The new Xbox 360 “Slim” Gets Unwrapped
We picked up one of the new Xbox 360 S / Slim consoles and decided to rip it apart to see what was inside. How does the technological shift in the new system change the properties of the console and how does it affect power consumption, noise and heat? Step in to read, and watch, our results!
Time for a quick experimentYou might think that when a new gaming console is released, or in this case a new revision of a console, we might buy one to play our various gaming titles. Instead, we decided to take this brand new device, drive straight from the store to the office and start ripping into it with screw drivers and pliers. The reason behind all this? What makes the new Xbox 360 (that we will probably still refer to as Xbox 360 “Slim” even though that is not the official title) different from the previous versions and how will that change affect gamers that are constantly worried about dying machines? We were told that the new Xbox 360 has a drastically changed technology base – a combined CPU/GPU hybrid – compared to the previously existing separate cores.
In this quick article we will take you inside the new Xbox 360 S (or Slim) and show you how it differs from a previous generation machine. We will also demonstrate the noise differences between the two consoles and the power consumption advantages the new architecture brings to the table.
The new system, black and on the left, is noticeably smaller than the previous generation and is also significantly lighter. We’ll see why when we show you the heatsinks involved in cooling each.
The new system has a standard 250GB hard drive and a glossy black finish that is definitely fingerprint capable though I would imagine most people wouldn’t be moving their consoles very often.
Connectivity options on the new console are improved and include additional USB ports but and a bit more convenience with the inclusion of built in optical audio output.
The power connection is definitely different on the left hand side of this photo while the Xbox A/V connection remains an option to the optical/HDMI features. The oddly shaped connection above the Ethernet port is for the upcoming Microsoft Kinect camera device that plans to revolutionize the way we interact with games.
Another big clue to the change inside the console comes when we see the power bricks for each device. The original Xbox 360 power brick is much longer and heavier than the one for the new Xbox 360 “Slim” console (on the left).
The original power brick was rated at 12V and 14.1A for a total of about 175 watts while the newer model only uses 10.8A with a maximum output of 135 watts. That marks a difference of about 30% from one generation to the other – a very significant change.
Inside the old school Xbox 360
Now before we show you what is inside the NEW Xbox 360 “Slim” console I thought it pertinent to show you what it was replacing by taking our previous generation model and revealing the setup it holds.
After removing the chassis from the original Xbox we find a somewhat busy PCB along with a large heatsink assembly and a pair of smaller, noisy fans used to draw heat and air out of the system.
These heatsinks obviously give the current generation of Xbox consoles their heft.
Removal of the heatsinks and the thermal gunk on them reveals two distinct processors for the console. This one above is the PowerPC triple-core processor that runs at 3.2 GHz and support two threads per core for a total of 6 threads running in parallel.
This chip is the custom-built ATI graphics core that includes 10MB of embedded memory on package. The GPU itself features 48 processing cores or 48 pipelines and runs at 500 MHz. The entire system includes 512MB of memory as well.
The south bridge here is developed by SiS handles the storage connectivity, audio processing, USB/controllers, etc.
This chip is a video processor on the system and you’ll see it remains unchanged in the next generation system.
ADAM <3 cock
ADAM <3 cock
rainford high school vist
rainford high school vist this school and ask for mr wright he will so you a good time in this school =
ass hole
ass hole
adam wood likes it in his bum
adam wood likes it in his bum with mr wright in the cubboard
haha get a grip pricks
haha get a grip pricks
Look, can we all just get
Look, can we all just get along! Maybe Adam Wood is gay but we don’t give one.
Wouldn’t mind seeing some old
Wouldn’t mind seeing some old broken apple iPods being broken down and compared under the hood hardware wise and software maybe if possible. And also what did u guys do with the scraps? From taking this thing apart? I need a new disc drive and laser. My falcon xbox half the time won’t open and then won’t read disc it takes an hour just to play a game and I’m just a week out of warranty when this happens as if they built it to self destruct in 1-2 yrs. Greed I hate it almost as bad as immature kids in the comments and on xbl. Anyway I would like to know if there are any performance differences besides it’s quieter and has less heat. My latest version of the arcade died from disc and laser getting dusty probly just needs cleaning. And didn’t rrod. Suprisingly. Anyway just wanted to know if maybe frame per second would be better or if it would look slightly better and have faster load times stuff like this. Since my old one did have long long load times before it died. I’ve had 3 Xboxs that all broke at least 3-4 times a yr under warranty or rrod and my friend did to it was guarenteed to fail. Hope they didn’t put a Self desruct timer on this one as well like thermal tape melts and it over heats after 2yrs warrant expires
If you read this then you are
If you read this then you are gay
get a life this is junk,PS3
get a life this is junk,PS3 is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better,the nintendo wii even looks better from inside than this crap xbox.
Right, you have all had it
Right, you have all had it now you bunch of ass holes. you can all fuck off and go back to your gay stations,and put your tiny cocks in to the usb ports
ps
trololololol
omg god piss off leave us
omg god piss off leave us alone freak
how much do you like you xbox
how much do you like you xbox ?
now now, we are all civilzed
now now, we are all civilzed people here so can we please get back on the topic.
I like my. Xbox I’m coming
I like my. Xbox I’m coming down to vist rainford high school just to see what’s it like ill tell you all if its good or a peice off crap
ok see you when what day are
ok see you when what day are you coming to visit the school? johnfoz96
tom robets
tom robets
please stop putting stupid
please stop putting stupid stuff on this blog/web site
THE GAME
THE GAME
crusty toe nails
crusty toe nails
stop thing about the game
stop thing about the game dont ever talk about the game dont look at the game