The Xbox 360 revision timeline
Back in November 2005, the Xbox 360 launched with a Xenon motherboard. If you're one of few who still has a working Xenon model, well, start counting your lucky stars.
Hoping to prevent, or at least reduce the number of RRoDs, Microsoft then launched its Zephyr motherboard around July 2007. Zephyr introduced HDMI connectivity, but more importantly, it provided a revised motherboard layout and an extended GPU cooler.
In September 2007, Falcon consoles began to appear in stores. The long-awaited revision introduced a 65nm CPU, an enhanced CPU cooler, a smaller power supply and another revised motherboard layout.
Earlier this year, repaired Xbox 360 consoles began to appear with another new motherboard; Opus. Microsoft had began to return repaired Xenon-based consoles with an all-new motherboard featuring a 65nm CPU, 90nm GPU, but no HDMI port - allowing it to fit in the existing Xenon shell.
Next in line is Jasper, a motherboard widely believed to arrive in late August or early September 2008. With a 65nm CPU and 65nm GPU, Jasper-based consoles should run a whole lot cooler, and possibly quieter, too. Microsoft, as always, hasn't publicly stated what else we can expect from Jasper, but we can always speculate.
Later this year, Microsoft's all-new Xbox 360 dashboard - dubbed "The New Xbox Experience" - will allow users to install entire games onto their console's hard drive. The advantages are improved load times, and quieter gaming - thanks to not having to listen to the 12x drive spinning away. If Microsoft really hopes to quieten its console, it's entirely feasible to assume that the fans and/or DVD drive on Jasper consoles will be quieter in operation than its predecessors.
It's a lot to take in, but here's a handy little table highlighting all the Xbox 360 revisions to date:
| Xenon | Zephyr | Falcon | Opus | Jasper | Valhalla | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated launch date | November 2005 | July 2007 | September 2007 | June 2008 | September 2008 | Late 2009 |
| CPU process | 90nm | 90nm | 65nm | 65nm | 65nm | CPU and GPU on single die (65nm or 45nm) |
| GPU process | 90nm | 90nm | 90nm | 90nm | 65nm | |
| HDMI output | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power supply | 203W | 203W | 175W | 175W | Unknown | Unknown |
Valhalla, which has no doubt caught your eye, is expected to arrive late in 2009. It promises to feature both the CPU and GPU on the same piece of silicon - the biggest change in store for the Xbox 360 to date. We wouldn't be surprised, therefore, to find Valhalla housed in a smaller or slimline chassis. With Valhalla still a year away, if not more, we wouldn't start holding our breath.
So, back to Jasper - when can we expect to see it in stores, and how do we identify it?
