Xbox's Project Scorpio Full Tech Specs Explained In-Depth

Many of Project Scorpio's internal specs have been revealed in a new report by Digital Foundry / Eurogamer, seemingly supporting Microsoft's claim that the device is the most powerful console in the world.

The device contains 12 GB of RAM--50% more than the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. That memory is GDDR5, the same, faster type of memory seen in the PS4, and an improvement over Xbox One's DDR3.

Memory bandwidth is also improved: Scorpio's RAM has a transfer speed of 326 GB/s, an increase over PS4 Pro's 218 GB/s. The picture on Xbox One is a little more complicated, as it contained 32 MB of ESRAM, which is not seen in the other consoles, in addition to its more conventional 8 GB OF DDR3 RAM. These portions of RAM could clock 204 GB/s and 68 GB/s, respectively.

The new device's graphical capabilities are contained on a new System on Chip called the Scorpio Engine, which was designed in conjunction with AMD. This contains 40 "customized" compute units clocked at 1172 MHz, up from PS4 Pro's 36 units that run at 911 MHz and Xbox One's 12 units that can manage 853 MHz. For comparison, Xbox One S also contained 12, though they were slightly faster at 914 MHz. Scorpio's GPU is about 4.6 times more powerful than the Xbox One's and is described by Eurogamer / Digital Foundry as "a beast." This equates to six teraflops of performance; for more, check out our guide on what a teraflop is and what it means for Xbox's Project Scorpio.

Scorpio also boasts eight custom x86 CPU cores, each clocked at 2.3 GHz, which represents a speed increase over both Xbox One's eight 1.75 GHz Jaguar cores and PS4 Pro's similar array that runs at 2.1 GHz.

Lastly, the upgraded console will ship with a 1 TB hard drive and supports 4K Ultra HD Blu-Rays, just like the Xbox One S can; PS4, PS4 Pro, and Xbox One can all only take standard Blu-Ray discs.

So what does all this mean?

Well, the Scorpio is seemingly capable of native 4K gameplay at a consistent 60 FPS. Digital Foundry saw a test version of Forza--based on the same engine used to build Forza Motorsport 6--running at those levels, though other titles will likely vary. Existing games that have a 30 FPS cap on Xbox One will also need to be patched if they are to have higher frame rates.

Scorpio will run all Xbox One games "better," whether they're patched for the new console or not. That means a more stable or higher frame rate, improved texture filtering, no screen tearing, and faster load times. All of that is also reportedly true for backwards-compatible Xbox 360 games, even though changes in hardware between Xbox One and Project Scorpio mean Microsoft has had to go through every existing game individually to make them run on Scorpio.

Scorpio also contains some improvements to Xbox One's features. Game DVR now lets you capture 4K, 60 FPS, HDR gameplay, and it will also allow you to scrub through captured gameplay to find the best screenshots. However, just like the Xbox One S, the new console does not contain a Kinect port--you'll need a USB adapter to use your Xbox One camera device.

Users who own 1080p televisions will still be catered for, too: "ultra HD-rendering should super-sample down for those 1080p displays," says the site, meaning games should look sharper, even if you don't own a 4K set.

Microsoft says Scorpio is the most powerful console ever made and that it will be more powerful than the PlayStation 4 Pro.

The new console is due to launch this holiday, but it remains to be seen when Microsoft will start to officially show it off in more detail. Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said he is unsure if Microsoft will show off Project Scorpio before E3 in June, while also stating recently that he thinks it's "critical" for first-party games to be ready for the system's launch.

For more on Project Scorpio, check out all our coverage of the latest information:

• Project Scorpio Specs Revealed, Capable Of Native 4K/60 FPS
• How Project Scorpio Makes Xbox One And 360 Games Better
• Xbox's Project Scorpio Is Designed To Win Back Developers, After Xbox One Lost Them