New Xbox 360 CPU should run cooler

Even though we've been able to keep our Xbox 360 from overheating by slapping on a Nyko Intercooler and dangling the power brick out a window, 360-lovers who can't take the heat will be happy to learn of Microsoft's plans to release a cooler-running 'box next year. Although the CPU upgrade, which takes advantage of a 65-nanometer manufacturing technique, may not be a direct response to what the company has said are only sporadic reports of overheating, the end result will be less heat dissipation due to lower power consumption. Like the current chips manufactured using 90-nanometer technology, the new CPUs will be produced by both developer IBM and OEM Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, and are not expected to offer significantly improved performance, to ensure compatibility with current titles.

[Via Joystiq]

[AUA @ Apr 21st 2006 12:13PM]

reduce or produce?

[TexRob @ Apr 21st 2006 12:15PM]

Early adopters f'd in the a as usual. I just hope and pray that mine doesn't die everytime I play it. I am a firm believer that 90% of electronics failures are from improper ventilation and moving them around. This is the first product I've ever bought that I feel no matter what I do it might just up and fail.

[bob @ Apr 21st 2006 12:18PM]

IBM promising cooler chips! heard that one before and they didnt produce

[BK @ Apr 21st 2006 12:31PM]

This is yet another reason not to be an early adopter of any new system. Seems like they're always the one getting burnt.

Imagine the later buyers getting a cooler Xbox system (possibly with a slimer "brick").

[Chris Dzoba @ Apr 21st 2006 12:39PM]

I'm a first adopter, have got my Xbox 360 crammed into a small entertainment stand, which is in a corner. The back of the stand has wires, and the stand also has an Xbox along with lots of games on it. There is no where for the 360, or the brick, to breath. I play it daily, and it hasn't messed up once. Either I'm INCREDIBLY lucky, or a lot of people are making a lot of noise about absolutely nothing (which I think is the case).

[bob @ Apr 21st 2006 12:44PM]

great - so no one adopt early, that way the product wont be improved - itll just die haha, though i think everyone should boycot the high def disks

[Q Enigma @ Apr 21st 2006 12:46PM]

The most practical solution: spend $50 on the two-year- full-replacement warranty if you bought your 360 at Best Buy, Circuit City or any other retailer who offers them. By next year, if your 360 croaks, swap it out for the cooler system (no pun intended).

[Jake Handsome @ Apr 21st 2006 12:47PM]

Just another reason to buy a PS3.

The Sony PlayStation 3 runs cooler due to the advanced cell processor technology.

[Chris Dzoba @ Apr 21st 2006 12:51PM]

Playstation sucks, get a decent console like one from Microsoft or Nintendo.

[GrandmaSandwich @ Apr 21st 2006 12:54PM]

Yes the PS3 runs cooler because ... oh wait what does the PS3 look like? how fast is it? What were those final shipping specs.... hmmm... It's definitely running cooler right now.

[K @ Apr 21st 2006 12:55PM]

Is it just me or was this an incredibly stupid announcement. MS just gave anyone on the fence about buying a 360 a reason to wait for the *better* upgraded version. By which time it will have to compete directly with the PS3 and Revolution.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

[Payton Byrd @ Apr 21st 2006 12:56PM]

Jake,

The processor in the XBOX is a version of the Cell, Microsoft just doesn't want to call it that because of the connotations with Sony having very publicly been touting their version of the Cell. Sony's Cell should actually run hotter than Microsoft's because it has more helper cores and they both have the same PowerPC main core.

[Jake Handsome @ Apr 21st 2006 12:56PM]

http://wootboot.com/360psu

http://www.nyko.com/nyko/products/?i=71

[Darth Pelican @ Apr 21st 2006 12:57PM]

"Just another reason to buy a PS3.

The Sony PlayStation 3 runs cooler due to the advanced cell processor technology."

Shutup already and go write stuff like that on a Playsuck website. For crying out loud! This is about the XBOX not something else. Why don't you go stand out in front of E3 and be the first one to play a PS3 there. Just leave us all in peace.

