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Xbox 360 Hardware Disassembled and Analyzed
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Wed Nov 16, 2005 10:01 AM
from the right-down-to-it's-creamy-caramel-center dept.
from the right-down-to-it's-creamy-caramel-center dept.
Hack Jandy writes "Here is the first article I've seen about the Xbox 360 hardware internals. The article details everything from the storage devices to the CPU and GPU core."
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Wrong Link (Score:5, Informative)
Printer Friendly (Score:5, Informative)
The site seems to be weakening (the images aren't loading)
and networkmirror & mirrordot have yet to get working link up
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Re:Printer Friendly (Score:2)
Re:Printer Friendly (Score:2)
Re:Printer Friendly (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.anandtech.com.http.l2.l1.l0.nyucd.net:
Re:Printer Friendly (Score:2)
wow... that works.
never heard of it before now.
Did you actually read the coral cache FAQ?
Re:Printer Friendly (Score:5, Informative)
I got that URL by doing a DNS lookup for anandtech.com.nyud.net since nyud.net never resolves at all for me. I then appended the
Until today, I had no idea what "CoralCache" was because "CoralCache" doen't come up on Google with any non-cryptic answer. I just assumed it was some poorly-implemented thing that I couldn't get to.
Thanks to WikiPedia's article on Slashdotting, I found that CoralCache isn't "CoralCache" but actually the Coral CDN, whose web page is here [coralcdn.org], and whose FAQ is here [coralcdn.org]. So all this time I could've been reading Coralized links if people had just bothered to call it something that actually resembled its name.
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Is this or is there not something to see? (Score:3, Funny)
Wrong link (Score:4, Informative)
Errr... (Score:4, Informative)
Try here: http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=26 10 [anandtech.com]
But isn't this old news? I know I've read about all of this AT LEAST a month ago...
It's just cool (Score:5, Interesting)
Been plenty of stories on it here but i have to agree with what others have said. The entire package of the 360, the games, the service (xbox live) and the experience is going to make for one hell of a system.
Marked for inflation the 360 costs less than what i spent on an atari years ago, and that is pretty amazing.
I'll be buying it at day one.
I've got 30-45 mins a day at max i can play, and the experience, ease of use and integration of the xbox and xbox live service is what makes it for me.
Game on!
Re:It's just cool (Score:4, Insightful)
Zealot doesn't appear to mean what you think it means. It certainly doesn't mean dropping your ideals when the opposing ideals are "just cool".
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Re:It's just cool (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:It's just cool (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.gbax.com/indexgp2x.html [gbax.com]
Re:It's just cool (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:It's just cool (Score:5, Insightful)
You cannot escape the fact that we live in a world of proprietary technology. Your BIOS is proprietary software. The software in your vehicle is proprietary technology. Your CPU is proprietary technology.
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Re:It's just cool (Score:3, Insightful)
Not really. Basically all technology improves while reducing in price over time. That's like saying that, amazingly, your new mobile phone has more features than the first mobile phones available, and yet it costs less.
It's just boring (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, I think it all looks pretty boring - just new versions of old games with prettier graphics. It's not the massive leap in performance I was hoping for.
I'm waiting for the PS3 to come out, then I'll decide.
Re:It's just cool (Score:5, Insightful)
I'll be buying it at day one.
I've got 30-45 mins a day at max i can play, and the experience, ease of use and integration of the xbox and xbox live service is what makes it for me.
You play less than an hours worth of games a day, yet you want to splash out on a new console system the moment it comes out?
I'm finding it hard to believe you've finished all the games you own on your current system, so whay the rush to buy a new one? Prudence would dictate that you take the time to expierience the top quality titles of the current generation, before moving onto the next.
I usually don't buy a system unless I can pinpoint at least three games on it that I simply must have. I've yet to see a console released on day one that offered even two "must have" titles for me.
