From the Vault — originally published August 12, 2007. Some links, videos or prices may be out of date.
New Xbox 360 Premium consoles are being released with HDMI ports which was previously reserved for those black tittled Elite models. Thats the good news. Now on to how to spot these newer units. On the side of the box you will notice that in the list of package features “HDMI port” is added.
In addition note that these packages may come with the new “Zephyr” motherboards that fix the notorious “Red Ring of Death” issue that comes from the older boards overheating. The new “Zephyr” motherboards come with a newly designed more efficient heatsink that prevents the consoles innards from overheating. If your in the market to buy a 360 it would be wise to check the packaging and buy one if it also says “Zephyr” on the packaging as indicated below.
Also note that Microsoft has reportedly began making newer chips that are smaller, even more efficient and cooler than the current chips. These 65nm “Falcon” chips should be hitting shelves soon though there is currently no knowledge of how units with these new chips can be spotted by looking at the packaging.
