Microsoft Boosts Xbox One’s CPU By 10% As Console Enters Mass Production

In tandem with confirming the release date for its next-gen hardware – which has been slated for November 22nd, 2013 – Microsoft also announced today that it has boosted the internal specs of the Xbox One before it entered mass production. Specifically, this technological tweak involves the console’s central processing unit, which has witnessed an increase of 150Mhz from its original 1.6Ghz to the new and finalised 1.75Ghz.

This minute adjustment to the console’s clock speed is unlikely to affect the overall performance of the Xbox One. Given that the machine’s architecture has already been subject to modification – namely a GPU boost early last month – it seems Microsoft were simply gauging the hardware’s capability before they shipped the design to manufacturers. Essentially, this operational tweak will impact the noise and heat levels of the console, while also affecting the machine’s general power consumption.

While this news will serve to benefit the end consumer, the cost-free enhancement won’t have a great say on the performance of Microsoft’s console in the grand scheme of things. As a means of comparison, we still don’t know the clock speed of the PlayStation 4’s CPU. And though Sony’s next-gen hardware is, in theory, slightly more powerful than the Xbox One – a feat owed to the PS4’s GPU – the perceivable difference between both consoles will likely be very, very small when they release this November.

Ahead of that fabled release window, Yusuf Mehdi, the chief marketing representative behind Xbox, addressed the scale of the late November launch to GeekWire, one which he considers to be “the biggest launch we’ve ever done by a wide margin in terms of units shipped at launch.”

We now know for sure that the Xbox One will launch November 22nd, 2013 in thirteen territories across the globe. While this release date lags behind the US launch of the PS4 by one week, incidentally, the launch date for Microsoft’s next-gen hardware happens to be a full seven days ahead of its rival in the UK – which becomes available in this specific market on November 29th.

What do you think, though? Do you forsee the aforementioned CPU enhancement altering gamers’ perception of the Xbox One? How do you feel the console will fare with its first week on the market? Let us know your thoughts below.