New 65nm Falcon begins to soar

by Dustin Burg { Sep 29th 2007 at 5:00PM }

Tech nuts the world over have been waiting for the new 65nm Xbox 360 "Falcon" CPUs for a while and word on the street is that they're finally being rolled out to retail.

According to various reports and photo evidence over on the Xbox.com forums, new Halo 3 Xbox 360 consoles with lot numbers #734 have been confirmed to have the newly new 65nm CPUs in them. So, if the Halo 3 360s are a predictor of things to come, hopefully we'll be seeing 65nm technology in all Xbox 360s hitting store shelves soon. Lots more information and a guide to tell if your Xbox 360 has Falcon technology can be read over on the Xbox.com forums via the links below. You're free now ... fly Falcon, fly!

[Via Engadget]

Read - Falcon discovery thread
Read - How to tell if you have a Falcon 360

Tags: 65nm, falcon, xbox-360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

homer34 @ Sep 29th 2007 5:39PM

yay hopefully my recently red ringed 360 will return with the new chip. doubt it though.

Jay900 @ Sep 29th 2007 5:49PM

crazy part is my 360 died a few days ago so i picked up a new one and the halo 3 one was cheaper then all the other packs (with Games) so i bought it and after reading this i checked mine and it all matches up with the 65nm stuff wow i knew it was more quiet then my last one

ZenGaijin @ Sep 29th 2007 6:00PM

I think I have one my new 360 is whisper quiet when it runs games it used to roar running.

I won't dare put in crack down though.

Al Miller @ Sep 29th 2007 6:02PM

Whats wrong with Crackdown? Is it notorious for making the units overheat? Seems to me that would be a good test. I'd want mine to be able to play every game I enjoy.

Patrick @ Sep 29th 2007 7:09PM

Goodie, I just got my coffin, to send in my red ringed paper weight, so maybe they'll put one in. Do they even do that? I'll have to look online to see what 'exactly' they do to fix it. Sure would be nice though :D

FrankTheCrank @ Sep 29th 2007 8:16PM

Guys, I'm a happy PS3 owner and have been holding out on getting a 360 due to two things, my hate for microshaft and the whole RROD thing. But with such a solid game collection and the falcon finally landing, I cannot ignore this platform any longer.

But I must say that reading your posts absolutely made me sick! I can't believe there isn't a revolt against Microsoft. These hardware failures are absolutely unacceptable!

You know that after your three year warranty is up, your all done. Your going to have to buy a new box. That is sick!

Xion @ Sep 29th 2007 9:08PM

Hey Frank

Dont be stupid (no offense) but the whole point of the extended warranty is to enshure that your console will be in warranty before the RROD kicks in (unless u never use it?) once the needed repair is made, your console should work normally like any other console..so you see, the whole point here is to end the RROD problem once and for all. so you wont need to buy another console, or send it in more than once fool.

Xion @ Sep 29th 2007 9:12PM

Hey Frank

Dont be stupid (no offense) but the whole point of the extended warranty is to enshure that youre console will be in warranty before the RROD kicks in (unless u never use it?) once the needed repair is made, your console should work normally..like any other console..so you see, the whole point here is to end the RROD problem once and for all. so you wont need to buy another conole, or send it in more than once fool.

Anticrawl @ Sep 29th 2007 9:46PM

Typically now what they do with ringed consoles is rather than fix them they replace them all together. Had a buddy send his in and got one back with an HDMI port and the better heat sink. It's probably just becoming more cost effective to simply replace them do to the high volume of RROD's.

FrankTheCrank @ Sep 29th 2007 10:18PM

Xion, you stupid fool(no offense),

If Microshit was intending on doing away with the whole RROD mess then how come people are sending their boxes in multiple times? That doesnt seem to be fixing anything, its just prolonging the problem.

Anticrawl,
Thanks for your answer. I believe your right, at some point its just more cost effective to simply replace the faulty units with the newly designed model. It also builds a good relationship with the customer, which Microsoft cannot burn with their second attempt at console dominance, although they've already lost to Nintendo.

Fezmid @ Sep 29th 2007 10:24PM

@Anticrawl -- I just got mine back a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't get a new one. :(

Fezmid @ Sep 29th 2007 10:28PM

Frank - they really haven't lost to Nintendo. The money isn't in selling consoles, the money's in selling games, and the 360 is selling a lot of games. That's why they're hyping up the attach rate so much.

