After practically three years of market availability, the Xbox Collection X is receiving cheaper storage, nevertheless, the instructed pricing leaves lots to be desired.
That is as a result of the upcoming WD Black C50 1TB seems to be briefly leaked by US retailer Greatest Purchase, and appears to be a direct rival to the Seagate Xbox Storage Enlargement Card. Till now, it has been the one proprietary SSD so far for the Xbox Collection X, which carries fairly a hefty price ticket for what you are getting compared to what’s obtainable on different consoles, equivalent to with one of the best SSDs for PS5.
The unique itemizing has since been eliminated by the large field retailer with solely social media platforms showcasing the worth tag of the upcoming Xbox Collection X storage growth. The WD Black C50 1TB seems to retail for $179.99 (roughly £143 / AU$266) which is a full $40 (roughly £32 / AU$60) cheaper than Seagate’s authentic providing. It is a step in the fitting route, positive, however in the end that is nonetheless far an excessive amount of for my part for what you are truly getting right here.
There isn’t any getting over the truth that it is a positive hearth solution to make room for among the finest Xbox Collection X video games obtainable on Xbox Recreation Cross. Nonetheless, at a value this steep halfway by way of the console’s lifespan, I am left questioning which downside this new growth card for the Xbox Collection X actually solves, as a result of a $40 (roughly £32 / AU$60) saving is not a lot to get enthusiastic about.
It stings notably as a result of the costs of Gen 4.0 NVMe SSDs, which these growth playing cards are primarily based upon, have been dropping dramatically since their adoption in 2020. If we take a look at how issues are on PS5, which includes a devoted M.2 NVMe 1.4 port for SSDs, then the pricing is way extra favorable due to ditching the proprietary {hardware} in favor of one thing extra pro-consumer.
The saving supplied by the WD Black C50 1TB is best than nothing, however issues may have been rather more respectable
Wanting on the present charges for among the PS5’s top-performing SSDs leaves a substantial hole on the Xbox entrance. You solely want to take a look at the costs of equally performing 1TB fashions, such because the Kingston Fury Renegade and Seagate FireCuda 530, that are available less expensive at $117.99 / £152.40 / AU$197.21 and $129 / £103.99 / AU$217 which undercut each Seagate and Western Digital’s choices considerably.
It is a disgrace that in 2023, these taking part in on Xbox Collection X nonetheless have such few choices for increasing past the Xbox Collection X’s usable 802GB storage as soon as the OS is taken under consideration. Issues are even direr with the Xbox Collection S, because the quoted 512GB on the field is basically 364GB when the system recordsdata are thought of. The saving supplied by the WD Black C50 1TB is best than nothing, however issues may have been rather more respectable.
