Rumor: 'Jasper' Xbox 360 shipping, features 256MB on-board memory
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Nov 28th 2008 at 9:45AM }
Candid shots of nekkid motherboards? Check. Awkwardly filmed YouTube videos? Check. Rumor post on Joystiq? Very check. Why, someone must have spotted a new Xbox 360 variant in the wild!According to a post at Xbox-Scene, consoles containing the "Jasper" chipset, which promises a cooler 65nm GPU on the motherboard, have begun to arrive in the homes of consumers. Interestingly, it's claimed that Jasper features 256MB of on-board flash storage, no doubt a concession to the NXE's storage demands.
Tell us, commenters. Have you found Jasper?
[Via Engadget]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
dextro @ Nov 28th 2008 9:52AM
I was hopping to get a 360 this christmas. I'm hopping I can find one of these here in Portugal.
Dr. @ Nov 28th 2008 9:58AM
Do yourself a favour, and get one with a harddrive instead.
DastardlyRobot @ Nov 28th 2008 10:16AM
Sorry, but I don't think hopping around is going to help you acquire a 360.
dextro @ Nov 28th 2008 10:26AM
In the immortal words of Homer Simpson I must say: DOH!
Stew @ Nov 28th 2008 11:57AM
Not likely Microsoft are clearing the shelves of the old ones first. Only when they are all gone, will these be released from warehouses.
I don't really expect these to fix the RROD, I mean Microsoft havn't managed it in 3yrs, what makes this any difference?
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Nov 28th 2008 12:59PM
The problem with RRoD was the GPU overheating. When it got too hot, it would melt the solder joints around it, causing the GPU to loosen. The reason for this is the 360 uses lead-free solder to comply with EU standards.
With the GPU shrinking from a 90nm to a 65nm manufacturing process, these new GPUs will consume less power, and run much cooler. This may, theoretically, cure the RRoD.
elmersglue @ Dec 4th 2008 3:53PM
Well he can always get this: http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-60GB-LIVE-Starter-Pack/dp/B001HHWFEY/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1228423565&sr=1-13
An arcade plus that ends up being the same price as a pro, in addition to 3 months of xbox live... although, i suppose this would only be cost effective if you were planning on buying an HDMI cable for the console anyways, since the arcade doesn't come with component cables and a pro doesn't come with an HDMI cable.
baby sea tuna @ Nov 28th 2008 10:05AM
Consarn it!
philmcphail @ Nov 28th 2008 10:13AM
I know this post doesn't directly relate to the post but, I've got my 360 back in late '07 (nov to be exact). Has anyone heard of RROD for buying the 360s around that time? My friend got his back in the Summer of '07, RROD and got RROD now, even though it was an Elite. I thought when the HDMI inclusions/release of Elites were out there were no more problems. I just feel a little uneasy cause I think my 360 is next.
Brian @ Nov 28th 2008 10:17AM
RROD is random, Any 360 from anytime can get the error.
fffunfarm06 @ Nov 28th 2008 10:20AM
well your summer friend, it doesnt really matter when you got it, but the date it was manufactored. i believe they fixed all that gpu heat sinks since late 06.
i think urs is fine.
bought my console at launch and failed twice for rrod, once for a bad disk tray, and once with a resend for fucked up super laggy, and i mean 2 frames per second, gameplay. but everythings alright now xbox, microsoft cant hurt you nomore.
El Capitaine @ Nov 28th 2008 10:39AM
I got my 3rd 360 after two RRoDs in Nov 07. Died last friday.
Viridium @ Nov 28th 2008 10:46AM
My friend and I both got Falcon Elites in mid-December 2007. His went RROD in late August 2008, and mine went RROD on November 5, 2008.
KingHippp0 @ Nov 28th 2008 12:58PM
Mine was a mfg. 10/2007, and Red Ringed in June. It's still happening, they're just better about the repair process now.