[What's In Your Wallet @ Apr 21st 2006 1:00PM]

- 8. Just another reason to buy a PS3.

The Sony PlayStation 3 runs cooler due to the advanced cell processor technology. -

Bull crap! For a device that is not even on the market yet you seem to be very arrogant to think that the cell is going to run cooler, what about all the other electronics inside the PS3, NVIDIA video processor, hard drive, optical drive, power supply, etc that have nothing to do with cell processor? PS3 is going to have its issues as well.

[Joe @ Apr 21st 2006 1:07PM]

#8 Hey Jake did your get you electronic engineering degree from a box of cracker-jacks,

"Just another reason to buy a PS3.

The Sony PlayStation 3 runs cooler due to the advanced cell processor technology."

===Start flame====

i dont think there a better example of the moronic fanboy PS3 rheotic ever. This should cement the difference between PS3 fanboys and 360 fanboys one bases there comments on reality the other one on a squareenix dreamworld of kingdom hearts where everything sony is better.

PS3 will run just as hot if not warmer considering the problems they had with the hardware specs and the previous attempts(ie the PS2)

==end flame==

the point of this is so that the 360 can be made cheaper, there nothing different other then it will cost them less, therefore they can offer a price drop of the 360, this should be timed right around the PS3 lanuch window, agian considering most of the PS3 fanboys are under 18 this is good news for you when the POS3 drops and mommy wont drop $600+ $60 per game each you can walk out of the store with a 360 instead of teary eyes.

get a job you bitches

['Kaze @ Apr 21st 2006 1:11PM]

I happen to agree with poster #8 - there are currently no known problems with the cooling on the PS3. In fact, it currently has more cooling power than it needs at the moment. Then again, vaporware does tend to run exceptionally cool...

[Saxon @ Apr 21st 2006 1:13PM]

"11. Is it just me or was this an incredibly stupid announcement. MS just gave anyone on the fence about buying a 360 a reason to wait for the *better* upgraded version. By which time it will have to compete directly with the PS3 and Revolution.

Stupid, stupid, stupid."

Yeah, I was really on the fence but now I may just wait or upgrade my PC.

I just feel like if I wait any longer to play Oblivion my head will explode.

[Darth Pelican @ Apr 21st 2006 1:17PM]

Thank You Joe. I couldn't have said it better myself. Bottom line... 360 is brand new. It'll take a little while to get the bugs out. The Playstinker 3 is gonna have its own special little set of problems. Then will we scream and shout? Never!!! This is just the circle of life.

Jake, can I come over to your house and play your PS3? Obviously since you have stated the system has no problems and runs better you must have one. Otherwise it's just blind obsession and you should be locked up in a straightjacket.

How can you possibly know that the PS3 is gonna run perfectly? People like you should be starved and forced to play Atari until you die.

[samt @ Apr 21st 2006 1:20PM]

it said at the top "not expected to offer significantly improved performance, to ensure compatibility with current titles."

so will it indeed run at least a little faster? if so MS has screwed all current xbox users, i've never heard of changing a major spec of system a year into sales.

[Alan Erickson @ Apr 21st 2006 1:20PM]

11. Is it just me or was this an incredibly stupid announcement. MS just gave anyone on the fence about buying a 360 a reason to wait for the *better* upgraded version. By which time it will have to compete directly with the PS3 and Revolution.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Thank you #11 for saving me some typing. I was think the exact same thing. What good does it do to release this information and what on earth were they thinking?

['Kaze @ Apr 21st 2006 1:32PM]

#11 and #20 - They were thinking that it would make people who are on the fence because of the reported overheating issues with the 360 more likely to buy the newer unit when it comes out. Since they've already committed to the newer tech (65nm vs 90nm), this allows them to both bring in people who were sitting on the fence over the overheating issues without taking a major hit. Then there's the factor of people who will buy the new unit having already purchased the first run, flooding the used market with used units.

