Is 360's Red Ring of Death finally fixed?
via Computer and Video Games
New Xbox 360 models have been spotted using upgraded components, said to make the infamous Red Ring of Death a thing of the past.
The newest 360s are fitted with new 'Jasper' motherboards, says a report on Joey Gadget, as well as a new and improved graphics chip.
The upgraded components are smaller and emit less heat, according to the techies, which in turn should mean no more red lights on your 360, and less postman visits to send your console off to Xbox repairs.
To be honest, we've not experienced or heard of anywhere near as many RRoD incidents over the last year anyway (apart from our launch office 360 which died last week and is now being used as a prop to raise Gav's monitor).
The problem behind the infamous 360 hardware failures, which cost Microsoft $1 billion in warranty extensions, has never been officially disclosed.
According to Gartner analyst Bryan Lewis though, the defect was down to Microsoft's decision to manufacture the 360's graphic chip itself, rather than paying a third party.
If you're keen to find one of the new 'Jasper' 360s, you should look for a manufacturing date as early as June 8, 2008, 'Lot 8031' and up, and 'Team CSON' on the back of the console - though you'll probably have to bribe the bloke behind the counter to see it.
