PlayStation 5 vs. Xbox Series X: which is better in 2023

There are numerous ways for people to enjoy gaming – From PCs to Mobile phones to consoles specifically made for Gaming. With so many options, come a lot more questions on the average gamer’s mind. One of them is – Which is better, the PlayStation 5 or the Xbox Series X?

There are so many consoles that people love to call their own such as the infamous handheld Nintendo Switch, the newly released SteamDeck from Valve, or the console giants, the PlayStation or the Xbox.

The most popular consoles in the world though, are the PlayStation 5, and the Xbox Series X. With the age-old rivalry between Sony and Microsoft, who holds the top spot right now in 2023? In terms of price, availability, graphics, and much more.

Related: Top 5 popular PlayStation 5 games in 2023

PlayStation 5 vs Xbox Series X

Price

Though players would have to spend money anyways on games, the difference in price between the two consoles can still be a deciding factor for many gamers out there. However, there isn’t a lot of difference that you would encounter in the price of the two products and it shouldn’t be a deciding factor in your decision-making.

In terms of sheer pricing, the PS5 comes in at about $500 for the Disc Edition which includes a BluRay Disc Reader and has support for physical games. Meanwhile, the Digital Edition of the PS5 comes in at a reduced price of $400 only but it also takes away the Disc Reader functionality which takes away support for physical games making it a Digital Only platform.

Whereas, the Xbox Series X, which does not have any other variants than the base, comes in at an equivalent price of $500. It is notable that the Series X does come included with a Blu Ray Disc Reader much like the standard version of the PS5.

PlayStation 5 vs Xbox Series X Specifications

Both these consoles made by the tech giants of the world, boast of having the top-of-the-line specifications for their price point and they would not be wrong. In their current specifications and the given price point, it would be difficult for any device to beat their price-to-performance ratio.

CPU

The CPU is where the brain of the console lies. It is the processor that schedules the tasks for the different components of the device and also the part which handles the operating system and all its functioning.

The PlayStation 5 is powered by an 8-core CPU by AMD which runs on their Zen 2 architecture designed for computational devices such as computers, workstations, and other gadgets. Each of these cores runs at a frequency of 3.5 GHz on the PlayStation 5.

On the other hand, we have the Xbox Series X which also runs on an Octa Core AMD chip built on the Zen 2 architecture much like the PlayStation 5. The major difference between these two CPUs however, is that the Xbox Series X has a base clock speed of 3.8GHz on each of its 8 cores making it slightly faster than Sony’s horse in the race.

GPU

The Graphics Processing Unit in a gaming machine is said to be one of the most important parts of it. With numerous innovations being made in the GPU space, Both, the PlayStation 5 as well as the Xbox Series X boast of GPUs that will be able to run upcoming games for years to come.

The PlayStation 5 went all red for both, their CPU as well as their GPU making internal compatibility much more easy for their device. The PS5 uses a proprietary GPU from AMD which is built on the RDNA 2 architecture and runs at 10.3 teraflops.

The Xbox Series X, much like the PS5, went for all AMD as well and increased their internal compatibility which has only made the device more smooth. The Series X’s GPU is also built on the RDNA 2 architecture but runs at a slightly faster 12 teraflops.

RAM

Random Access Memory, or much more popularly known as RAM, is the destination where the files that the processor might need at the upcoming instant are stored. Hence, the more RAM there is, and the faster it is, the better would it be for the device.

Both, the PlayStation 5 as well as the Xbox Series X have a whopping 16 Gigabytes of GDDR6 RAM. For reference, the fastest RAM that is available for consumers in the PC space as of right now is DDR5. Making the RAM in these two next-gen consoles faster than what is currently available to the masses.

Storage

The amount of space that one has on their console decides the number of games they can have installed at a given time. Though each game requires a different amount of space in the drive, more space generally means more games that can be installed on your device.

The PlayStation 5, unlike the PlayStation 4, only has one variant in terms of storage. Also unlike the PS4, the PS5 boasts of a next-gen SSD, unlike the Hard Drive in the previous iteration. The capacity of said NVMe SSD is 825 GB.

The Xbox Series X also only has one variant in terms of storage, unlike its predecessor which had two – a 500GB variant, as well as a 1 TB variant. The Series X only has one variant however which contains a 1 TB NVMe SSD. Both consoles use drives that are considerably fast but the Series X beats the PS5 in terms of capacity.

