By now the new Xbox 360 you buy will be built around a chipset known as “Jasper.”
Jasper 360s feature a redesigned motherboard with 65-nanometer graphics and processing chips. The cooler running, less power-hungry sum-of-parts is meant to make the infamous Red Ring of Dead a thing of the past.
My Xbox 360 arcade, purchased in October, was acting weird – mainly lockups when sending messages to Xbox Live buddies. Having purchased the Product Replacement Plan with the Xbox 360 from Tim at the Hamilton Mall’s downstairs Gamestop last October, I returned with the console for a replacement. There was Tim again, smart and friendly as before, but unfortunately he was out of 360 Arcades. He checked with the store upstairs, nada, then called the Shore Mall store, where Travis told him he had one left, and yes, he’d hold it for me.
I drove to Travis’s Gamestop, gave him the dud machine and inspected the new one to make sure it was a Jasper unit, and repurchased the $19.99 Product Replacement Plan for the new one, in case something goes wrong between now and this time next year.
How did I know it was a Jasper? As reported for months, the thing to look for when buying a new Xbox 360 is a power spec of 12 volts, which you can find by inspecting the box’s serial number cutout hole. It may take some finger wiggling to reveal the power rating – assuming, of course, the person selling you the unit allows you to handle the box in the first place.
Unlike the Xbox 360 Arcade it replaces, the Jasper version doesn’t come with a 256 MB memory card. That’s because Microsoft soldered the memory onto the motherboard, making the card unnecessary for saving settings and game progress. With my initial purchase of the optional 120 GB hard drive ($140), the total cost for my 360 was $340 – $40 more than the Xbox 360 Pro, which comes with a few things the Arcade doesn’t: A 60 GB hard drive, a chrome-finished disc tray door and button, a headset, a standard and HD video cable, and, at present, different bundled games. Since I already own a wireless headset and HD cable, doubling the hard disk size for only $40 was worth more than the only thing my 360 was missing – chrome-accented disc door and button.
The new Jasper 360′s 150-watt power supply is lighter and absent of the visible fan found on older, higher power versions, and maybe it’s a placebo effect, but to my ears my new Jasper-equipped Xbox 360 runs quieter, both with and without a disc spinning inside.
Summary: Pretty much the same Xbox 360 as before on the outside, albeit with quieter, more energy efficient components running the show on the inside.
question, I have the HD cable and a 20gb hardrive(came from pro) but my xbox wont read discs so I have to knock on it everytime I want to play a game. if I buy an arcade(cheapest one) will these cables work on it? And to the arcade xbox’s come with the jasper chip or only the pros?
@hey
I just got a new jasper arcade 360 after my elite died a few months ago. All of your cables should work, but I would definitely recommend using only using the ones it came with unless you wish to use an HDMI cable for video output. I use one and it works like a charm. The difference in resolution is subtle but pleasing at least to me since I’m half blind anyway. LOL
Um, and by the way, knocking your xbox is never good as the motherboard and heatsinks are just kinda hanging there in the first place. Actually, “knocking” it causes more problems than naught. It is the next gen equilivent to a VCR eating a tape IMO.
Furthermore, your 20gb hdd will work as well since that’s what I use. To answer your question about whether or not the arcades come with a jasper, I think the answer is more than likely yes by now. But I would check first. I got mine at Gamestop and they let me tinker with it to check for the specs. (see image above) Depending on who’s working and how busy it is, they are usually pretty friendly and understanding about it.
cheers
@ Bryon
I had an Elite that I got from a 3rd party that died about 4 months ago. It was one of the first elites so I’m sure it was bound to happen. Anyway, I found the fix you were talking about and since I hadn’t any warranty I figured “why not?”
I ended up fixing it about 10 times after the initial repair I made using your method. Call me OCD, but I lost a lot of sleep over this thing. Before my last one, I’d just return it for another which was a whole lot easier and less stressfull than disassembling and reassembling over and over week after week.
I do agree that it should only be done if you are over warranty. However, the peace of mind involved in getting a new or referb is way better than having a brick that Microsoft refuses to fix.
