JUNE 2020 PCWorld 23when you tightly
integrate the
operating system’s
capabilities with
hardware tailored
to use those
powers to full
effect. That’s why
Microsoft needs
an Xbox gaming
laptop, too—a
sleek, powerful
device built with
the same loving
attention as the
Surface but dedicated to showcasing the best
of what’s possible with PC gaming. Of Xbox
gaming, beyond the console.
An Xbox gaming laptop could come
clad in black, mirroring the Xbox Series X’s
branding while standing apart from Surface’s
traditional silver hues. Load it up with Nvidia’s
ray tracing-capable GeForce RTX graphics,
of course, or AMD’s eventual RDNA2 GPUs
(go.pcworld.com/rdn2). Integrate wireless
Xbox controller connectivity (go.pcworld.
com/xbcn). Microsoft’s advanced Surface
camera (go.pcworld.com/sfcm) and the
dual far-field mics would work wonderfully
for Twitch (or Mixer) streaming. I’m getting
hot and bothered just thinking about the idea
of Microsoft’s luscious PixelSense displays
amped up to game-ready 120Hz-plus refresh
rates.
If Microsoft really wanted to get crazy, it
could even (maybe?) make an Xbox gaming
laptop stand out from the gaming notebook
hordes by integrating support for the
fantastically fast “Xbox Velocity Architecture”
add-in SSDs (go.pcworld.com/xbvl)
debuting in the Xbox Series X.
There’s no shortage of gaming notebooks
available (go.pcworld.com/gmlp), and
Microsoft’s PC partners probably wouldn’t
appreciate it if the creator of Windows
encroached even further on their turf. But done
right, a dedicated Microsoft gaming laptop
would leave no doubt that yes, Xbox matters for
PC gamers, too. Toss in a free subscription to
Xbox Game Pass for PC for a few months, and
it’d make one hell of a statement as the
vanguard for Microsoft’s PC gaming ambitions.
You know, like Surface does for Windows.New Seagate NVMe drives will plug into the back of the Xbox Series X, tapping
into the blazing-fast Xbox Velocity Architecture. Imagine it in PCs, too!