Console Comparison

When it comes to console gaming, consumers prefer a top of the line, inexpensive platform. So when Microsoft's X-Box and Sony's PlayStation clashed in the market, deciding which one to get was all the hype. Today, the two companies are still at it. Microsoft is introducing the X-Box One X with Sony's answer being the PS4 Pro. Both of these console feature high definition and resolution 4K gaming. Now before your brain self-destructs trying to decide which console to buy, I'm going to tell you right now and save you a trip to the hospital in case your brain really does self-destruct. We are going to compare three aspects that will likely be the deciding factor of which console you will buy: design, performance and pricing.

1. Design

One of the key aspects in deciding which console to buy is the design. Customers want an appealing design that stands out from other competitors.

The X-Box One X features a sleek minimalistic box like design (which is why they call it the X-Box) and a smooth texture on its surface. Default, the whole console is black though there are some more colorful variants. Its small size, 11.8 x 9.4 x 2.4 inches, allows for more places you can put it in your home. Some even call it the "smallest X-Box ever". Because of its small size, the X-Box One X is relatively light too weighing in at 8.4 pounds. Moving on to the controller, it handles well. The curvature of the controller is comfortable and light on your hands. The bright and colorful buttons create a wonderful contrast against the black controller and the positioning of the joysticks give your hands some freedom when you are holding it in your hands.

The PS4 Pro’s design is similar to the X-Box One X. It too sports a box like design however the console is layered into three panels and somewhat resembles a sandwich or a Big Mac from McDonalds. The console’s size 12.8 x 11.6 x 2.1 inches, is slightly larger than its competitor but makes up for it in its weight at 7.2 pounds; making it 1.2 pounds lighter than the X-Box One X. The PS4 Pro controller features a more restricted handholding position and a less colorful layout. Despite that, the controller has a built in speaker that can flash various colors and feedback form the game. For example, in” Battlefield” or “Call of Duty”, radio commands and calls are played via your controller speaker. However, new controller variants such as the PS4 "Revolution" are nearly identical to the X-Box One X controller and one can even argue that it is even better.


2. Performance

Performance wise, both consoles have 4K gaming and high speed, high resolution processors. Both consoles use unquestionably different styles of CPU cores. While the PS4 Pro uses a 2.1GHz 8-core AMD custom "Jaguar" CPU. The X-Box One X uses eight custom x86 cores clocked at 2.3GHz, a very fast processor indeed. The two consoles use an AMD Graphics Processing Unit or GPU. An Integrated AMD graphics card with 6 teraflops of performance and 12 GB of RAM in the X-Box One X easily pulls ahead of the PS4 Pro’s Integrated AMD Polaris graphics with 4.2 teraflops of performance and only 8GB of RAM. In this case, the X-Box One X is significantly better in performance with improved CPU, GPU and amount of RAM.

3. Pricing

Now, we come to the last slightly depressing stage of this console comparison: the price tag. The better something is, the more it costs. That’s exactly the case between the X-Box One X and the PS4 Pro. The consoles have a $100 difference in price; the X-Box One X rests at $499 along with the PS4 Pro at $399. Indeed the X-Box is superior in performance but at a cost of $100 more.

 Here we are finally competing the console comparison. Remember, ultimately it will be YOUR choice to decide which console you will purchase. This is merely but a guide to lead your way through the path or balancing gaming and finance.

First week back at SWC guide ( Grade 10 )

The first week back at Churchill is a somewhat different experience than the other times’ school has started back up. For one, this is grade 10 and everything from your marks to credits from now on counts now as well with changes to the curriculum. Second of all, your courses can often get messed up adding to the fact that you have new teachers, sometimes finding that you have to deal with sprinting down the hallway 30 seconds before the bell rings trying to find room 201. Lastly, the start of the school year could actually be better compared to past first weeks. Let’s see how you can survive the first week of school; specifically, grade 10.

In grade 10, the graduation program starts. This means that every single mark, grade or credit counts towards your graduation and eventually, your post-secondary education. For example, what I'm writing right now counts towards that as well. Of course, this puts a little stress on all of us in grade 10 classes because getting a 30% on a test will destroy you (.Not really, but you get the point). In fact, on the first day back, a relief that it’s only 1 hour long, I’ve heard people groaning about this for the DURATION of the hour. Now don’t get me wrong since I was pretty bummed out about it myself but hey; what can you do? However, the great thing is, you don't have to do provincial exams. The government got rid of that last year. This will relieve you of much pressure of you thinking: "I'm gonna die on the provincial exam". Not only that, the old curriculum was scrapped as well. I don’t completely what this new curriculum has in store for the school so I can't tell much about it at the moment. Another thing that's changed is that we have new teachers now.

Unlike grade 8 or 9 where you have the chance of getting the same teacher in a row for a consecutive year, grade 10’s have minimal chance of getting the same teachers as last year. For the rest of the week, you rotate through all eight of your classes where you get course outlines, papers and on the rare occasion that a teacher decides to give you homework on the very first day in his class, some of that was well. Though most of the time, your timetable for the day is correct, there are some instances of having the wrong course that you have chosen because the schedules are fairly tight. In this case, I recommend that you head straight towards your grade’s designated counsellor right away. Otherwise, you may have to face the long lines and congestion that infects the stairwells outside room 206 where the counselors’ offices are. In other words, go quickly or forever hold your peace.

A major thing you will notice is that after you make the transition to grade 10 is that it will not be like your first 2 years. In fact, I may even say it could be better than your last two years. For example, you feel used to the school environment. You don't really feel uncomfortable like in grade 8 when you are new. Or not too pressured as in grade 11 when your marks are crucial. Grade 10 or even grade 9 gives you an introduction of what’s next to come and prepares you for the years ahead. It can compare somewhat to a niche in your high school career, making you feeling somewhat more comfortable with the new school year starting.

However, as you have experienced the “first week process” and if you are used to it, then the process may seem slightly tedious and overwhelming but once you get past the first week, everything just falls into place.