Choosing a Next Gen Console for Your Family

The PS5 vs Xbox Series X debate remains intense. Reviewers we were suitably impressed with both games consoles and remain so, with the two machines gaining more features and games as the latest generation gathers pace. But if you can only choose one, you’ll want to find out which one is best for you. 

PS5 vs. Xbox Series X: Specs

	PS5	Xbox Series X
Price	$500 (PS5); $400 (PS5 Digital Edition)	$500
Key Exclusives	Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon II: Forbidden West, Gran Turismo 7	Halo Infinite, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Forza Motorsport 8, State of Decay 3
Backwards Compatibility	Almost all PS4 games, including optimized PS4 Pro titles	All Xbox One games / Select Xbox 360 and original Xbox games
CPU	8-core 3.5 GHz AMD Zen 2	8-core, 3.8 GHz AMD Zen 2
GPU	10.3 teraflop AMD RDNA 2	12.0 teraflop AMD RDNA 2
RAM	16 GB GDDR6	16 GB GDDR6
Storage	825 GB custom SSD	1 TB custom NVMe SSD
Resolution	Up to 8K	Up to 8K
Frame Rate	Up to 120 fps	Up to 120 fps
Optical Disc Drive	4K UHD Blu-ray (Standard PS5 only)	4K UHD Blu-ray

While specs are good to know, they only tell part of the story when it comes to performance. As such, this section isn’t scored. However, we can say that the Xbox Series X has more powerful hardware, in terms of both GPU and SSD. Check out the performance section to see how this hardware performs in action.

Price

The PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X both cost $500 apiece. The two systems are very similar, so this category would seem to be a tie at first glance. But, the standard PS5 and Xbox Series X are not the only variants available. There’s also the $400 PS5 Digital Edition and the $300 Xbox Series S.

PS5 vs. Xbox Series X: Games

The PS5 and Xbox Series X have different approaches to games. The Xbox Series X assumes you’ll pick up the same games you left off on the old Xbox, and will want optimized performance across the board for all favorites. The PS5, however, has a bevy of exclusive titles that launched alongside its new console — although most of them are also available on the PS4, though.

Overall

Overall, while the PS5 performed strongly, we recommend the Xbox Series X.