Microsoft Starts Shipping 65nm Xbox 360 Consoles

[Jimmy 2004]

Microsoft's new 65nm 'Falcon' processor for the Xbox 360 has been rumoured for some time now, but now it seems that Microsoft may finally have begun shipping consoles which use the new CPU. Posters on the official Xbox forums have spotted that the special edition Halo 3 consoles from lot number 734 onwards appear to have the 65nm processor, which will hopefully mean the standard Xbox consoles could start being shipped with it in the near future. With any luck, this will see an end to Microsoft's less than impressive failure rate for Xbox 360 consoles, where heat issues have been a common suspect in the so called "red ring of death". If you've just bought an Xbox 360 and want to find out if your new console is equipped with a Falcon CPU, take a look here.


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[HookeyStreet]

I said about this the other day : http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=40831

 

[Jimmy 2004]

I said about this the other day : http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=40831

I know - you were quicker than me on this

Anyway, this is the most reliable confirmation I've found so I thought I'd post it.

 

[Weer]

Boy, I'm sure glad I haven't bought one yet.

 

[HookeyStreet]

I know - you were quicker than me on this

Anyway, this is the most reliable confirmation I've found so I thought I'd post it.

At least its from a good source......looks like I will be selling my 360

 

[Migons]

Afaik The Red of of Death is caused by over-heating GPU, not CPU. According to MS 65nm GPU will be featured later in the future...

 

[Jimmy 2004]

Afaik The Red of of Death is caused by over-heating GPU, not CPU. According to MS 65nm GPU will be featured later in the future...

Didn't realise that - the heatsink has been changed with the new CPU, I suppose it's possible that the GPU one is a little different so that might help, but perhaps the RROD will live on after all...

 

[HookeyStreet]

Afaik The Red of of Death is caused by over-heating GPU, not CPU. According to MS 65nm GPU will be featured later in the future...

Actually, the RROD can be down to a number of factors, not just the GPU overheating

http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/Xbox-360-error-codes.htm

My first one died due to a DVDROM malfunction. Ive been dabbling with 360s for ages now and Ive seen many die for different reasons lol

 

[Fuse-Wire]

u can never get rid of the RROD! its a curse

 

[HookeyStreet]

u can never get rid of the RROD! its a curse

The new improved heatsink design (with the new 'arm' attachment) is working wonders I think M$ have cracked it this time

 

[Fuse-Wire]

The new improved heatsink design (with the new 'arm' attachment) is working wonders I think M$ have cracked it this time

yes i agree, may be reducing the number of RROD but you cant get rid of it deffinatly

 

[HookeyStreet]

yes i agree, may be reducing the number of RROD but you cant get rid of it deffinatly

I get what you mean m8. But I think the overheating issue has been addressed and most new systems ship with the new Hitachi 79 DVDROM, which should solve DVDROM errors. Obviously some systems will still die, probably due to misuse (and bad flash attempts )

 

[Migons]

Actually, the RROD can be down to a number of factors, not just the GPU overheating

http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/Xbox-360-error-codes.htm

My first one died due to a DVDROM malfunction. Ive been dabbling with 360s for ages now and Ive seen many die for different reasons lol

Yeah, I know (it's a general hardware failure error), but it looks like GPU is the main reason to overheating. MS upgraded the heatsink to some newer 90nm parts and HDMI Premiums, but dunno how much it helped. The upgraded heatsink improved cooling capabilities especially for GPU.

 

[newtekie1]

The lower heat output of the CPU should affect the GPU as well as overall system temperature should go down. So even if the GPU is at fault, this should help.

 

[HookeyStreet]

Yeah, I know (it's a general hardware failure error), but it looks like GPU is the main reason to overheating. MS upgraded the heatsink to some newer 90nm parts and HDMI Premiums, but dunno how much it helped. The upgraded heatsink improved cooling capabilities especially for GPU.

Ive sent a few away to M$, to be repaired under warranty and they have come back with the extra heatpipe & heatsink fitted. They all seem to be running perfect now (touch wood lol)

 

[Migons]

The lower heat output of the CPU should affect the GPU as well as overall system temperature should go down. So even if the GPU is at fault, this should help.

Yeah, but this shows that the nm-process upgrade wasn't done to adress the actual source of The Red Ring of Death.

 

[newtekie1]

Yeah, but this shows that the nm-process upgrade wasn't done to adress the actual source of The Red Ring of Death.

Maybe not directly, however shrinking the CPU was probably easier than shrinking the GPU so Microsoft did it and it should help the issue.

 

[Azn Tr14dZ]

My 360 just got the RROD 2 weeks ago, and I sent it in to Microsoft to be repaired, so I still have to wait 3 more weeks.

But anyways, the GPU does heat up quite a bit, but not so much that it will fry or anything of that sort. But that was not the main reason as to why the RROD would show up on XBox 360s. There is a clamp on the Xbox 360s that holds the heatsink of the GPU and CPU over the motherboard. The problem is that the clamp is made from soft metal, and so when the Xbox 360 does heat up, the clamp is not strong enough to prevent the motherboard from bending due to the heat, therefore it could cause a hardware failure if the motherboard bends enough. If you turn on and Xbox 360 and the PSU light is green, that means there's a hardware failure; games could freeze, RROD showing up. A new clamp would fix the problem easily, which is why there are some DIY Clamp Kits around, but not everyone wants to open up their 360 and void the warranty.

It is a good thing that Microsoft increased the warranty to 3 years, and that they are including better heatsinks, stronger clamps, better DVD ROMS, and 65nm CPUs to prevent RROD and other related problems. All of these contribute greatly to reducing the RROD.

 

[devguy]

Maybe not directly, however shrinking the CPU was probably easier than shrinking the GPU so Intel did it and it should help the issue.

WTF does that mean? What does Intel have to do with the 360? They were in on the Xbox 1, but the 360 has IBM/AMD (ATI).

 

[newtekie1]

WTF does that mean? What does Intel have to do with the 360? They were in on the Xbox 1, but the 360 has IBM/AMD (ATI).

I meant Microsoft, I don't know why I put Intel, probably just Intel on the brain.

 

[InfDamarvel]

Well a cooler cpu makes a cooler overall system thus GPU temps will be lowered and...maybe the system will not go boom so much. =).

 

[amd64skater]

I just bought mine about 2 weeks ago no issues yet so far so good. But mine is still the 90nm core hopefully I dont get the RROD. Thank god for the 3 year warranty if I do.

 

[v-zero]

I have two of the first released 360s and I have had no failures, lucky me.

 

[WarEagleAU]

It is at least a step in the right direction. Now shrink the GPU, get all copper coolers in there and a better fan system, and allow us to oc both and then we will be happy

 

[Azn Tr14dZ]

I just bought mine about 2 weeks ago no issues yet so far so good. But mine is still the 90nm core hopefully I dont get the RROD. Thank god for the 3 year warranty if I do.

Yup thank G-d for it, but you still have to wait a month to get it back...their service takes soo long, but I guess they're going their fastest.