Save your money and buy some of the quality titles that you haven't played on your current system. The 360 will still be there in 12 months time, at a cheaper price, and with better games, so why pay more now for less?
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Re:It's just cool (Score:5, Insightful)
Many people don't feel the need to regulate and restrict their fun to careful guidelines based on what is "prudent."
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Re:It's just cool (Score:4, Interesting)
That said, if you're into the conspicuous consumption thing, I'm not going to stop you. Have fun and I hope you enjoy it. Me, I've still got a least 10 games (bought for less than $20) for my cube, ps2, and current XBox that will occupy me until the new generation dust settles.
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Re:It's just cool (Score:3, Insightful)
Actual Lnk (Score:3, Informative)
Working Link (Score:2, Informative)
That's nice (Score:5, Funny)
Who needs a 360? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Who needs a 360? (Score:4, Funny)
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!!!!!!GEEK PR0N ACTION!!!!!! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:!!!!!!GEEK PR0N ACTION!!!!!! (Score:2)
Well, there was that arcade box Namco once built, which ran off fissile decay, needed a fearsome cooling system based on liquid sodium, and lived in a lead-lined cabinet... That, once opened, I'm sure would glow something amazing.
Unfortunately, when the first arcade opened in Japan with one of these things, the sheer po
Coral cache (Score:2, Informative)
Another hardware site bites the dust (Score:2)
Slashdottings and mirrors... (Score:3, Informative)
Mirror of the first page for people who can't access port 8090 [mirrordot.com]. Additional pages not guaranteed as Mirrordot doesn't work that way.
Re:Slashdottings and mirrors... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Slashdottings and mirrors... (Score:2)
Does anyone remember ... (Score:5, Interesting)
The moral of the story is that Fanboys are dumb and uninformend.
Re:Does anyone remember ... (Score:2)
Re:Does anyone remember ... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Does anyone remember ... (Score:4, Informative)
It was a Celeron with 128KB of L2, on a 133Mhz FSB (retail Celerons at the time were on a 66Mhz FSB, the 133Mhz bus being reserved for P3's)
Coppermine P3's had 256KB of L2
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lemme guess (Score:5, Funny)
No disassemble (Score:5, Funny)
Article Text (Score:5, Informative)
Date: Nov 16, 2005
Type: System
Manufacturer: Microsoft
Author: Anand Lal Shimpi, Kristopher Kubicki & Tuan Nguyen
Page 1
Microsoft's first try at a gaming console amounted to essentially a very affordable PC. It used standard PC components, including a mobile Intel processor (a hybrid Pentium 3/Celeron), a desktop NVIDIA chipset, a Western Digital hard drive and relatively standard PC DVD-ROM. The original Xbox was such a PC in fact that there were quite a few users that wanted to mod it simply to have a cheap PC, not even for gaming - including ourselves.
Before the Xbox was launched, Microsoft was very concerned with users thinking of the Xbox as nothing more than a PC branded as a gaming console, so it went to great lengths to reduce the association. For example, the strict ban on keyboard and mouse support, despite the fact that the console implemented the standard USB interface.
With the Xbox 360, Microsoft gained some benefits of the original Xbox success. Xbox didn't win the sales battle against Sony's PlayStation 2, but the first Xbox was strong enough to cement Microsoft's name in the world of console gaming manufacturers. For their second time around, there is less worry of the Xbox 360 being viewed as a just a PC, so Microsoft took a bolder approach.
Honestly, with the Xbox 360, Microsoft could have put forth another PC in a black box and it probably would have done fine. But with their second gaming console, the target was growth -- and Sony. With an established name and fanbase, it was time to take the market seriously and start to exert some dominance and thus the Xbox went from being a clunky black box of a PC, to a stylish consumer electronics device.
The Xbox 360 is smaller than the original Xbox, and its wireless nature makes it a natural fit in the living room - marking a thankful change from standard gaming consoles of the past. Despite looking like the offspring of an iPod and a DVD player, the Xbox 360 is still very much a PC on the inside. As such, it's got all of the components we're used to.
