We were a little apprehensive to post this "confirmation" of a new Xbox 360 coming out in late 2007. But we're here to serve up the goods no matter if it is rumor, spec, or official news. On This Week in Tech's (TWiT) weekly Windows podcast they had Windows SuperSite god Paul Thurrott come visit for a little post CES/Macworld chat. And around minute 28 of the podcast he starts to talk about the Xbox 360. Supposedly, he heard through the Microsoft grapevine that there indeed will be a newer Xbox 360 coming out later this fall with enhanced features. IPTV support built in, a bigger hard drive, and all being run by the new 65nm CPU. But Mr. Thurrott is not an official Microsoft spokesman.Our biggest gripe with all the info released in the podcast is that the knowledgeable Paul Thurrott gets his hardware basics messed up. He says that the crazy loud Xbox 360 will be a lot quieter when the new 65nm chips roll out ... twah? The main reason the Xbox 360 is crazy loud is because the DVD drive is running at full RPM to pull a massive amount of data off the disc quickly. The fans are loud, but not crazy loud. All a 65nm chip is going to do is possibly reduce the number of fans or fan speed, because the CPU die isn't getting as hot. So, smaller CPU isn't going to fix the loud DVD drive.
Now you can take this as "official confirmation" if you wish, as it may be true, but don't bet your life savings on it. Mr. Thurrott does have contacts, but things can (and often do) change in a year. Heck, we may even see the inclusion of the rumored HDMI input this fall ... something Paul didn't even talk about.
[Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-14-2007 @ 2:40PM
NOOOOOOOOOOo said...
FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I Should of waited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hey does anyone kknow if its ok to return a 360 lik a couple days after 30 day limit?
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1-14-2007 @ 2:56PM
ahamsandwich said...
no, thats what a limit's for
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1-14-2007 @ 3:03PM
The Dude said...
If he didn't even know what made the 360 noisy to begin with, I doubt very much that he's in the know about what's coming. I'll beleive it when it comes from MS. My guess is if this was going to happen, they would have dropped the bomb at CES just for the sake of hammering another nail in Phony's coffin and not release it AFTER the show via some Podcast. I mean really.
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1-14-2007 @ 3:23PM
Deadhead said...
If they would have said it at CES it would have hampered sales. This isn't something you announce, or no one will buy a 360 now. You announce it the day it goes on the shelves.
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1-14-2007 @ 4:30PM
Adam said...
Maybe they will put in a better dvd drive :/
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1-14-2007 @ 5:36PM
thehondaboy said...
#1, you would return your unit and be waiting another 11 months before you could play again. That's not worth it.
As for the new box, I don't understand why they don't hold off a little longer before pushing this thing out and see if they can't shrink the unit down some like Sony always does several years after releasing a system.
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1-14-2007 @ 5:42PM
Matthew Mac said...
We knew a bigger HDD was comming, and anyone can buy that the replace their old one. The newer proccesor we've know aboiut for a while now, it doesn't do anything to enhance perofrmance, it just doesn't get as hot. And IPTV built in? Cool, I guess, but I won't use it anyway, so I don't care. Overall, nothing for current Xbox 360 owners to get worked up about.
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1-14-2007 @ 5:53PM
Sneaky Sombrero said...
BIG HALO 2 GAME GOING ON SOON!
We're going to be playing Tower of Power, Troy, etc. To join, send a friend request to:
Sneaky Sombrero
all are welcome. Open party.
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1-14-2007 @ 6:17PM
nick said...
I agree, if true, this basically kills existing sales. Why buy the current model when you can have a later, revised model?
I suspect they're going to revise the core, and introduce a new premium bundle.
All signs point to it.
We have a forthcoming XLBA game that will exceed 50MB.
Last year, they already announced a 250GB memory unit, but it has never appeared.
That IPTV is coming holiday 2007, would seem to imply a larger harder is on the horizon prior to then.
What I'm curious about is if revised configurations are introduced, what price point will they have? Same? Lower?
Incidentally, anyone notice it's now a rumor almost every week regarding the 360? Capcom... HDMI... Extended Warranty... (which came to be true)
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1-14-2007 @ 6:29PM
Olav said...
It's HDMI output, not HDMI input. The input is on the receiver.
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1-14-2007 @ 6:31PM
Hoffer said...
I listen to this podcast every week. The way I heard it was that he was just reporting all the rumors and speculation as news. This guy does NOT know for sure there is some 360 coming. Everyone assumes a bigger hdd with the video marketplace and IPTV. He was treating these assumptions as fact.
While I think there will be a revision B to the 360, I don't think this guy knows anything.
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1-14-2007 @ 6:33PM
Gobutkus said...
No surprises here..
My best guess is basically what he laid out, plus the added HDMI Output and the big one I havn't heard yet.. wait for it.. BLACK! Why wouldn't they use this as a legit way to go black! Bigger HD, HDMI, IPTV, WiFi? All in a black case and replacing the Premium Bundle @ $400! That's my best guess!
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1-14-2007 @ 7:21PM
Virtua Fanboy said...
Keep dreaming people.
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1-14-2007 @ 7:51PM
ninjasverre said...
it is a fact that new BenQ drive is new devkits of 360 and that the 360 with the HDMI port that leaked a time ago had a BenQ drive. what to make of all of this? the benq drive? yeah, its quiet.
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1-14-2007 @ 8:11PM
Zach said...
For anyone that hasn't thought of the obvious -- cash in on your warranty. You did buy a two-year replacement warranty, didn't you?
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1-14-2007 @ 8:32PM
Broken_Speed said...
I did Last month so would this carry over to the new 360 If I decide to get it? I mean this pisses me off that they pull something like this only 2 years into this version....it seems like they're obsessing sony is gonna pwn'em if they didnt revise it now.....and besides wtf does future-proof mean if they just roll out a new version.....
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1-14-2007 @ 8:40PM
fidgetwidget said...
Paul is getting a few things confused by the sounds of things. He is claiming that the IPTV will require new hardware, and thats what the new version he is refering to is.
The prospects of a new version of the system comming are true, as they are going to have a new version of the chip rolling out soon, but other than the new chip, nothing is announced. The larger HDD, the HDMI output, etc... not announced.
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1-14-2007 @ 11:35PM
Paul said...
Those of you who think the 360 isn't loud aside from the DVD drive must be deaf. The 360 is still quite loud even when there's no disc present in the drive.
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1-15-2007 @ 12:23AM
miguel said...
if this new xbox 360 is coming out then i and other people like me will be pissed, why release a new 360 just 2 years after the one we all have came out!?!? Ahh well, guess ill have to be savin.. again.
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1-15-2007 @ 1:09AM
fanan89 said...
It's just a wild guess, but could be there a new driver in the works as well?
I mean, can't an "improved" driver be quieter and do the same job as the current does?
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