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

I got my new replacement from MS yesterday. It was manufactured in August, but no HDMI. Drive is loud, and damn this thing gets hot in the back. Even the game disc are rather hot after playing. Is this normal?
 
well just opened my elite has the new heatsink and benq drive from what i can see
now to get my BB replacement plan..eventually..before my 30 days runs out :lol:
 
[quote name='Stingermck']I got my new replacement from MS yesterday. It was manufactured in August, but no HDMI. Drive is loud, and damn this thing gets hot in the back. Even the game disc are rather hot after playing. Is this normal?[/quote]
Yeah, thath's normal from my 1 weeks of experience. Was it that hot before?
 
[quote name='Mechafenris']My Elite (mfr June 07) has a Hitachi in it that's very quiet... My old Premium had the wind-tunnel drive Samsung.. :) I was puzzled why I didn't get the BenQ, in terms of batches and all... Maybe I'm looking at mine wrong, but based on the site with the pics (name escapes me ATM), I've got a Hitachi...

In addition, my entire Elite is nearly as quiet as my PS3 now... It's a very good (lack of) sound. :)[/QUOTE]

That's fantastic news! I've seen some June 07 Elites around here, and I may be buying one soon (or a "regular", haven't decided yet).
 
[quote name='Littlefields']Thanks bud. My box saids Zephyr, so your saying I have the new 65nm chips? I was tould that the codename: Falcon models only have the new chips. If your right, I don't have to return my 360.
My house tends to make things overheat. 2 desktop computers and 1 laptop. All in my living room. I really don't want my 360 to turn into a big hot red ring paperweight.[/QUOTE]

There are no systems out with any 65nm chips yet, and the upcoming models will only have 65nm CPUs, not GPUs, which is where the problem's been. If you've got a newish Zephyr, you're probably fine, and there's no way of knowing when all 65nm chip systems are going to be available. May not be this year.
 
My 360 has a manufactured date of 2-23-06, and Ive yet to have any problems with it. Since its still under its 2 year warentee, should I exchange it anyways, just to be safe?
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']There are no systems out with any 65nm chips yet, and the upcoming models will only have 65nm CPUs, not GPUs, which is where the problem's been. If you've got a newish Zephyr, you're probably fine, and there's no way of knowing when all 65nm chip systems are going to be available. May not be this year.[/QUOTE]


Problem was the GPU popping off the board due to the intense heat inside the box.

The heat sink helps by getting the heat to dissipate out of there more efficiently, and the 65nm chips should help further by lowering the internal temperature a bit.

Point being, it will still help with GPU problems even though the GPU is the same by lowering the amount of heat generated inside the box.

Though it may well be the case that just having the heatsink is enough to prevent the problems.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']
Though it may well be the case that just having the heatsink is enough to prevent the problems.[/QUOTE]

If it were only that simple. People with the new heatsink design (Elites or Premiums) can get the RRoD just like the unfortunate souls with the old "1 heatsink" design.

It all comes down to how much you play and how hard you work your 360. If it gets warm enough, it'll break. 2 heatsinks, 65nm chips..it doesn't matter if your 360 is working all day. People need to limit their playing time to 1-2 hour blocks then let the system cool down for another hour or two. Pathetic, but that's the reality MS engineers have left us to face. They never thought people would play their 360 all day long.
 
[quote name='heybtbm']If it were only that simple. People with the new heatsink design (Elites or Premiums) can get the RRoD just like the unfortunate souls with the old "1 heatsink" design.

It all comes down to how much you play and how hard you work your 360. If it gets warm enough, it'll break. 2 heatsinks, 65nm chips..it doesn't matter if your 360 is working all day. People need to limit their playing time to 1-2 hour blocks then let the system cool down for another hour or two. Pathetic, but that's the reality MS engineers have left us to face. They never thought people would play their 360 all day long.[/QUOTE]

MS isn't that stupid. They're pretty out there... but that admission would be a stretch even for them....

The problem existed, as I see it, in cost-cutting by MS and a faulty H/S design and heat exchange. They've since corrected that, redirected the heat properly, didn't skimp on the brackets holding the H/S down, and lo, the issue (I'd bet) disappears. Too early to tell, but I suspect they've nailed it down, or they wouldn't have taken the 1.5 billion dollar hit to repair consoles that exhibited this "feature".

Can someone induce the RRoD on a properly heatsink applied console? Sure... some people just don't get the idea of ventilation, and some people don't figure their 90 degree home is going to cause any ambient temp problems with their 360... these are the same people that complain their computers lock up all the time due to the very same heat that they can't figure out is causing problems with their console... and their plasma TV keeps bursting in the extreme heat... and of course plasmas "still suck"... ;) Sometimes you can't out-engineer the idiots.