343 Guilty Fart @ Nov 28th 2008 1:08PM
I got a replacement in January of this year and it just RROD on me last weekend.
philmcphail @ Nov 28th 2008 2:01PM
THAT made me feel much better! LOL
Curtis @ Nov 28th 2008 4:02PM
Unfortunately, nothing is excluded from the RROD. I've gone through 4 different 360's (and if you want to count more peripherals, 2 GH3 guitars, 4 GHWT guitars... but thats not MS fault... so I don't know why I brought it up).
fffunfarm06 @ Nov 28th 2008 10:15AM
you know xbox could have been nice from the get go and put a flash chip in the beginning? so people didnt have to buy an extra memory card? but i bet j. allard was like, "ima make mo' money if i sell flash cards to everyone who buys our hdd-less system and to unsuspecting parents. muahh ha hah ha."
yea thats what happened. doesnt apply to me but just ranting real early in the morning. love my xbox. add me if your part of the joystiq biomass. fffunfarm06 xbl
nick @ Nov 28th 2008 12:08PM
This is simply an evolution of what was introduced. I'm not sure they conceived of the NXE over 3 years ago and what they were doing back then didn't require a lot of space. The original 360 was designed for flexibility.
Also, I think the reason for a portable memory card is so that you can travel with your game saves, you can travel with your account (this is hugely important if you have more than one 360 -or- you want to play with your account on a friend's system), and they had this idea that you could use your memory card to plug into public kiosks and download various content for free.
An interesting byproduct of the memory card- if you happened to also have a hard drive or multiple memory cards, is that you could achieve more game saves in games that may have only offered one game save. Dead Rising comes to mind here.
Personally, I would have gone with a hard drive on all units, as that was the architecture of the original Xbox, but I think there was a conscious decision to make a model that was price competitive, so a model without a hard drive was made available. I would also like to have seen a method for storing game saves or your account perhaps online so you can travel more easily (assuming you have Live).
Viridium @ Nov 28th 2008 10:17AM
512meg? Pretty sure the Arcades I've seen up here in the Canadian wilderness only had a 256meg card.
Marek Hryc @ Nov 28th 2008 10:42AM
Yeah, My brother has a 256 with his arcade.
Justabaldguy @ Nov 28th 2008 10:20AM
@ philmcphail
I got my 360 last Thanksgiving day. It RRoD'd on my last Friday, 2 days shy of owning it a full year. Sorry bro, here's hoping yours doesn't bite it! :-|
philmcphail @ Nov 28th 2008 2:07PM
Well as of today, my 360 made it through a whole year with no problems. LOL, I think I'm in the clear for now.
ThePhoenixLament @ Nov 28th 2008 10:25AM
Joystiq I'm not seeing ANY of those games you guys said would be on sale for Black Friday on Amazon.com
Like Dead Space, Madden, or Last Remnant.
@ tmac
You really are stupid. I had no idea who's developing Mirror's Edge or who the "lead platform" was. I don't really care. It was a stupid game no matter what system you played it for.
eminemd12obie @ Nov 28th 2008 10:29AM
those games were on sale, just a few hours ago, it appears most items returned to regular price after a few hours (sales started at 3AM Est/12AM Pst)
i picked up Infinite Undiscovery for $20 and an Elite/GoW2/Replica Lancer for $340
Travis @ Nov 28th 2008 10:30AM
you needed to add the word "Jasper" somewhere in that rant to make anything you said relevant!
But yes, Mirror's edge wasn't great
ThePhoenixLament @ Nov 28th 2008 10:33AM
I guess I was too late then huh for the Amazon sale. That SUCKS.
Lol as for Jasper I'm very excited about it. I'm gonna get one for my little brother in late Jan or early Feb just so I can make sure that ALL the Pros being made have this chip inside them.
Hopefully Jasper will be a major improvement without any hiccups or flaws.
Travis @ Nov 28th 2008 10:44AM
that's the spirit!
JASPER JASPER JASPER!
lots of places will have those games on sale this holiday season. The economy the way it is...we are going to see plenty of pre-christmas-boxing week esque sales..online and in-store
eminemd12obie @ Nov 28th 2008 10:27AM
yea, arcades always came with 256mb cards, that's why they were giving away the 512mb cards for those with core/arcade consoles as you needed more than 256mb to dl it...
