The Falcons Are In The Wild - But Rarer Than A Mewtwo! Gotta' Catch Them All!

[quote name='zewone']There is little benefit to you. It will reduce the heat, but it is not the solution to the red rings. The new heatsinks are the answer and are being installed in the new HDMI premimums. If you want a 360 now, you should no longer have to worry about hardware failures (if you get a HDMI premium).[/quote]

So basically thats all it does? It isn't quieter? Wow... Why are so many people anxious to get it then?
 
[quote name='ep2011']So basically thats all it does? It isn't quieter? Wow... Why are so many people anxious to get it then?[/QUOTE]
People are anxious to get it because they thought it would fix the hardware malfunctions.
 
But where to get these new models? I've been checking in SoCal (Irvine), and Target, Best Buy, and Circuit City don't have them yet, just the non-HDMI with the table tennis pack in.
 
[quote name='tc811']But where to get these new models? I've been checking in Irvine, and Target, Best Buy, and Circuit City don't have them yet, just the non-HDMI with the table tennis pack in.[/QUOTE]
Get it from Amazon.com. It has free shipping and no tax so it will cheaper than buying in a store for most people.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000UQAUWW/ref=nosim/cheapassgam08-20

Why does it feel like the same questions are being asked over and over? Maybe we should update the OP with a FAQ section since no one is reading this thread.
 
[quote name='zewone']People are anxious to get it because they thought it would fix the hardware malfunctions.[/QUOTE]

It is still added protection, as they will run cooler. As such, the most "safe" system should be those with the new heat sinks and the cooler chips when they come out.

Heat sink + 65nm chips > heat sink + 90nm chips > no heat sing + 90nm chips.

That said, if someone wants a 360 now, they should be pretty comfortable buying one of the premium's with HDMI and the new heat sinks.

I'm waiting as $350 is still at least $50 more than I'm willing to pay, if 65nm are available when it hits $300 or less for a premium then I'll grab them, if not, one of the new HDMI ones will do.
 
Unless I missed it, which post confirmed the 65 nm chips are inside these new 360s? I didnt see any official confirmation, just guesses.
 
[quote name='Requiem']Unless I missed it, which post confirmed the 65 nm chips are inside these new 360s? I didnt see any official confirmation, just guesses.[/quote]

It hasn't been. Somebody actually opened one up to find the 90nm. I edited the title.
 
Last question... Is the elite worth saving another $100 for? Right now I have about $360 bucks, so I can buy the premium with HDMI, and my parents will probably buy me a controller and a game... And I have gamefly for more games. I know the Premium vs Elite is 100 gigs difference, but will I need it?

Also, I have wireless in my house, what do ya'll use for live? I can either use the microsoft one for $100, get a wire through the house, or get a $20 wireless bridge...
 
[quote name='ep2011']Last question... Is the elite worth saving another $100 for? Right now I have about $360 bucks, so I can buy the premium with HDMI, and my parents will probably buy me a controller and a game... And I have gamefly for more games. I know the Premium vs Elite is 100 gigs difference, but will I need it?

Also, I have wireless in my house, what do ya'll use for live? I can either use the microsoft one for $100, get a wire through the house, or get a $20 wireless bridge...[/quote]Unless you are going to download movies/tv shows, you really don't need the big hard drive.
 
[quote name='Trakan']It hasn't been. Somebody actually opened one up to find the 90nm. I edited the title.[/quote]

Damn, i'd have been sold on my first 360 if they had the 65's.

*continues waiting*
 
[quote name='ep2011']Last question... Is the elite worth saving another $100 for? Right now I have about $360 bucks, so I can buy the premium with HDMI, and my parents will probably buy me a controller and a game... And I have gamefly for more games. I know the Premium vs Elite is 100 gigs difference, but will I need it?

Also, I have wireless in my house, what do ya'll use for live? I can either use the microsoft one for $100, get a wire through the house, or get a $20 wireless bridge...[/quote]

about the wireless I have a linksys wireless router on my 2nd floor and I am in the basement playing with the MS one I have perfect signal, but it is very expensive compared to others. If you can find a deal on a used one I would say buy the ms one, if not use the bridge.
 
Okay its decided. I'm getting an elite and I'll probably get someone to wire ethernet to my room, hopefully it isn't *too* much money (less than the $100 for the wireless is good for me)
 
So are the new systems, with Table Tennis or the other tennis game at BB packed in, non-HDMI systems?

If they aren't HDMI, I'm going to order from Amazon, otherwise I'll take a look-see tomorrow when I go to pick up Madden.
 
Something that has probably been addressed in the last 14 pages, but I'm not looking for it:

Obviously the earlier-run 360s are noisy as shit. Will the 65nm boards enable the console to run noticably quieter (ie maybe less fan noise), or is the vast majority of the difference going to be in the DVD drive, so the Zephyr-Premiums will be about as quiet as it is going to get?

