Our friends at Xbox-Scene have discovered that a new "super quiet" DVD drive is sneaking its way into Xbox 360 consoles. The BenQ drive (model VAD6038) is reportedly much quieter than previous drives and it even seems to load information faster. The drive was apparently incorporated into the Xbox 360 during the Christmas season last year, and 360 owners with a console manufactured in November 2006 or later may have the drive in their console. Of course, the drive wasn't incorporated across all manufacturing lines at the same time, so a November 2006 manufacturing date does not guarantee a new drive. Now if they could just cram those cheaper, cooler 65nm chips in there, we'd have us an icy cold, quiet 360.
While the new drive is a blessing for 360 owners with sensitive ears (I swear mine is getting louder now), it presents a new hurdle for L337 H4XX0RZ, as there is currently no modified firmware for the new drive. Rest assured, someone will analyze the hardware and create a hack. See? Everybody wins.
Would you be willing to buy a new 360 just for a quieter DVD drive?
[Via Joystiq]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-06-2007 @ 1:51PM
Josh said...
I just sent mine off today to be replaced so hopefully they'll put the new drive in mine...that would be sweeeet!
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2-06-2007 @ 1:55PM
Arno said...
I will not. I am, however, expecting a new replacement from Microsoft and I'm praying it's got one of these nifty new drives. I doubt it though, because the "brand new" one they just sent me (which is broke) was a October one. We'll see I guess.
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2-06-2007 @ 1:57PM
jake said...
I'll just plug mine into some dirty power outlet fry it that way
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2-06-2007 @ 2:24PM
E said...
No.
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2-06-2007 @ 3:01PM
blamecanada said...
No, maybe if they add HDMI and a bundle w/ a larger HDD, then I could sell mine now and pay the difference (mine freezes now anyways) but I've determined the freezing is an HDD issue, i just need a memory card so i can format w/o losing all my saves.
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2-06-2007 @ 3:06PM
Ninegauger said...
I might after a price drop or something... as it stands my best chance is for the current one to break and to get one of these new drives... which is probably doubtful.
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2-06-2007 @ 3:14PM
Jason Seely said...
No, while my xbox is by no means "whisper quiet", i can't think of one time that i have noticed it while playing a game. To me and the people I know, it is a non-issue. Also, I have had my xbox 360 for over a year now and have yet to play a DVD on it. I quit renting dvd's years ago. PPV is so much less hassle.
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2-06-2007 @ 3:38PM
JJdoglegg said...
I'll just exchange my current 360 at target with my 3 year warranty as soon as target has them.
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2-06-2007 @ 4:31PM
h0mi said...
No. My 360 works fine enough, and I feel no reason to seek an upgrade. Besides, if i'm not mistaken, doesn't MS make it a pain in the rear to shift game saves & bought XBLA content to new xboxes? Or is it just to newer HDs?
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2-06-2007 @ 6:15PM
Ed said...
It's no secret that my 360 NEEDS a quieter drive, fan, and cooler cpu. so yes, I would get one of these and give my old to my nephew.
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2-06-2007 @ 6:18PM
John said...
Yeah, just remember that when you buy a new box you have to be signed in to Live to play all your xbla games - otherwise they revert to demos when you go offline. It is NOT as simple as switching your HD to the new box.
Also, anyone who sends in their unit for repair will NOT be getting a new box or a new dvd drive.
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2-06-2007 @ 7:41PM
Brian said...
JJdoglegg since when does target give warrantys? i worked there when the 360 came out and they have never offered warranty over the 90 days target warranty.
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2-07-2007 @ 12:03AM
David W. said...
It's new, we do sell three year extended warranties now...but it's not as simple as you make it sound, you can only replace it if something is WRONG with it...and even then you can't just take it into a Target and get a new one, you have to call the 800 number on the warranty, they will send you a box to send yours in and they will try to fix it, if they can't fix it then they will replace it, and them replacing it doesn't guarantee you'll get one of the ones with the new dvd-drives
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2-07-2007 @ 1:22AM
polvo said...
I just got a repaired 360 from microsoft and it's production date is 11/30/2007 and yes it is million times quieter. Well it sill makes some noise but it is such a blessing to have such a quiet drive while playing games. Also the system fans seem quieter too. Glad Iwas lazy and didn't send it back for repairs till a month later.
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2-07-2007 @ 1:23AM
polvo said...
Sorry not 2007 but 2006.
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2-07-2007 @ 9:47AM
SmartriX said...
Seeing things like this makes me sad, sad for the day that they release a version 2 of the 360 console with a quieter dvd drive, a larger hard drive, an hdmi port and iptv compatibility. Sad for us who all have consoles already...
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2-09-2007 @ 9:25PM
ZeroCorpse said...
I actually sold my old, trusty launch console to get this new DVD drive, and it IS much, much more quiet than the launch console was, and does indeed seem to load things faster by a smidgeon.
In my case, this was a good deal even though I sold my original console at a technical loss, because I actually won that one and so my total cost for an Xbox 360 went from nothing at all for the first one to about $60 for the new, upgraded, quieter version.
If you have it within your means, I suggest you grab one. Here's how to tell from the label on the box:
Lot no: 0650 or higher
Team: CSON
This isn't a guarantee, but by hunting for those numbers (took me five stores and half a day, BTW), I snagged a console built in December 2006, with the Benq drive.
Gotta love the Internet..!
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2-15-2007 @ 3:49PM
Lokizilla said...
MFG date: October '06. Rats.
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