Xavier @ Sep 29th 2007 10:38PM

Frank you Fail again

Ofcourse consoles have been sent back multiple times, the changes hadnt been implemented yet, im talking about consoles sent back since microsoft started making the APRORIATE corrections to it.

Don @ Sep 29th 2007 10:59PM

I don't own a 360 but it still makes me curious. Why doesn't MS just recall the bad 360s and replace them with the one that works? That, to me, would make more sense. Recall all the ones from the stores and install the new chip inside of them so that you know you're buying a good one. Don't they do that with other shit, why not do it with this seeing that it's been a pretty big problem.

You got poor Fezmid over here worried to play his 360 in fear of the RROD, it finally happens, then they send him another one without the chip. So now he's right back where he started, playing scared. The only thing I can think of as to why they wouldn't recall these machines is if they still haven't figured out what the problem is and they're still waiting to see what happens. Maybe this new chip isn't the answer, we'll just have to wait and see I guess.

David W. @ Sep 29th 2007 11:34PM

@ Don, with the number of consoles sold at this point, it would probably cost enough money to hurt even Microsoft considerably.

riot @ Sep 29th 2007 11:40PM

yeah well forget the chip when the other parts dont work...i bought my 360 about a month ago(w/ hdmi port) and yeah i was worried about the RROD so i tried not to play it so much and what happens as soon as i get halo3 a few days later the frekin cd drive wont read any of my games anymore!!!??? w/ the biggest game of the year out they go and have another stupid malfunction(scratches) i mean come onnn now i got to send it back in and wait 3-4 weeks :(

kerbero9 @ Sep 29th 2007 11:41PM

Don't know why everyone is excited about the Falcons. All they did was shrink the CPU (not the GPU) down to 65nm. The cause of the RROD is from that from that piping fresh hot GPU, which is still 90nm. Falcons are still susceptible to red ring worm (unless that crazy second heat sink contraption actually works). Jury is still out on that though.

Red Ranger V @ Sep 30th 2007 12:43AM

could that mean the upcoming bundles will have the chip?

Dragod @ Sep 30th 2007 3:40AM

The reason they haven't recalled every console is that they would lose an insane amount of money.

My 360's been going strong for 17 months now. Why should I send it in if it doesn't have a problem?

It doesn't make sense to fix what's not broken.

FrankTheCrank @ Sep 30th 2007 5:29AM

Kerbero9,

Your right the jury is still out on the Falcon chipset.

You would think that they have figured out the problem and have since retooled to apply the "fix". They must have stress tested the new mobo.

I dont buy this argument that the new mobo/chipset doesnt matter. Thats bunk. Why would they bother?

People are reporting quieter systems, which to me sounds like a huge improvement.

I would love to stress test a new system by leaving it enclosed in a hot area for a good 48 hours. If the PS3 can do it, there isnt any reason the 360 cant.

Don @ Sep 30th 2007 8:38AM

@dragod
Yeah, you're probably right, but they're going to lose an insane amount of money anyways with this whole extended warranty. Hopefully they'll be able to solve this RROD problem and get a handle on it. It's ashame you guys have to go through this shit after paying the kind of money that you did.

Michael Paul @ Sep 30th 2007 10:22AM

As pointed out, the repair shop WILL send you back someone else's repaired 360 rather than a new one, for whatever reason they use. Maybe new units get new units, maybe not.

The junker I now have works, but the DVD drawer only opens with help from me. It seems slower at booting, but no game functionality seems to be affected. I am still waiting to get Halo 3, though...

Xion @ Sep 30th 2007 11:42AM

if you send it back to microsoft you SHOULD be getting your very same sytem back.

OTAM @ Sep 30th 2007 1:15PM

There,the "falcon" is out,can we end this story now?

I have never seen so much amazement over a console chip in my life.

Dragooncancer @ Sep 30th 2007 5:04PM

Well I just got my Xbox back from the repair center and it's a brand new Xbox that was made on September 13 2007.

There's no HDMI port though but it is very VERY quiet compared to my old one. And it seems to me that it doesn't get nowhere near as hot as my old box use to get. So I don't know if I got the new falcon chip or not but here's to hoping that my new box doesn't break.

Fezmid @ Sep 30th 2007 5:47PM

@Don: "You got poor Fezmid over here worried to play his 360 in fear of the RROD, it finally happens, then they send him another one without the chip. So now he's right back where he started, playing scared."

