Last year, we told many a gamer how to find a Xbox 360 with the updated Falcon chipset to save them from the RRoD and many of you were grateful. As the world turns, so do the remedies to stop the RRoD once and for all. MS now brings us the Jasper chipset, which we all believe, is the RRoD Killer. Here is how you find it:
All you need to do is check the output on the power brick or on the back on the Xbox 360 where it lists the power specifications. If it says 150 W (Watts), it means that you have the Jasper chipset and are on your way. Whether you can check this out in store, I have no idea. They are on the shelves so if you can get them to open the box for you or return a new model and try to get a Jasper, go for it. This is a less expensive chipset and could account for the MS price drops in hopes of less consoles being sent back to the mothership.
Thanks to Neoseeker for the image.
Thanks to Scuba’s great post yesterday, I was able to snag a Falcon Elite to replace my 8th broken one. Hopefully this new system will be good to go and I won’t have to replace it.
First impressions: it’s deadly quiet. Much quieter than my old Zephyr Elite. It’s on par with my PS3 and Wii to be honest. The power brick is lighter and has a cheaper plastic connector that goes into the 360. Previous power bricks had 2 buttons to secure the cable into the console and were heavier with some metal in there. This one doesn’t have that.
Thanks to my handy dandy XSATA, I was able to backup everything off my old hard drive and I’m in the process of restoring to the new console. Like I say to everyone, backup backup backup. It will save your life one day.
It is not news that the Xbox 360 has some serious tech issues and it breaks a lot more than it should. Fine. MS has changed the chip configuration and there are some benefits to see if the Xbox 360 you are about to buy is the right one.
Here is how:
All you need to do is look at the UPC symbol and see the 175W, which is the wattage for the newer power supply. This confirms that a Falcon chip is inside and not the Zephyr, which is an older model.
The Falcon chipped models have a much less chance of failing due to aluminum heat sinks and uses much less power so will be a lot quieter.
So this Holiday Season, make it a Falcon if you can. Thanks to www.falz.net for the close up.
As you may or may not yet know, the Xbox 360 Premium consoles in the US will all be shipping with an HDMI port soon. So if you don’t want to spend the money on the Elite, you’ll have a chance to get true digital 1080p from the Xbox 360 with the newer Premiums.
The guys over at Joystiq dug a little deeper and found out a very easy way to tell what consoles will have the coveted HDMI port. Just check the side of the box for the “HDMI port” text. Supposedly all consoles manufactured after July 1st will have HDMI.
I’ve been using HDMI out on my Xbox 360 Elite and I have to say it gives a much cleaner and vibrant picture on my HDTV than component. For the record, I have a Samsung 50″ 1080p DLP set.
Joystiq dug a little deeper and found the code name Zephyr on the label, which indicates the new Premiums have the same motherboard and new heat sink as the Elite’s (remember Zephyr is the code-name for the Elite motherboard). This also shows these new Premiums do NOT have the 65nm chips, codenamed Falcon. I guess we’ll have to wait a bit longer for those smaller, cooler chips.
Microsoft announced last night that a limited edition Halo 3 Xbox 360 would be released this September. The new console features an exclusive “Spartan green and gold” finish and comes bundled with a matching Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, 20GB Hard Drive, Headset, Play & Charge Kit, and exclusive Halo 3 Gamer Pics and Theme (available via Xbox Live download).
The funny part is what’s listed further down the description page on xbox.com… an HDMI port is included in the console. Does this mean we’ll start seeing HDMI ports in all 360’s once they switch over to the “falcon” chipset? It would seem plausible, as manufacturing two different motherboards would keep costs higher.
Either way, I doubt too many people will be shelling out more money for another Xbox 360 at this point.
The latest salvo in the console wars has just been fired by Microsoft according to the MercuryNews. There will be several new improvements in the “Falcon” which will be a reduction in chip size from 90nm to 65nm in both the CPU and GPU(graphics chip). This basically means that the chips will be smaller and running faster, and at a cooler core temperature. It also means that the machine will have less material and therefore cheaper to produce. Does this signal a price cut? No one knows for sure, but the Falcon will not cost anymore than the original 360, with the add-ons being the only price determinant. The Falcon is the project name at the moment and no word on whether that name will stick. Expect this to be available by the end of this calendar year.
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