Xbox 360 Elite cracked open, guts exposed
by Christopher Grant 
{ Apr 20th 2007 at 2:25PM }
Like divorcing Han Solo from his carbonite tomb, the bounty hunters at Llamma pulled the new and improved motherboard from its black shell and proceeded to pore over its silicon surface, documenting every facet and imagining what it would look like in golden bikini. What did they discover here? First, what appears to be a quick-n-dirty fix for the RROD: some epoxy around the CPU and GPU. The big question: while both chips are different revisions from the current models, they can't be certain if this indicates a die-shrink to the 65nm promised land though they state there's a "good possibility" it does. Remember, Microsoft's Albert Pinello told us the Elite would use the "same components" as the existing Xbox 360 consoles, so we're gonna wait for a definitive answer on this one.
[Thanks, l3ftonm3]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
lee @ Apr 20th 2007 2:37PM
"like Han slicing open a Ton-ton"
For shame, Christopher, for shame.
Mikeawesome @ Apr 20th 2007 2:37PM
IT'S TAUNTAUN.
(AND I'M NOT ANGRY, IT'S JUST IT'S ALL-CAPS DAY, SORRY)
NeverSage @ Apr 20th 2007 2:35PM
w00t! I'm hoping this is the end of the RROD plague.
C. Grant @ Apr 20th 2007 2:39PM
DAMMIT! GOOGLE COULDN'T AGREE HOW TO SPELL IT BUT THEY NEVER SUGGESTED TAUNTAUN!
THANKS MIKEAWESOME!
eldee @ Apr 20th 2007 2:48PM
God.. enough with the star wars puns :)
Gimbal @ Apr 20th 2007 2:51PM
They better hope the epoxy works. Otherwise it will be even more difficult to get to the BGA to rework it. Does anyone know if they actually do BGA reworks on the returns or do they just replace the entire board? And is it a Pb-free?
Piemaster @ Apr 20th 2007 2:57PM
First person to make a fanboyish comment officially surrenders their manhood.
But I really wish they would have made more improvements before they released a new version, I want a console that allows me to actually hear my games over it's fan...
Ebolaboi @ Apr 20th 2007 3:00PM
"In our opinion the Xbox 360 Elite is the best value in gaming to date. Not only do you get the 120GB hard drive and HDMI port but Microsoft spares no expense and included a nice HDMI cable AND the original HD/SD combo cable. This truly was a surprise to see both cables included with the Elite and is very appreciated. The black case, controller and accessories are very sexy. Microsoft has a winner with the Xbox 360 Elite!
-TheJT
-TheLamma"
Can you kiss any more ass? Did Microsoft pay this guy or what? It i still a rip-off for it's price. Come On!
Kazi @ Apr 20th 2007 2:59PM
Quiter or not, the elites gonna be playing me a copy of FFXIII
http://www.ps3center.net/story-394.html
Konny @ Apr 20th 2007 3:05PM
There are 2 reasons to buy the Elite:
1 - larger HDD
2 - HDMI
(black is a sad "feature")
If you are buying it for HDMI.. why in the world would you care if they included the normal component cables?
Dolla Dolla @ Apr 20th 2007 3:09PM
Although I doubt it's a 65nm processor, if it was, they might solidfy a new purchase from me. I still want to hold out until a price drop though. It's getting difficult cause most of my gaming friends are on Live.
Lord Chako @ Apr 20th 2007 3:21PM
"I want a console that allows me to actually hear my games over it's fan..."
The problem isn't the console then, it's your speakers... :P
Karen @ Apr 20th 2007 3:21PM
"DAMMIT! GOOGLE COULDN'T AGREE HOW TO SPELL IT BUT THEY NEVER SUGGESTED TAUNTAUN!"
You don't have a copy of The Empire Strikes Back the book, -10 geek points for you. It's Tauntaun, I just checked.
Lord Chako @ Apr 20th 2007 3:21PM
"I still want to hold out until a price drop though. It's getting difficult cause most of my gaming friends are on Live."
With microsoft, price drops have always come in either may, or november. So if it ain't in may, be prepared to hold out for another 6 months.
Danzig @ Apr 20th 2007 3:34PM
I totally agree with Piemaster. They missed a golden opportunity to fix the noise problem, which is a big one. A console that sounds like a hair dryer is total BS.
Dolla Dolla @ Apr 20th 2007 3:38PM
@Lord Chako
Actually, I think if they don't drop it before Halo 3, it ain't dropping until after the holiday. With Halo 3 and GTAIV, why bother? Gonna sell a crap load of consoles between October to December. And with rumors of a fall release for Halo 3 (August/September), 360 will see much better months thnn this previous NPD, which was disappointing to say the least.
Steinegal @ Apr 20th 2007 3:40PM
If they were 65nm chips they would be alot smaller
These are the same size, but probably a respin (a smal redesign to the core architecture) and reduce the power draw.
lobato @ Apr 20th 2007 3:43PM
there is fix running in some forums in brazil for the 3RL (or RROD), made by a guy named chiaroscuro (or something like that). it consists on putting a regular eraser over those memory chips around the GPU and CPU.
it seems like after some months of heat, those chips gets a little loose and "fall" a little from the board.
i was hoping they had that fixed on the Elite, but it doesn't seem so...
my 360 died from error 0102 (if you know what it means) and i had it back this way. it works most of the times and people have been doing this for months since the first one came back from death (and never died again).
if anyone needs this tutorial let me know. i think someone already translated that to english.
