Home Gaming Xbox Series X can apparently get incredibly hot

Xbox Series X can apparently get incredibly hot

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Xbox-hot

We’ve been feeling high as a kite lately, thanks to all the next-gen fumes we’ve been huffing in the run-up to the launch of the Xbox Series X and the PS5. While I’m sure both consoles will be fabulous new machines to play games on, right now I’m leaning towards the Xbox Series X thanks to Microsoft’s transparency around the cute obsidian brick.

They’ve shown off its hardware in several previews, detailed the games arriving on it in an uncomplicated fashion, and allowed games journos to have early hands-on time with preview consoles, painting a very complete picture in the process. Sony on the other hand, has given fans a whack on the head with a rolled up newspaper as they stay more tight-lipped than a mob enforcer on trial.

But finally, finally, it looks like the scales can be balanced as we take a look at one flaw in the design of the Xbox Series X: It’s so dang hot. Consoles have always emitted heat, but the Xbox Series X apparently generates enough temperature to mess up a Predator’s thermal vision. “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,” Jeux Video’s Ken Bogard said via VGC’s translation.

Giant Bomb co-host Jeff Bakalar also commented on the crazy heat levels, saying that “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

It’s worth noting that the people who have an Xbox Series X right now, have preview units. The hardware inside of those cubes is pre-release technology, so maybe the final Xbox Series X won’t burn your house down if left near anything flammable. So far, that seems to be the only chink in the Xbox Series X armour on a technical level, as reviewers have praised other aspects of the device, such as its unbelievably quiet design and ability to keep multiple games in a standby state using the SSD and Xbox Velocity software.

Last Updated: October 7, 2020

26 Comments

  1. Gavin Mannion

    October 7, 2020 at 07:53

    Free central heating is not a bug it’s a feature

    Reply

    • WickedMONK3Y

      October 7, 2020 at 08:49

      Maybe it’s a feature for the UK market, except in summer in SA when you do not want that spare heating… we have more than enough heat from everywhere else.

      Personally looking at the design of the Series X, it is supposed to draw air up through the unit, and the most likely scenario is that its orientation blocks a lot of the air supposedly drawn in through the bottom of the unit leading to this heat issue along with a fan that is likely tuned for quiet operation. I see fan bases (heh, ‘scuse the pun) in this things future that will lift it off the surface slightly and draw air into the bottom of the unit. Hmm, better go patent that quickly!

      Reply

  2. Pieter Kruger

    October 7, 2020 at 08:59

  3. Pieter Kruger

    October 7, 2020 at 08:59

  4. Pieter Kruger

    October 7, 2020 at 08:59

    So the Xbox Series X doubling as a Waffle maker is now a “design flaw”…Pfft, I say BONUS!!!!

    Reply

  5. Krabby Paddy

    October 7, 2020 at 09:09

    Some will probably be turned on by their HOT HOT HOT XboX seriesX

    Reply

  6. Original Heretic

    October 7, 2020 at 10:11

    I’ve heard that some like it hot.

    Reply

  7. MechMachine

    October 7, 2020 at 10:11

    Meh, Overheating rumors are par for the course at the launch of any new generation of consoles.

    Reply

  8. Insomnia is fun

    October 7, 2020 at 10:41

    Gonna put it next to the water heater so that I can shower after playing Halo Indefinite for 30 minutes

    Reply

  9. stu123

    October 7, 2020 at 10:41

    I’m not an expert but the heatsink is massive so it’s probably collecting much more heat than last gen and the new chips run much hotter than last gen too.

    Reply

  10. Pieter Kruger

    October 7, 2020 at 11:08

    My concerns over Xbox Series X listed from 1 to 100:
    1. Price
    2.
    3.
    26. How many more Studios will Xbox acquire?
    27.
    99. Will Xbox keep adding games to Game Pass?
    100. Xbox Series X “overheating”.
    ?

    Reply

    • Insomnia is fun

      October 7, 2020 at 11:18

      And the Germans weren’t concerned about filling the Hindenburg with hydrogen. Now I’m not saying the globe will be engulfed in flames come launch day. But the heat could be problematic.

      Reply

  11. Iskape

    October 7, 2020 at 11:29

    Heat is definitely no friend of any platform, and I would think it’s a bit late now to change internals, so I’m sure the press units are pretty much exactly the same as what the consumer will get. The only way I guess they could deal with this, and this would suck, is to use a “hotfix” (‘scuse the pun) to down clock the chip, placing it more in line with the PS5 powerband. Anyway, let’s hope we don’t get something like the “red ring of death” for this generation!

    Reply

    • WickedMONK3Y

      October 8, 2020 at 11:02

      They would more than likely ramp the fan speed a bit, sacrificing some of its silence to draw more air through the unit.

      Reply

    • WickedMONK3Y

      October 8, 2020 at 11:02

      They would more than likely ramp the fan speed a bit, sacrificing some of its silence to draw more air through the unit.

      Reply

      • Iskape

        October 8, 2020 at 11:31

        True. That’s also an option!

        Reply

  12. Gareth Lagesse (eXCheez)

    October 7, 2020 at 14:08

    How much hotter is it compared to the One X’s exhausted air? That is damn hot.

    Reply

  13. Banana Jim

    October 7, 2020 at 14:41

    This is actually the freature I’ve always wanted in my game console. It gets very cold in South Africa, and we don’t have central heating. Therefore, it makes sense that I’d want a console that can also act as a heater.

    Microsoft is really winning now. https://media3.giphy.com/media/IC8WmYqWLdrUY/giphy.gif

    Reply

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