I know this is at least partially speculation since the Falcons aren't out there yet, but someone who knows more about how the cooling works may have a reasonably accurate speculative answer.
 
The vast majority of the noise is from the drive. Even if the fans were silent, I don't think it would matter much as I don't think you can hear them really over the DVD drive.
 
[quote name='Scrubsy']I just ordered the HDMI one from amazon. Sprung for the $9 2 day shipping.[/QUOTE]

Personally that seems well worth it to me-seems like there's less of a chance it'll get wrecked during shipping.

I'd probably order one now, but I don't need it yet, and there's always the chance of those free games or that these don't have 65nm chips yet or whatever. (Or of $50 gift cards from Toy's R Us, etc.)
 
[quote name='KaneRobot']Something that has probably been addressed in the last 14 pages, but I'm not looking for it:

Obviously the earlier-run 360s are noisy as shit. Will the 65nm boards enable the console to run noticably quieter (ie maybe less fan noise), or is the vast majority of the difference going to be in the DVD drive, so the Zephyr-Premiums will be about as quiet as it is going to get?

I know this is at least partially speculation since the Falcons aren't out there yet, but someone who knows more about how the cooling works may have a reasonably accurate speculative answer.[/QUOTE]



just traded my last-year Premium for a new Elite (lot 0725.) My model doesn't have the 65nm that I know of, but it has the new heatsink, what appear to be new fans, and a much, much quieter DVD drive. The thing is practically silent and it's also worth noting that after an hour, it was not nearly as hot as the older systems (or the PS3 for that matter.)

I think all the new systems will be quiet like this, as they all seem to have the same insides now (aside from the HDD.)
 
[quote name='Apossum']just traded my last-year Premium for a new Elite (lot 0725.) My model doesn't have the 65nm that I know of, but it has the new heatsink, what appear to be new fans, and a much, much quieter DVD drive. The thing is practically silent and it's also worth noting that after an hour, it was not nearly as hot as the older systems (or the PS3 for that matter.)

I think all the new systems will be quiet like this, as they all seem to have the same insides now (aside from the HDD.)[/QUOTE]

Well, dammit, that pisses me off as my Elite (one of the first ones - lot 711, manufactured 3-14-07) is noisy as all hell (DVD drive, not the fans). I find it nearly unplayable at times (like when I have to have the sound low because everyone else is sleeping). What kind of drives do these things have now? Supposedly mine had a newer Hitachi drive that was supposed to be quieter than before. For all I know it IS quieter than they were before, but it is definitely nowhere close to "quiet". For what it's worth, this system never seems to get that hot either, though...
 
[quote name='io']Well, dammit, that pisses me off as my Elite (one of the first ones - lot 711, manufactured 3-14-07) is noisy as all hell (DVD drive, not the fans). I find it nearly unplayable at times (like when I have to have the sound low because everyone else is sleeping). What kind of drives do these things have now? Supposedly mine had a newer Hitachi drive that was supposed to be quieter than before. For all I know it IS quieter than they were before, but it is definitely nowhere close to "quiet". For what it's worth, this system never seems to get that hot either, though...[/QUOTE]


I think they have Ben-Q drives now.



edit: I think I might exchange the one I have now when I go to IL this weekend...I saw an Elite from Lot 0729 there a few days ago. Might as well get the 65nm chip, eh? :) I just wanna play that BioShock demo for a couple days before I do :hot:
 
[quote name='Apossum']I think they have Ben-Q drives now.



edit: I think I might exchange the one I have now when I go to IL this weekend...I saw an Elite from Lot 0729 there a few days ago. Might as well get the 65nm chip, eh? :) I just wanna play that BioShock demo for a couple days before I do :hot:[/quote]

There are no new Chips in them yet every 360 still has the 90nm chip. Unless I missed something in the last few hours.
 
[quote name='Apossum']I think they have Ben-Q drives now.



edit: I think I might exchange the one I have now when I go to IL this weekend...I saw an Elite from Lot 0729 there a few days ago. Might as well get the 65nm chip, eh? :) I just wanna play that BioShock demo for a couple days before I do :hot:[/QUOTE]

I had read (in another forum) that the BenQ's were only marginally quieter than the latest Hitachi's and in some cases even louder. I think it may vary from system to system. It will be interesting to see if your new system (if you exhange it) is as quiet.

I can live with not having the heatsink and the 65nm chips - I'll deal with the RRoD if/when they happen. But the DVD drive noise issue really pissed me off because I assumed they would be putting the quieter drives in the Elite at launch as they had been appearing in Premiums at that point. Oh well... I'm not about to buy another system for it now. At this point I'd want to wait for a true hardware revision (like a new form factor ala the slim PS2) before upgrading...
 