They'll probably clear out the few remaining in-stock 90nm units pretty quickly, as the supply still hasn't met the demand. In the end, they won't have lost much by making this announcement and stand to gain much more. But that's just my 0.02Inf

[Thill @ Apr 21st 2006 1:45PM]

I have never had any problems with my 360 and overheating (ande I play it a ton). I work in a very large tech company, and none of the other guys that own 360's (several got them the first night they went on sale) have had overheating issues. I think this whole overheating thing is blown way out of proportion by a bunch of PS3 fanboys.

The bottomline is that Microsoft is switching to the smaller processor because it is cheaper to manufacture . Period. Why is this so hard to understand? The fact that the processor is cooler is just an added bonus.

[gravey @ Apr 21st 2006 1:46PM]

My XBOX 360 is in a UPS truck heading back to Microsoft so that they can fix my overheating problems. Combine that with Madden being no better than Madden '93 for the Genesis, I am a bit disappointed for the amount of money my dad for the 360. The good thing is that the "market adjustment" went to charity.

Has anyone tried the cooler system? Is it loud?

[K @ Apr 21st 2006 1:48PM]

"22. #11 and #20 - They were thinking that it would make people who are on the fence because of the reported overheating issues with the 360 more likely to buy the newer unit when it comes out."

It's currently April 2006. This newer unit isn't coming out until *2007* - your explanation might make sense if the newer unit were going to be available next month, but making the announcement this far out, and essentially telling people that if you buy a 360 today, you're getting out-dated technology, is mind-blowingly stupid.

[Brenden @ Apr 21st 2006 2:00PM]

Wow, you people have the nerve to call someone a PS3 fanboy, but yet all the while acting more fanboyish than the guy you are posting about.

I really wish the internet was just for grown ups.

As for the spec change, yeah, i'd say Microsoft has shot themselves in the foot yet again. The first time was when they announce they wouldnt have HD-DVD inside, then they WOULD, then ok, we'll make an add-on, or maybe not. Heck we'll support Blu-ray if need be!

I think they were so involved in getting out first that they didnt really nail down how they wanted the console to be finalized. And just released anyhow, thinking Sony was coming in Spring. psych! Oh well.

As an added bonus: I've read that the cell chip itself runs alot cooler than regular processors at the same speed. Can i prove that this is true. no, but one of those hardware/tech sites posted it. So take it with a grain...

[MaXKiLLz @ Apr 21st 2006 2:01PM]

Microsoft just said, "HA HA! Thanks for being our beta testers...", to all the early adopters of their 360.

[Chris @ Apr 21st 2006 2:18PM]

This probably isn't an attempt by Microsoft to simply reduce heat and screw consumers. This happens all the time in the computing industry. When chips come out (90nm) initially, it costs more to produce in this form. Through practice and improvements in technology, the chips are moved to a more cost effective (cheaper) 60nm production process that is cooler. Look at Intel, AMD, Nvidia, ATI, Sony (they did it with PS2 a while ago and this is part of the reason for the initial PS2 price cuts).

[Ben Hobbs @ Apr 21st 2006 2:24PM]

I live in Phuket, Thailand and run a Japanese Xbox360 for 6-8 hours at a time in a non air-conditioned room with an ambient temperature of 40 degrees celcius, I have never had one overheating complaint. Theres bound to be the odd unit that is faulty just from the fact its so high-tech.

PS3 fanboys; I'm not sure how you think the PS3 is gonna run four times the resolution(2x1080p), including a Blue-Ray drive (have you seen the size of the Blu-ray Players), be smaller AND run cooler. To be honest if you havent already got an xbox360 then your not really a gamer, games transcend platforms, fanboys do not.

['Kaze @ Apr 21st 2006 2:34PM]

#25 - You're right. My apologies - I missed the part about it being in 2007. It makes less sense in this instance. I could understand the announcement if it were made closer to release date (and thus put more pressure on Sony's PS3 launch while simultaneously inflating the sales of the 360), but this far out does seem...odd.