Sure, you can overheat and possibly lock up your console if you're playing a marathon game of Gears, but not in the same manner as the GPU oozing off the mainboard... (permanent death of your console.)

Purely anecdotal comparison, but I played my previously old-heatsink design Premium hours upon hours in Oblivion (sometimes 7 hours at a whack, with 1 hour breaks where I paused the game at the menu), and then watched a movie on it (HD and/or DVD) with no trouble... and my new elite? I do the same thing (still playing Oblivion... hehehe).

Recall that we had a manufacturer try the "limit your time" with their product... that was IBM during the Deskstar Fiasco... they never admitted there was a problem... never recalled them... but quietly replaced most of them (under warranty) with better designed components.. then shortly thereafter sold their entire HDD division to Hitachi. :) IBM had the audacity to say "up to 6 hours a day of HDD usage is common... anything more than that might cause a failure..." Yeah... smooth.. ;) So much for Big Blue reliability... well, perception-wise that was a huge hit, but in the grand scheme of things, most of their drives were fine... and not subject to the "6 hour usage limit" the batch of "Deathstar" drives that went kaput on so many people.

Microsoft would've publicly added to the "free" RRoD repairs the addendum that people shouldn't be marathoning this "new and advanced hardware"... :)

Keep your console out in the open where air (COOL air) can get to it, and don't stuff a sock in the heat exchanger. This holds true for anyone's console... PS3/360 (pre/post heatsink repair)... Do this, and I bet your frustration level will diminish... and you won't have to curse Monkey-Boy Ballmer's name onto the wind...
 
The idea that you can't run a piece of electronics like this as much as you want is absurd. 1-2 hour increments? That's just absurd.

Any game system should handle 24/7 operation if you really wanted it to, and almost all do. Hopefully the newer 360s do as well.

And really, you'd kill your old 360 eventually even if you arbitrarily limited yourself to 2 hours at a time. I'm not investing in a system of any sort if it really only allows me to use it in two hour stretches, that's for sure.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']I'm not investing in a system of any sort if it really only allows me to use it in two hour stretches, that's for sure.[/QUOTE]

Definitely. With my schedule it's often easier to set aside 1 day a week to play for 3, 4, 5+ hours straight one evening than it is to free up a bunch of little blocks of time here and there.
 
Last week I purchased a 360 HDMI listed as a Zepher with a manfactered date of 12/15/06.

Should I return this thing? I broke the seal once I saw the date but sure enough there is a HDMI port. I have not yet powered this thing on.
 
[quote name='vivarey']Anyone know which stores are stocking the HDMI units?[/QUOTE]

Best Buy and Walmart are confirmed. I haven't heard of anywhere else.
 
I bought mine at Walmart. I'd imagine all stores have them by now, whether they are in stock or not is probably the question. You could always call. I thought the Walmart people might be all "Der wut is HDMI?" but they actually knew exactly what I was talking about.
 
I got an HDMI one at the local Gamestop for my birthday Wednesday from my wife. I don't know what drive it is but it is not as loud as my Wii.
 
Sorry, I read through the last six pages, but how will I know if I'm getting a 65nm 360? I check the flap for the word "Falcon" or do I need a specific lot number?
 
[quote name='CouRageouS']Can you look at the Manufacturing date from the outside of the box? I think today is the day I make my move.[/quote]

No.

Just look for HDMI listed on the right side with the rest of the features, and Zephyr listed on the left side.
 
[quote name='vivarey']Anyone know which stores are stocking the HDMI units?[/quote]

I can confirm Target as well. I work in the backroom and I saw zephry or whatever it is on the box that contains 2 360s and that 360 comes with hdmi.

We have elites and hdmi premiums but no cores.
 
Why do people still ask if the 65nm chips are out? Im pretty sure when it finally happens, if it does soon, the topic title will reflect that.
 
Well I just came from 2 GS locations. I have $430 in credit and neither of them have the new Premiums in. I guess I have to venture out a bit further later. Hopefully I'll have some luck after calling around.
 
[quote name='BackInBlack']Why do people still ask if the 65nm chips are out? Im pretty sure when it finally happens, if it does soon, the topic title will reflect that.[/quote]

You know how little kids will always ask "are we there yet" on long or just about any drive? Well that is cause my Arewethereyet demons. These demons are powerless against cars equiped with DVD players and the like.

Now with no place to go the demons have taken over future 360 owners waiting for 65nm chip. They have also changed thier names to Arethe65nmchipsoutyet demons.

Hey are the 65nm out yet?
 
[quote name='darkandlong']Anyone order from AMazon recently? Placing my order in the next day or two.[/quote]
I ordered mine off Amazon.com today with Amazon Prime 2 Day Shipping. Since it says (with HDMI), i'd figure its one of the new 360s.
 
