Xbox Series X Is Apparently as Quiet as the Xbox One X

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In an interview, Phil Spencer discusses the Xbox Series X and its single fan, claiming the console is as quiet as the Xbox One X.

The Xbox Series X…sorry, the Xbox, is that what we’re calling it now? The next Xbox console that was revealed at The Game Awards has been said to stay as quiet as the Xbox One X according to Phil Spencer in an exclusive interview with GameSpot.

When the console itself was revealed there was a lot of talk surrounding the design and shape of the console as well as confirmation that it can be placed vertically or horizontally. Spencer told GameSpot that the GPU is 8x faster than the base Xbox One and twice that of the Xbox One X. The CPU is to be 4x more capable and with an ultra-fast NVMe solid-state drive.

GameSpot was able to find out some details surrounding the cooling system within the rectangular behemoth. Spencer confirms that there is one central fan cooling the whole system, the fan being visible through the top grate. “What this design does, with the size of the fan that we built around, is it lets us match how quiet the Xbox One X is with all that power inside of the box,” he explains.

The head of Xbox goes on to describe that he’s been using the Xbox Series X at home and that those that have seen it in action haven’t noticed it until he’s pointed it out because the acoustic profile helps keep it somewhat low profile. “If I don’t point it out, it just sits there and plays video games the way I want it to and I never hear it, just like how I don’t hear my [Xbox One] X.”

In the full interview, both Spencer and Director of Program Management for Team Xbox, Jason Ronald state that the Xbox Series X is no louder than the Xbox One X in their own homes.

While Spencer wouldn’t delve into specifics surrounding the cooling system he does tell GameSpot that the single fan is “able to spin at a low enough rate that it is whisper-quiet.” and that it has “no secondary fans, probably just passive coil”.

So thankfully, running a demanding game on the Xbox Series X seems as if it won’t require myself to, as I do now, turn to TV up to hear it over the whirring from my base Xbox One.