Xbox Series X Cooling problems

The Xbox series X released November 10th worldwide. Now just days after its release it's been met with conflicting reports of overheating, trolling videos of vapers making the machine appear to smoke and full on destruction of the console for Youtube fame.

What's the truth though is the first generation of series X consoles going to face a red ring problem? or is this all just vape and mirrors?

Before the the console even hit shelves reports were coming out that the machine runs quite hot.

Just after release videos came out of smoking consoles debunked as vaper being blown in the console to make it seem like consoles were defective.

Microsoft even put out a statement after this and couldn't believe it needed to be said stating "Don’t Blow Vape Smoke Into Your Xbox Series X"

So that being debunked here's what I've found.

CNET published a video using a FLIR (Forward looking infrared radar) camera to put some of this to bed.

before we get into the results I don't agree with the method of testing the temperature in this case, more on that later.

Under load playing Gears 5 a last gen title that's been upgraded, the FLIR picked up 49.5 degrees Celsius, 121.1 degrees Fahrenheit.

That is about average temperature for a higher end PC to run at and that is the highest temperature recorded I'll drop the link below so you can see for yourself but is it accurate?

My stance on this is that the FLIR camera picked up the reading from outside the console, PC's have an internal monitor giving you the exact temperature. So the actual hardware itself may be much hotter than the outer shell of the console.

Now I can't verify this because I, as well as many people can't get our hands on one. That being said we can assume the actual hardware itself is running hotter than what is detected outside.

But not by much, The average high end PC can be expected to hit 50 degrees celsius under load. Results may vary on airflow or if the machine is water cooled.

My main concern with these new machines is the need to balance performance, form factor and budget.

Without the budget, due to trying to hit a consumer friendly price point. These companies won't splurge on high end cooling.

That combined with the need to get a conservatively sized box for the living room that can be a powerhouse, creates a nightmare scenario for temperature control.

We'll see how these machines fare after a few months running in not optional conditions.

After seeing teardowns of the series X it's quite tightly packed, a few months of dust might be the tipping point.

Are you looking forward to any upcoming releases for the series X? If so drop a comment let us know, because I really can't think of anything....it's a sad launch year

So the series X is on par so far with machines in it's class but I do think it's high time people start treating consoles like PC's be mindful of placement, keep it in open air not a cabinet and consoles are gonna get bigger and more expensive until we get cloud gaming nailed down.

We're at a good point with these new consoles with price and performance though they just need to be built to last, affordable doesn't always mean cheap.



What are your Thoughts? do you own a series X? What has your experience been?