Picked up a Series S for Halo, honestly 4k vs 1080 or 1440p is not that big a difference.

[Masterz1337]

I sort of regretfully bought a Series S to play Halo on as it was clear it was going to run like dogs hit on even One X, and I got to say I am pleasantly not bothered by the lack of 4k. Even playing 360 games like Gears 3, HDR, the FPS boost and the 1440p res look great, to the point the visual quality I would say is higher than it did on my one X. Same thing for Halo 5, which looks so much better on the Series S than the One X.

Of course some games like the Matrix tech demo can drop pretty hard in resolution, but the advantages of this hardware are really great. I still wish I had a Series X, but seeing as you still can't get them I am pretty impressed by this thing.

What other games are worth checking out or re-checking out? I was thinking of testing out Metro and Gears 5.

 

[Mobius 1]

Forza Horizon 5 is indeed a beautiful title, take a look at it.

You just invited a mob with this thread title though. Brace for the scrap.

 

[TaterTots]

If you like racing games, you should check out Horizon 5. Best looking game on the S imo.

 

[Basquiat]

The series s really is the little box that could. I've got a 3080ti rig and yet I still opt for playing games like Forza Horizon 5 on the XSS due to the pick up and play factor. The quick resume feature is a game changer.

I'd say the XSS + the 3 years of game pass ultimate for 120 pounds is probably the best value for money i've ever experienced in gaming.

 

[SliChillax]

I'm ok with 1440p, 1080p on the other hand…

 

[Thera]

Well it's a cross gen games.
It already shows the limits of the system on Flight Simulator, The Medium or Matrix.

I think it's great for now but not really future proof.

 

[teruterubozu]

I play my series S way more than my ps5. At the end of the day high end graphics is just a single factor in the entire package.

 

[Javier23]

There's a big, big difference between 1080p and 4K, doesn't mean you can't be perfectly happy with the former. We spent decades playing games on smaller resolutions.

 

[ajoshi]

Most of my friends opted for Series X at all costs even though they run 1080-1440p monitors and I just don't get it. There are a few games that fall behind on S but otherwise yea it really was a smart decision by MS

Have to say though, and I won't be first to say this, diff between 1080 and 4k is massive on a large enough TV so this topic title may get you dogpiled. 1440 is def fine up into the 50s of inches but 1080 is stretching

 

[astroturfing]

yeah i have to admit i can't for the life of me tell whether a game im playing is 1080p or 4K, at least from my couch. let alone if its something in between..

im used to 480p or lower because im old, so everything just looks super sharp to me now heh. i really wish devs would use the processing power for better physics, draw distance, animations and AI etc instead of an ever sharper image :/

 

[nopattern]

I'm ok with 1440p, 1080p on the other hand…

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angel of mercy

 

[TaySan]

I'm ok with 1440p, 1080p on the other hand…

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Same. 1080p is too low of a resolution for me, but all that matters is that you're happy with your purchase. Who cares what we think.

 

[Basquiat]

There's a big, big difference between 1080p and 4K, doesn't mean you can't be perfectly happy with the former. We spent decades playing games on smaller resolutions.

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I also agree with this. For epic story driven single player games 4k is well worth it. For instance the ps5 version of FFVII Remake looks leagues better than the ps4 version. It really does just depend on the type of game for me.

 

[NuclearCake]

Most of my friends opted for Series X at all costs even though they run 1080-1440p monitors and I just don't get it (they are also big Apple Consumers (tm) so that probably explains the mindset). There are a few games that fall behind on S but otherwise yea it really was a smart decision by MS

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There is still going to be a big performance difference between Series X and Series S even if you don't own a 4K or 1440p display.

 

[thenexus6]

I have a Series S with a 1080p 144hz screen.

I switched from performance mode (1080 60) to quality (1440 30) and the frame rate was so bad. I am fine with 1080 and I'm double fine if it means a good FPS compared to high res.

 

[FLX127]

It all depends on the size of your tv and how far away from it you're sitting though.

 

[Deimos]

Anything beyond 1080p is steep diminishing returns.

edit: in terms of video content.

