Author Topic: Is an Xbox S a Good Deal for a Half-Assed Gamer?  (Read 426 times)

Ben

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Is an Xbox S a Good Deal for a Half-Assed Gamer?
« on: November 20, 2022, 11:00:17 AM »
Preface: While I fall for you guys and your, "Hey Ben, buy this one for 10X more" crap all the time, I'm not doing it here. Just answer the damn question. :P  :laugh:

I should say, practically non-gamer vs half-assed gamer. The last modern game I played regularly was Left4Dead, and was just using my PC for gaming. Anyways, with the new TV in the living room, I moved the old 55" upstairs to the bonus room, which I'm half-assed turning into a millennial man cave (as opposed to my downstairs boomer mancave with the guns and stuff). I've already got a Pacman arcade cabinet there, as well as an old PS2, but thought I might get a modern gaming console, but given that I'm not a gamer, don't want to go whole hog with whatever the newest of the bazillion Xbox models is.

To finally get to my point, Costco has this Xbox S on sale right now for $240:

https://www.costco.com/xbox-series-s-console.product.4000064893.html

For someone who doesn't care about playing the latest greatest games, is this a pretty good Xbox?
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

T.O.M.

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Re: Is an Xbox S a Good Deal for a Half-Assed Gamer?
« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2022, 11:05:40 AM »
Watching this thread.  I've heard XBox X Series is fully reverse compatible,  even back to original XBox games.  That would interest me, as I really liked some of those games.

That said, Ben if the games you like work on the S Series, and you aren't looking to go get the newest games, the S Series looks like it would be good for you.
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Brad Johnson

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Re: Is an Xbox S a Good Deal for a Half-Assed Gamer?
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2022, 12:12:08 PM »
Hit Youtube and search "Series X or Series S". Several really good vids, some from users with a year or two of comparison to draw from. You can judge based on what you think your usage will be. That said, I would go with the X for not only the added performance and capability now, but also the performance headroom and useful longevity later.

To directly answer your question... Yes, the S will work. Just understand it will reach operational limits and functional obsolescence much sooner than its more capable sibling.

Brad
« Last Edit: November 21, 2022, 12:09:37 PM by Brad Johnson »
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Brad Johnson

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Re: Is an Xbox S a Good Deal for a Half-Assed Gamer?
« Reply #3 on: November 21, 2022, 12:09:49 PM »
Forgot to add...

The Series X also has a built-in 4K blu-ray drive and supports true 4K output. The S does not have a drive and is limited to 1440p. If you don't have a 4K blu-ray player but have been considering one, go with the X. The price difference between X and S is pretty much a wash compared to the combined cost of a Series S and separate 4K player. It's a double-win. Not only do you get the Series X's vastly superior performance, you also don't have find space for an extra video component.

Also keep in mind that no matter which console you select, it will function as a very capable streaming device. No need for a Roku or FireStick. Combine it with the controller chatpad, an accessory I highly recommend, and searches/logins are simple and easy.

Brad
It's all about the pancakes, people.
"And he thought cops wouldn't chase... a STOLEN DONUT TRUCK???? That would be like Willie Nelson ignoring a pickup full of weed."
-HankB

dogmush

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Re: Is an Xbox S a Good Deal for a Half-Assed Gamer?
« Reply #4 on: November 21, 2022, 01:46:40 PM »
Bare minimum needed to game: https://www.razer.com/gaming-laptops/Razer-Blade-15/RZ09-0421PED3-R3U1

 >:D >:D

Joking aside, Brad is right on. The lack of disk drive hampers the coolness of backwards compatibility, because you'd have to buy digital copies of old games.  [barf]

On the resolution, you are putting it on your old TV, yes? How old is the TV, and what resolution does it support? No point in plugging a 4k HDR console into a 1080P TV.

Ben

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Re: Is an Xbox S a Good Deal for a Half-Assed Gamer?
« Reply #5 on: November 21, 2022, 02:43:22 PM »
Lack of a disk drive is certainly a consideration. I was not crazy about reading "digital only". The old TV is 4K too, but it's going to be upstairs and not used much, except maybe for some light gaming or for guest use. I'm doing all the TV stuff on the new big one in the Living Room, and don't want a game console hooked up to it. So an X series wouldn't make sense for the DVD player since I'll almost never watch DVDs upstairs.

Maybe I'll have to check into the PS4 and see if that comes with a disk player for older games and is reasonably priced. I just can't see the value of a $500 Xbox X for me and the limited time I'll spend on it and my lack of caring about graphics. Plus it seems they're not to be had anywhere right now anyway.
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

Brad Johnson

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Re: Is an Xbox S a Good Deal for a Half-Assed Gamer?
« Reply #6 on: November 21, 2022, 03:25:45 PM »
Maybe I'll have to check into the PS4 and see if that comes with a disk player for older games and is reasonably priced. I just can't see the value of a $500 Xbox X for me and the limited time I'll spend on it and my lack of caring about graphics. Plus it seems they're not to be had anywhere right now anyway.

Honestly I wouldn't bother with a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One X. They've been discontinued for more than two years and their core tech is older still by most of a decade. They aren't functionally obsolete yet, but it won't be long until they'll be relgated to streaming service and legacy titles only. Also, anything you get is likely to have lots of hours on it, "reconditioned" or otherwise. Chances are you'll need a new controller soon, if not immediately.

In addition to the genral wear of hardware runtime, there's the issue of game compatibility. There are already new releases with no previous-gen console compatibility. That will only become more common as game physics and graphics demands evolve.

Then there is drive capacity, or lack thereof. The onboard drive will hold one, maybe two, current-gen AAA games. If all you play is one AAA title and maybe a couple of indie games, you should be fine. If you have three or four AAA games you rotate through, you'll likely want an external drive. The caveat is external drives are strictly storage. Games are only playable from the onboard drive. If the onboard drive is full and you want to play a game stored on the external drive, you have to transfer the games. It'll be an issue on the S as well, just to a slightly lesser extent.

If you want a console, get the S. Sounds like it will be fine for what you want. As for the physical media issue, yeah, it's a thing, but not much you can do about as everything is moving that direction.

Brad
« Last Edit: November 21, 2022, 10:40:53 PM by Brad Johnson »
It's all about the pancakes, people.
"And he thought cops wouldn't chase... a STOLEN DONUT TRUCK???? That would be like Willie Nelson ignoring a pickup full of weed."
-HankB

Devonai

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Re: Is an Xbox S a Good Deal for a Half-Assed Gamer?
« Reply #7 on: November 21, 2022, 08:08:27 PM »
If you have a PS2 then you can play  Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. That ought to keep you busy for a while.
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