Xbox 360 "Falcon"

[Atty]

When it comes to Microsoft's Xbox 360, Dean Takahashi always seems to have the inside scoop. He was the first to spill the beans on Xbox 360 IPTV and provided confirmation on the existence of the Xbox 360 Elite.

Today, Takahashi confirmed that Microsoft's upcoming 65nm die shrink for the Xbox 360's microprocessor and GPU will is codenamed "Falcon."

Takahashi reports that Microsoft is currently qualifying the new Falcon chips along with a redesigned motherboard. The 65nm-equipped Xbox 360s are due to hit store shelves this fall.

The new chips are not only smaller and roughly 50 percent cheaper to produce than their 90nm counterpart, but they are also cooler. Cooler-running chips coupled with a revised cooling solution would go a long way to eradicating the Xbox 360’s fatal flaw: the Red Ring of Death (RROD).

Heat has been a big problem with the Xbox 360 and has been the root cause of RROD cases around the globe. Microsoft has countered the RROD failures by increasing the warranty of the console, adding various "warranty enhancements" and beefed up cooling solutions on new production Xbox 360 units.

Microsoft ultimately caved in to mounting pressure from the Xbox 360 community on RROD failures and announced a $1 billion initiative to service Xbox 360s afflicted with the problem and extended warranty coverage for those machines to three years.
Looks like we'll see a price drop this holiday season, with the cost of the processors dropping 50% I see no reason for Microsoft not too.

[Warsaw]

Just in time for Halo 3. This is good, because it means I might actually get to play Halo 3 by Christmas.

[Amit]

This is good for me, I may be able to play Halo 3 at all.

[TeeKup]

Loving the price drop.

360 Falcon? Thats just stupid. I liked Zephyr better than Falcon.

NO, they should name it the Xbox 360 Falken. :3

[Atty]

It's not the name, it's just the codename they are throwing about to distinguish it. It'll still be the Xbox 360.

[TeeKup]

It's not the name, it's just the codename they are throwing about to distinguish it. It'll still be the Xbox 360.

Oh good then.

[mech]

Say I won a x360, should I sell it and get this one? Because it comes with no warranty :|

[jahrain]

So are they finally admitting that the current xbox360 was flawed by design? They should just issue a recall and replace everyone's with the fixed model. I mean they are spending so much fixing everyone's fried xboxs along with the warranty extentions, might as well just replace everyone's and save more money in the long run.

[Mr Buckshot]

This does prove that Microsoft is capable of recognizing flaws and correcting them (Nintendo is famous for this, especially with the transition of the DS to the DS Lite). Yes, heat is a major flaw on the X360, and I'm glad it's corrected. I just hope mine, being the "old" x360, won't get the RROD anytime soon (unless I play outside when it snows this December...lol).

Now if only they would make a fix on this scale for GFWL.

[Amit]

Looks like someone down at Microsoft talked some sense into the company executives.

[Zeph]

LOL at people who bought a Zephyr.


So are they finally admitting that the current xbox360 was flawed by design? They should just issue a recall and replace everyone's with the fixed model. I mean they are spending so much fixing everyone's fried xboxs along with the warranty extentions, might as well just replace everyone's and save more money in the long run.

Nonononononononono. NO! This sort of thing is normal. As die shrinks become possible, a console producer will take advantage of them. With them, comes reduced power requirements, reduced heat, and more consistent preformance. That means things like fewer capacitors, etc., are needed on the motherboard. Keeping those components on there if they aren't needed is wasted money.


This does prove that Microsoft is capable of recognizing flaws and correcting them (Nintendo is famous for this, especially with the transition of the DS to the DS Lite). Yes, heat is a major flaw on the X360, and I'm glad it's corrected. I just hope mine, being the "old" x360, won't get the RROD anytime soon (unless I play outside when it snows this December...lol).

Now if only they would make a fix on this scale for GFWL.

Die shrinks are not a flaw. Your view on this is flawed if you think a die shrink is the same as software design flaws.

[Hotrod]

Does that mean that I should wait to get this new 360, and ruin my Halo 3 plans, or just buy one now like I planned?

