There’s a small, dedicated, group of people keeping their eyes open on the latest revisions of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console in the hopes that they can snag themselves an all 65nm version of the console. Anandtech tries to break down the latest findings:
So, what’s the big deal with Jasper? Well, it finally brings a 65nm GPU to the console, which should run much cooler than the current 90nm GPU that’s been there since launch. Why does that matter? The 360 is now infamous for the “Red Ring of Death” (aka RRoD) failure and many hypothesize that this is related to overheating issues. The Falcon motherboard introduced a 65nm CPU shrink to help combat heat issues, but unfortunately, the GPU remained at 90nm (possibly with a slight redesigned or possibly even a half-node 80nm shrink). Overall the Falcon-based 360s run cooler and quieter than earlier models and seem to be more reliable so far. The RRoD has not been completely eliminated, however, and many of us have been waiting for the 65nm GPU update before actually buying a 360 – myself included. The exact reasons for the Xbox 360 reliability issues is not the purpose of this article, but I hope that Jasper will fix it. That said, we won’t know what impact Jasper will have on reliability until they’ve been out for about a year or so.
I had a variety of reasons for waiting until approximately this point in time to buy a 360, but with all speculation pointing towards Jasper being out sometime around now, I couldn’t help but wait a bit longer for the latest and greatest. At the same time, I have a fiance breathing down my neck about getting Rock Band, so I’ve been doing my best to track down a Jasper-based 360 before she kills me. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.
The likelihood is you’ll walk away even more confused and less inclined to try and seek one out, leaving more for the rest of us!
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