I withdraw my previous argument and revert to my standby: it's Microsoft - traditional logic need not apply.

[David (AKA Nanook) @ Apr 21st 2006 2:37PM]

I live in an igloo in Alaska and I use mine to defrost whale blubbler...

[Jason @ Apr 21st 2006 2:44PM]

Uhm, don't you guys realize that IBM is making both the 360's triple-core PowerPC processors and the PS3's cell processor? IBM making a die that overheats on the 360 (using tried and proven technology) is not good news for Sony. I mean, how in the world do you make an overheating CPU die using a 90nm process?! AMD and Intel are pointing and laughing, right now.

[ec300 @ Apr 21st 2006 2:47PM]

I love when a heated debate starts in these threads and everyone thinks they are an expert.

I for one am on my third 360 now due to malfunctions. Red lights the first time and power brick melt down the second time.

What I would like to see is a company actually test there system / software before releasing it. Too many companies rush to get things out the door.

While I will not comment as the PS3, Revolution, or 360 being better, I do give a high five for holding off and actually testing there system before sending it out.

[oshean @ Apr 21st 2006 2:48PM]

"To be honest if you havent already got an xbox360 then your not really a gamer, games transcend platforms,
fanboys do not."

Well written Ben Hobbs!

[David @ Apr 21st 2006 2:58PM]

I believe that the bulk of the overheating issues for the 360 consoles were due to poor QA where the packaging foil for the heatsinks wasn't being removed. Once removed, the overheating issues for those consoles has been eliminated.

I'm all for a less power hungry chip, and if they can produce a 60nm chip that runs cooler and uses less power, great for us all.

David

[Travis Suddieth @ Apr 21st 2006 3:26PM]

I feel for everyone on this Matter. I've been the stupid gamer that's bought 4 systems so far and 3 went bad if you can call it that. The freezing started happening about a day or 2 after having the system and playing no more than a hour. Its Overheating problem's and that HUGE as power source brick thingy lol. Some do fine but a month or so in they will go evil on you and start messing up. Mine has always been in open space. Many of you know this and do as well and still have problems. The one system that didn't mess up was the $400 one. But I had 2 cores and another $400 one that started freezing the day I got it and played a hour into Oblivion and Bam Froze up. They will get it fixed MAYBE WE HOPE LOL, yes I've heard they will send new ones out that better by Damn next year. Its April 21st today and I was going to buy another $400 one but since all sites are saying this and it lives up to the truth I'll have to damn wait I guess. I guess $400 will get my wife and I a new Bike and something to Tow my two girls along with plenty of money left and get out more and get Exercise lol. Not Exercise just the Fingers lol. Take a Hint and wait people and just enjoy your summer not glued to that damn messed up 360 right now. Take a Vacation with family and friends untill PS3 hits or 360 fix's it's problems I've made my Decision Make yours Smart lol. $400 dollars plus the games GOES A HELL A BETTER SPENDING WAY THINK ABOUT IT LOL. I know it sucks I'm a Damn GAMER Freak but its time to get off out Ass's and get out more this summer! PEACE OUT YA'LL!

[Xavier @ Apr 21st 2006 4:14PM]

That news bothers me. Spent over $400 and already on my 3rd 360. Had probmes with rechargeable batteries and controllers. Basicly everything I ever got from MS hI had to return and now they say they will meke a better product for next year. Great. So all those that bought now get the junkie one and when waranty runs out you are really in trouble. Having to now pay repair fees for a faulty product.

[tom @ Apr 21st 2006 4:17PM]

Thats right! The non-existant system DOES in fact run cooler! I hate fan boys.

And Travis... how much money have you spent on xbox 360's?

[Don @ Apr 21st 2006 4:18PM]

"I believe that the bulk of the overheating issues for the 360 consoles were due to poor QA where the packaging foil for the heatsinks wasn't being removed. Once removed, the overheating issues for those consoles has been eliminated."

