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360: Falcon flapping its wings across the Pacific as we speak
Deusfaux
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Registered User regular
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=8586
Related: Best Buy to guarantee Premium w/ HDMI come September 1st.
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=8611
Upcoming Xbox 360 hardware to have cooler IBM CPU, but not the revised ATI GPU
The Mercury News’ Dean Takahashi reports that the first Xbox 360 CPUs manufactured on the 65nm process are now on ships in the Pacific bound for North America. Should the consoles, which are made in China, arrive soon, then they could be on retail shelves sometime this fall.
Last month, Takahashi reported that the 65nm Xbox 360 chips would come in a revised hardware version that Microsoft has coded “Falcon.” The new chips are not only smaller and roughly 50 percent cheaper to produce than their 90nm counterpart, but they are also cooler – and presumably less prone to the Red Ring of Death defect.
Those expecting the 65nm die shrink to affect the two main chips inside the Xbox 360 will be disappointed to learn that only the console’s main processor will be the manufactured on the new process.
“Falcon is the name for the board that houses the 65-nanometer microprocessor from IBM,” wrote Takahashi. “The board does not include a 65-nanometer version of the ATI graphics chip for the Xbox 360. That version of the graphics chip is coming later.”
The new 65nm chip from IBM will work with both the current 90nm and the future 65nm iteration of the 65nm ATI GPU, according to Takahashi.
Oddly enough, it appears as though the main culprit behind the Xbox 360 reliability woes may be linked to the ATI GPU rather than the IBM CPU. As part of a recent fix to all 90nm-based consoles, Microsoft has been adding additional cooling measures into the Xbox 360. Found first in a repaired European Xbox 360 was a new heatsink with a heatpipe that leads to a secondary “daughter” heatsink helps to further cool the GPU.
The latest Xbox 360 Premium consoles with the HDMI-enabled “Zephyr” motherboard also features the extra heatsinks, providing further evidence that an overheating GPU is the main cause behind the Red Ring of Death.
Related: Best Buy to guarantee Premium w/ HDMI come September 1st.
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=8611
Deusfaux on
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kind of exciting... i think it's like the last major reason for a # of people to holdout on buying one (at least related to hardware)
LIKE YESTERDAY
edit: After holding out on buying one for the past six months, waiting for the 65nm process units to hit stores.
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral
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return it?
I'm going to go play the Bioshock demo and cry.
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral
Uh, you can very much return a fully functional console. At most places.
The only reason you can't return open and non-defective music/software/dvds is because it's so easy to copy and return.
Oh yeah, the price.
it's another safeguard against failures, a reasonable thing to desire
If i can be sure i'm getting a "falcon" i'd be sold.
I am not sure why I seem to get so confused by what is going on with 360 hardware, no one else seems to be...
Hopefully by the time I can afford a 360 it will be simple enough for my puny human brain to wrap around.
I guess it's kind of relavent here, in the UK, some Asda stores are clearing out Premiums for £180 to make way for Pros, if you ring up your local they should be able to tell you if they have any in stock.
EDIT2: Oh right, that's why I used part of my bonus to get the 2 year replacement plan... ooo... I wonder...
Not unless it contains a flux capacitator.
On the plus side, by the time it's on it's 4th RRoD it'll probably be replaced with a Falcon.
Yep.
That HDD is a big difference, though. I think the 20gb is going to bite MS in the ass. I know I've held off on purchasing some dlc, especially TV shows, because I have so little space left. I'll be damned if I'm going to spend what they are asking for a bigger HDD, too, especially since I won't be able to play my 20 XBLA titles offline if I do.
ouch... so no way as of yet to upload one HD to another? I thought they allowed you to re-download xbox live content you paid for?
I very much agree. I had wrestled with the idea of getting my Elite, but I broke down and did. Less than two weeks after owning it I already have 40 gigs in content saved. I can't imagine living with the 20gig at this point.
I just read an article about just that. Pretty much it says that they wont do that. First they want to unload all their old merchandise and wont say wither the chipsets are the new or the old. They wont say when the switch takes place or what box's have them for competitive reasons. You can read the article for yourself.
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2007/08/exclusive_what_microsofts_falcon_project_is_going_to_mean_for_when_you_should_buy_an_xbox_360.html
Someone will figure it out by the barcode or serial number...eventually.
I'd say you'd be pretty safe buying one from a popular location sometime early next year.
That makes sense even though it sucks. I bet by early next year they will have announced some other upgrade that will come a few months down the line or something. I guess I'll probably wait anyways though.
Kinda hoping my xbox would go boom so I would have a real reason to drop the money for a new box. Getting a new falcon elite would be nice and wouldn't have to worry about your xbox suddenly dying on you. So far no problems but with a launch release box im wondering if its just a matter of time.
Also the larger HD and hdmi port would work out well for the new 1080p lcd tv im planning on getting. But till that happens ill just stick with this one, its a champ so far.