SHARE ARTICLE
Last month, Microsoft announced the latest generation of its Xbox 360 console, a brand which may have started as a gaming phenomenon, but in recent years has evolved into a lifestyle platform incorporating music, video, games and social networking packed into one box. It’s the latest iteration of that box we look at today, which is said to have finally nailed the criticisms that plagued its predecessors which were bulky, noisy, unreliable and difficult to cool.
Aside from limited editions and colour variants, this is the first major overhaul of the Xbox 360’s chassis since the console was launched back in 2005, however, it’s certainly not the first revision of the Xbox 360’s internals which have been continually tweaked and cost engineered. Indeed, the new Xbox 360 (codename Valhalla) is the sixth iteration of the console hardware, which has seen the original 90nm CPU and separate GPU combined into a single 45nm chip, with the console’s power supply reducing from 203W down to a more reasonable 135W. Previous iterations of the Xbox 360 were powerful gaming machines, but required a lot of cooling – that meant any game you cared to play or music enjoyed would be accompanied by the sound of a nearby hovercraft, with cooling fans maxed out just to keep the console running. The latest advances in CPU and GPU fabrication have enabled the production of a smaller, lighter, silent Xbox 360, which can now take pride of place in the living room without the need for ear defenders.
So, what else is new?
The new chassis is a complete reinterpretation of the previous design. The iconic “ring of light” is retained, but all new 360’s will be clad in a piano black finish edged in silver, which replaces the off-white and matt black designs which are now obsolete. The Xbox 360’s internal hard drive has been upgraded to 250GB (a cheaper 4GB model
What’s in the Box?
Open up the branded box (with none-too subtle prompts to buy Kinect), and you’ll find the console is packed with an accompanying Component AV cable, headset, wireless controller and external power supply, which too has been reduced in size compared with the previous model, but is still reasonably bulky. Note that Microsoft change the PSU connector with each hardware revision to ensure you don’t blow your console up, so you will not be able to use your old power supply with the new model.
The inclusion of the headset is a nice touch for those who enjoy berating competitors on Xbox Live during online play, however, a HDMI cable would have seemed a far better choice for those buying the console as a media player. Why in 2010 would choose to include a composite cable for standard definition TVs is a mystery known only to them and their retail partners. Whilst we’re on the subject of add-on purchases, those upgrading from an older Xbox 360 will also need the Xbox 360 Hard Drive Transfer Kit
26. July 2010 at 1:01 pm
Picked mine up on launch, very nice overall but still hate that noisy (yes it makes noise) huge power brick. The gloss black is a dust/scratch magnet. Half of me regrets not holding out for the Halo bundle which I knew would be coming. They could have done better with the DVD drive its still quite loud (but deeper to hide the percived level) and it has the problem of disc scratching which is real simple to solve.
27. July 2010 at 12:38 am
It's silent for those of us sensible enough to save and play games to and from the hard drive.
(urmaster, you seriously reckon your power brick is noisy!?)
WE
I'm liking the touch controls, the silence, the piano black finish, the 5 USB ports and the lower energy consumption.
It was enough to persuade me to sell off my 6mth old Jasper Super Elite & get a new S Xbox.
27. July 2010 at 6:41 pm
Honestly there’s a high pitch noise, but it’s not as bad as the older Xbox, I guess hearing it is dependent on its position (gonna move mine soon). Do we still need diagnostics built into the PSU; it either works or it doesn't?
Don’t get me wrong I like the new box but it also kinda feels like what I should have got near 6 years ago and still feels like something is missing. Oh and the noise level is great when you’re not playing Halo 3 or Gears of War 2 (installed or not). Either way the new box is much quieter than my PS3 and almost rivals the wii during disc-less operation.
31. July 2010 at 2:36 am
urmaster
What sort of surface is you PB resting on?
Have you tried damping the brick's feet? I found my PC was getting a bit noisy and used a foam pad under each of the little rubber pads it rested on, it made a nice difference.
31. July 2010 at 8:43 am
Interestx, previously it was lain flat on laminated flooring underneath the TV cabinet. I've moved the xbox into another room where it sits directly behind the monitor and now the PSU is inaudible. The noise from the game, xbox and my home server are enough to drown it out.
28. July 2010 at 5:09 pm
I agree the power supply is noisy, the fan in mine is louder than a PS3 Slim after about 30 minutes of use. It's a shame really because it negates the benefit of the quietness of the actual console for those who are sensitive to fan noise.
29. July 2010 at 3:26 am
I'm told there a two free games installed on the hard drive, can anyone tell me what they are?
31. July 2010 at 8:44 am
Hey, I deleted all of the pre-loaded content as they all appeared to be trials except Hexic-HD. Maybe it differs from region to region but I am 99% sure Hexic-HD is the only game pre-loaded.
1. August 2010 at 8:49 pm
When I first got this thing, it was quiet, as advertised. Since installing the Update for COD MW2, the fan noise gets bad when games get busy. It also just gets loud from time to time doing things like streaming video with Netflix or even just flipping through the main menu. The fan Noise is BAD when this happens. Unless my audio is cranked up, it becomes very distracting. The heat coming out of the vents is high when this happens while playing a game as well. Perhaps there will be another update to correct this. Like I said, before the COD MW2 patch, I never noticed it. Do I have a defective unit? Is anyone else noticing this?
2. August 2010 at 9:00 pm
Not noticed here but I can say for a fact that both COD games access the disc frequently and do make quite a bit of noise (some other games do this too). Heat is normal and a good thing; not to sound obvious, it means that the heat you feel is no longer in the console thus the fan is doing a better job than previous units. Now fan noise whilst browsing the dashboard is dependent on how hot the console is; if you have not been doing anything prior either your ambient temperature is hot, the unit may indeed be defective or have inadequate ventilation. I find it does run quieter when laid flat.