Been to the gym lately? If not, then let this be your new motivation. What we're looking at here is a purportedly forthcoming
Xbox 360 motherboard redesign that takes aim at
slimming down the portly figure of
Microsoft's console. Sure, there's a small chance that this diet could be the work of a scarily
talented console modder, but it'd still be a near-impossible task to work in what appears to be a CPU / GPU combo chip (pictured after the break) under that greatly reduced heatsink. Note that there's also an extra SATA port at the top left corner. Perhaps this is the "
Valhalla" revision that we've all been
waiting for? On a related note, Microsoft is currently hiring a Motherboard Design Engineer for the Xbox 360 Console Development team, with such saucy tasks as "specifying, designing, implementing and verifying the mother-board and other various sub-system boards that make up the XBOX 360 product line." Feel free to sign up if you think you can hack out a better motherboard.
posted March 17th 2010 10:04AM
I find the lack of a port shot add, pretty easy to tell if its a Xbox 360 or not by the port connectors. Also the lack of cleaning the thermal paste off the cpu die makes for a sort of point less pic. Also I see a distinct lack of mem card reader slots, so either this is fake or MS is ditching a memory format. Not seeming very likely that they would ditch memory cards after making such a fuss about unlicensed third party ones.
@KAL326
I agree for the most part; But we don't know whether this is a finished product. While there are no mem card slots on this board, it is possible that they just haven't been added yet.
@KAL326
I've made a side-by-side comparison with older m/b.
http://www.imagefire.net/view/1eabbfcd6753.png
Looks like it's a complete re-design for lowest-end / new form factor SKU or some kind of dev unit. There are some common connectors, and screw holes don't match to any of PC standards, so I think I can say it IS a 360.
@num0 The RAM is still visible under the heatsink (in the second picture).
@num0 I give you the right side screw points are fairly close to the production points. However I do wonder about the clarity of the Microsoft SB chip print compared to the printing on all the other chips in the shot, it just seems to stand out wayyy to much in comparison. Also the movement of the HDD SATA connector from a board edge proprietary connector to a header seems odd. If this is designed to be a new version of the 360 I find it odd that they would move the HDD around, unless the board is small enough that the case depth would not allow for a orientation like the current model for the HDD. Interesting either way.
@BillyZ Or perhaps the mem card slot is in the back now.
@num0
The first connector on the top left in YOUR pic is the memory card slot. Next to that there is a little button which is the controller sync button, then there is power button, then the IR port. No USB on the front.
On the bottom from left to right in YOUR picture I believe is the power socket, an optical TOSlink output, a TV output, HDMI output, USB ports, and ethernet ports.
So either you're right and the memory card slots are gone completely or I'm right and all the USB ports are on the back.
looks like cheap crap...
Looks like it could make a nice Media Center extender. Hope they quiten up the DVD drive while they are in there.
And I wouldn't mind a controller to go with it that has a decent dpad. I can dream, right?
kind of hard to tell depth in that image... but i hope they find a different heatsink/fan.... or the "xbox slim" is going to be the "xbox shoebox".
By Odin's Beard!
Maybe they will finally figure out how to build in a wireless adapter and a built in power supply. Then make it quieter. Why not throw in a bigger HDD. Then charge $200-$300 more when the current Xbox should already have all of this stuff.
Might as well throw in Bluray too...
@SirFaba
I know! that huge power brick down behind my entertainment center where i never look is so offensive. Sometimes, when I'm playing MW2, i just have to stop midgame, climb behind my tv and cry because the power supply just ruins the whole Xbox experience.
@SirFaba Blu-ray would be awesome (obviously just for movies) to add in but probably wishful thinking. While we are at it, add a gigabit ethernet port with a higher bitrate supported for streaming video (BD-->WTV), and support for flash & Silverlight (for Internet TV/Netflix in extender mode).
@SirFaba The idea of the redesign is to make the hardware cheaper to manufacture (ie. getting rid of the 2nd memory card slot). They are not going to add Blu-ray or anything that would make the Xbox 360 more expensive to manufacture. The best hope you have is that they will bundle Natal with these new Xbox 360's instead of a price drop this year.
Power supply is not going to be built-in because it would take away from size reduction in the console and add more heat to the insides. They will probably be able to make a smaller power brick though since the Valhalla chip uses less power.