And you'd be wrong. It was revealed that the foil is there quite intentionally and is part of the design process.

I'm fortunate in that my 360 hasn't had any heating issues -- and neither have my friends -- but it seems as if there is a very real issue with the 360. It doesn't bother me, especially since the PS3 will have similiar (yet different) problems, no doubt.

[Tyre @ Apr 21st 2006 4:21PM]

#8 I bet the Phantom runs pretty cool as well. Ohh wait... Just like the PS3 it's no where to be found. Sorry bro but your argument is crap.

[Daveoc64 @ Apr 21st 2006 4:24PM]

I don't understand why people care so much about this. It's an change that has been planned for a long time and was already public knowledge. We just didn't know when MS would be making the switch.

It's going to lower the production costs for MS which is the main aim, as a side effect it will probably be cooler and more power effecient.

MS didn't decide that they needed to fix the current system, they are looking to future production methods to save money.

[Marcin Lasica @ Apr 21st 2006 4:28PM]

All the comments about the 360 overheating always surprise me. Mine becomes slightly warm after a few hours of Oblivion and the power brick isn't hot either. Are there such big differences between the units or are the overheating complaints completely overblown by Sony fans?

Honestly - as much as I dislike Microsoft I think the 360 is an excellent piece of hardware.

[Chris McDowell @ Apr 21st 2006 4:32PM]

I have had mine for months now it sits next to a projector which pumps out more heat than the 360 and I had my 360 glitch up and give me artifacts cause I had some clothes on it... I have played it for almost a day straight and left it on longer so I dont think it is necessarily a design flaw but merely an issue with quality control across all of their plants and probably just some bad batches. I think it is not widespread issues just batches of bad ones. Since it is a console I think people tend to complain about it's issues more than say the HP PC that they bought that is overheating or DOA which give the illusion that it is a worse product when it is right up there with other failing products.

[Christian @ Apr 21st 2006 4:48PM]

So seriously, what are all those early adopters complaining about here? How would you have wanted things to go instead of the current situation. I can only see a handful of alternative scenarios:
1. MS should wait till 2007 to release the X360. Answer: Not a good idea.
2. MS should offer upgrades to all early adopters to the new 65nm processors. Answer: You really expect them to tear your console apart and fit a new processor in there and give it back to you? Even when you're not really affected by any heat issues? Just recall millions of consoles *for no reason*!?
3. Not upgrade newer X360s to a 65nm process, just so that early adopters don't feel bad. Answer: Does this really makse sense to anybody?

All in all, I don't see anything to whine about here, it's not like the people complaining even suffered from instability issues. They just felt they had to whine! And it's not like the case is any different with any other hi tech product. Did you also complain when Sony released a newer much smaller and cheaper PS2? NO!

[Smoke @ Apr 21st 2006 5:20PM]

to Jake
actually, the PS3 keeps melting because they can't cram all the components into the case without the heat becoming unbearable. get your facts straight.

[Facts @ Apr 21st 2006 5:45PM]

I got TWO Xbox 360s on launch day. I sold one on EBay to a customer more than happy to pay over $800 for it at the time.

I play the one I kept every day. I have proper cooling space around it because it's a BEAST of a machine. Would you really buy a tri-core 3.2 GHz PC with a killer graphics card inside of a cupboard or whatever these silly people getting overheating problems do?

Mine hasn't locked up once. I've upgraded my Dashboard, downloaded movie trailers and demos, use a memory card in conjuntion with the hard drive, use 4 wireless controllers -- I haven't had ANY problem with ANY thing. I'm insanely happy with my Xbox 360 so far, and I can't wait for titles that will start to push the architecture (use all 3 cores at once through proper programming implementation).

Wait -- you Sony fanboys didn't know that every game out so far is using only a SINGLE processor core? Oh no! What are you going to do when insanely good looking and unique games come out on the 360 (i.e. Gears of War) and blow the marketplace away? Still argue that your non-specced, non-finalized PS3 hardware is better?

