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[ManaByte]

Xbox Series X back-compat tested: up to double the performance in the most demanding games

UPDATE: Sometimes, we just can't leave well enough alone. I returned to Xbox Series X to take a look at more Xbox One a…

www.eurogamer.net

Today, we can lift the lid on just how powerful Xbox Series X is when it comes to backwards compatibility - and to cut a long story short, it's hugely impressive.

However, it's important to stress one thing: while Series X runs old games with full clocks, every compute unit and the full 12 teraflop of compute, it does so in compatibility mode - you aren't getting the considerable architectural performance boosts offered by the RDNA 2 architecture.

 

[Craig of War]

 

[Fake]

The analysis you've been waiting for! Rich goes hands-on with Xbox Series X and puts its backwards compatibility capabilities to the most extreme tests possible. How much more graphics power does the compatibility mode deliver? Can it deliver 60fps on some of the most challenging Xbox One X games we've looked at over the years? The answers may surprise you.

There may be the some consternation that Series X back-compat isn't a cure-all to all performance issues on all games, but again, this is the GPU running in compatibility mode, where it emulates the behaviour of the last generation Xbox - you aren't seeing the architectural improvements to performance from RDNA 2, which Microsoft says is 25 per cent to the better, teraflop to teraflop. And obviously, these games are not coded for RDNA 2 or Series X, meaning that access to the actual next-gen features like variable rate shading or mesh shaders simply does not exist.

Summary:
- Rich say he select games that are more probably gain boost from Series X
- Much of them are games with option of unlock the frame rate or remove the 30 cap.
- 'It's confirmed that while back-compat gets 12TF of compute power, this is in compatibility mode - you *aren't* seeing the architectural improvements of RDNA 2, including its IPC boost. Rather you're seeing what a 12TF GCN-based console with Zen 2 would've looked like.'
- Games tested: Rise of Tomb Raider, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Dead or Alive 6, Hitman, Hitman 2, Monster Hunter World, Sekiro, GT4, Final Fantasy 15
- While unlocked on Xbox One X, Series X use the same option as Xbox One X
- Games that did lock the frame rate to 60 fps: Rise of Tomb Raider, Call of Duty MW, Dead or Alive 6, GT4 and Final Fantasy
- There are a feel games that don't match 60 with minor drops: Sekiro, Hitman and Monster Hunter World
- Rich tested the quick resume as well. Working very good
- Jump between GT4 , Call of Duty MW and Doom. The game act like you paused the game. Works like savestate on emulators
- Loading times. He tested two games
- On FFXV, Xbox One X take 63,3 while Series X take 11,6 seconds

 

[Insane Metal]

Reminder:

There may be the some consternation that Series X back-compat isn't a cure-all to all performance issues on all games, but again, this is the GPU running in compatibility mode, where it emulates the behaviour of the last generation Xbox - you aren't seeing the architectural improvements to performance from RDNA 2, which Microsoft says is 25 per cent to the better, teraflop to teraflop. And obviously, these games are not coded for RDNA 2 or Series X, meaning that access to the actual next-gen features like variable rate shading or mesh shaders simply does not exist.

 

[-Arcadia-]

What does Bo think, though?

❤

 

[Beer Baelly]

 

[Fake]

What does Bo think, though?

❤

You're evil.

 

[Xaero Gravity]

THEAP99 is probably seething right now.

Edit: Lol dude's even doubling down on Twitter it seems. Poor boy, I suspect he'll be baited into a meltdown once his ban is up.

 

[Fake]

Call of Duty MW is a must have game for seX. Those frame rate improves are amazing.

 

[Golgo 13]

Nice, I'll have to watch this later. Doesn't surprise me, Microsoft has been pretty damn on-point with their BC technology this generation, all things considered.

 

[Newly Vacant]

Microsoft always impresses with their backward compatibility. I'm not surprised it works well. Kudos to them. This is great for all Xbox Series X owners.

 

[Fake]

Don't worry guy, I'll make a summary as soony as I watch the video.

 

[chonga]

I don't get why Richard is painting this as some kind of marvel. I mean isn't this the least we expected from this thing? Bumping up frame rates in the mid 40s plus to full 60... you'd expect that and more from a device with double the graphical performance and even greater CPU performance gain. Anything else would be a failure.

 

[Newly Vacant]

I don't get why Richard is painting this as some kind of marvel. I mean isn't this the least we expected from this thing? Bumping up frame rates in the mid 40s plus to full 60... you'd expect that and more from a device with double the graphical performance and even greater CPU performance gain. Anything else would be a failure.

It's a marvel because Microsoft is the only one doing it. Sony isn't going to do this level of compatibility, and Nintendo isn't even trying.

