As someone who has now owned all of three of these Xbox One systems I though I would give a casual personal impression of them. I'm no hardware nut or hardcore Fanboy but I have built a number of PC's over the years with my preference deeply set on performance for the dollar. Here's a moderately short breakdown for each system. Xbox One - Avoid - It's Huge, and then you still have a brick attached to it. My experience with dropped controllers spans across 5 machines and is enough of a reason to switch on it's own. There is a far better machine that can be found for a little more money that slaughters this base model in every way. Only buy this system if you're desperate to get an Xbone and someone is offering it used for less than half of what your local gamestore is asking refurbished. Otherwise ovoid at all cost. Xbox One S - The Sweet Spot - The One S has been a dream to own and use and it should be your only low-mid budget solution. **It is a must upgrade** You can't appreciate it's small size until you've pulled an OG Bone and put the S in it's stead. It comes with a slew of upgrades that are quickly appreciated. A mildly but noticeable tweaked performance, 4k upscaling, 4k streaming, 4K Blu ray, and HDR. Trust me you need to go out and get a TV with wide color gamut and HDR and you will not want to go back. (more below) Not only do you get a controller that doesn't drop every time the game gets good, but it comes with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and the ability to Bluetooth to any compatible devices. The signal on this controller is so good that I accidentally turned on my machine from one floor up and one room over. All these improvements and it does it at little over half the power consumption of the original Xbone One. Xbox One X - The Best . . . for a Price - The first thing I noticed was the weight difference between it and the One S. It felt almost like a solid mass and begged the immediate response "Daaamn!" Though I've only had limited time with the X I find it to be a thoughtful and well designed machine. The responsive OS and quicker load times (provided it isn't in 4K) are tiny treasures. HDR gaming in 4k is at it's finest - if you have the right TV. My 360 copy of Halo 3 looked more detailed than it ever has, yes it even appeared to be a hair sharper than on the MCC. Sure my 360 copy didn't have the nice lighting and water touch ups but it still looked amazing. My one and only gripe with the new Xbox One X focused on my inability to tell if games had automatically downloaded their 4k assets. From what I can tell most had but it sure would have been nice to have a proper confirmation that the patch had been added. Is it worth the money? Depends on if you have it. Would I spend it again? Yes. In the grand scheme of things I don't find the One X to be an overly expensive purchase. Sure it's not cheap but considering the time I invest in gaming I can't help but feel it's money well spent. Ultimately only you can decide if it fit's into your hobby budget. If you're still out of the loop on HDR here's a dated video from a guy who's balls will likely never drop, describing HDR in cameras but most of the information is still relevant. And a little more info on HDR and Wide Color Gamut. http://4k.com/everything-you-need-t...dr-wide-color-gamut-and-10-bit-color-16970-2/
Also Here's a link to a budget gaming ready TV to keep an eye out for if you're in the US. TCL 55P607 Looks like I'll have to spend $1000 if I want that sweet Vizio M55-e0 up here in Canada. Or should I get the 65"? Hmmm That OLED will have to wait. I ain't made of money.
My og oxbone has served me well over the years with no issues. Alot of the time it has been pushed to it's limits, running around the clock; when i get off somebody else gets on. I've had to replace my controlers once or twice a year though. Just little things like a stiff left bumper that messes up my jumping is enough to do it
Connectivity was my main gripe, that and it being 2013 and Microsoft still wanting to go with the brick. The machine itself worked like a horse but after switching to the One S I could never go back or recommend the original. The One S felt like the machine that we should have got at launch.
Not sure the prices in the US but in Canada VIzio has it's Vizio M55-e0 at Costco going for $760 in store $797 online right now. It's basically the best minimum requirement 4K HDR TV you can get outside the TCL 55P607 that's currently unavailable to buy here. Remember Most TV's don't have that 10bit Wide color Gamut Panel that you need for HDR to really work.