I'm confused - half the board uses high-quality metal-enclosed Japanese caps and the other half uses cheap electrolytics. wtf?
@bjs Looks like critical power supply sections use the good caps, while buffers for external I/O use the cheap ones. Remember that if you're hoping to make millions of these, every penny saved is thousands of dollars.
All the redesign in the world isn't going to matter if they still keep using the horrible X-clamps to attach the heatsink to the board.
a new round of RRoD anyone?
Make the power supply internal and smaller, boost the onboard flash memory to 1(minimum)~8GB or allow us to swap the HDD with any 2.5' one, more silent, add internal WiFi (really, even
@(Unverified) Make the power supply internal and smaller, boost the onboard flash memory to 1(minimum)~8GB or allow us to swap the HDD with any 2.5' one, more silent, add internal WiFi (really, even under 200 EUR lappys have WiFi nowadays), and change the price to around 150 Eur and I'll get one myself even tho I don't really like any XBox 360 exclusive.
All this to say, this is a very nice move from MS to shrink the console.
when i purchase a Xbox 360, they throw one better...lol
is a dream, a silent Xbox360 :)
If there's an extra sata port, perhaps there'll be an internal, non-removable hard-drive, with the option to buy a second external one. This would mean no bulky enclosure and no airflow problem if the system is parked vertically.
In my opinion, the two biggest things Microsoft need to put in are things already in the ps3 - WiFi and Blu-Ray.
a 360 slim packaged with natal for the holidays? Not a bad thought
Get ready for the 2nd Generation of Red Rings.
and i just bought an xbox second hand.... but seriously, 5 years for the xbpx 360 slim? sony did it first
@Ethan There doesn't seem to be an "extra" SATA port. They relocated the one for the HD. There do appear to be some extra ports on the back side, though.
I wish they'd add a cablecard option. I'd gladly donate my Scientific Atlanta box to "will it blend".
Anyone take a look at the connectors?
Top right is power, then there is an optical out (onboard now?), Ethernet & USB connectors. Then what is the one on the top left corner? The same goes for that single connector on the bottom edge, next to the two USB connectors (which are now flat next to each other instead of on top of each other). Is that a single memory card slot?
would be great if Microsoft puts optical right in there, instead of forcing you to buy a special cable...
After reading the comments and mixing them with my own impressions, I'd say that: To downsize they will have to get rid of the current removable x360 hdd (I hope not, but it does seem plausible) and stick in a non-removable internal one. And secondly it would be a killer move if they had routed the 2nd sata into some kind of proprietary port (why proprietary? so we buy their accessory instead of a random external one) and use that for a Blu-ray drive accessory...
Furthermore, looking closely at the picture reveals that the optical drive is going to be positioned on the left side, since there are no tall components that would obstruct the drive.
does XBox run their motherboards off foxconn? overtop of the casing of the USB, i see the name....
actually hope they keep the Valhalla name in the final product.....it has a good ring to it...."Xbox Valhalla"
wit the picture blown up, the microsoft/(x) xbox 360 logo sticks out because it was photo-shopped onto the chip. Deciding factor for me
Microsoft: show us some HDMI 1.4a love in Valhalla!
I would admit the best form factor would be slimming the motherboard down enough to incorporate the power supply!
I've toted that brick around long enough.
Hm, I am confused though. Doesn't the Xbox have some sort of IBM Power Pc processor + an ATI graphic chip?
So who's making such a combo chip? It doesn;t make a lot of sense. What the manufactoring process then 45nm if the older ones are 65nm?
Which fab should be doing that? I thought CPUs and GPUs use different fab tech.
M.
why are all of these microsoft names based on places from westchester county in ny? i bet its just a coincidence but there is a vista and valhalla in westchester county.
It would be great to have
HDMI1.4
HDMI Control
Gigabit Ethernet
Built in Wireless N
Quieter fans and DVD drive
A built in power supply isnt really a concern.
The Flextronics factory in China, which is manufacturing the Xbox, is hiring another 12.000 employees by September this year. So I guess something is coming up....
I think its about time that M$ redesigns the Xbox 360, 5 years and were still stuck with white or black colours (and halo special edition) that's it. There are a few things that are on my mind
2 SATA ports ?
What DVD drive will they use?
Design of the new console (If there is one)?
Cost ?
I wish they put in a quieter DVD drive, my old 360 was so loud :(