Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X Website Live

[LordRuyn]

I read up to jog my memory. QLC is slower for writes, so they generally have an SLC cache that you write to, and then it shuffles the data to QLC during idle periods. As the drive fills up, so does the SLC cache, so it slows down. Not really much of an issue for games where read performance is key. Read performance of QLC is right up there with other SSDs. In fact, the drive might not even need an SLC cache because the write bottleneck will likely be elsewhere (internet, hard drive, blu-ray drive).

So I agree, QLC is probably the way they will go, and I also expect the drive will be under $200, maybe $150.

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Exactly. Where we could potentially see issues come up is the lack of DRAM cache if it's true. That could potentially throttle transfers during game installs as the drive fills up. Still faster than 5400rpm spinning rust though.

That's where I think Sony made a brilliant decision with the PS5. They kept the 4 lanes allowing a peak of 5.5GB/s in reads. The fact that it's also M.2 means that the drive is also user replaceable with any other gen4 SSD that meets the specs for the PS5, without the need for a customized solution that adds to the cost. The tooling alone for those Seagate SSDs is probably not cheap. At the same time, with the Xbox solution you get storage expansion rather than replacing the main drive. Had Sony also opted for expansion rather than replacing the main system drive, they would have most likely adopted a custom solution too. An alternative to the custom solution would have been to make the type-c port USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20Gbps) but then you have no control over what drive gets plugged in there.

I'm still hoping that you can use a normal portable HDD for storage, and then the OS would just auto-copy a game over to the SSD once you attempt to run it.

That would be the most cost-effective approach, but I don't know if that's how it will actually work.

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Pretty sure they already said you can use HDDs to store your XSX games but not use them to play the games.

 

[klauskpm]

Are people asking for 2TB ready to drop a console worth for it? Going by the prices of external SSDs from Seagate and internal Gen4x2 NVMe SSDs, I think it is fair to say it won't be less than $150 for 1TB.

 

[unicornKnight]

No thanks, even 99$ would be too much for me. I'll keep swapping games around.

 

[Snake__]

Yeah 1 TB seems like a waste of money
They probably should have just put the expansion slot in the front to easily swap them

Hopefully the internal storage will be enough until there is a 2-4 TB expansion

 

[Watership]

Only 1TB? Was hoping for larger. Hopefully the price isn't too crazy.

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It's a customer plug in 1TB Nvme PCIe 4.0 ssd. It's going to be $$$. Everyone needs to set their expectations accordingly. Games should be smaller due to less redundancy, but I'm planning on plugging in my USB3.1 portable SSD in to use a repository for games I'm not currently playing, and just copy them over to the NVME drive when I need them.

 

[Searsy82]

I feel like 2TB between the internal and add-on SSD is more than sufficient, particularly with the 4TB external I have to swap things on and off of.

I don't need to have 100 games installed at once. With that said, I have 500Mb internet without data caps, so I completely understand why the situation of others would differ.

 

[Diarrhea Day-Lewis]

I wonder what its eventual price means for the SSD in the system itself in terms of cost.

I assume this accessory will be sold at 3x cost because it is a niche market and expensive. So if its $149 somehow, then you can imagine that Seagate gets it for $50-$75. They have to sell it at double cost for their own profit and for retailer cut, licensing fees, etc.

Meaning perhaps the SSD in the Xbox Series X is around $40-$60 since they will be able to order 50M+, whereas Seagate will only ever order maybe a few millions since this is an optional accessory.

 

[JaggedSac]

That's my thinking. It's clearly going to be part of the Series X line. It's not it own series.

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That would be the strangest branding they could go for.

 

[ghostcrew]

That would be the strangest branding they could go for.

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I feel like it'd only be strange because everyone's already convinced themselves that it's going to be called Series S.

It's meant to be exactly the same console essentially. Same games, same SSD. Just an underpowered GPU so it's aimed at the 1080p market. All of the branding that we've seen for the last 8 months has been Series X. Even box art that we've seen for games (not to mention this 'coming soon' page for the expandable SSD cartridge) are all 'Series X'. Stickers on boxes are 'optimised for Xbox Series X'.

Wouldn't it be weird if, in a month (so just three months before release) they suddenly had to rebrand everything and resell everyone on the idea of another console with a different name, coming at the same time. Add an asterix to all of those stickers/icons so they said 'Optimised for Xbox Series X *and Xbox Series S'.

Sounds like it'd make loads more sense to just have Series X and Series X 1080p (or whatever monikor they give it) to me. The alternative sounds like a marketing nightmare.

 

[JaggedSac]

I feel like it'd only be strange because everyone's already convinced themselves that it's going to be called Series S.

It's meant to be exactly the same console essentially. Same games, same SSD. Just an underpowered GPU so it's aimed at the 1080p market. All of the branding that we've seen for the last 8 months has been Series X. Even box art that we've seen for games (not to mention this 'coming soon' page for the expandable SSD cartridge) are all 'Series X'. Stickers on boxes are 'optimised for Xbox Series X'.

Wouldn't it be weird if, in a month (so just three months before release) they suddenly had to rebrand everything and resell everyone on the idea of another console with a different name, coming at the same time. Add an asterix to all of those stickers/icons so they said 'Optimised for Xbox Series X *and Xbox Series S'.

Sounds like it'd make loads more sense to just have Series X and Series X 1080p (or whatever monikor they give it) to me. The alternative sounds like a marketing nightmare.

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Actually, you've made a compelling argument. I can now see them going that route.