[quote name='io']I had read (in another forum) that the BenQ's were only marginally quieter than the latest Hitachi's and in some cases even louder. I think it may vary from system to system. It will be interesting to see if your new system (if you exhange it) is as quiet.

I can live with not having the heatsink and the 65nm chips - I'll deal with the RRoD if/when they happen. But the DVD drive noise issue really pissed me off because I assumed they would be putting the quieter drives in the Elite at launch as they had been appearing in Premiums at that point. Oh well... I'm not about to buy another system for it now. At this point I'd want to wait for a true hardware revision (like a new form factor ala the slim PS2) before upgrading...[/QUOTE]



Supposedly, the refurbed systems are getting these improvements to make sure they never come back. you could "induce" RRoD by covering up all the vents :) of course, that's means no 360 for 4-6 weeks.
 
[quote name='Apossum']Supposedly, the refurbed systems are getting these improvements to make sure they never come back. you could "induce" RRoD by covering up all the vents :) of course, that's means no 360 for 4-6 weeks.[/QUOTE]

Ha, well, I was considering walling off my entertainment center area to cut down on the noise. This may have the added side benefit of overheating the system ;). Unfortunately, it is just on an open shelf:

wii60tr6.jpg


So I'd have to put up something to block all that space :lol:. And I don't want to harm the nearly silent Wii either...
 
[quote name='zewone']io, your power supply is awfully close to your 360. That's known to cause heating issues.[/QUOTE]

It is hard to tell from that picture, but it is a good 4 inches behind the back of the 360. I've checked back there plenty and nothing seems overly hot. Of course, the shelf is much worse now as I have games piled up on the outside of the 360 and Wii and a pile of 360 controllers and Wiimotes in the middle ;). I try to make sure nothing is actually touching either system though.
 
Last Question 2: I know I probably *should* get the 360 at bb or cc for warrenty, but its like $100 for it! Is it worth it? Or should I just get it from Amazon.
 
[quote name='ep2011']Last Question 2: I know I probably *should* get the 360 at bb or cc for warrenty, but its like $100 for it! Is it worth it? Or should I just get it from Amazon.[/QUOTE]


for the elite, it's $79 (blech), for the Premium, I believe it's $50 or $60. it probably won't be so necessary now with the fixes in place, and you get 3 years from MS for RRoD (1 year otherwise.)
 
Now correct me if Im wrong, but isnt the over heating issues happening with the GPU not the CPU? So the new chips will slightly lower your chances of your system dying?
 
They will use less electricity and stay cooler. So in theory helping the heating issue. I have no issues though my 360 still runs fine from the launch
 
So...it sounds like we're STILL waiting. These STILL don't necessarily have 65nm, and STILL aren't necessarily a reasonable level of noise.

How the HELL are we supposed to know which model to buy to get 65nm AND a quiet drive? I don't want to invest in a friggin FOURTH 360 until I know for a fact it has a quiet drive (so I can ENJOY IT) and 65nm (so there's less of a chance of RRoDing it). :bomb: :bomb: :bomb:

[quote name='Apossum']just traded my last-year Premium for a new Elite (lot 0725.) My model doesn't have the 65nm that I know of, but it has the new heatsink, what appear to be new fans, and a much, much quieter DVD drive. The thing is practically silent and it's also worth noting that after an hour, it was not nearly as hot as the older systems (or the PS3 for that matter.)

I think all the new systems will be quiet like this, as they all seem to have the same insides now (aside from the HDD.)[/QUOTE]

No, as far as we no, it's still a lottery as to what drive you get. People have reported getting new systems that are super loud.

[quote name='io']Well, dammit, that pisses me off as my Elite (one of the first ones - lot 711, manufactured 3-14-07) is noisy as all hell (DVD drive, not the fans). I find it nearly unplayable at times (like when I have to have the sound low because everyone else is sleeping). What kind of drives do these things have now? Supposedly mine had a newer Hitachi drive that was supposed to be quieter than before. For all I know it IS quieter than they were before, but it is definitely nowhere close to "quiet". For what it's worth, this system never seems to get that hot either, though...[/QUOTE]

What's crazy is it actually might be quieter, and still be insanely loud. All three of mine so far have been easily several times louder than my PC (I don't know what drives any of mine have had, but I assume they can't have been Ben-Q, because I think all three were manufactered before they started using those).
 
I have one of the new HDMI Premiums and I can attest that it's still loud as hell. Manufacture date of 7/9/07.
 
[quote name='jaso']I have one of the new HDMI Premiums and I can attest that it's still loud as hell. Manufacture date of 7/9/07.[/QUOTE]

Thanks. :cry:
 
I was just at circuit city, and was going to buy an elite... But it was lot 0725 and I couldn't remember if it mattered... On the elite, does lot number matter? If so, then which should I look for. Also, should I just buy one on amazon instead, and not get a warrenty (I know I asked something similar to the second question, but I need reassurance)

Lastly, does anyone think the elite is a waste of an extra $100 and I should just get a new premium from amazon?
 