Travis @ Nov 28th 2008 10:49AM
has anyone determined what lot 0834 has? I bought an Arcade model to replace my RROD last week with this model...I'm getting mine fixed, but i figure it'll be a lemony refurb so i bought a new one
Obie @ Nov 28th 2008 10:51AM
Looks at his last broken 360.
Dagnabbit!
Evan @ Nov 28th 2008 10:57AM
From the photos, it still needs a heat-pipe on the GPU.
anonim1979 @ Nov 28th 2008 11:28AM
It has new 65nm GPU and PSU is 150W - 25W less on new GPU.
Much cooler.
So no need for fancy radiator.
Ethan @ Nov 28th 2008 11:20AM
Is the memory in the non-arcade models? I think it's fair to presume not, but a little buffer wouldn't go amiss.
Titanium_Orchid @ Nov 28th 2008 12:34PM
I would guess that the flash memory is in all production units. Having two different manufacturing lines for the Arcade and normal SKU's seems like it would be more expensive than just not including a hard drive in the package.
KenC @ Nov 28th 2008 12:41PM
I got a jasper just traded in my core for arcade on Tuesday..... Very very quiet system, the manufacture date, the power brick and plug all match up plus I had NXE on board!
Brian @ Nov 28th 2008 12:56PM
Shippin' outta turn...that's a paddlin'...
NOT ME @ Nov 30th 2008 9:08AM
LMFAO
KingHippp0 @ Nov 28th 2008 1:00PM
I wonder if this will have any impact on that sweet 20 GB upgrade deal they started last month.
Superstar90 @ Nov 28th 2008 2:13PM
Now even the poorest people can download the Tales of Vesperia demo!
Cal @ Nov 28th 2008 2:20PM
The poorest of people don't have 360s.
Optional fanboy ending:
They have PS3s.
Zeus.:God @ Nov 28th 2008 4:38PM
Isn't Jasper already shipping? I'm almost certain my new 360 is a Jasper.
Dude @ Nov 29th 2008 6:59PM
Congrats, I sent you an "tip" confirming this story on Wednesday.
You cracked the case.
funstiq @ Nov 29th 2008 5:07PM
so uh....how do I know if my xbox has jasper? I just ordered one yesterday.
GearSecond!! (Gamertag: xGearSecondx ) @ Dec 2nd 2008 9:19PM
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!
Bolsikmail @ Dec 8th 2008 9:46AM
I've been looking for a Jasper xbox, for about a week. I have bought and retured several Archade xboxes over the past week. I can only tell you what I have experenced.
1) NONE of the xboxs made on 10/23/08 (or before) with lot number 843X were jasper units (at least none of the ones I bought. . .5 from all from different stores). They all came with 175watt power supplies, and external memory. So those were most likely Falcon units.
2) I found an xbox archade (at Best Buy) built on 10/27/08 with a lot number of 844X and it came with a 150watt power supply and NO external memory.
3) You can identify the xbox by looking at the box. On one of the sides, there is a window that allows you to view the data sticker on the actual side of the xbox. Sometimess you have to use one of your keys to lift up the cardboad to read the build date on the top of the sticker. Also, you will notice in on of the lines of the same sticker "844", and an "844X" on another sticker on the side of the box.
4) If you buy and xbox, just be very careful about how you open and re-pack the box, and you will be albe to return it without issues. I simply opened the box, un-stacked everything . ..and then read the power supply sticker through the green bag. If it didn't say 150watt, I re-boxed everything and returned it.
David Po @ Dec 12th 2008 4:49PM
I just bought a 360 Arcade Value Bundle (with SONIC TENNISSSSSSS) from some massive WalMart outside seattle and its manufacture date is 10/23/08 and its lot number is 0843X, TEAM: FDOU...BUT it has a 150w power supply, NO external memory unit, and DOES have 256mb internal memory. .....so does this mean that I have a jasper console?? Info is so varied on this stuff... :(
TheMarkness @ Dec 22nd 2008 1:33PM
Yep David you havea jasper :)!
David Po @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:59AM
hooray!!! thanks for the confirmation!
thing is still pretty loud tho.....lordie lord I miss my NES :)