Microsoft's Xbox 'Helix' chip is reportedly the basis of next-gen consoles made by Asus and MSI, but you won't be able to buy it separately

Microsoft's fabled Project Helix chip, the AMD-engineered basis of the next-gen Xbox console, will reportedly be used by Asus, MSI and other brands to make third-party gaming machines. However, consumers won't be able to buy the Helix chip separately.

So says KeplerL2, one of the most reliable members of the tech-leak illuminati. Posting on NeoGAF forum (via WCCFTech), KeplerL2 said, "it won't be sold directly to consumers, but you will be able to buy an ASUS / MSI / etc Helix machine."

The idea that Microsoft will branch out from producing and selling only its own Xbox-branded hardware isn't new. Nor is the idea that an OEM like Asus would get involved. After all, we already have the economically monikered (not) Asus ROG Xbox Ally X handheld gaming device acting as something of a harbinger or early template for this approach.

However, the Xbox Ally X isn't a perfect model for the future living room console. It uses an essentially off-the-shelf AMD APU in the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, a chip that's not only available in non-Xbox handhelds, but also in everything from laptops to desktops, albeit under different branding as part of another tranche of the AMD Ryzen product range.

Project Helix, on the other hand, will be exclusive to Microsoft. Sure, it's engineered by AMD and most of not all the IP will be available in other chips. Currently, that's expected to translate into Zen 6 CPU cores and a GPU most closely related to AMD's next-gen RDNA 5 family of PC graphics cards.

But the precise mix of CPU and GPU core count—and perhaps some specific features in the ray tracing and / or machine learning spheres—may be exclusive to Helix. Moreover, console chips are traditionally built in big numbers and with few if any variations.

That tends to make them cheaper to make and deliver more bang-for-buck compared to traditional gaming PC hardware solutions, albeit at the cost of losing most if not all end-user configuration options. Console chips are what console chips do.

The catch, of course, is the possible confounding influence of console subsidies, where the expectation of games license revenues allows console makers to sell machines cheaper or even at a loss but still make a profit on the overall business.

Still, one of the interesting possibilities around the Helix chip has been the idea that if it were sold separately, it might form the basis of a powerful but relatively inexpensive PC gaming rig.

Exactly how Project Helix will be engineered isn't clear. But if it has on-package memory, the result would be a solution that just needed a motherboard to drop into and some storage and Bob's your next-gen-gaming parental sibling. Or, perhaps more likely, it will be a soldered-on chip with no socketing to speak of.

One might imagine, then, if Microsoft is banging its own-branded Xbox Helix boxes out for, say, $800 a pop with a fancy chassis and packaging, plus some controllers, some kind of bare bones setup, maybe using your existing case, SSD and PSU to cut the price even further then—hey presto—there's your $500 comprehensive gaming rig upgrade.

Well, however realistic that ever was, KeplerL2's post seems to consign it to history. It ain't happening because you won't be able to buy the Helix chip separately. That still leaves the likes of Asus or MSI to potentially undercut the official Microsoft console, however.

Given how pricey the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is, Asus isn't a great candidate for that solution. MSI could be better, but even then, what with the memory and broader computer chip crisis, it would be a tall order for any OEM to hit a spectacular price point with a new device.

Arguably, Apple has just about achieved that with the MacBook Neo, though that obviously isn't a gaming device. But even Valve is struggling to cope with chip prices to the extent that the upcoming Steam Machine's launch has been disrupted.

All of which means that Project Helix doesn't immediately look like it will be the budget PC gaming saviour some observers once thought it might just deliver. It's still an intriguing chip and, personally, I can't wait to see what mix of AMD tech Microsoft has gone for. But I doubt it will end up being the basis of a new generation of cheap gaming PCs.