 

[Skifi28]

Not quite a lock in many cases, but really impressive overall results. Many games with unlocked framerates out there, testing one's library should be really fun. I wonder how Fallen Order would fare. It would also be interesting to see if the performance mode of Monster Hunter that is 1080p is a complete 60 lock.

It's a marvel because Microsoft is the only one doing it. Sony isn't going to do this level of compatibility, and Nintendo isn't even trying.

I don't know about that. The whole point is that you don't really need to do anything other than let the hardware bruteforce its way through. I do expect similar results from the PS5.

 

[Jonsoncao]

Just scanned through. Not very impressive. Feels underwhelming considering you are upgrading a GPU with double the flops (for example 1070 to 2080Ti).

 

[chonga]

It's a marvel because Microsoft is the only one doing it. Sony isn't going to do this level of compatibility, and Nintendo isn't even trying.

I don't think you understand. The gushing from Richard is over the technical performance, not that it is merely happening. And honestly I watched the video and was left thinking... yeah... and... this is the minimum I expected from XSX.

 

[Andodalf]

Not quite a lock in many cases, but really impressive overall results. Many games with unlocked framerates out there, testing one's library should be really fun. I wonder how Fallen Order would fare. It would also be interesting to see if the performance mode of Monster Hunter that is 1080p is a complete 60 lock.

I'm holding out on playing Fallen Order rn for this reason. I've got it but wasn't in love with performance. I hope it gets a next gen patch to go with some dlc

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

Do X1 games on Series X need to download like with 360/OG Xbox games or can it install off the disc?

 

[Fake]

Just scanned through. Not very impressive. Feels underwhelming considering you are upgrading a GPU with double the flops (for example 1070 to 2080Ti).

Watch you're seeing is what most PC games do when you upgrade your PC. Using the brute force of Series X to get a boost on games. Even so, is a quite boost. IDK what you're expecting from this.
The ideal is every game tested get a update to take advanced of the Series X architecture pretty much like PRO and X receive.

 

[jshackles]

Damn, this is absolutely impressive. Can't wait to get my hands on this thing.

 

[nemiroff]

I don't get why Richard is painting this as some kind of marvel. I mean isn't this the least we expected from this thing? Bumping up frame rates in the mid 40s plus to full 60... you'd expect that and more from a device with double the graphical performance and even greater CPU performance gain. Anything else would be a failure.

I see nothing wrong with being enthusiastic about it. ..Unless you was born yesterday I'm sure you know about the historical context of BC and thus why we don't always take it for granted, especially not actual improvements on original games.

 

[BlueXImpulse]

Quick Resume puts you straight back into the game - the system itself simply acts as though you've pressed the pause button. Interestingly though, I did note that the 6.5 second loading times I saw at Microsoft HQ back in March are now around 12 to 20 seconds. It's true that I was using different games, mind you, but as great as it is, it's not quite as immediate as it felt during my time at the Redmond mothership.

What is going on here?

 

[Deleted member 775630]

Just scanned through. Not very impressive. Feels underwhelming considering you are upgrading a GPU with double the flops (for example 1070 to 2080Ti).

Lol. Everyone has been calling it hugely impressive and here you are saying it's underwhelming. What did you expect besides steady 60fps, and auto hdr?

 

[Corpsepyre]

Yeah, this is good stuff. MS really should be lauded for their amazing backward compatibility efforts. Some very good performance gains there.

Here's hoping Sony answers with equally impressive first party gains for their games.

 

[Dodkrake]

MuH TfLoPs

- can't hold stable framerates on Shekiro and Hitman
- 12 to 20 seconds for "quick resume"

The Series X just keeps on failing.

 

[Newly Vacant]

I don't know about that. The whole point is that you don't really need to do anything other than let the hardware bruteforce its way through. I do expect similar results from the PS5.

I don't think you understand. The gushing from Richard is over the technical performance, not that it is merely happening. And honestly I watched the video and was left thinking... yeah... and... this is the minimum I expected from XSX.

You guys are crazy. This is impressive stuff. Supporting Xbox 360 games, injecting HDR, and adding game-specific updates is above and beyond normal backwards compatibility.

 

[Piku_Ringo]

MuH TfLoPs

- can't hold stable framerates on Shekiro and Hitman
- 12 to 20 seconds for "quick resume"

The Series X just keeps on failing.

here we go

 

[chonga]

I see nothing wrong with being enthusiastic about it. ..Unless you was born yesterday I'm sure you know about the historical context of BC and thus why we don't always take it for granted, especially not actual improvements on original games.

But you're talking about the fact it exists again. Forget about it existing. We can all be pleased it exists, but we are talking about the technical performance here. This is Digital Foundry not your local soap box.

