Scorpio Specs Reveal

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Performance is remarkable. We saw a Forza Motorsport demo running on the machine at native 4K and Xbox One equivalent settings, and it hit 60 frames per second with a substantial performance overhead - suggesting Scorpio will hit its native 4K target across a range of content, with power to spare to spend on other visual improvements.

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Microsoft's solution means substantial spec upgrades over the Pro design in virtually all areas. That said, Sony's philosophy of 'smart' GPU design is also in effect here, executed in a very different manner, and backed up with a lot more horsepower.

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Core to the new console is the Scorpio Engine, the new SoC (system on chip) developed once again in conjunction with AMD. In common with many aspects of the box, engineering the new processor was based on a revolutionary workflow - one that could only really be achieved on a mid-generation refresh design.

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Our guess, and it is just a guess, is $499, the same launch price as the original Xbox One.

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Microsoft gave us the full tech specs of the machine. The central processor (CPU) has eight custom x86 cores clocked at 2.3GHz. The graphics processor (GPU) has 40 customised compute units clocked at 1172MHz - a very high clock speed for a console - and it does achieve Microsoft's stated six-teraflop performance figure. There's 12GB of GDDR5 RAM, with a memory bandwidth of 326GB/s. There's a faster 1TB 2.5-inch hard drive, and a UHD Blu-ray drive. Like Xbox One S, it has an integrated power supply, so no external power brick. In terms of input/output ports, it is identical to Xbox One S (so, no Kinect port, but HDMI in is retained).

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Did you see it running a game?

Yes. Well, a ForzaTech demo, which is a stress test based on the Forza Motorsport 6 engine, running the maximum number of cars around a track with dynamic weather and all the bells and whistles turned on.

How did it do?

Smashed it. At the same graphics quality settings as Xbox One, the demo ran at a full 4K resolution, at a perfect 60 frames per second. For Xbox One to do this at a standard HD resolution of 1080p uses about 90 per cent of that console's power. Scorpio was only using 60-70 per cent of its resources to run this demo. The graphics settings were then ramped up to the equivalent of the ultra settings on the PC game Forza Motorsport Apex, and Scorpio still didn't break a sweat.

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I don't have a 4K TV and I doubt I'm going to get one any time soon. Why should I care?

Microsoft has made a commitment that (unlike PS4 Pro) all improved Scorpio modes for games must be available regardless of the display that's connected. So even with a regular 1080p TV, you'll be able to choose between performance modes that make the game run better, or resolution modes that will then "supersample" the 4K image down to your 1080p display, which should give you superb image quality - basically, a fantastically smooth and pretty picture. It's like having the ultimate anti-aliasing solution.

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So, what do you think?

With the pretty huge caveat that we've only seen one demo running on the machine - and for the umpteenth time, software is everything - we're very impressed. The machine is beautifully engineered, right down to the state-of-the-art vapour cooling system that will keep that monster graphics processor cool. It's a far cry from Xbox One, Kinect and TVTVTV. It reminds us of the original Xbox and Xbox 360 - this is Microsoft throwing its considerable engineering resources at making the best possible games-playing machine. Xbox is back.

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