Ummm, I'm not playing scared. I got a good year out of the console, and now I have one that seems to work again. My $300 video card in my PC just died a few weeks ago as well (6800GT), and you don't hear me complaining about nVidia. I just bought a new video card. If I have to buy a new console in another 8-12 months, so be it.

Morgan @ Sep 30th 2007 7:33PM

Hm, still waiting for my coffin. I hope they send me a whole new one, that would be spiffy, but really, I just want one that works.

Is that so much to ask?

Al Miller @ Oct 1st 2007 7:45AM

kerbero9, the math here is not too hard to understand. Even if the CPU is not the main heat contributor, ANYTHING that lowers the average internal temp of the system is a good thing and will help improve system stability.

Will it solve all the problems? Of course not. But it will help.

JohnDoe @ Oct 1st 2007 9:28AM

Yeah the system will run cooler and with the still upgraded GPU heatsink the problem should go away for the most part unless some ppl continue to put their system in a closed space.

I'd say the whole RROD is a nightmare for MS like it is us. I think they wouldn't have bothered with a new rev if it wasn't gonna help on reliability alot. What is the chances of a RROD on old systems like 30%? I think the falcon will drop it to 10% or less depending on room temps and such the 360 is kept in.

Frank @ Oct 1st 2007 12:41PM

I am an owner of the Xbox 360 in both the Pro and Elite versions. Looking to add the Halo 3 edition shortly. I am also owner of the PS3 and the Wii. I am just a fanboy of games. I must say I have *NEVER* had a problem with my Xbox's but I have them in a well ventilated area that I put 2 120mm case fans in my cabinet. 1 to draw air in and 1 to draw out. Works well.

Now, on the other hand. I have the PS3 and I have had them die 2x. I called Sony 2x and each time since I couldn't find my receipt I was charge $150 bucks to get in repaired or refurbished.

Something I like about Microsoft is that they do not require the receipt to fix a console. They will take your serial # and you send it in for repair.

One thing I wish tha both companies would do is take your credit card # over the phone, send out a refurbished unit immediately after the phone, you return your broken unit in the same box tha will include pre-paid shipping. Then if they do not receive your broken unit, they charge your credit card the full price. This makes it so you are not out of gaming for 5 - 8 weeks like the companies about have.

machrc @ Oct 1st 2007 6:05PM

will this falcon make the system any faster????

just run cooler???

dats it?? no performance gains??

Al Miller @ Oct 2nd 2007 4:29PM

Of course no performance gains. It's a game console, not a pc. Revisions on a console are never for performance. They are for stability, reliability or overall size reduction.

I'm hoping one of these tech sites like Ars or HardOCP gets a confirmed falcon system and can get some temperature tests done in the next few weeks against a Zephyr 360. I'm curious to see if this gets the kind of improvements many (including me) are hoping for.

360 @ Nov 10th 2007 10:30PM

Does the elite have the falcon chip? And is it worth waiting till August for the 65 gpu chip? And also, if my elite breaks after August will they send me a new one with the new additions?

OL1V4 BR @ Nov 18th 2007 9:44AM

there's nothing to do with the lot #734... We have people who bought consoles from older lots and had falcons... a way to find out if u have a falcon is taking a look at the back of the xbox... if there's something like "ICASA..." you certainly have the top xbox 360

The Grim Sleeper @ Nov 21st 2007 11:50AM

Hey Kids,

Prolly old news here, but I picked up a 360 Elite at Gamestop in Springville, Utah today (11-19-07) and confirmed that it is indeed a Falcon CPU version. It bears a manufactured date of 10-06-07 but team FDOU and is lot #740.

I checked another lot manufactured on 9-05-07 and it was NOT Falcon.

Good luck, and may this be the end of the RRoD!

Nate @ Nov 26th 2007 3:26PM

All you need to know and more about the Falcon: http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3152

don b @ Mar 5th 2008 8:42PM

all this talk and name calling is a joke too. if all of you would have got your XBox 360 at COSTCO you could return it and get a new one the same day. forget going to microsoft and waiting 2 or 3 weeks and get another used one. I know your headaches because i am on my 4th 360 in a little over a year, and yes they do have the lasted models in stock. to the guy that is unsure of getting one JUST DO IT! hopefully there is a COSTCO near by. Your welcome everybody debate settled!!!!!!!