If you’re wondering how your Xbox Series X’s storage works, don’t worry. You are not alone.
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are much more user-friendly than gaming PCs, but the storage landscape is less clear. There are a few caveats to be aware of. And with limited space, you need to know exactly what you’re buying and why.
We cover everything from internal to external drives, explain the differences between HDDs and SSDs, and reveal what NVMe SSDs really are. More importantly, by the end of this guide, you’ll have an understanding of exactly how Xbox Series X storage works. Remember that they are related.
Good news? Xbox Series X|S external storage devices tend to be heavily discounted around this time of year, and we’re sure Cyber He Monday 2022 will be no exception. Keep an eye on our Cyber Monday Xbox deals page. We are already seeing significant discounts on external storage hardware.
Xbox Series X Storage: Everything You Need to Know
Xbox Series X Storage: How Much Can You Get?
The Xbox Series X has a 1TB NVMe SSD and the Xbox Series S has a 512GB NVMe SSD. The Xbox Series X has 802 GB of storage. That means 198 GB is reserved for system files and the Xbox operating system.
The Xbox Series S, on the other hand, only has 364GB of usable storage. The game should take up 30% less space than its Xbox Series X counterpart due to the reduced file size as the developer isn’t targeting his 4K resolution, but sooner or later it will fill up your system’s memory. may need to be extended.
What are NVMe SSDs?
NVMe SSD (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is a better storage solution than standard hard drives and SSDs. Because NVMe SSDs use PCIe sockets for data transfer, they can send up to 25x more data than their slower SATA counterparts (the hard drives the Xbox One uses).
NVMe drives also eliminate the middleman by communicating directly with the system’s CPU, ultimately resulting in blazing fast performance. Both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S rely on this new storage format for next-generation performance leaps, so it’s important to understand the differences between the three types of drives.
Are NVMe SSDs the same as SSDs?
No, it can often be confusing for many people. Especially since Microsoft regularly refers to storage as simply “SSD”, and while his regular SSDs (Solid State Drives) rely on SATA, this is not the way to transfer data within a system. much slower. SSDs are much faster than regular mechanical hard drives (they have no moving parts, so they are less likely to fail), but they are slower than NVMe drives.
How to expand your Xbox Series X/S storage
Microsoft’s solution for extending the Xbox Series X/S’s internal memory with faster NVMe storage is expensive, but quite elegant. Microsoft released 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB storage expansion cards. It can be inserted into the back of both consoles like a memory card. Anything you store on your NVMe drive will have all the features Xbox Series X/S has to offer.
Microsoft also revealed that more storage solutions are on the way, so consumers aren’t at the mercy of buying their own drives. This is good news, as proprietary drives are often more expensive than third-party components.
Connect an external HDD or SSD to play Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox games. While you won’t benefit from the lightning speed that NVMe drives offer, SSD drives are still significantly faster than HDDs, so if you’re going for the external option, go for SSDs. Games optimized for Xbox Series X (such as Gears 5) should be moved to the internal NVMe drive to play.
Games optimized for the Xbox Series X/S can be saved to an external drive, but will not be playable unless returned to the main NVMe drive. Quick Resume, a feature that allows you to pause and resume multiple games at once, works wherever your games are installed.
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Can I then play XSX/XSS optimized games? | Can I play back compatible games optimized for XSX/XSS? | Can I play Xbox One/Backcompat games? | Can you save XSX/XSS/Xbox One/back compat? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xbox Series X/S NVMe SSD | yes | Yes (benefits from faster load times) | Yes (benefits from faster load times) | yes |
| External HDD (USB3.1) | No | No, only Xbox One/backwards compatible games | yes | yes.However, XSX/XSS optimized games can only be played from NVMe SSD |
| External SSD (USB 3.1) | No | No, only Xbox One/backwards compatible games | Yes (benefits from faster load times) | yes.However, XSX/XSS optimized games can only be played from NVMe SSD |
Watch the video here: Xbox Series X Storage: Everything You Need to Know