And if you bash on the fact that games aren't "full power" yet on the 360 -- well, you're just a n00b. Every console has an ample set of release titles with the best games coming out 2-3 years later in the life cycle of the console. Developers need time to properly harness hardware and optimally write code for games on new systems. God of War is an AMAZING Sony PS2 game -- but it came out more than 4 years after the launch of the system. No one was going around saying "OH MAN! THESE PS2 LAUNCH TITLES ARE REVOLUTIONARY!".

So label me a fanboy if you want, but I've been gaming since 1988. Some people who post here weren't even born then. I have gotten to see Nintendo rise and fall in the US, followed by SEGA's sad exit from the console marketplace, followed by Sony's quick rise to power, followed by Microsoft's "attempt" to get in the game...but let me tell you -- Microsoft KNOWS what gamers want -- and if they don't, they have unlimited budget to do top-notch research and development (which they obviously did for the 360). While Sony sat on thier ass riding the sucess of the PS2, Microsoft was already halfway done designing the 360. When it finally released on time, I think Sony's presidents of gaming about shit their pants, realizing that Microsoft really knew what they were doing and were in it to win. Sony, on the other hand, has lost BILLIONS in sales over the past several years. They will still lose BILLIONS more launching the PS3 (they will be losing profit on each PS3 sold).

Sony is also full of empty promises. The Emotion Engine (the CPU in the PS2) was supposed to deliver me a gameplay experience that looked the the FMV sequences from the Final Fantasy games. Did it? Hell no. In fact, the PS2 remains the weakest of it's generation as far as hardware specs. go. The funny thing about this next round is that the specs in the 360 are arguably better in almost EVERY area except raw FLOPS perfomance. How sad would it be for Sony to have this extra time to just release a gimped system as they did with the PS2 (it DIDN'T live up to the specs they initially promised)?

So go ahead and wait for your beloved PS3, Sony fanboys, while I enjoy playing my 360 in full surround on my Samsung progressive HDTV.

P.S. -- I own both Intel/AMD systems and Sega/Sony/Microsoft/Ninendo consoles...so any calling me a biased fanboy is stupid. Go think deeply about what I've taken all this time to type out.

[Facts @ Apr 21st 2006 5:52PM]

I forgot to add that these new chips will not run ANY faster. The smalling manufacturing process on chip will allow for less heat to be created from all the heavy processing. If they made the chips ANY faster it would be a nightmare for game developers.

___________________________
The WHOLE POINT of consoles is that they have a uniform hardware set. The PS2 had at least 12 hardware versions -- YES -- 12 DIFFENT original PS2's were released -- some had more and better features than the old hardware -- but all the chip clock speeds remained the same (the new features being progressive scan reading of DVDs, etc.). Ultimately, these new 65nm chips will simply allow for for Microsoft to save money by manufacturing more chips per wafer in the factory. Smaller chip size == more chips per wafer == $$$ saving for Microsoft. Billing it as a "new cooler chip" may be the case, but it's just a marketing technique to attract anyone turned off by the overblown, overproportioned "cooling problems" that people are experiencing.
___________________________

So yeah. Don't wait to buy a 360 because of this unless you're ABSOLUTELY positive that for some reason your Xbox 360 would overheat. The bulk of the negatives on that issue come from all the kids who are jealous that some of us can afford Xbox 360s from hard work. Mine has never had ANY heating issues.

[Markcus @ Apr 21st 2006 6:12PM]

I haven't had trouble with overheating. Of course we'll see what happens in the summer...

[willyjsimmons @ Apr 21st 2006 6:28PM]

'Go think deeply about what I've taken all this time to type out.'

I found it much more fun to follow your link and listen to your crappy music!!!

Good day to you.

[John @ Apr 21st 2006 6:56PM]

I get a kick out of how you Y-Box FanGirls get your panties all in a knot if one person mentions the PS3. It's not even out yet, and yet you seem to be totally paranoid about it. Do yourself a favor, worry about your Y-Box and we'll worry about our PS3. See you in November!