My point, I’m kicking myself in the butt everyday for not sending it back for repairs or whatever. I would gladly pay extra to have my elite back. But instead I freaked out and turned into a “ware-geek” thinking I could do it on my own.
Ahhhh, peace of mind is sooooo priceless, but kudos for putting the info out there.
cheers
I recently bought a 60 gb xbox pro with jasper chip. Working fine now and it does not really heat up that much. I’m sure if they would just use better cooling and use LEAD in the solder !!! they would work fine. Anyways I wanted to ask that how do I know if my waxbox is getting too hot? it’s pushing cool air on the top and from the back it’s ofcourse a little warm. Is there any difference in cooling with the ones that have jasper chips? Should I change the paste in between the heatsink and processor and put some m5 screws in? would it help that much?
i’m really liking this console and I dont want it to break down so early. even 2 years is not nearly enough for a console! I mean I’ve had my 8-bit nintendo for almost 15 years and ps1 that is working better than ever. The reason I got an xbox is because it has the most GOOD GAMES! I had a ps3 for 2 months from my buddy and yes I have to say it’s a nice console aswell, loved metalgear solid and would want to try gran turismo 5 some day! didn’t have any problems with the playstation and I guess one thing I would say about it is that it has a little bit easier learning curve than xbox, but I dont really favor any of the consoles, I’m much more a pc gamer but a very poor one who is tired of upgrading and dealing with a product called windows.
So, look here I’ve had a PS3 for 1 and a half year now, no prob and to tell ya I’ve been playing it like crazy, now since its gonna be a long time between GoW III and GT5 (rumored October), I was thinking of getting an Xbox, initially i want a 360 just to play its exclusives and since it has great backwards compatibility.. but then again the original Xbox has more “gems” than the 360 does right now plus the fact that it can run homebrews, emulators for PSX and N64, and even MAME has got me thinking twice, any advice ppl??
Ha i just bought a 360 for christmas got a 2 year warrenty. My xbox does not turn off. like a play for a while press the power button to trun it off and i goes of but the fans keep going and the power light flash green about every ten seconds. The only way to trun off is to pull power cord. I have read some thing saying that it has corresion on the front of the board. Also this is a JASPER chipset. I keep it on a fully metal stand buy it self like 3 feet away from the wall and TV stand. Does any know what else it could be. THis is my second xbox and dont plan on buy another one. Any help would do. THank you in advance.
@donte check in your settings for console. check the one for how you want your console to turn off. it should say “background downloads” take that off and switch it to just turn off. that happened to mine.
@hey i wont be able to check to see if it works for a few days. I am going to tell my friend who has the same problem and see if it helps him. I realy hope this works.I will tell you if it does. Thanks
I bought the 360 for my son the first year they came out. It’s a Zepher. Had an issue a year after we boughtit that we had to send the unit back to Microsoft for service. All covered under the factory warrenty. The repaired unit has worked fine since. This unit has a ton of hours on it! COD and Madden for up to 8 hrs straight at times.Yeaterday I watched Netflix movies for 4 hrs straight. I’m 40+ yrs old and have to say Microsoft has the upper hand in online gaming and entertainment. I used to play Quake in the old days of the Zone.
I just bought a used 360 Jasper today, so my son can have his 360 back, and will repost if I have any issues.
I have a 2006 360 Pro, and I love the system it by far has the best games out there namely the Gears of War Series and the Mass Effect Series. However about three months ago I got the RROD and the thing died while scratching my Fight Night RD 3 disc, not only that I stand witness to those who claim the 360 freezes up sporadically because mine did so months before the actual RROD incident at which point I called microsoft since my box was 2 years and 8 months old at the time, and the rep told me that since I lived in Puerto Rico (even though I bought the Xbox 360 in Harrisburg Pennsylvania) I was going to have to pay the shipping, at which point I decided I would buy a PS3 not because I like the system, as I like my Xbox 360 more because it has the better games at this point IMO. Nonetheless I felt betrayed by the company because it is not fair that I should have to pay for something that shouldn’t break down in the first place. My PS2 is 9 years old almost ten and it’s still running just as good as it did the first day I played a game on it. Not only that but I am not sure the Jasper unit fixes all the 360 issues as it stands right now I have known about 9 people who own 360′s here and in the states and all of them had have the dreaded RROD happen to them infact my one friend has had his his 360 fixed up twice because it keeps breaking down, my cousin bought a Jasper unit and it didn’t go 6 months before it died on him, luckily he had store guarantee, that being said I am looking foward to getting a PS3 this month while regretting that I will never get to play ME2 or the Gears of War series again. But I wont give microsoft over 300 dollars for a new system only to have it break down on me, in fact I feel Microsoft owes me at least that much money as it stands.
