XBOX 360

The new Xbox 360 "Slim" Gets Unwrapped


Time for a quick experiment



You 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.

Enter the new guy




First and foremost, it appears impossible to get inside the new Xbox 360 S (that is what Microsoft refers to it as now) without breaking a few clips here and there. We were still able to get it back together without a problem just don't be surprised if you see bits of plastic strewn around your work area after doing something like this.











The easy part is removing the top grates around the hard drive bay area and the top of the system but getting under these plastic plates was much more problematic. Just be prepared to hear things snap off but be slow and they should come out eventually.













The new Xbox 360 S includes 802.11n WiFi - a welcome addition from the previous models that included NO wireless connection option. The method Microsoft used though was pretty humorous; the WiFi chip is actually built on to a USB dongle that is located just below the top grate and is held in place by a screw. Either MS decided to add this in last minute or they wanted an easy serviceable and upgradeable solution.













After getting the top and bottom off removing the sides should be a little bit easier. There are clips holding the two halves together along the back (seen above) and quite a few more along the front panel.













The clips along the front are a bit hard to get to without damaging the exterior of your Xbox 360 S but some getting prodding with a flat head screw driver should get the job done.













Also be careful with the small ribbon cable that is permanently affixed to the front plate that connects to the power button and lights.













This is the device that the ribbon cable attaches to (top right hand corner there) and is easily removable with a couple of screws.













We are now fully inside the new Xbox 360 S and you can see that there is a significant decrease in the amount of cooling required.













The optical drive is a Lite-On model that was much quieter than our original Xbox 360's drive.













Taking out the optical and hard drives reveals the much smaller, and less crowded, PCB.













This is the only fan and heatsink in use on the new Xbox 360 S and because it is larger it can rotate more slowly and thus generates less noise than the previous models pair of fans. I have included a video of the Xbox 360 S versus Xbox 360 noise properties below - be sure to check it out!











For a comparison, you can see the heatsinks AND fan used on the new console on the left while the two larger heatsinks and heatpipes were required for the older generation Xbox 360. Without a doubt the new processing cores (which we will show on the next page) are using less power and generation less heat. All good news for anyone that has gone through the red ring of death.











UPDATE: We had some requests to show the hard drives (which I apologize for leaving out before) so here you go.











On the bottom of the new Xbox 360 S there is an easily removable portion of the plastic grate that reveals the user replaceable hard drive. The drive is still a standard 2.5-in hard drive but is locked in place to a proprietary Microsoft enclose unfortunately.











The first model of the S comes with a 5400 RPM 250GB drive from Hitachi.











All there is to removal now is a ribbon that attaches to a button on the bottom of the casing. If you were hoping to be able to easily replace the hard drive that still isn't going to be the case - the enclose is glued shut. We did try putting in a standard 2.5-in HDD (without the enclosure) but the system didn't recognize the device as expected.







THIS DOESNT BELONG TO ME!