Quieter, cooler Xbox 360s spotted with 'Jasper' chips

So long red ring of death? That's what some are asking now that slightly (and stealthily) revised Xbox 360s are finally trickling into the market. New on the inside, anyway, though without so much as a twinge of marketing pomp or circumstance.

Quieter, Cooler Xbox 360s Spotted with 'Jasper' Chips

What's new? Three things, it seems.

First, the graphics processing unit or GPU has shrunk from 90nm to 65nm, which in simple terms means "same performance, less heat." Less heat means the thermal sensors won't tell the fan to whirr like a leaf-blower, which makes for an overall cooler and less fortissimo experience.

Second: The power supply's dropped from 175 to 150 watts (a 65nm GPU gobbles less electricity, after all) which means it ought to run cooler as well. Probably drops the overall power footprint a hair?

Finally: The new revision adds 256MB of internal flash memory (versus the original models' 16MB). That's big enough to store the New Xbox Experience locally (it's no longer tied to the removable hard drive) as well as accommodate a few save games if you're so inclined.

How do you tell which is which? You don't. Well, not without tearing open the box and having a peek at the power supply. According to Anandtech, you can tell whether you've got yourself a "Jasper" by scanning the power brick's underside to see if it's 150W. Xbox Scene, which managed to tranquilize and chop up a Jasper, has a snap of it here, in case you're interested. Anandtech speculates there may still be some Jaspers using 175W power supplies labeled 14.2A, so caveat emptor if you're thinking of donning a pith helmet and going on safari for one.

Microsoft won't officially talk about Jasper or acknowledge what's up. Annoying, but understandable, given the hysterics over the messy red ring of death debacle (I've had three 360's replaced myself). "No comment" in this case is probably just Microsoft's deadpan euphemism for "Replace your defective Xbox 360 with what, exactly?"

Comments [36]

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Toneman

If MS was smart, when they get an RROD console they need to fix, they should replace everything for a Jasper set... but I have a feeling that's not going to be the case. They would probably save money in the long run... fixing every console ONCE instead of 3+ times (like mentionned in the article). Business first, customer last... but we should be used to that by now with MS.

Toneman

BTW skostas, my buddy's PS3 got the Yellow Light of Death (YLOD) on his launch PS3... but he did take the 3 year extended warranty from Futureshop. He dropped it off and got it back 2 months later... but it still shuts itself down after 15 seconds.... so he had to bring it right back. Apparently they only replace it after it breaks the 4th time. I know it happens less often than 360, but they do break down. I actually had to send my Wii for repairs last year, my graphics card was acting up. And to think we both passed on 360 because of hardware problems hahaha.

the_storyteller

This shows that MS does care about the gamers but also somewhat about the money too.......A little of both........money

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skostas

I guess im one of those luckies who doesnt have a prob with his system (knocks on wood)

artsaber

the_storyteller wrote:

This shows that MS does care about the gamers but also somewhat about the money too.......A little of both........money

How does this show they care about gamers? They are trying to prevent the world's biggest lawsuit! If it was about caring for gamers, Jaspers would've made its way into the market by the 2nd year. And you would CLEARLY be able to buy a Jasper without playing console lotto in department stores hoping that you get a f*cking Jasper. I am going to wait until after the holiday sales a few months before buying a new 360 to help increase the chances of getting a Jasper... If it ain't a J-360, I don't want it... everything else is garbage hardware (if this model ain't too).

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madeup6

I recommend just getting a ps3. It has a .2 percent chance of breaking and is more powerful. I can enjoy games such as Metal Gear Solid 4 that can only be on ps3.

gmayronne

i just recently bought a 360 (AGAIN!!!) about a month ago.....i DOUBT its one of the Jaspers. anyway, the model i have has been running fine.....other than some issues with the "video" not displaying correctly.....everything is fine. im using HDMI and for some reason whenever i start up my 360, the contrast and brightness is WAY too high and i know its not the cable itself because ive used it on my ps3 with NO issues....and its not the TV because i tried it on my other 1080p TV and it did the same thing. other than this minor issue, which tends to correct itself after a few minutes, everything is great. ive made a rule for myself actually......so far this is my 2nd 360 and if THIS one breaks.....ill send it in for one more go....and if THAT one breaks....im DONE with the 360 and im gonna get it fixed then trade it in but keep the games and hope the next Xbox has backwards compatability. im sorry......but i cant be one of these suckers that goes through xbox after xbox like its nothing.....and i dont care if there is a 3 year warranty or not.

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