New Xbox 360 DVD drive

[Pink Panther21]

Check it out! The only qualm I have is if old 360 owners can get it.

New DVD Drive Makes Xbox 360 "Super Quiet" - Xbox (http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/12718/New-DVD-Drive-Makes-Xbox-360-Super-Quiet/)

[KING RAVEN]

I am XBOXIZGOOD over at Xbox-scene.com. I found this drive a few days ago, and reported it in a thread over at that site. It's an awesome DVD drive. You can read more of my impressions over at the forums there, or if anyone has any questions in particular they want answered, I will do my best to help everyone.

[stonespike]

I just bought my Xbox a couple weeks ago... would there be a chance my Xbox has this new DVD drive? If not, I might try to bring it back so I can get a newer Xbox with the quieter drive. I'm still under the 30 day money back warranty from Walmart.

Where can I check to see when my 360 was produced? It's a tad bit on the noisy side when spinning up at the beginning of games, during loading, and overall whenever the cd spins up faster. It's noisy just at those times, but it's quiet during games/matches, and just sounds like a small fan rotating when it's not spinning the drive up.

Any suggestions?

[casualimp]

Mine's like that too on the loading end. You can see the date of manufacture on the back of your 360, right above the network plug. I think the article says 360's manufactured November 2006 and unward have the newer drives. Wouldn't you know it, mine was October 2006. Oh well...

[stonespike]

Mine says 2006-08-08.


Do you think that could warrant a return? August of last year... I'm still within 30 days to return it! Do the newer Xbox's come with the free Call of Duty 2 game? On the front of my box it says it comes with the console... do the newer boxes have this also?


I want to get the best version of Xbox 360 thats out right now before my 30 day store warrant expires. Is the newest dvd drive making loading times better/faster, and is it quieter?

Update: Upon further inspection it appears I have the Toshiba-Samsung drive. Which I believe, please correct me if Im wrong, is the older drive.

[stonespike]

Any quick responses would greatly be appreciated. If I can learn more about this, I will go to Walmart tonight and exchange the console.

That DVD drive database website doesn't even show any BenQ drives. So, it makes me wonder if maybe the BenQ drive might just be a rumor?

[KING RAVEN]

I would take it back to WM and try to get a newer build. If anything, get your money back and go to Gamestop or EB and get one. I asked the guy to look for the most recent MFR date, and he was cool enough to do that for me. My console is dated 12-15-2006 and came with the ULTRA quite BenQ drive. Most of the newer made consoles will have Gears of War, HALO3, GTAIV, Viva Pinata, and a few other games on the back of the box. This doesn't assure that you will get a new drive, but August-current consoles come in these boxes, so it will help narrow your search a bit. Good luck!

[FlyACL]

Yeah, I guess if you really want one then go for it. Personally I am not sure how much of a difference it makes. I can hear mine during start up but it is not so loud I want to get a new one. I guess I am just happy if it works. Good luck~

[KING RAVEN]

Yeah, I guess if you really want one then go for it. Personally I am not sure how much of a difference it makes. I can hear mine during start up but it is not so loud I want to get a new one. I guess I am just happy if it works. Good luck~

Trust me. It makes a HUGE difference, since it's MUCH quieter and load times are slightly reduced.

[FlyACL]

That may be true and if someone can exchange it for free, then great. My real point was I am not bothered by the noise level or the load times on the "old" version so I don't see this as such a huge advance. Certainly not worth spending any kind of money on. But, as I said if you can get one for free then good deal.

[stonespike]

So, they are saying there are a total of 3 different dvd drives out for xbox 360 right now? I did bring my Xbox360 back, but I got an even older model back. The date on the replacement is 2006-08-07; last one before this one was 2006-08-08.

The DVD drive on both of them were the Samsung drives. But these things are so damn loud at times!! Arg! I wanna get my hand on a newer built machine, hoping for one made this year. And I can't see what date the machine was built unless I open the box.

