How Can I Spot a Newly Manufactured 360 Premium?

A few months after getting my money back for returning a defective 360, I believe I'm ready to give this console another chance. I really want to play some of the games that I've had my eye on for awhile, but I don't want to go through the whole RRoD ordeal again. That's why I want to get a 360 that's hot off the assembly line with all the new hardware improvements. However, I don't know how to tell the difference between a new 360 and an older one. Even if I were to physically pick the box up and inspect every inch of it, I still wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The only thing I know is that new 360's apparently have a different kind of code on the back of the box than the older 360's have, along with some kind of HDMI port that isn't on older models. Can someone tell me what code or codes I need to look for, and where I can find this new port on the console? Is there anything else I should look for to help confirm whether or not a Premium is new? Keep in mind that I'll be a regular shopper in an electronics store, picking the Premium up off a shelf and inspecting it while it's still packaged in its box. I won't take it out unless I have the help of a store employee.

Also, I'm pretty sure that the 65nm "Falcon" chips are already in newer 360 Premiums due to the price drop and the addition of an HDMI port. But just to be on the safe side, do we have any confirmations that the 65nm chips are indeed included in newer Premiums? I don't want to wait until December only to find out then that I could've gotten a reliable Premium months ago. Surely someone out there must've cracked open at least one 360 to check.

Ill give you the right advice on this dude, im an expert when it comes to 360s and its hardware. first off the only way to tell if your 360 is a newer one is to look at the front of the box, onthe top left, where it tells youwhats inside. it willlist things like 20GB hard drive, head set, wireless controller, LOOK for "HDMI AV Cable"if the premium states this than its a newer console.

i also got the RROD on my launch console, but last mont I got me An Elite, I can personally tell you that it does feel like it runs cooler, and Im perfectly happy wit it. if it ever does mess up they will install the new falcon board when it comes out, its not like yull be stuck with the same falty board forever. So in conclusion GO BUY THE DAMN THING MAN WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR YOU HAVE 3 YEARS WARRANTY AND HALO IS AROUND THE CORNER. *clears troat* sorry.

As for the newer Falcon Motherboards with the smaller processors, they are not out yet, im hearing sometime this fall, The price drop was just something they did because it was time and to get ready for Madden, Bioshock and Halo. When the FALCON board does come out, it wont necessarily mean that the 360 is going to receive another price drop, Also when the board is released it wont be made public. DeathZero360

I received a lot number 734 halo 3 Xbox 360 and noticed it was running a lot cooler than my Elite. I did an amp test with both consoles and the Halo 3 console used almost 30% less power.I posted the test results in the hardware section on xbox.com. Using that much less power shows that something is really different with my Halo 3 console, I would say Falcon board.

Its tough to tell. Microsoft wants to keep the whole exploding consoles a secret, and for good reason. The only way I believe you would know if your getting the newly manufactured one is once the old once are phased out and they anounce the new chip taking effect. It would just be bad press for Microsoft to say, that some of the consoles on selves are inferior to others. My advice patients wait to January or February.DepressedHippie

yeah but i read somewhere that microsoft wont announce that the new chips are infact in the new console because they dont want ppl to stop buying the crappy ones. yeah ill agree with dressedhippie wait till late this year or early next year.

So, the verdict is that I should wait until November-December to be doubly sure? I'm willing to be patient for another two months or so, but I'm not going to wait half a year either. Besides, it's September, so doesn't that pretty much count as fall?NaitoTheShinobi