 

[mordecaii83]

People are going to have to get used to the idea of not having all their games installed on the SSD's at all times if they don't want to spend ridiculous amounts of money. At least both console makers are supporting backing up games on cheaper USB HDD's so people with poor internet don't have to constantly re-download games.

 

[DJ Lushious]

I'll happily pick one of these up on launch. However, I still intend on USB attached storage as an additional holding spot.

 

[klauskpm]

I feel like it'd only be strange because everyone's already convinced themselves that it's going to be called Series S.

It's meant to be exactly the same console essentially. Same games, same SSD. Just an underpowered GPU so it's aimed at the 1080p market. All of the branding that we've seen for the last 8 months has been Series X. Even box art that we've seen for games (not to mention this 'coming soon' page for the expandable SSD cartridge) are all 'Series X'. Stickers on boxes are 'optimised for Xbox Series X'.

Wouldn't it be weird if, in a month (so just three months before release) they suddenly had to rebrand everything and resell everyone on the idea of another console with a different name, coming at the same time. Add an asterix to all of those stickers/icons so they said 'Optimised for Xbox Series X *and Xbox Series S'.

Sounds like it'd make loads more sense to just have Series X and Series X 1080p (or whatever monikor they give it) to me. The alternative sounds like a marketing nightmare.

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Actually, I can see them going with XS, but not X S.

 

[JaseC64]

I wonder how people gonna react to say $450-$500 Series X and $150-$200 expansion card.

I know its optional but it seems pricey if you are looking for both. PS5 will be the same if you opt to use an additional NVME drive.

 

[ghostcrew]

Actually, I can see them going with XS, but not X S.

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Yeah, whatever it is. Series X HD (like Apple still sell the 1080p Apple TV as 'Apple TV HD') or something maybe? I'm just convinced that it's gonna be part of the Series X... series. The alternative is just so messy to me.

 

[rokkerkory]

I wonder if xsx preorders will go up today too

 

[SavageCobra]

for reference, the current xbox branded SSD they make for xbox one costs $199 for 1TB external.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/seagate-game-drive-for-xbox-1tb-external-usb-3-0-portable-solid-state-drive-black/6309813.p?skuId=6309813

 

[2shd]

With Game Pass stuff and a handful of current gen games I play a lot and want on SSD for loading, but are huge space eaters, a 1TB expansion is going to get filled almost immediately.

I'm sure I will want one of these, but with only one expansion slot I feel like I could regret buying one of these early if larger ones become available later.

In terms of price if these are $150 I'd be pleasantly surprised.

 

[BitsandBytes]

I wonder if xsx preorders will go up today too

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Doubt it. Aaron Greenberg said no business stuff in today's stream and I doubt they do it separately afterwards.

 

[Vagabond]

Does anyone have the dimensions for these little things or something to compare for scale?

Hopefully there are other manufacturers - I still have Seagate on my blacklist.

 

[Aggie CMD]

Return of the memory card! I wonder if we will see third party knock offs. Or maybe a modern DexDrive.

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

Seagate?????

Hmm, idk about that, haha.

 

[neoak]

Already have a 2 TB SanDisk Ultra 3D SSD with a USB 3.2 2x2 (10 Gbits) enclosure, that does max the SATA bus, for my Xbox One X. (One X uses it at 3.0 speeds though)

Got a 4 TB in the latest Amazon sale, will be using that in the enclosure and moving it over to the Series X to use as external storage.

 

[neoak]

for reference, the current xbox branded SSD they make for xbox one costs $199 for 1TB external.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/seagate-game-drive-for-xbox-1tb-external-usb-3-0-portable-solid-state-drive-black/6309813.p?skuId=6309813

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That's the old one. The P50 that is 3.2 2x2 is 250 for 1 TB.

 

[Deleted member 9857]

My bet is $199. Wouldn't be surprised with $249. They know they can put some extra margin there.

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it's Seagate made for gaming, always expect them to go for the higher cost

 

[Multiverse Moo]

That's where I think Sony made a brilliant decision with the PS5. They kept the 4 lanes allowing a peak of 5.5GB/s in reads. The fact that it's also M.2 means that the drive is also user replaceable with any other gen4 SSD that meets the specs for the PS5, without the need for a customized solution that adds to the cost. The tooling alone for those Seagate SSDs is probably not cheap. At the same time, with the Xbox solution you get storage expansion rather than replacing the main drive. Had Sony also opted for expansion rather than replacing the main system drive, they would have most likely adopted a custom solution too.

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PS5 has a slot for an extra SSD, not to replace the custom one that is built in.

Curious to see what costs to exoskeleton l expand storage will look like for both next gen systems.

 

[hikarutilmitt]

1) ain't no way it's gonna be cheap
2) ain't no way I'd easily trust it, being a Seagate device. It would have to be in name only and have some serious quality control by MS to make sure they last.

Given I'm not getting an XSX, I have no skin in this, but at the same time I worry for those that need to buy them given the above.

 

[neoak]

1) ain't no way it's gonna be cheap
2) ain't no way I'd easily trust it, being a Seagate device. It would have to be in name only and have some serious quality control by MS to make sure they last.

Given I'm not getting an XSX, I have no skin in this, but at the same time I worry for those that need to buy them given the above.

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Their SSDs are based on components made by other companies, so the are fine.

 

[jroc74]

I would be absolutely shocked if it was under 199. I think that's gonna be the minimum price to expect.

 

[LordRuyn]

PS5 has a slot for an extra SSD, not to replace the custom one that is built in.

Curious to see what costs to exoskeleton l expand storage will look like for both next gen systems.

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I had somehow missed that, thanks.