the extra few £ I would get the Xbox One X over the Xbox One just so I had the best of the last gen but in your use case it would be hard to justify.
This all comes down to how much you want to spend. If you want to spend £400-£500 then a PS5 is the better of the current gen (IMO) but it doesn't have forza, it has Gran Turismo. If it has to be Xbox rather than PS then the Xbox Series X is the best option but the budget is much higher than best of last gen. Over to you to work it out from here I'd say.
Cheers
Forza on an Xbox one X (best of the previous gen) is a cheap proposition. You could buy the Xbox One X and forza (horizon and motorsport) and be playing for not that much over £100. Maybe £120 with some careful buying. That is a cheap as chips upgrade from your PS3 and is much more powerful. If you went all the way to PS5 which is a considerable difference in budget, you could keep your PS3 as you say and between the PS3 and PS5 you could have access to PS1, PS3, PS4 and PS5 games. As also said if its just a 1080p plasma screen you have you don't even need the Xbox One X model, you could just go for an Xbox One as the higher X model really mostly benefits when on the higher resolution 4k scenario. Again that would be a cheap as chips solution and do you for a year or two no probs. Personally for the sake of the extra few £ I would get the Xbox One X over the Xbox One just so I had the best of the last gen but in your use case it would be hard to justify.
This all comes down to how much you want to spend. If you want to spend £400-£500 then a PS5 is the better of the current gen (IMO) but it doesn't have forza, it has Gran Turismo. If it has to be Xbox rather than PS then the Xbox Series X is the best option but the budget is much higher than best of last gen. Over to you to work it out from here I'd say.
Cheers
Another vote for XBox X if only one console.
My reasoning is Bethesda exclusive games and the larger HDD but I also have this : Seagate Game Drive for Xbox, 4TB, External Hard Drive Portable, USB 3.2 Gen 1, Black with built-in green LED bar, Xbox Certified
https://amzn.eu/d/dQesNNb
I also have a PS5 which I got first but want the exclusive games for each platform.
My reasoning is Bethesda exclusive games and the larger HDD but I also have this : Seagate Game Drive for Xbox, 4TB, External Hard Drive Portable, USB 3.2 Gen 1, Black with built-in green LED bar, Xbox Certified
https://amzn.eu/d/dQesNNb
I also have a PS5 which I got first but want the exclusive games for each platform.
Another vote for Xbox One X aswell and Gamepass, we got the deal with an X and Gamepass Ultimate for 2 years £29/month. It's been brilliant and my son absolutely loves it, some really good games on the Gamepass and he has bought nothing other than the latest Fifa which is his big passion. Our Gamepass runs out in Jan, I saw another poster mentioned you could extend it for 3 years by £100...does anyone know how to do this? I looked on CD Keys and it all looked quite expensive...let alone buying from microsoft.
I previously had the Xbox one s (prev gen, with optical drive) and now have the X.
I’m a bit old fashioned in that I have a fair amount of Blu-ray and 4k dvd’s. The Xbox is a very decent player.
Load times and graphics on the x are much improved but I’ve yet to play a title that’s been ‘wow’ from the gfx perspective.
In reality tho I upgraded as my old one conked out, I was bored, and far cry 6 had been released.
I’m a bit old fashioned in that I have a fair amount of Blu-ray and 4k dvd’s. The Xbox is a very decent player.
Load times and graphics on the x are much improved but I’ve yet to play a title that’s been ‘wow’ from the gfx perspective.
In reality tho I upgraded as my old one conked out, I was bored, and far cry 6 had been released.
Thanks everyone.
I think I've ruled out the Series X as I don't "need" it and it's a fair investment which I wouldn't be able to get the best out of.
So it's down to the Series S v One X.
I have found a pristine One X 2nd hand with a bunch of games (some of which I would trade) for £150. Gives me buffer to get an extra controller and Forza...
But also seen a Series S with FC24 already installed and a headset for £160. And the Seagate SSD add on is £100 in Black Friday. So combined still £100 cheaper than a new Series X, with a game the boys definitely want, which again pays for extra controller and Forza.
I don't need a Blu-ray player as keeping the PS3...so now I'm tempted by the S!
Edited to add just noticed you can't transfer digital games on the S...
I think I've ruled out the Series X as I don't "need" it and it's a fair investment which I wouldn't be able to get the best out of.
So it's down to the Series S v One X.
I have found a pristine One X 2nd hand with a bunch of games (some of which I would trade) for £150. Gives me buffer to get an extra controller and Forza...
But also seen a Series S with FC24 already installed and a headset for £160. And the Seagate SSD add on is £100 in Black Friday. So combined still £100 cheaper than a new Series X, with a game the boys definitely want, which again pays for extra controller and Forza.
I don't need a Blu-ray player as keeping the PS3...so now I'm tempted by the S!
Edited to add just noticed you can't transfer digital games on the S...
Edited by Legend83 on Thursday 23 November 08:17
There are numerous posts with incorrect naming conventions above that make the advice confusing. Hopefully this will help. Open for edits/changes.
"Xbox One" generation also called "Xbone"Last gen, equivalent of PS4:
Xbox one (launch model)
Xbox one X (more powerful GPU designed for 4k gaming and to compete with PS4 PRO)
Xbox one S (an update to the Xbox one model that can display 4k and can display HDR but doesn't have the gfx punch and power of the Xbox one X model)
"Xbox Series" generation, current gen equivalent in age to the PS5:
Xbox Series S (stripped down version designed for digital downloads and 1080p gaming).
Xbox Series X (full pack Ps5 competitor, 4k quality gfx and frame rates etc, best available to this day)
There are people suggesting Xbox one X is getting their vote when they really mean the latest generation Xbox series X.
"Xbox One" generation also called "Xbone"Last gen, equivalent of PS4:
Xbox one (launch model)
Xbox one X (more powerful GPU designed for 4k gaming and to compete with PS4 PRO)
Xbox one S (an update to the Xbox one model that can display 4k and can display HDR but doesn't have the gfx punch and power of the Xbox one X model)
"Xbox Series" generation, current gen equivalent in age to the PS5:
Xbox Series S (stripped down version designed for digital downloads and 1080p gaming).
Xbox Series X (full pack Ps5 competitor, 4k quality gfx and frame rates etc, best available to this day)
There are people suggesting Xbox one X is getting their vote when they really mean the latest generation Xbox series X.
Edited by Steven_RW on Thursday 23 November 19:51
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