PlayStation 5 vs. Xbox Series X Games

Doesn’t matter how great the console is, you won’t be able to take full advantage of the technical specifications if the games that are available on the console are no good. Even though both consoles have an amazing selection of games, there are a few games that can simply not be replaced and can tip the scales in the right console’s favor.

On the Xbox Series X, you will be able to find semi-exclusive titles such as Forza Horizon 5, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Halo Infinite, and a few more. However, keep in mind these games are also available to play on PC hence making them games you could play without technically owning an Xbox Series X but still not games you’d be able to play on a PlayStation 5.

However, on the PlayStation 5, you’d be able to find and play games that are truly exclusive to the PlayStation 5 such as Horizon: Forbidden West, Spiderman: Miles Morales, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and of course, the ever-popular God of War: Ragnarok. Even though these titles will see the light of day in PC Game stores, it won’t be until the next iteration of these games has come out.

In the games form factor, there is no doubt that the PlayStation 5 beats the Xbox Series X when it comes to having exclusives that people actually want to play and are truly interested in.

External Design

In terms of external design, both these consoles sport looks that are highly appreciated by their own niche of crowds. However, the PlayStation 5 is usually the butt of the joke when it comes down to the comparison of designs between the two consoles.

There isn’t a single appliance out there that the PlayStation 5 hasn’t been compared to and there’s a strong reason for the same – the design, even though looks sharp and innovative and resembles something that a person in the 1980s would’ve imagined what devices 2020 would’ve looked like, is simply too common of a design, not to mention a hassle to keep in compact places as the side plates of the console extend further outwards from the device interiors.

Not only does the PS5 look exactly like a router, an air purifier, a water purifier, and a lot more household devices, but it also cannot fit vertically into a lot of common places where people keep their TV-related appliances.

On the other hand, the Xbox Series X with a much simpler design of just a cuboid, lived up to its name the most with this iteration. The Xbox Series X looks quite literally like just a box with a few buttons on it and a disc reader.

So, in terms of design, this time around, even though the Xbox Series X was compared to looking like a refrigerator when it was initially revealed, its plain and boxy shape has seemingly grown on players and its design is much more preferred over the PlayStation 5.

Performance

The performance of both these consoles is something that has been debated for a long time and until now, the answer still remains subjective of sorts. There aren’t a lot of changes that can be caught by the naked eye between both these beasts.

While both consoles are able to handle almost any game you throw at them at 4K while running the game at 60FPS, there are a few subtle differences between both these monstrosities – mainly on the time side of things.

During testing by various different sources, it was found that the PS5 was displaying faster load times than the Xbox Series X numerous times. Though both devices performed and delivered same times going from menu to in-game. The PS5 was way faster when fast traveling from one point to another once in the game.

Controller

Now that we have discussed the consoles, let’s come down to the accessory that the everyday gamer uses the most – the controller. Both these consoles have a different type of proprietary controller of course, the PlayStation 5 has the DualSense, while the Series X comes with its own controller which is slightly different from the controller that accompanied the Xbox One series.

The DualSense controller which was released with the PlayStation 5 is a considerable improvement over the PlayStation 4’s DualShock 4. The DualSense has a larger surface area for the palms of the player and provides a better grip during long sessions of gaming when complaints of sweaty palms are a regularity.

The DualSense also brings in an immense improvement on the haptics with the controller now being able to mimic the minutest movements using its in-built motors and the variable resistance on the triggers making for a much more close to reality experience. However, the downside of the sensitive haptics is that they might start becoming the only thing you start to focus on and get distracted from the game.

The Xbox Series X controller, on the other hand, is an improvement on the already amazing Xbox One controller which is liked by both gamers and critics alike. The Series X variation of the controller brings in a more textured grip much like the DualSense, adds texture to the shoulder buttons, a new ‘Share’ button in the center, and lastly, an improved D-Pad.

The downside of the Xbox controller however, is that instead of having an internal rechargeable power delivery system, it still relies on the usage of AA batteries and imparts a lot of the cost onto the user irrespective of whether they decide to buy use and throw batteries or get a rechargeable battery pack.

Conclusion

After considering all the above-mentioned perspectives and performances of both the consoles in said circumstances, there are a lot of things to consider and the answer only comes out to be subjective once again.

If it is fast load times and great exclusive games that you’re looking for, the PlayStation 5 should be an easy choice for you with its fast SSD and Sony’s great plethora of critically acclaimed games that they offer.

However, if it is reliability that you’re looking for and great backward compatibility with old Xbox games, then of course the Xbox Series X is the way to go as it offers an amazing support library for everything that you may have been looking for.

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