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Next Xbox 360 Designs are "Opus" and "Valhalla"
There is not one but two secret Xbox cats that Microsoft has kept in the bag. Currently there are three more Xbox 360 motherboards in the works right now. They are.. dun dun dun.. Jasper, Opus and Valhalla.
If you are skeptical about this keep in mind that I've been early and correct about this stuff before.
The original Xbox 360 motherboard is called the Xenon with both a 90 nm CPU and 90 nm GPU, there has been system cooling revisions to it. Next was Zephyr motherboard with HDMI that was introduced with the Xbox 360 Elite and and some had newer "heat pumps". Currently on the market is Falcon with a cooler 65 nm CPU but still the same hot GPU as the Xenon.
It's well known that the next Xbox 360 motherboard is going to be Jasper and it going to have both a 65 nm CPU and a 65 nm GPU. Jasper is going to be a major advancement in reliability since it is going to run much quieter than previous Xbox 360 systems. Jasper's reliability is in part to the fact that there is no place on the motherboard that is going to be running as hot or as much power as previous Xbox 360 systems, also it might run a lot quieter since it will not need as much power. When Microsoft hired IBM and ATI to provide the original Xbox 360 CPU and GPU Microsoft put it in the contract so that the Xbox team will own the technology for the chips and can make subsequent reduced cost revisions to the chips. The Xbox one had leased technology from Intel and Nvidia and that is one of the main reasons for the change in CPU and GPU venders. Jasper is very real and they are testing prototypes right now. Word from Redmond is that progress on Jasper is going well and on schedule and you can expect it fall of 2008. My birthday is in October and I am probably going to upgrade to a Jasper Xbox 360 if my Xenon lasts that long.
Now on to the big news. Are you ready... cue dramatic music..
The next two Xbox 360 motherboard names are "Opus" and "Valhalla"!!!
The Opus project is a "Falcon" generation motherboard designed to fit in a Xenon case. You can expect an 90 nm GPU but a 65 nm CPU. Opus solves a major hardware recycling and inventory problem since Microsoft currently has millions of used Xenon cases from RRODed dead systems and this lets them use most of the good parts from the millions of dead Xenons but with a newer tested more reliable motherboard.
There is no HDMI on Opus since the Xenon cases don't have openings for the port. Opus is a third generation Xbox 360 in the case of a first.
I would trust an Opus Xbox much more than a "zombie repaired" Xenon since you are getting a fresh motherboard. These will probably never be boxed and sold directly to the public in stores so the only way to get an Opus motherboard is to turn in a RRODed dead Xenon in late 2008 and you might get one returned. Opus is the "Zombie Xbox" killer. It's the recycle repair special and is the sort of repair and refurbished Xbox 360 that they should have had done in the first place.
Now they are also in the very early stages of designing the fourth generation Xbox 360 called Valhalla. Think Technoviking cool, we are your overlords.
At the heart of a Valhalla Xbox 360 is a combined 65nm CPU and 65nm GPU on a unified super chip. This also would only need one cooling system and be much quieter and hopefully more reliable than previous Xbox systems (if they include hardware JTAG testing reporting into the design).
It is really early in the design process but there are engineers at Microsoft working on it as you are reading this. Heck they are probably reading this since this is the first that you are going to hear about Opus and Valhalla.
You can probably expect a price cut for Valhalla since it is going to be a major cost reduction.
Valhalla might be the final Xbox 360 motherboard design but that all might depend of the future progress of the third generation Xbox team (the Xbox 720 or whatever they call it) and the overall market success of the Xbox 360 platform.
Microsoft has planned on near annual changes to the Xbox 360 motherboard generation designs.
First was the Xenon motherboard from 2005-06, then followed by the Zephyr motherboard 2006-2007, then the Falcon Motherboard 2007-now. Probably later on this year we will see the Jasper Motherboard 2008-2009. Then then comes Valhalla the year four motherboard in late 2009 or mid 2010.
Update: Valhalla is not the name of the motherboard but the name of the new combo CPU/GPU 65 nm super chip that will eventually go on a yet to be named motherboard. But for conversation purposes I am going to be calling it the Valhalla Xbox 360.
Update 2: As an NeoGAF user pointed out
"Less power = less heat = less need for the 360 system fan to be running at max speed."
Also less chance of cooking the memory, the board and other stuff.
Oh yeah third generation Zunes are totally confirmed. Be on the look out for Orion.
Around 2011-2012 we might expect a third generation Post 360 Xbox but all I know is that it's being worked on.
I wonder if they have started tapping my Xbox Live account after I started posting this stuff.
Jake at February 14, 2008 
Games
Comments
Awesome job Jake, thanks for all these scoops. What does the 8bit-Jay have next for us?