All 360′s have a three year warranty for the red lights that make the system not work. I had the original one till 2007,sent it in got a new one. The 2007 just died. I am sending it out to be replaced. I have a microsoft three year warranty just like everyone else on the so called red ring of death. Send it out its free.
ok first of all. older systems run longer because they have simpler hardware. yes xbox 360 gets the rrod, ps3 gets the flashing yellow light(search it for proof), and the wii gets the blue screen of death(not relevant). second, Sony has far more experience in making gaming systems than Microsoft. Third i purchased an xbox pro edition in fall of 2007. it has lasted me 2 years before contracting the E74 message. im completley content with my gaming experience so far, considering that this only Microsoft’s second gaming system, and i would gladly purchase another Xbox 360. Kids cannot make inferences by their experiences alone and i admit Microsoft has some work to do. But give Xbox a chance; My brother purchased a playstation 3 in summer 2008 and he got the flashing yellow light. He simply went out and bought another one, he didnt hop on a random websit and start talking nonsense about the ps3
Does the x box 360 arcade at walmart have the jasper chip?
I had an old 2005 arcade, one of the very first, got RROD after just less than a year, mickysoft fixed it and it never did it again until a few weeks ago, ive had it flashed too. Although i did do a case mod, in which i added more powerfull fans to replace the originals and an extra 12cm fan on the side above the large heatsink. Unfortunately becuase stoooopid bill gates and co. had to squash the heatsink under the DVD drive, there was no case mod i could figure out to keep that area cooler. Ultimately it was the processor chip under that heatsink that failed.
Conclusion bad design, but still well worth the 4/5 years of supreme gaming time spent on it!
Jasper is not trouble free. Thats 100% correct. Only a complete redesign could change the issue. I have 2 failed 360 as of now. i have reapired one of them and going to repair the second one.
BUt thats no good I am a user. I should not be opening 360 now and then and repairing it. The definite problem is the lead issue. 360 has no design issue it is the soldering issue that is killing it. One of them is a 2006 model and second one is a 2008 model (falcon chip).
The blame goes to MS for poor design choice and also to EU norms which has forcefully led MS to select lead free solder.
I have a PS3 too, but I need 360 too. Without it my gaming experience is reduced to half. But this RROD thing is just unbearable.
I recently had a 2 red ring problem and ended up taking it apart myself 2 findout it was the heatsink that was clogged full of dust. now it works just fine. and my system is only about a year old so keep that in mind if you leave it in a high trafic area !!!
I have my Elite for almost a year in that time 3 RROD with 2 diffrent codes and I even had a fan installed after the 1st 1. Sooooo I will pay $25 to fix it. Sell it on ebay for $150 with some old games that still kinda good. by the brand new one. I almost feel dirty for having to go this route. any truth to what 1 of the 1st posters said a new chipset newer then Jasper ?
Wierdest shit happen to me, i brought a 2010 xbox360
manafactured 3-10-10
purchased on mothers day of may.
i never had a problem with it , but i noticed on all my xbox360 games.[purchased brand new] it had wierd stains on the cd. Not the outside but the inside as in the memory of the disc [shiny part] it had something like a liquid looking stain. But obviously dried. idk what is causing that to happen. but it works 100% i usually play for 2 hrs and let it rest for 2 hours. I tried googling this problem but didnt help cant seem to find anything on it. Someone has any idea about this? its just beyond weird. email PLEASE: [email protected]
OH and btw the cd stain is caused by my xbox360, when i purchased the games they were 100% clean, no marks nothing.
Great post, Thanks!