http://venturebeat.com/2008/11/28/m...of-death-with-jasper-based-xbox-360-consoles/
Microsoft finally addresses Red Ring of Death with Jasper-based
Xbox 360 consoles
Dean Takahashi | November 28th, 2008
The long-awaited Jasper-based versions of the Xbox 360 have finally
emerged on the market. These new consoles have a redesigned
motherboard with the new 65-nanometer version of the ATI (now AMD)
graphics chip that doesn’t run as hot as previous versions. There are
other changes that improve the reliability and usability of the system
as well.
With the new design, Microsoft has a chance to rise above the problems
associated with the Red Ring of Death, as chronicled in VentureBeat’s
six-part series on the subject. We’ll see if the systems prove
reliable. But logically, they should be a lot better. The graphics
chip will likely consume less power than previous versions, allowing
it to fit snugly into its motherboard socket. That should lead to
fewer system failures due to the graphics chips coming loose.
The new graphics chip will also be smaller and cost less to make.
These changes and others lower the overall system costs. That’s why
Microsoft was able to cut its price on all of its Xbox 360 models in
September. These new Jasper models come with 256 megabytes of internal
flash memory, which is used to store all of the New Xbox Experience
dashboard. The NXE doesn’t have to be stored on a hard drive or
external memory unit and can thus work with even the Xbox 360 Arcade
model without a hard drive. You can also use this internal memory to
store Xbox Live Arcade saved games.
Older models had just 16 megabytes. Also, they have a 150-watt power
supply, less than the earlier versions with 175 watts. These power
supplies have a different plug so that you won’t confuse them with
older versions and plug the wrong one into a machine.
The previous versions of the Xbox 360 had a 90-nanometer graphics chip
that proved unreliable due to overheating issues. Those models were
still in inventory in warehouses and at retail. So it has taken
several months to flush those out of the system. Still, it’s not clear
yet how you can distinguish the Jasper models from the older Falcon-
based machines, but I assume it will have something to do with serial
numbers listed on the boxes.
What exactly was wrong with the older 90-nanometer graphics chips and
the boards that came with them? I’ve gotten some new information on
that. The main failure cause was “thermal fatigue” of the leaded C4
connections between the graphics chip die and its organic carrier. The
underfill had too low a glass-transition temperature for the amount of
heat generated. That caused cracking over time, resulting in graphics
chips coming loose.
In previous versions, Microsoft addressed this with better heat sinks.
The temperature sense diode was off in a corner and didn’t reflect the
true temperature in the core regions. Jasper has shifted to a material
with a significantly higher transition temperature. Coming up with
this fix took time, since the new material had to be identified and
tested. The smaller 65nm chip die also helps since the stresses that
cause the thermal fatigue are related to size.
