Xbox 360 Hacks - News, Hacks, Cracks, Mods.

Just some small hacking news:

modrobert writes “I have added Xbox360 Kernel 2.0.5787.0 to the Xbox360Kernel wiki table, following the lead of ivc over at free60.org. The minor change as officially announced is ‘Big Button Pad’ support according to Major Nelson.”

The Kernel Wiki shows all the Xbox360 Kernel Updates, Release Date, what for (if known), and if it took some Efuses with it.

KERNEL WIKI

Here are some pictures by JWSpeed of the xbox forums of the inside of the Xbox360 with a new CPU heatsink. The motherboard looks (almost) identical to the Zephyr, so it is doubtful that it’s the Falcon revision. If the CPU is 65nm or not is hard to say, it seems to be a bit different to those in the Pro-hdmi or Elite ones anyway. The smaller package, the lower power usage (displayed below) and missing ‘power converters’ on the right side of the board would seem to indicate it is a 65nm CPU.

While the newer heatsink loses the copper heatpipe, it seems bigger/larger than the old CPU heatsink. So it might cool off the CPU as well as the old one (the CPU has never really been the issue anyway, it’s the GPU that overheats). However, by removing the heatpipe in the middle of the CPU heatsink, the airflow is probably better for the ‘addon’ GPU heatsink, and, we all know that chip can use more cooling. Maybe that’s why they changed it?

*Update* About the X-Clamps, his is what JWSpeed said:
“MS is now using the heatsink with a X spring clamp on the bottom, plus 4 screws to hold the heatsink down. IMO this looks like a good setup and should keep the GPU in place.” Please note that not all Halo3 LEs are like this, it seems to start somewhere at lot #734 (the end of august MFG date); you can find the lot# on the side sticker of the H# Edition box.

PICTURES

The CPU under the new heatsink. (to compare, this one has been used in the Elite so far)

Motherboard seems identical to Zephyr (Elite/Pro-HDMI). New CPU heatsink is a bit larger than old one.

Elite (Top @ 0.10) and Halo3 LE lot734 (Bottom @ 0.06) power usage (amps) in dashboard

Yeah, so more Halo III news. There has been nothing new in the Hacking scene, so news it is:

The latest Bungie Weekly Update has Luke Smith confessing that in fact, Halo 3 doesn’t run natively at 720p like all other Xbox 360 games:

“Halo 3 uses not one, but two frame buffers - both of which render at 1152×640 pixels. The reason we chose this slightly unorthodox resolution and this very complex use of two buffers is simple enough to see - lighting. We wanted to preserve as much dynamic range as possible - so we use one for the high dynamic range and one for the low dynamic range values. Both are combined to create the finished on screen image.”

Here are some high-res pictures of the Xecuter Blaster 360 NE (Next Edition) sample I have seen on the net. It’s a simplified design compared to the original Blaster 360 which will result in a cheaper production/retail price and it’ll also work fine on H-LG v46/v47 drives without the Hitachi Fix PCB.

More Pictures: 05 | 06 | 07
Official Site: http://www.team-xecuter.com/blaster360/
The new ‘Blaster360 NE’ is already available from this EU reseller: mrmodchips.co.uk

Epidemic Warning: The “Halo Flu” has spread faster than any virus known to humankind. People calling off work, and not going to school are by the millions! Now, the question is, how long will this flu last? My guess is about eight total hours; and The cure? Reports seem to indicate that a prescription to H3, while cuddling up next to your Xbox 360 does the trick.

Well, I played H3 Wednesday, for about four hours, and I got to say, I was not impressed.  The graphics are nice, game play is nice, but overall?  It’s just the same game, with new weapons, defense technology, ships, ground vehicles, and aliens.   Tell you what I am sick of, is the Flood. Why every Halo game has to have them is beyond me.   Sure, they have evolved (Yeah, and how did that happen so quickly, from H2?), but still, it’s the FLOOD… So, yesterday I played Two Worlds, instead of Halo III.   I will probably finish H3 this weekend, but thank god I did not I did not wait in line for this game, because I would have been more irritated than I am now.

I had already reported here, about gamers who had bought the Limited and Legendary editions of Halo 3 at the game’s launch, only to discover that the DVDs were unreadable in their Xbox 360s. The blame (particularly in the Limited edition’s case… literally) was the lack of support for the game disc (just a foam fastener), a number of individuals citing the rough ride it had in transit as reason for its malfunction.

After initial worries it looks as if other regions of the world have been better catered for (how nice). In fact, an Australian You-Tuber, for one, gives you a guided tour of his Limited edition of Halo 3, which comes complete with protective foam and a securely fastened game disc.

Why is there a difference in the product?  I personally think it has to do with supply and demand. The huge demand for the game in the US, means production has to be increased, and done fast to have product ready Sept. 25th, 2007; and maybe, MAYBE, a shortcut was done to get the games done on time?  Still, that doesn’t account for why it happened with the Prey Ltd. Edition as well.  The limited overall demand or supply to other regions, probably meant no rush; both in delivery (no hurriedly throwing of boxes on the trucks & planes, so no concussion of the disc.), and production numbers being lower in other regions.

In case you missed it, Microsoft has admitted the aforementioned problems with some stock and offered a free exchange service HERE.

Wow, poor Microsoft for Japan. They can’t catch a break over there.  All these big games for the 360, and really, nobody in Japan seems to care. Not even for the huge Halo 3. Not even for Blue Dragon. In a desperate, last-ditch attempt at shifting their units, their TGS booth was dominated by one big wall, featuring the disc and cover art of every 360 game on the market to date. Well, it didn’t look like it got the job done, because there was only person seen, that was actually paying attention to it, but hey, at least it looked nice.

Australian television station ABC2’s ‘Good Game’ duo reviews Halo 3. You may have heard all the hype, but now that the game has been released it’s time for Bajo and Junglist to sort out fact from fiction in the phenomenon that is: Halo 3.

FULL STORY

Having NOT played mine yet (It’s still in the wrapper), I can’t comment yet.  I will be playing today, for at least two hours.  One thing I read about his game, and what I do not like about any console game is the slow downs (what people call frame rate skipping).

There has yet to be a console released that doesn’t do this.  Why does this happen?  Because the game makers will push the limits of the console, rather that stay within parameters.  If you have a 9.6Ghz CPU, is it really necessary to use it all? If you put too much on the screen, you get the lags and slowdowns; all they have to to is back off a little, and keep the motion nice and smooth.

The wait was not worth it? For those of you (in the USA at least) that sat in a line or in a parking lot, possibly all night to 12AM this morning, did for no reason. I have been to several Best Buy retailers, and they all had PLENTY of stock! In fact, I bought two at one store.

So, my message to you all is; Don’t worry people, there are plenty copies of H3 sitting on the store shelves of the major retailers. What they are limited in, are the Legendary and Collectors edition, however, I saw wall-to-wall $59.97 versions. There was no reason for people to sit or stand all night in line to get Halo III - when the news came across earlier this week, that there would no absolutely NO SHORTAGE of the item.

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