 

[ohitsluca]

There is a pretty noticeable difference between 4k and 1080p. The problem is resolution isn't the only factor when it comes to games and how they look. 1080p with good AA and max settings can actually present a sharper image than a "4k" image that is AI upscaled/temporally reconstructed or whatever from 1080p with a lot of other IQ settings lowered. On console we have very few games that are true 4k, and even fewer that are true 4k that aren't set to low/medium settings (if comparing to PC). It's the same with streaming media that is 4k…. Watch a 4k Blu-ray and stream side by side. Play a native 4k game with max settings next to a native 1080p game and the differences become much clearer (literally)

 

[demondance]

4k is a big difference but not one I'm concerned with at this point. With the supply issues surrounding GPUs and consoles, it's out of sight out of mind for now. When this all clears up (if?) I'd invest the extra cash in pushing those pixels. But as far as that luxury tax goes for now, it's not close to worth it when the Series S is right there.

 

[Deleted member 5129]

If you're playing on my 4k monitor 1080p looks insanely blurry and uncomfortable, so yes there is a difference

 

[Gero]

It is a big difference come on now. 1440p is the most balanced resolution imo. It looks great even on 4k TV

 

[dreamlongdead]

How can you make a statement like this without actually playing the game in 4K?

Side by side, you'll obviously see a difference.

 

[bes.gen]

I'm fine with 1440p,
1080p on the other hand is pretty obvious difference. see guardians of galaxy performance mode for an example.

 

[Theorry]

Well it's a cross gen games.
It already shows the limits of the system on Flight Simulator, The Medium or Matrix.

I think it's great for now but not really future proof.

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How does it show its limits when i even runs Flight Sim at 100fps? :P

 

[DominicanGlory]

How big is your TV and what model?

 

[Musubi]

The thing that ruins the Series S for me is the storage space. You start thinking well I'll just get the expansion card but that's $200 which is the same price gap between you and a Series X at that point which also gets you a disc drive and more power and more space.

 

[Black_Stride]

I'm ok with 1440p, 1080p on the other hand…

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Same. 1080p is too low of a resolution for me, but all that matters is that you're happy with your purchase. Who cares what we think.

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If you're playing on my 4k monitor 1080p looks insanely blurry and uncomfortable, so yes there is a difference

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Returnal is one of the best looking games that has come out in a while.
Its 1080p.

 

[Madness]

Edited.

 

[SFLUFAN]

1440p is what these new consoles should've been aiming for in the first place, not 4K.

 

[Vault Boy]

dogs hit

 

[Roldan]

I honestly think resolution makes a lot more difference in the PC space, where you're a lot closer to the screen

 

[Madness]

Edited.

 

[Nooblet]

Returnal is one of the best looking games that has come out in a while.
Its 1080p.

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It's not 1080p though. It's doing a 2 step image reconstruction to hit 4K. Now it may have artifacts, and it may not look as sharp as native 4K or even 1 step image reconstruction to 4K (like 1440p CBR to 4K). But it sure is going to look significantly cleaner than 1080P.

 

[aronmayo]

I agree, though I still think a Series X generally is a much better experience on a 4K TV.

1080p in 2021 is just nothing like 1080p was in 2013. When most people think about what 1080p looks like they think of Nintendo games and early PS4 games with outdated antialiasing implementations (or none at all in many games). Temporal antialiasing and reconstruction that we have now makes modern 1080p games, for the most part, look much cleaner than you'd expect. Halo: Infinite looks really good on Series S, even on a 4K TV.

 

[Saint of Killers]

It's cool you're OK with it, but I played Infinity in 1080p and even as someone who cannot usually spot or doesn't usually care about these things, even I noticed and switched back to dynamic 4K soon after. 1080p was just too blurry on some of the edges.

 

[Anastasis]

Is HDMI the only way to drive a display? I have a usb-c powered monitor that would be kind of cool to play with on a Series S, but don't think that's possible.

 

[Nooblet]

If you're playing on my 4k monitor 1080p looks insanely blurry and uncomfortable, so yes there is a difference

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The problem with monitors is that they all have terrible scaling. So non native on a monitor is going to look worse than it would on a TV.

