Xbox Series X operating system takes up nearly 200GB of SSD space

News
By Momo Tabari
published

Yet it's still smaller than the Xbox One X

(Image credit: Microsoft)

The Xbox Series X has the benefit of 1TB of SSD storage, making it a clear winner over the PS5's 825GB SSD as far as space goes. However, this may not mean much anymore after a handful of critics who got their hands on the console reported that only 802GB are usable.

This means that roughly 200GB of SSD storage is being allocated towards the consoles operating system. We currently have no clue how much space the PS5's operating system will take up, but if it's significantly lower, the Xbox Series X and PS5 will end up with storage spaces closer than we originally assumed.

Although the Xbox Series X's operating system is rather large, it's surprisingly smaller than the Xbox One X, which took up roughly 220GB for its OS. While this is undeniably an improvement, it's still not a great sign when compared to the PlayStation 4, which took up around 93GB for its operating system.

If the PlayStation 5 continues this trend of consuming around 100GB for its OS, the usable space within its SSD might only be 75GB smaller than the Xbox Series X. Considering that the PS5's SSD is getting incredibly high praise for its speeds and ease of use, this small sacrifice could be very much worth it.

However, if the PS5's operating system is somehow of equal size to the Xbox Series X, consumers will likely be unhappy. This would mean that there's only 625GB of usable space within the PS5. Hopefully this isn't the case, but anything could happen.

If you're looking to upgrade the storage on your Xbox Series X, you're likely going to have a hard time. Xbox's Seagate Storage Expansion Card will cost you $220 for 1TB of SSD storage. This is incredibly pricy, coming in at only $80 less than the entire Xbox Series S. This is one of the many reasons why the upgrade into SSD storage is proving to be a pricy one, even if it was necessary for the future of gaming.

Momo Tabari
Momo Tabari
Contributing Writer

Self-described art critic and unabashedly pretentious, Momo finds joy in impassioned ramblings about her closeness to video games. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Media Studies from Brooklyn College and five years of experience in entertainment journalism. Momo is a stalwart defender of the importance found in subjectivity and spends most days overwhelmed with excitement for the past, present and future of gaming. When she isn't writing or playing Dark Souls, she can be found eating chicken fettuccine alfredo and watching anime.