Inside Microsoft's Xbox 360
by Anand Lal Shimpi, Kristopher Kubicki & Tuan Nguyen on November 16, 2005 5:09 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Removing the Heatsinks from the Motherboard
Removing the heatsinks from the GPU and the CPU will require a great deal of patience as to avoid damaging the motherboard. Flip over the Xbox 360's motherboard. You will see two X clamps grasping the ends of the screws that hold the heatsinks into place. Without removing the X clamps, you cannot remove the heatsinks. Microsoft has done a clever job in terms of securing the unit from prying eyes and removing the heatsinks from the Xbox 360 can be a trick for a lot of people.
Take a pair of small pliers and gently pry off each corner of the clamps. After two corners have been lifted, the rest of the clamp springs loose and can easily be removed by hand. Once both X plates have been removed, you can turn the motherboard over and simply pull the heatsinks off to reveal the GPUs (two dice on the chip) and CPUs (single die, 3 cores on the chip).
You now have a fully disassembled Xbox 360.
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apriest - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
HD gaming, but no DVI or HDMI?!! Shame, shame Microsoft...Coherence - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
Agreed. I was very surprised to see that DVI/HDMI was left out of the first production run. My HDTV has all its component video inputs used up already, so it would have been nice to plug the 360 into one of the spare HDMI ports. I hate using switchboxes, but that's what I'll have to do with the component inputs now.glennpratt - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
Does you HDTV have VGA? Thier is a VGA out.apriest - Thursday, November 17, 2005 - link
VGA (analog) isn't nearly the quality of DVI (digital), though it would be better than component.JarredWalton - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
My Toshiba HDTV has an HDMI port (no DVI, but a DVI to HDMI cable works). However, it also has two component inputs, and that's far more common than DVI, HDMI, or VGA inputs on HDTVs.cruzer - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
Very slick design, looking forward to getting one!!cruzer - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
On page 5, "two dice on the chip", should that be 'dies' instead of 'dice'?cruzer - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
Nevermind, dice is correct.apriest - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
I was wondering that myself until I looked it up!bldckstark - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
Two dies as in tooling dies, are not referred to as dice. Dies is the correct word. The same applies to computer mouses. The plural for computer mouse is not computer mice, but computer mouses. Mice is a group of more than one animal, not more than one tool. I have thousands of dies here at work, and have worked around millions of dies, never once has anyone even suggested the use of the word dice for them.From dictionary.com -->
die2 pl. dies or dice (ds)
1. pl. dies - A device used for cutting out, forming, or stamping material, especially:
1. An engraved metal piece used for impressing a design onto a softer metal, as in coining money.
2. One of several component pieces that are fitted into a diestock to cut threads on screws or bolts.
3. A part on a machine that punches shaped holes in, cuts, or forms sheet metal, cardboard, or other stock.
4. A metal block containing small conical holes through which plastic, metal, or other ductile material is extruded or drawn.
2. pl. dies Architecture. The dado of a pedestal, especially when cube-shaped.
3. pl. dice
1. A small cube marked on each side with from one to six dots, usually used in pairs in gambling and in various other games.
2. dice (used with a sing. verb) A game of chance using dice.
tr.v. died, die·ing, dies
To cut, form, or stamp with or as if with a die.
I don't care if AT gets it right or not as long as I can understand what they mean, but if we are going to discuss it, let's make sure we are correct.