 

[Graven]

I think the difference is a less apparent if you are playing on a monitor that is native to your resolution of choice.

1080p will look fine as long as it is used on a 1080p native screen.

 

[Skeeter49]

I'm sure first parties put a lot of effort into the Series S, but long term I would never trust 3rd parties to keep up quality on it especially when we get more next gen only games. Which is why I'm going with X. Glad you're enjoying Halo and that it runs great.

 

[Nooblet]

Is HDMI the only way to drive a display? I have a usb-c powered monitor that would be kind of cool to play with on a Series S, but don't think that's possible.

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You can just get a usb c to hdmi adapter.

 

[Geezer]

Honestly, I was set on buying a Series S but the comparisons of Forza Horizon 5 are what pushed me over the edge to buy the Series X and Im happy with my purchase. Also the fact that a lot of games won't hit 1440p, particularly third party ones.

 

[AppleMIX]

1440p is basically perfect.

 

[Anastasis]

You can just get a usb c to hdmi adapter.

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The monitor is also powered over usb-c. Would that be an issue with an adapter?

 

[evilalien]

How does it show its limits when i even runs Flight Sim at 100fps? :P

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It doesn't get anywhere near 100fps on the S. It bounces around between 25-60 with VRR enabled.

 

[Lashley]

1440p is where it's at for me

I can definitely tell when something is 1080p though

 

[gabegabe]

I own a Series S since March and only two games I really noticed the low resolution: Control: Ultimate Edition and The Medium. In moments with too much action happening in the screen I noticed the lower resolution on Control and in the Medium it was basically all the time. I've played more than 100 games there and have yet to see more games that have bad resolution. I play the Series S on a 4k TV and it looks great.

 

[Masterz1337]

There's a big, big difference between 1080p and 4K, doesn't mean you can't be perfectly happy with the former. We spent decades playing games on smaller resolutions.

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Most of my friends opted for Series X at all costs even though they run 1080-1440p monitors and I just don't get it. There are a few games that fall behind on S but otherwise yea it really was a smart decision by MS

Have to say though, and I won't be first to say this, diff between 1080 and 4k is massive on a large enough TV so this topic title may get you dogpiled. 1440 is def fine up into the 50s of inches but 1080 is stretching

Click to shrink...

It all depends on the size of your tv and how far away from it you're sitting though.

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How can you make a statement like this without actually playing the game in 4K?

Side by side, you'll obviously see a difference.

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How big is your TV and what model?

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I have a 70" 4k LED LG, I forget the exact model number so I am def pushing the limits of 1080p on it 4k is much better but I think the gains I am getting compared to the One X are worth sacrificing the pixels. For some games like Apex is makes sense to switch back to the One X over the Series S. But for something like Gears 3, and other BC games, even with resolution reductions the Series S is so much better. Nevermind that Halo is much better on Series S than the One X.

The thing that ruins the Series S for me is the storage space. You start thinking well I'll just get the expansion card but that's $200 which is the same price gap between you and a Series X at that point which also gets you a disc drive and more power and more space.

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This is so stupid. Like when I do get a Series X or whatever succeeds it, I'll probably just sell the S and eat the cost. But if I ran out of storage on it where it became a real issue, I'd still do the same thing. They really screwed up with that, should have just shipped both systems with 1tb SSD. Would have made sense on the S too since it's all digital the more space you have, the more people would be incentivized to buy more or explore GP more. Right now mine is almost full with flight sim, Infinite and Matrix.

 

[Madness]

Edited.

 

[B.C.]

Well it's a cross gen games.
It already shows the limits of the system on Flight Simulator, The Medium or Matrix.

I think it's great for now but not really future proof.

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Its funny how people keep saying this, yet, the S keeps on proving itself. If you dont care about 4K ( I'm not the type that does, aside from my movies) The Series S is a staggering, powerful little box.

 

[Theorry]

It doesn't get anywhere near 100fps on the S. It bounces around between 25-60 with VRR enabled.

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at 12:30 and thats even close to the ground.