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Xbox 360 slim model in the works?
The picture above shows the guts of what's supposed to be a redesigned, slim version of the Xbox 360. Notable changes include the use of a single GPU/CPU chip and, of course, a much smaller motherboard. There's also a rather large Cooler Master-branded fan attached to the chip, which will cast some doubt on the legitimacy of the leak, but the board is reportedly just an early sample Microsoft finished testing recently in China.
The originating website is Chinese-language site A9VG. While there's not much information to back up their claims, this is not the first time we're getting clues of a revised 360 either. Microsoft's own Steve Ballmer has hinted at SKU's dependent on "form factors" and just recently the company posted a job ad searching for a motherboard engineer for the Xbox 360 development team.
We'll just have to wait to see how these rumors pan out, but considering the success Sony has seen with its PS3 Slim, a new hardware redesign could certainly make a lot of a lot of sense for the Xbox 360 before the end of the year.
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User Comments (49)
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Wagan8r
on March 17, 2010 5:36 PM |
TomSEA said: When are the next generation of consoles due out? I'm thinking a 5 year old platform is pretty old in computer terms. I would have thought they'd start investing their development efforts in the next gen rather than downsizing what they already have.... Both Sony and Microsoft plan on this generation of consoles lasting 10 years. That puts the PS3 and the XBOX 360 out to 2015. Personally, I don't mind as I think that people will become bored with the outdated hardware and will upgrade to the PC. With the release of the CryEngine 3, I'm hoping a lot of developers adopt it, meaning that there will be a wave of games that are natively coded for all 3 platforms, with the PC versions having MUCH better visuals than the console versions, all at no additional cost or programming. With the CryEngine 3, gone are the days of console ports to PC. |
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boyese
on March 17, 2010 6:09 PM |
hopefully these wont results in a new batch of RROD from overheating. |
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Kibaruk
on March 17, 2010 6:51 PM |
Huge ass fan, hope this avoids the famous 3 red lights we all saw at one point :P |
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Guest
on March 17, 2010 7:53 PM |
It definitely hasn't been five years since the last process shrink that the 360 has had. |
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jasonk1229
on March 17, 2010 8:13 PM |
cool, performance better? |
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Deso
on March 17, 2010 8:24 PM |
It looks more then 2x cheaper factory cost then the first 360.... |
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pipopaz
on March 17, 2010 10:19 PM |
Interesting concept, could they go even lower that $200 price tag? Heck I even saw some awesome deals for an arcade console for about lower than that. I guess an xbox 360 with a 120gb for $200 will really start hurting all the profit sony is been making with the ps3 slim. |
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megrawab
on March 17, 2010 10:58 PM |
If it is slim, could it be sexy too?.. Lol... It's a nice effort to compete with Sony's PS3 Slim but in order to compete with Sony user's (in gaming), you must also be a sony user. Sony has been a conformity factor in our area... |
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rufio
on March 17, 2010 11:40 PM |
slim version huh... the only concern i would have is overheating and hopefully they can find a way to overcome that problem if they make the case smaller. and i'm sure all xbox owners will know what i'm talking about when i say red ring of death |
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supyo
on March 17, 2010 11:41 PM |
This is a great idea, i hope they start making them. |
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Yoda8232
on March 18, 2010 12:11 AM |
Yeah I could see a slim 360 coming, would the problems be fixed? Hopefully. That HSF looks exactly the same as some stock Intel coolers on 775 boards in various HP PC's. No matter what it MUST NOT have problems like the original. |
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sagejay
on March 18, 2010 1:08 AM |
It's true that the PS3 slim was a success with the drop of price, it might just be the same thing with the 360 |
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Relic
on March 18, 2010 1:54 AM |
Guest said: I would also like to know how console graphics stunts innovation in games. If anything the retarded casual gamers that only cares about graphics have stunted innovation in games. If you are a real gamer gameplay > graphics. Sure graphics are nice to have and expected to be good. You're right gameplay > graphics. And those who push graphics only over everything else could have hurt solid gameplay which breaks a game more then looks does. But console hardware can hurt innovation or take steps backwards too, I mean look at some of the recent FPS games that exclude prone and lean from the PC version because the console couldn't support it. Balancing issues can of course be fixed but it just feels wrong that older games have features that newer ones lack or that PC games are console ports =P. |
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ET3D
on March 18, 2010 4:16 AM |
"the retarded casual gamers that only cares about graphics" Huh? Only hardcore gamers care about graphics. Casual gamers play on the Wii, they play Flash games, etc. Unless of course you meant to insult the hardcore gamers that care about graphics by calling them casual (which IMO doesn't work well as an insult). Regarding the rumoured slim 360, hey, it won't hurt. The lower cost will allow 360 + Natal to not cost too much over the current 360, and a new box design might appeal to the Wii crowd. |
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Thompson
on March 18, 2010 4:50 AM |
Pretty late in the game to be copying Sony's strategy of reducing the size of their consoles. I wonder how this will effect the red ring issue, a smaller box will make it even hotter. |
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yorro
on March 18, 2010 8:50 AM |
They are already building the next console the same time they are working on this. They are just cashing out the people who hasn't bought a 360 yet by providing enough incentive. By the time people buy one, they are already rumors for a 720. |
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unrealmp3
on March 18, 2010 8:50 AM |
I don't want to get into a PC/consoles flamewar, but it's just a matter of choice and preference. PC gamers are often more knowledgable about computers in general, so they'll use that knowledge to get the most out of their systems with the freedom of hardware configuration. Console gamers are generally more casual persons, and they just want to focus on the gaming part without having to manage the complexity of a computer. To each their preferences. It's PC all the way for me. |
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Kibaruk
on March 18, 2010 9:20 AM |
Pretty late in the game to be copying Sony's strategy of reducing the size of their consoles. I wonder how this will effect the red ring issue, a smaller box will make it even hotter. Dude... new technology is what makes manufacturers make slimmer and cheaper consoles. For as much as they would like 4 years ago this couldn't even be dreamed. |
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ansarimikail
on March 18, 2010 3:06 PM |
I always thought PCs were more powerful, but I suppose Consoles work out cheaper in the long run. Considering you dont have to upgrade your graphics card everytime a new game comes out. |
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levar
on March 18, 2010 3:08 PM |
I think that's more than enough reason why they'd want to slim it down a bit. Whats wrong if there's slim model I can't wait hopefully this is in the works, I hope they change its hard drive I hate the current and that its can't find the word I'm looking for :/ but it only being for the xbox360 and not like the PS3 that is using Laptop SATA Hard drives. |
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DragonMasterJay
on March 18, 2010 4:10 PM |
This slim model, in my opinion, is just a trial to copy off of Sony when they made their Playstation slim models. Just a way to save space. I think this is a greener way to make a gaming unit, however. |
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compdata
on March 19, 2010 8:10 AM |
Maybe i would consider if it had a blu-ray drive too :-) |
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bigclick
on March 21, 2010 11:40 AM |
More hardware as yet unconfirmed. If it is in development, I expect it sooner rather than later. I'm not into consoles, but I'd try to wait if I could. |
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Guest
on March 28, 2010 10:41 PM |
What if they are sliming down the internals to make room for a PSU or what if they are integrating somthing else there is a PCI-E bus that could be tapped into also. |
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