[quote name='Ryosuke']I ordered mine off Amazon.com today with Amazon Prime 2 Day Shipping. Since it says (with HDMI), i'd figure its one of the new 360s.[/QUOTE]

Yep, they have them as seperate skus--i.e. you can order one with HDMI or one without (assuming they haven't sold through those yet, I haven't looked in a week or so).
 
I just picked up one at my local GameCrazy. I made sure it had HDMI. This one will be a dedicated XBOX360 for media center and movie stuff. And my older one will be the one I take when I travel.

But, I came out pretty good. I had taken advantage of the 50% deal they had on trade in a bit ago and had like $300 or so in credit.

Picked up a new Pro with 3 games for like $140 out of pocket.

It has a build date of 7/1/07.
 
I can confirm Costco has them in the 1 controler, recharge bundle. Don't know about the 2 controller/arcade bundle. I picked one up yesterday
 
[quote name='wilks25']Do the elites that are available right now have the new heatsinks in them?[/QUOTE]

Yes. I just got an elite this weekend (manufactured: 0729) and it has the two heatsinks + BenQ drive.
 
Just absurd that you have to shell out that much cash if you want to use HDMI for the video and get sound through a receiver that doesn't have HDMI inputs.
 
[quote name='torifile']Zephyrs at my Costco now. I'm going to wait for the Falcons.[/quote]I have to run to Costco over the next week or so, so I think I'll check at mine and see what's there.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']I have to run to Costco over the next week or so, so I think I'll check at mine and see what's there.[/QUOTE]
They had the 360 Premium + wireless controller + play n charge kit for $399. I *think* I got all that plus Arcade Unplugged for $399 a month ago. Am I misremembering?
 
Just got my HDMI Premium from Amazon. The Manufacutring Date is 2007-07-07. It had the BenQ drive, which is comparitivly A LOT quieter then the old hitachi drives, but is still fairly loud when running a disc. It also has the new heatsinks and nidec fans.
 
[quote name='LinkinPrime']Wait...what? So If I use the standard HDMI cable that comes in the box, I can't use my optical cable?[/quote]

I don't know which system you're referring to. With the Elite, yes, you can. With the new HDMI Premium, not only does it not come with an HDMI cable, but you have to buy the $50 cable to allow it to work with the digital audio.
 
It almost sounds like the Elite might be the better deal because of that. I don't use that cable, but since it sounds like you can now run downloaded games on any future 360 you own (without being online), I might actually start buying downloaded games, so the extra space, the HDMI cable, etc. might be worth it...
 
That Amazon doo-hickey essentially makes new Premiums worthless considering you have to get that cable no matter what to use digital audio.

Want to know what else is rather disappointing? There are currently NO HDMI decoders for DTS. I wonder why people even want HDMI with their 360's unless it's entirely for HD-DVD add-on. 360 games don't have 1080p and probably won't since the developer kit would have to be entirely re-vamped.

The other sad reality is that HD-DVD and Blu-ray don't have DTS because most high-definition players only have an HDMI output and no digital outputs and HDMI can't transmit DTS data along with visual data. It's like you're sacrificing audio quality for better video, which is redundant to true theater-philles, like myself.

I heard a rumor the Elite was getting the plug pulled. Someone that works at Wal-mart said the Elite SKU was being listed as "Deleted" later in September. I wonder if the Premium having HDMI and the Elite only having the bigger hard-drive doesn't justify the cost difference to Microsoft or consumers. There has to be a reason.
 
[quote name='NamelessMC']That Amazon doo-hickey essentially makes new Premiums worthless considering you have to get that cable no matter what to use digital audio.

Want to know what else is rather disappointing? There are currently NO HDMI decoders for DTS. I wonder why people even want HDMI with their 360's unless it's entirely for HD-DVD add-on. 360 games don't have 1080p and probably won't since the developer kit would have to be entirely re-vamped.

The other sad reality is that HD-DVD and Blu-ray don't have DTS because most high-definition players only have an HDMI output and no digital outputs and HDMI can't transmit DTS data along with visual data. It's like you're sacrificing audio quality for better video, which is redundant to true theater-philles, like myself.

I heard a rumor the Elite was getting the plug pulled. Someone that works at Wal-mart said the Elite SKU was being listed as "Deleted" later in September. I wonder if the Premium having HDMI and the Elite only having the bigger hard-drive doesn't justify the cost difference to Microsoft or consumers. There has to be a reason.[/QUOTE]

Lost Planet supports 1080P. And the HD-DVDs are encoded in Dolby Digital Plus which the Xbox 360 converts to DTS 1.5mbps which sounds indistinguishable to lossless audio.
 
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