Is Hitachi suppose to be the newest, or BenQ being the newest? Anyone got any experiences about this topic? I'm still interested in this thread.

Another topic that interests me is mod-chips. Does anyone know anything about these? Illegal to M$, so it seems. I'm new here, so don't know if this is restricted talk forums...

[KING RAVEN]

I wanna get my hand on a newer built machine, hoping for one made this year. And I can't see what date the machine was built unless I open the box.

Is Hitachi suppose to be the newest, or BenQ being the newest? Anyone got any experiences about this topic? I'm still interested in this thread.

WRONG! You CAN see the MFR date, but you have to lift that little tab on the box that the 360 comes in. Look on your box, and I'm sure you'll find it. Also, Hitachi is the OLDEST drive found in the 360. It has gone through a firmware change, but that only affects hackers/modders. The Samsung drives aren't bad, though I did have one stop working on me a few weeks ago. It's on it's way to MS' repair facility in McAllen, and by all accounts, everyone and their brother that has a dvd drive issue is getting back a 360 with the new BenQ drive in it. That will give me 2 BenQ 360s. Here's to hoping you find one bro.

[stonespike]

I didn't think the MFR Date could be seen from that little flap. I know the flap you are talking about. Will they let me flip open the flaps to check before I buy? Knowing that definately makes it easier. It's not like opening the box, cause it can be put back in place.

What do you guys know about the BenQ drive? Have any of you used it personally? Is the transfer rate better? Are they being placed in the newer, more recent 360 systems?


P.S.:Another topic that interests me is mod-chips. Does anyone know anything about these? Illegal to M$, so it seems. I'm new here, so don't know if this is restricted talk forums...

[KING RAVEN]

You can see the date through the flap, although you may have to kind of "stretch" out that window just a bit. Just tell them that you've had trouble with the 360, and you want one with a new build date because it comes with a more reliable DVD drive. You're spending over $400 for a 360, so the least they could do would be to give you exactly what you want. If they won't, speak to a manager or take your money and business elsewhere.

[stonespike]

I'm probably going to do just that when I return the last 360 I bought. I'm interested in the newer drives, and of course want my console to be equipped with it. $400 is a lot of bones, might as well look closer for which console I want to buy. The flap is not disturbing the tape or even opening the product up. It's put there for a reason I would imagine, and the reason is to see the info on the back without opening the box.

And note-to-self: Aim to get one with the free Call of Duty 2 game. If I can get the system any where, I cant go wrong picking up a box included with it. Good game, too.

[stonespike]

Something else i was thinking about: Do the back of the boxes change? On the back of mine it has Forza Motorsport 2, Viva Pinata, Gears of War, Sonic, Madden NFL 07, and Halo3/GTAIV Coming Soon. Can you all confirm that maybe the newer Xbox's might have anything different on the back?

[KING RAVEN]

Mine came in the same exact box. Also, maybe this will help but on the label that houses the bar code on the box, you will fine a lot number, TEAM, and a 12 character number/letter combination. On my box...the cardboard one it came in, had the Lot # as 0650, the name by TEAM was CSON, and the 12 digit number/letter sequence is WO B4J61213L1. Might be helpful in finding one along with the MFR date.

[stonespike]

Thanks for the info. I should try to find the "TEAM" along with the MFR Date. I don't how well the 12 digit code will help me, I would think that would be unique to your specific console. Not sure though.

Trying to find a console built in the bundle of "TEAM" might be a better shot to try. Wal-Mart said they were going to get a new shipment within a week. I would think that's going to be my best shot. Wal-Mart doesn't get M$'s refurbs, do they? I hope not.

[KING RAVEN]

All I ever found at WM were older made systems. That's what you will find in the ones that come with COD2, Burnout Revenge, or Moto GP. Just go to EB or Gamestop, as that's where a lot of us have found them. You can also pick up a PRP for $50 while you're there too. The 12 digit code IS NOT specific to any one console. We have compared everything over at xbox-scene.com, and this has been the "common denominator" when finding one.