Richard has a hard on over how well it can bump games there were running at 45-60fps to a locked 60. How is this anything other than expected, and therefore why would you be so enthused about that and talk about it in a way that makes it sound like some incredible feat never before imagined.

 

[Dodkrake]

here we go

Feel free to point out where my post was untruthful.

 

[Neko Mimi Mode]

Wow at CoD:MW, definitely looking forward to trying that, that and DoA6 at 4k/60fps are remarkable.

Definitely nice to see confirmation that this will be the entire (1000+) Xbox library too.

MuH TfLoPs

- can't hold stable framerates on Shekiro and Hitman
- 12 to 20 seconds for "quick resume"

The Series X just keeps on failing.

It's ok to be upset.

 

[Spokker]

They all laughed at me when I said I would not play GTA4 until it was 60 fps on consoles. It's been 12 long years but now who is laughing???

 

[LisaMariaMartin]

Feel free to point out where my post was untruthful.

Been a long week for you huh

 

[bender]

They all laughed at me when I said I would not play GTA4 until it was 60 fps on consoles. It's been 12 long years but now who is laughing???

The patience is admirable but the rewards are not sweet.

 

[Orky]

Reminder:

why not take his conclusion? Why some out of context text passage? Because it doesn’t fit your narrative?

But that's where I am with Xbox Series X backwards compatibility - and I'm hugely impressed by the results.



The boost to system performance compared to Xbox One X is clearly tremendous and I'm liking Microsoft's commitment to the Xbox library and putting so much resource into producing results like the ones I've detailed today. Right now, I think that Series X back-compat delivers circa 2x GPU power, limited perhaps a touch by memory bandwidth, and offers what amounts to a bottomless pit of CPU resources to the point where I don't feel I hit processor limits at all during my tests.



The fact that Microsoft is talking about 4x resolution multipliers and double frame-rate upgrades says to me that the firm knows there's something special here - and I really want to see these features deployed as broadly as possible. The dream would be to see frame-rate unlocking as a system level feature, just as Auto HDR is.

 

[GaviotaGrande]

XSX seems to be the next best thing if you are not interested in building a high end PC. Bravo, Microsoft!

 

[Hosam6xavi]

Gaf will become Unbearable The next two days

Grown ass men can't stand anything good or positive about xbox

 

[JoeDanny]

MuH TfLoPs

- can't hold stable framerates on Shekiro and Hitman
- 12 to 20 seconds for "quick resume"

The Series X just keeps on failing.

Incredible.

 

[THE:MILKMAN]

What is going on here?

I suspect the games at MS HQ were small, low RAM games and the games Rich tested were One X games using 8-9GB?

 

[a multicultural team of v]

The patience is admirable but the rewards are not sweet.

He should be angry that it hit 60fps ever on console tbh

 

[Jonsoncao]

MuH TfLoPs

- can't hold stable framerates on Shekiro and Hitman
- 12 to 20 seconds for "quick resume"

The Series X just keeps on failing.

Exactly this. Series X targeted the unrealistic target at 4k with merely 12T flops, putting it in an awkward position.
I expected PS5 performs much better in BC at 1440p.

 

[Piku_Ringo]

Feel free to point out where my post was untruthful.

2 games not up to your standards and it's a failure? C'mon bro, you're being a bit too fanboyish

 

[jshackles]

- can't hold stable framerates on Shekiro and Hitman

Can't wait to see how these games run on a PS5 for comparison.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Glad to see more and more reports so that people can decide for themselves.

The haze of fud and non-news was getting unbearable.

 

[Xaero Gravity]

Gaf will become Unbearable The next two days

Grown ass men can't stand anything good or positive about xbox

It's already reaching that point. Probably see a lot more bans in the coming days due to the mental midget meltdowns.

 

[Neko Mimi Mode]

Feel free to point out where my post was untruthful.

What are the Quick Resume times like on PS5?

 

[MoreJRPG]

If the frame rate is unlocked I’m not sure why anyone is overly excited and/or impressed. It’s a 12 teraflop GPU. It’s a monster. It’s no different than upgrading your PC and now your old games run better.

It would be bigger news if these titles were not substantially improved.

 

[Orky]

Exactly this. Series X targeted the unrealistic target at 4k with merely 12T flops, putting it in an awkward position.
I expected PS5 performs much better in BC at 1440p.

What? PS5 will play almost all the games exactly the same as they are on PS4. They won’t be different. Only 100 games will have a boosted FPS or res. We don’t know yet.

 

[Orky]

MuH TfLoPs

- can't hold stable framerates on Shekiro and Hitman
- 12 to 20 seconds for "quick resume"

The Series X just keeps on failing.

dude. You avatar is so wrong. The ps5 should be way bigger. Xbox series X is small compared to ps5.

 

[TGO]

Cool!