Jake @ Apr 20th 2007 3:44PM
Piemaster, I hope the irony in your post was intentional. I guess I never notice the noise when playing a game and I don't have the volume that high.
Ebolaboi, just because his opinion is pro-360 doesn't make him a fanboy. He just has a different opinion than you.
Konny, if you were purchasing the Elite just for HDMI, you wouldn't really need the analog cables. The thing is, not everyone is purchasing it just for the cables. The vast majority of buyers will be new 360 owners, and they will select it for larger HDD, HDMI, and/or black color. Most people don't have an HDTV, but they could still buy the Elite for large HDD and play on an SD tv with component.
Ali @ Apr 21st 2007 2:29AM
So basically all this "Elite" 360 has is a bigger HDD...
Whats so great about that oh wait I remember all that QQing about the PS3 and its price.
Microsoft take you all for fools.
ungu @ Apr 20th 2007 5:49PM
having both cables is great, I can leave the HDMI cable on the HDTV and leave the component cable plugged in the bedroom TV. So that is why I care that both cables are included.
ANt @ Apr 20th 2007 4:37PM
Neal, grow up or get off this board.
For me (have a 360 of course) the main allure was the bigger HD, HDMI isn't factor (VGA is just as good) but the big one was going to be newer chips/fans/etc.... this is a major letdown for me....
NickMali @ Apr 20th 2007 4:45PM
my notes on the new board:
gaurantee it is not 65nm... the die of the cpu would be smaller.
A thing to note about the coils: there are less turns which means that the current passing through the coils is greater...
Also three mosfets are missing on the new board, noted on the right side. This means they chose to use a three phase power supply instead of a four phase, Note three per coil. Generally, the more phases the less ripple/noise for the power output.
The capacitors are all different, all skinnier now; note that this probably means they went with a higher voltage rating or less farads.
The amount of surface mount caps next to the cpu has increased. This is most likely from the switch from 4 phase power to 3 phase power.
Generally looks like they are cutting costs across the board ;) pun intended.
Oh and the epoxy to prevent board warping is painfully hillarious!!!!
Mr Khan @ Apr 20th 2007 4:48PM
But aren't the 120 GB HDD's being sold seperately?
Still not seeing the appeal of this vs. the Premium, it really seems like they're trying to mimick Sony with the Elite
It certainly isn't the compelling product that was wished for
C. Grant @ Apr 20th 2007 4:51PM
Consider this a warning, Neal. Next time, you're banned.
NeoteriX @ Apr 20th 2007 5:01PM
So... the quieter DVD drives was just a fluke? wtf?
Quakeulf @ Apr 20th 2007 5:14PM
JESUS CHRIST WHAT IS IT WITH YOU GUYS AND YOUR STAR WARS-REFERENCES
C. Grant @ Apr 20th 2007 5:19PM
Star Wars references?
Champloo @ Apr 20th 2007 7:19PM
Judging from the comparison images of the motherboard, there has clearly been some very real changes. Will they cut costs? We can hope, but what I want to know is not what this is doing for costs, but what it's doing for performance. If these cost-cuts come at the price of say... a higher power bill, or a louder machine, is it really worth it to the consumer? I want lower costs, better performance, and if possible lower of equal power consumption.
Oh, and for anyone in the know, like NickMali (for example), I'd love to know what we can expect, and as such I'd also love to hear your thoughts on what I just mentioned.
Cuja @ Apr 21st 2007 12:36AM
I don't need another vacuum cleaner, so I'm still holding out for a super quiet version.
Piemaster @ Apr 21st 2007 5:49PM
@ 14,19
I was saying that the fan is loud, but also, I don't like it when I'm playing Gears of War at 4 AM and I wake someone up because the TV is too loud.
Digi Smalls @ Apr 21st 2007 8:46AM
Ali, that's exactly why millions of happy 360 premium owners will stay happy not having to buy the Elite.
.
GoonieGooGoo @ Apr 21st 2007 4:25PM
@ Ali
If you are a gamer..... There are zero reasons not to have one.....good games and variety, affordable hardware, great online services.
My PS3 experience has improved recently.....though its ironic that the game I've ended up playing the most is MORTAL KOMBAT 2......yes it plays wonderfully online.
FOr Wii......Suffice to say.....Super Paper Mario = pure joy.
So basically the only reason to Poo Poo on any other system is that you just don't have enough money to own them all.......which is ok for a deprived fanboy like you I guess.
CPU64 @ Apr 22nd 2007 10:56PM
I don't mind the noise. My 360 is actually LOUDER than normal since I set the fans to full speed. My problem is with the rate at which these machines are failing. Mine doesn't work, I salvaged it from a friend, it quit booting and had the ROD.. Problem was, the heatsink clip broke off a CPU resistor. I replaced and it boots, but the 360 will freeze if I try to play a game DVD, demos from the HDD play fine.
I still refuse to purchase a system I'm not sure that it turn on the next time I want to play a game. I'll stick with my "reliable" consoles for now
NickMali @ Apr 23rd 2007 9:44AM
"Oh, and for anyone in the know, like NickMali (for example), I'd love to know what we can expect, and as such I'd also love to hear your thoughts on what I just mentioned."
It seems to me that they are just making it cheaper. This doesn't mean less quality just cutting corners slightly. They probably shaved a good $10-$20 off the cost to offset the inclusion of the upgraded scalar chip and the hdmi connector. It most likely costs around the same as the premium board.
Things like these don't usually change power consumption on a grand scale. Scince the cpu and gpu are the same I'd gather that the power consumption would only be a watt or two different. Though this sets them up for a good price cut once the 65nm tapes out and enters production.