[insimbi]

I checked my system last night. It was manufactured in July of 2006 and has the Samsung drive - doh! I got it for Christmas too. Oh well, I'll just live with it - it's not that bad.

[sprinc4]

i got mine xmas and was hoping to see that i had the new dvd drive... but i never... mine was made in july.

why didnt they tell us in November that they was realsing new xbox's with newer dvd drives, i would have opted for the newer one of course

[360-freak96]

i know i have the samsing drive becasue in order put remove the stock fans that i replaced i had to take the casing off and i saw the name on the drive

[KING RAVEN]

There is nothing wrong with the SAMSUNG drives fellas. Samsung drive are decently quiet, and IMO, more reliable than the Hitachi. The BenQ drive is quiter than both, and maybe a little faster and certainly smoother(Oblivion runs great now). If you have a Product Replacment plan, by all means keep your 360 no matter what drive you get. If/when your 360 does crap out, the BenQ drives should be easily found by that time.

[insimbi]

Honestly, how much quieter is the new drive? I don't think my Samsung is that bad really to be honest.

[KING RAVEN]

You can still hear the high RPM spin of the disc, although it's a little quieter than any Hitachi or SAMSUNG I've had. When it comes to hearing the disc drive in action when loading and whatnot....you can barely hear it at all. Saint's Row and Oblivion are demanding games when it comes to loading data, and I can hardly hear my 360 working which is nice.

[Mafia Gear]

My buddy has the new drive it sorta sounds like its munching on your games. I like the older drive cause the load times seem quicker on the older version.

[iFester]

Mine was made in October 2006 and sounds quiet enough to me. Granted, the load sounds are loud, but watching DVD's there's a slight hum. I've got no complaints.

[stonespike]

You can also pick up a PRP for $50 while you're there too.

What's a PRP?

[friedkarma]

Bear in mind that although the change over occured in November, the factories did not simply throw out old supplies of drives. Theoretically, you could get an old drive in a console manufactured during or after November. Mine's loud but I live with it. You don't really notice while you're playing games.

[nufan]

What's a PRP?

Product Replacement Plan

I paid $50 for one when i got my 360 with EB Games. For peice of mind more so than anything. Their exact selling spin was "heck you can drop this on the road and have a truck drive over it, just bring it in and we give you a new one no questions asked".

At the very least i am considering replacing my 360 with this when it gets close to being 1 year old, just to get a new unit. This new quieter DVD drive would be an added advantage to doing that.

[KING RAVEN]

Yep. When the new HDMI equipped 360 hits, my 360 will "all of a sudden" not work properly, and my nice PRP will hook me up with a nice new unit. If the HDMI 360 never hits, then when my PRP is close to expiring, I will put it to use.

[stonespike]

Do you have to physically fill out the warranty form in order to receive it? Or is it automatically into effect once you purchase the 360?

[remixFA]

Do you have to physically fill out the warranty form in order to receive it? Or is it automatically into effect once you purchase the 360?

u can buy it at the store you purchased your 360. its a store replacement program, not a 360 warrenty... which you can get that too.

[KING RAVEN]

Yep. I love the PRP plans, because you get a BRAND NEW system. If you go through MS for a replacement, 99% of the time you get a refurbished unit. I'd much rather pay $50 to get a new one that not pay it and get a used one that will just crap out on you again. Of course even with new one's there is no guarantee on that so....

[stonespike]

What exactly is the 1 year warranty that M$ boast's about? Do you have to pay to have a 1 year warranty? I have the form that came with my 360 still not filled out... I think if I register it, don't they give me a longer warranty for that?

[KING RAVEN]

The MFRs warranty used to be 90 days. SONY has a 1 year MFRs warranty on the PS2 and PS3, so I guess with all of the units failing and to save a bit of face, MS upped their warranty to a full year as well. The warrantly application that comes in the box is separate from the the standard warranty.