[quote name='ep2011']I was just at circuit city, and was going to buy an elite... But it was lot 0725 and I couldn't remember if it mattered... On the elite, does lot number matter? If so, then which should I look for. Also, should I just buy one on amazon instead, and not get a warrenty (I know I asked something similar to the second question, but I need reassurance)

Lastly, does anyone think the elite is a waste of an extra $100 and I should just get a new premium from amazon?[/QUOTE]


i have a lot 0725 elite...it's quiet as hell and not hot. it doesn't feel like a cheap POS like my previous 360s.

as for the money, $100 extra would probably be a waste. I had a BB warranty for a $400 premium system to put towards the system and felt the extra 100gb and black color warranted the extra $40. (I also didn't really pay for the warranty...it was part of an ebay deal. the end price still worked out to less than retail for the system + warranty, so that made it easier to swallow.)
 
I acually decided that Im not going to get it yet... I'll wait a bit and see if any more games interest me. Thanks for everyones time.
 
[quote name='zewone']Elites are for suckers.[/QUOTE]

It's not too bad now that (supposedly) you can run your downloaded content on a second console WITHOUT being online. That gives an actual reason you might want the 120GB drive. And then you get a free HDMI cable, which granted, isn't worth that much, but it makes the Elite not a terrible choice.

I mean it's still smarter than the Core :D

[quote name='ep2011']I acually decided that Im not going to get it yet... I'll wait a bit and see if any more games interest me. Thanks for everyones time.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I think I'm going to keep holding out for the 65nm ones. I just hope at some point Microsoft actually gets this thing quiet, and I hope it's easy to identify whether you're getting a quiet one (and also whether you're getting a 65nm one).

Right now, who knows? For all I know, I could buy 10 360's all all 10 would be loud. I mean maybe one region of the country gets shipments of quiet ones. Maybe certain stores do. Who knows.

It still blows my mind that Microsoft thought their X-Blender was acceptable, and tried to laugh it off :roll:
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']It's not too bad now that (supposedly) you can run your downloaded content on a second console WITHOUT being online. That gives an actual reason you might want the 120GB drive. And then you get a free HDMI cable, which granted, isn't worth that much, but it makes the Elite not a terrible choice. [/quote]You may also get the HDMI RCA / optical audio output dongle included in the box, as no one has confirmed if the HDMI audio dongle is included with the Premium system w/HDMI. If not, then there may be a "Official MS HDMI connection kit" that will be on the shelf with a HDMI cable + audio output dongle, for an extra fee, of course. If that's the case, the Elite ends up being a little more of a value for that audio dongle.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']You may also get the HDMI RCA / optical audio output dongle included in the box, as no one has confirmed if the HDMI audio dongle is included with the Premium system w/HDMI. If not, then there may be a "Official MS HDMI connection kit" that will be on the shelf with a HDMI cable + audio output dongle, for an extra fee, of course. If that's the case, the Elite ends up being a little more of a value for that audio dongle.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, good point. I forgot about that. I don't personally use that, but wouldn't object to having it.

Now that we know the new "regular" 360 is just the same as the heat-sink-fixed Elite 360, I guess I'd probably go for the Elite....but since I don't need it yet, I guess I'll just keep waiting.

I seriously wish they'd put a "360...now it's fixed!" sticker on it once they get it quiet and include the new heat sync and 65nm chips. It's not fair that we're expected to play this lottery when buying a game system. I can't remember it ever being this confusing before.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']Yeah, good point. I forgot about that. I don't personally use that, but wouldn't object to having it.

Now that we know the new "regular" 360 is just the same as the heat-sink-fixed Elite 360, I guess I'd probably go for the Elite....but since I don't need it yet, I guess I'll just keep waiting.

I seriously wish they'd put a "360...now it's fixed!" sticker on it once they get it quiet and include the new heat sync and 65nm chips. It's not fair that we're expected to play this lottery when buying a game system. I can't remember it ever being this confusing before.[/quote] Since I have such good luck with VGA for the way I have it set up, in the future, running it HDMI might be a better option, especially with a 1080p LCD TV. If I run my audio via optical or RCA, then I'd need that dongle. My guess is that it'll come in some "MS HDMI Kit", probably the same cable + dongle that's included with the Elite. Another CAG mentioned that in another "360 w/HDMI" thread, so my guess is that we have to have someone crack open the package for a HDMI 360 and see if it comes with the dongle.

At this point, the only indication that it's "fixed" with the 90nm chips is the HDMI on the box. Later on, on the build flap info, it should theoreitcally show "Falcon" in place of "Zephyr" on the box when it's the 65nm chips.

New ad line:
"Xbox 360! Now with 100% less RRoD's! Buy it now!"
 
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