[Zeph]

If you get a 360 now, it will have a 3 year warranty. I'd personally wait to get the Falcon, as it will be more heat/energy friendly, but if you're looking forward to the Halo 3 launch, go ahead. You wont see a difference except for your bills.

[Warsaw]

Pre-order Halo 3, and then buy the new version of the XBOX 360 when it is released.

[Hotrod]

Hmmm... It will probably come out after Halo 3, right?

[Zeph]

It's slated for Fall release. When specifically, who knows. The better question would be to know for sure if you receive a Falcon instead of a Zephyr that's somehow managed to stay on the shelf.

[ExAm]

Loving the price drop.

360 Falcon? Thats just stupid. I liked Zephyr better than Falcon.

NO, they should name it the Xbox 360 Falken. :3I miss when they were calling it the Xenon :(

[Dole]

Alas, the tie-breaking excuse to get a 360!

[Con]

I'm a noob, can someone please explain to me what a die is and a die-shrink?

[ExAm]

I'm actually hoping for mine to go RROD on me, before the warranty dies. Then, I can get it fixed up so it won't happen again. Ever.

[Zeph]

As time goes on, processor developers are able to make processors smaller and smaller. By making the chip smaller, it takes less time for electricity to travel from one place to another. Since it takes less time, there is less conductive surface to cause electrical resistance. This means a processor has to wait less time for it to compute something, less electricity is used to do so, and less heat is generated. On top of that, when the processors are made, more of them can be made at once with the same amount of material.

[X3RO SHIF7]

So are they finally admitting that the current xbox360 was flawed by design? They should just issue a recall and replace everyone's with the fixed model. I mean they are spending so much fixing everyone's fried xboxs along with the warranty extentions, might as well just replace everyone's and save more money in the long run.
mine works fine, have had it since launch

[Con]

Something tells me that an xbox 360 wouldn't make it here... It's very hot with little ventilation.

[Atty]

Conscars, your hotness won't affect the 360, don't worry. ;)

[jahrain]

mine works fine, have had it since launchYou live in canada, it probably stays as cool as an icebox up there.

[TeeKup]

Canada can actually be very warm.

[Hotrod]

You live in canada, it probably stays as cool as an icebox up there.

You've never been to Canada in summer, have you? Two days ago, it was about 35 degrees (C) and there was so much humity that it felt like you were in the middle of a desert.

I hope the Halo 3 Xbox 360 is a "Falcon".

[Huero]

So are they finally admitting that the current xbox360 was flawed by design? They should just issue a recall and replace everyone's with the fixed model. I mean they are spending so much fixing everyone's fried xboxs along with the warranty extentions, might as well just replace everyone's and save more money in the long run.
That would make them spend MORE money, dolt.

[Warsaw]

Actually, he's right. If Microsoft has to fix peoples' version 1 and 2 XBOX360s several times due to hardware failures, they end up spending more money in the long haul than they would if they simply issued a recall and replaced them all with the new Falcon version.

[Hotrod]

If ever you have a version 1 or 2 360 that brakes after the "Falcon" comes out, I'm guessing that Microsoft will transfer all the profiles, saved games, etc... to a "Falcon" and sent it to you.

[Atty]

What? All they'll do is give you back your 360 with a new motherboard and what not. They don't need to transfer anything, you've got your hard drive which has all your information.

Also, a recall would be ridiculous. All they need to do is replace the Xbox v1/2's (Zephyr and Xenon [for lack of a better code name]) with Faclon's, no need to replace and fix Xbox 360's that aren't going to break.

[Warsaw]

All they would have to do is insert your hard drive into a new box. This is where the beauty of a modular console shines.

[Hotrod]

What? All they'll do is give you back your 360 with a new motherboard and what not. They don't need to transfer anything, you've got your hard drive which has all your information.

I guess that they could do that too, but wouldn't it be faster just to transfer all the data or the hard drive instead of taking everything out, replacing the motherboard, then putting everything back in?

[Amit]

I thought the Falcon was a new motherboard with better cooling capabilities and the processing was lowered to like 65nm or something? You can't just change the data and load it back into the hardrive, that would do nothing.

[Hotrod]

I meant transfer all the Data from the hard drive from the broken 360 to the new one, therefore not having to open up the old one.