Xbox 360 Specifications

The Xenon CPU , commissioned by Microsoft, is a tri-core microprocessor designed by IBM based on the PowerPC architecture. Initially, the processor was manufactured using the 90-nm process technology, but later (starting with the Falcon revision), the 65-nm process began to be used to reduce heat generation. The processor provides high performance in floating point calculations through multiple FPU and SIMD vector calculation modules in each core. Theoretical maximum processor performance 115.2 GFLOPS. Each of the three symmetrical cores of the CPU uses multi-trading and operates at a frequency of 3.2 GHz. In any case, as well as in other consoles, to reduce the size, heat, cost and energy consumption, the processor uses an in-order execution command processing system (as opposed to out-of order execution , which is used in PC processors, including Intel Coppermine 128-based Pentium III on the first Xbox).

The initial revision of the consoles used a chip manufactured using 90-nm technology, while now stores are selling an improved version with a chip using 45-nm technology. The processor is connected to the graphics chip by a bus having a bandwidth of 21.6 GB / s (10.8 each from the GPU and to the GPU). The Xbox 360 CPU has 1 MB of L2 cache running at half the processor speed. This cache is common to all three cores. The CPU also uses eFuse technology and contains a ROM for storing 1BL ( First Boot Loader ) and Microsoft security keys used to decrypt game data.

The console has 512 MB of GDDR3 RAM operating at a frequency of 700 MHz with an effective transfer rate of 1.4 GHz of a 128-bit bus. The memory is common for the CPU and GPU, made by a unified architecture, which is a very good advantage of the Xbox 360 memory. The memory was developed with the participation of Samsung and Qimonda .

The internal eDRAM module is connected to its memory with a 256 GB / s bus. High throughput is used primarily for z-buffering , alpha-blending and anti-aliasing ; this saves time and memory space, since an already prepared frame is recorded there. Between eDRAM and GPU, the data transfer rate is 32 GB / s. The bandwidth of the GPU and memory is 22.4 GB / s, and with a south bridge - 500 MB / s.

The GPU in the first Xbox was developed by NVIDIA , while the Xbox 360 houses a graphics core from ATI called Xenos . It was developed under the code name 1C, but is sometimes incorrectly called "R500". The GPU contains two separate silicon chips operating at a frequency of 500 MHz. The main GPU is made in TSMC , and the eDRAM chip in NEC . The daughter chip contains additional logic and 10 MB eDRAM, which is used as a frame buffer. Thanks to its daughter chip, Xenos supports 4x MSAA , Z-buffering , Alpha blending without any loss in GPU performance. Xenos fully supports Direct3D 9c and most Direct3D 10 features, such as a unified shader architecture .

All Xbox 360 games support 5.1-channel Dolby Digital Surround sound. The console works with more than 256 audio channels and 320 independent audio decompression channels using 32-bit processing with support for 48 kHz 16-bit audio. Audio files for games are encoded using the Microsoft XMA Audio Format (WMA-based format). Also included is an MPEG-2 decoder for playing DVD Video. VC-1 or WMV are used for video streaming, for others VC-1 is used at non- HD NTSC and PAL resolutions, or WMV HD. The Xbox 360 also supports H.263 and H.264 MPEG-4 video. Unlike the original Xbox , voice communication is tied to the console, not to the game code, allowing inter-game communication. Also, voice communication was successfully done on one console - there is no echo, since the voice is sent only to the remote console.

The Elite version of the console comes with an HDMI cable; Arcade and Premium versions also have an HDMI port, but not a cable. The console supports widescreen SDTV and HDTV resolutions ^[1] with screen aspect ratios of 4: 3, 16: 9, 16:10 and some others. Currently, most games are in 720p resolution, but scaled to the desired size, set by the user; from 480i NTSC and 576i PAL to all kinds of 1080p HDTV . Up to 1080p, the resolution of the output image is limited only by the equipment used (TV, projector, etc.), as well as by the cable for connection ( component , composite , S-Video , HDMI , VGA , etc.).

The Xbox 360 console has a special DVD drive, however, it is connected to the motherboard with a standard SATA cable. The DVD drive has a special key prescribed in its firmware . If this key does not match the key recorded in the NAND-memory of the console, games cannot be launched.

DVD Drive List

The game console has one removable hard drive (excluding Arcade models). The hard disk has a 2.5 "form factor and SATA interface, and is enclosed in a special case. A special firmware is recorded on the hard disk.

An interesting fact: Microsoft tried to prevent the production of hard drives by third-party companies by including its logo in PNG format in the service information on the hard drive. In the absence of this data, the hard drive will not be recognized by the console. Thus, a third-party manufacturer will have to violate Microsoft’s trademark rights in order to manufacture the HDD. However, this does not stop buying third-party hard drives (after all, third-party drives are several times cheaper than branded hard drives) and reflashing the service part.

Third-party hard drives are used:

  WD Scorpio BEVs / BEAS 
 WD Scorpio Blue Series BEVS / BEVT 
 WD Scorpio Black Series BEKT / BJKT WD Scorpio Black Series BEKT / BJKT 
 WD VelociRaptor Series                                  

  WD Scorpio Blue Series LPVX 

All Xbox 360 versions have an Ethernet 10/100 network adapter. There is no Wi-Fi adapter, but can be purchased separately. Xbox 360 S (Valhalla) has a Wi-Fi module built-in

It is noteworthy that when choosing the Russian localization of the set-top box, the Wi-Fi module works according to the G protocol, when choosing the European localization the Wi-Fi module works according to the N. protocol

To connect the Kinect controller on older versions of the console, a separate power supply is required, while the Valhalla revision is equipped with a special AUX port that provides the necessary power for this accessory to work.

Also, on all revisions of the console, except Valhalla, there are 2 ports for connecting special memory cards (Memory Units).

Dimensions 258x83x309 mm; weight - 3.50 kg. This is less than the early modification of the Playstation 3 , but more than the Slim version of the Japanese console.