Posted by: Danh at February 15, 2008 8:04 AM
Falcon does have an 80nm GPU. Check your sources.
Posted by: Victor at February 15, 2008 9:16 AM
Actually Falcon has a 65 nm CPU but a 90 mn GPU graphics chip
http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/10/microsoft-falcon-to-bring-cost-reductions-65nm-cpu-to-the-xbo/
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at February 15, 2008 10:53 AM
Wouldn't it be more likely that 'Valhalla' would be a 45nm chip, especially if it's not out until 2009 (which seems likely, or they'd just skip Jasper)?
Posted by: Dave at February 15, 2008 10:56 AM
Currently I believe that Valhalla is going to be a unified CPU/GPU that is 65nm.
I know that Sony is working on 45nm chips but the unified CPU/GPU is a big deal for Microsoft and the Xbox.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at February 15, 2008 12:02 PM
Still, a unified CPU / GPU / 10MB of eDRAM package on one chip at 65nm seems like an awfully big chip. Not quite Tukiwala Itanium big, but still big enough that I can't see MS going that route when 45nm manufacturing is likely to be pretty mature (mid-2009 or later).
Posted by: Dave at February 15, 2008 3:16 PM
I agree with Dave, I would not think that the Valhalla "chip" would be 65nm since it would still be a VERY large chip. ATI is currently SELLING video cards with GPU's built using the 55nm process, so I would think that it would be at least 55nm or smaller if it were scheduled for production in 2009.
Posted by: BBF at February 18, 2008 5:50 PM
However ATI is not working on the newer Xbox 360 chips. Microsoft is doing the hardware designs. ATI handed off the work and it's mostly in Microsoft's hands.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at February 18, 2008 8:43 PM
It shouldn't matter. AMD doesn't fab ATi GPUs; TSMC does (for the most part). MS can hire TSMC (or Chartered or IBM Microelectronics or any other fab shop) to build Xbox chips; they own all the IP. And all of the major fab shops out there should have mature 45nm processes by the middle of next year.
Posted by: Dave at February 22, 2008 1:09 PM
simple. it wont be 45nm bc of high cost. TSMC only has so much capacity for so many contracts. the initial production would be low. the unit cost would be high initailly. these foundries usually have 45nm fabs for high-value chips and 65nm fabs for low-value chips (chipsets). Intel only allocates 45 nm for Xeon rather than Itanium bc it isn't strategic and high value. They make far more profit from Xeon. MS would wait until the price comes down. I think Xbox 720 will be very exciting: a 6-core cpu/6-core GPU unified superchip! It would be interesting to see PowerPC on a single chip with ATI GPU. IBM/AMD are actually already in a partial merger with a shared socket. Just my 2 cents.
Posted by: john lim at March 9, 2008 8:46 AM
Microsoft is working with IBM on the Valhalla chip.
The Xbox "720" team is a seperate project and might not share a hardware linage with the 360. We don't know if it will use PowerPC / ATI chips.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at March 9, 2008 4:03 PM
sorry you might of mentioned this but when is the new xbox due do you think?
Posted by: V Turk at April 11, 2008 1:48 PM
I am not certain but I would expect late summer to early fall.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at April 11, 2008 1:52 PM
wow that early. they xbox 360 life was not that long then. this aint related but do you know if MS will be bringing out a singstar game?
Posted by: V Turk at April 12, 2008 7:36 AM
No Singstar is a Sony game. However the 360 has Rockband and American Idol
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at April 12, 2008 11:20 AM
yeah i know but they are rubbish. well if you hear anything on may be a singstar type game that MS are doing for xbox 360 let us know. please.
also any new on MS doing a Rlu ray drive?
Posted by: V Turk at April 12, 2008 2:28 PM
Both Rockband and American Idol are singstar type games. Dude get Rockband, I freaking love the singer part of Rockband and there is tons of bitchen music for it.
Singstar is a Sony, developed game for the PS2. The only other platforms that it might come out for is PS3, the same way that you will never ever see a Mario game on anything besides Nintendo.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at April 12, 2008 10:24 PM
Id bet the gpu is actually going to be 55nm just like the pc counterpart ati3870 (which is a 55nm ati 2900 graphics card which is based on the 360's graphics chip)
Posted by: Calum at April 16, 2008 7:20 PM
Jasper is the one coming out in August 2008, that will have the 65nm CPU/GPU on it. I do hope it's quieter.
Damnit, I wanted to get an xbox360 NOW, to have to wait for the new Jasper is going to kill me...
Posted by: Kenny at May 12, 2008 8:26 AM
check this article out: http://jbooth.blogspot.com/2007/10/ps3-misconceptions-and-spin.html
Posted by: Kenny at May 12, 2008 8:59 AM
