Microsoft has revealed hardware specifications and some of the key details of its forthcoming next-generation console, the Xbox Series X.

It has never been shy with information in the past, having confirmed plenty of the console's features before, but the latest announcements are by far and away the most in-depth yet.

An entire internal specifications list has been posted, for example. It shows that the Xbox Series X will run on an 8 core AMD Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2-class GPU.

It will also sport 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, with 10GB running at 560GB/s and 6GB at 336GB/s.

And, excitingly, we now know that the previously unveiled internal SSD will be 1TB. There will also be an expansion card slot that will take a further, optional 1TB.

USB 3.2 will also support external HDD solutions, for slower access but potentially far greater storage capacities.

There is additional confirmation that the Series X will come with a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray drive. And, as a "performance target", the console will initially be best suited to run games at 4K 60fps. However, 120fps is available to developers too.

Ray tracing will be supported, which makes a massive difference to in-game lighting.

Here are the full specifications released by Microsoft:

  • CPU: 8x Cores @ 3.8GHz (3.66GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU
  • GPU: 12 TFLOPS, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU
  • Die Size: 360.45 mm2
  • Process: 7nm Enhanced
  • Memory: 16GB GDDR6 w/ 320mb bus
  • Memory Bandwidth: 10GB @ 560 GB/s, 6GB @ 336 GB/s
  • Internal Storage: 1TB Custom NVME SSD
  • I/O Throughput: 2.4GB/s (Raw), 4.8GB/s (Compressed, with custom hardware decompression block)
  • Expandable Storage: 1TB Expansion Card (matches internal storage exactly)
  • External Storage: USB 3.2 External HDD Support
  • Optical Drive: 4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive
  • Performance Target: 4K @ 60fps, Up to 120fps

The Xbox Series X will be released "holiday 2020".