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Multiple Reports Suggest Xbox Series X Runs Really Hot
Microsoft's new console may be whisper quiet, but 'you can heat your flat with it.'
Oct. 7, 2020, 4 p.m.
(Image: Microsoft)
If you're considering hiding an Xbox Series X console in a TV cabinet, think again, Microsoft's new console apparently runs so hot it doubles as a fireplace.
As VGC reports, Microsoft has allowed some journalists to get hands-on time with the Xbox Series X console ahead of its launch in November. There's universal praise for just how quiet the console is, especially compared to the current gen consoles. However, what nobody was expecting is just how hot the Series X runs.
The Series X is significantly smaller than the PlayStation 5, but Microsoft came up with a very neat design relying on a single 130mm fan pumping out hot air from the top of the console. It works well, and it needs to based on reports of the heat being produced. Jeux Video's Ken Bogard described in a (now inaccessible) video that, "The Series X is hot, like really hot! It doesn't make any noise, but damn it's hot! The console is emitting heat like crazy. It's almost like a fireplace shaft. You can heat up your flat with it."
Giant Bomb co-host Jeff Bakalar also commented on the heat during a The Giant Beastcast podcast, saying, "Here's what's crazy… this was just plugged in in standby mode behind me and you guys, the entire thing is a little toasty ... It seems like in the way like a lot of the other consoles were doing stuff while you were not using them, it seems like this thing might be doing something while you're not using it, to the point where it needs to exhaust heat." He also commented that the expansion card was "hot to the touch."
There are two things to consider when reading the comments above. The first is that these are pre-release Xbox Series X consoles being tested, which may not be final hardware, although that seems unlikely. More worryingly, the games being played and producing so much heat are backwards compatible games. No next-gen titles have been played yet, which will surely push the Series X harder.
Microsoft wouldn't launch a console that overheats itself, but anyone who has one on pre-order or is considering a purchase should keep in mind the Series X is going to run hot and therefore will perform best when positioned in open air with plenty of ventilation.
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About Matthew Humphries
Alongside writing for PCMag, Matthew is a video game designer and co-wrote the book Make Your Own Pixel Art (available at all good book shops). Before joining PCMag, he spent 14 years writing and editing for Geek.com, and before that, nearly founded a social network while Mark Zuckerberg was still struggling through puberty. He can probably fix your PC and will grab any opportunity to build a new one.
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