With less than a week to go before the retail availability of Xbox 360 consoles, we got our hands on one to give it the usual AnandTech once-over. And take it apart of course.
What's in the Box?
Our Xbox 360 system was the $399 unit, which comes with the following:
- Xbox 360 console
- 20GB Removable Hard Drive
- Wireless Controller
- Headset
- DVD Remote
- Ethernet Cable
- Component AV Cables
- External Power Supply
The $299 core system gives you the same console (with a white DVD tray cover), a wired controller, and standard composite AV cables; there's no hard drive, headset or remote.
By now you have undoubtedly heard about the massive external power supply that comes with the Xbox 360 and you can see it in the lower left hand corner of the picture above. Remember that in the original Xbox, the power supply was internal. But with the power requirements of the Xbox 360 being significantly higher than its predecessor, while featuring a noticeably smaller case, the only solution was to take the power supply out of the Xbox 360.
Page 2
What's in the Box, in the Box? (Taking it Apart)
Microsoft has shown the world that it's very swift when it comes to recovering from errors that it has made. With the original Xbox design, Microsoft was definitely testing new ground and thus had little experience when it came to protecting its intellectual property and hardware. The original Xbox was largely easy to open by most people with the most common of tools and was quickly adopted by the modding community as the ultimate "utility" console.
In an attempt to circumvent those with modified Xboxes, Microsoft added security and authentication features to its Xbox Live service that would detect whether an Xbox was in its original form or not. But the mod community did not sit idle and not long after, mod chips were introduced that were able to switch on and of
No wonder the 360 is smaller than the original (Score:5, Insightful)
1up and Live (Score:4, Informative)
This is no moon (Score:4, Funny)
Seriously, what was Microsft thinking when they build this thing?
USB? (Score:4, Interesting)
Congrats to AnandTech (Score:4, Interesting)
The comment early in the article about Microsoft wanting to lock down their console just amazes me. The company has done a good job of placing themselves into an already competative market and securing themselves a place somewhere just ahead of Nintendo. But the idea that they could engineer themselves a completely tight console just shows the trouble they have with their customers. They are not exclusive in their anal-retentiveness, but the position that they have staked out is confusing. They are, after all, the company who gained the most from an open computer architecture.
Despite the fact that the 360 has a robust design and integrated hardware, it is still a PC. The GPU will probably have the greatest impact, but since the technology is shared between Microsoft and ATI, it will be exclusive. The Balkanization of game code will ratchet up one more level with this release.
I hope that the folks who have invested serious cash in game titles for the older console are ready for emulation. Or should I say, I hope the 360 can run them effectively. With a more powerful processor and amped up GPU, that shouldn't be a problem. Alas, things don't always sort themselves out so cleanly.
I personally don't believe that HD gaming is coming in a big way to the game market yet, but it is good to see Microsoft positioning itself to take advantage of the market when it comes. I guess we will have to see how the DVD wars sort themselves out, but having an HD-capable system now means at least on less add-on to convince consumers to buy later.
It would have been nice if Microsoft had provided some path for modification. I know they are not alone in controlling their equipment, but that added 'configurability' may have tipped the scales in Microsoft's favor. I know their are die hard fans of Sony and Nintendo who will never want (or, at least, admit to wanting) to move over to 360, but that nod to the modding community could have been a galvanizing moment for users.
Despite my gripe, it is a nice looking machine. I'd love to load an alternative OS on it.
What's Next?! (Score:3)
Huge Power Supply (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Huge Power Supply (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Huge Power Supply (Score:5, Interesting)
An added bonus is that console power supplies are the cheapest retail multi-amp DC switching power supplies available. If you need 45 watts at 12 volts for some project you're building, a suitable switching supply from your favorite electronics components dealer would cost you $50-$100. A Gamecube brick can be had for $10.
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