Xbox 360 Premium Holiday Bundle w/HDMI $334.99 shipped buy.com

[EpOxY]

You could also buy them at Best Buy... get the replacement plan... then wait for the even newer ones (with the 64nm Graphics Chip) to come out... and then return yours for a new one...

On a strange note: I bought a 360 a while ago and my controller had issues... I went in, to replace just the controller, and they told me that they couldn't just replace the controller.. that I'd have to turn in the whole system. Eeww.

 

[TheJTrain]

Originally posted by: Ns1
because lot number has nothing to do with falcon/zephyr. there's a long discussion about it on console gaming. it greatly improves your chances sure, but is still no guarantee

That's all I was really saying. When the 65nm thing was announced, it only makes sense that the units that had the new CPU would be the newer ones that roll off the line. So by waiting to buy one, I/we were hoping to give stores/online sellers time to sell off their old stock, re-filling it with the new stuff (i.e., Falcons), then pull the trigger in late November to hopefully get a new(er) one.

To see a single place (Buy.com) ship out a lot 736 (9/28/07) unit the last week of September/first week of October, then ship out a lot 733 (8/24/07) unit almost two full months later in November is not what I had in mind, and frankly I'm gonna be upset if mine shows up and is an old unit.

JT

 

[cookj]

I was offered a refund. Guess i'll just keep this one, too much trouble and not enough time to get another one.

 

[TheJTrain]

Mine arrived today, and here's my thought process as I look for the various indicators:

Box: no "Go Pro" label crap, it's an older one
Lot: 0739 looking good!
Team: CSON uh oh
Mfr. date: 10/4/2007 woohoo!
PSU: 203W not so good
Look through vent for heatpipe & inductors: yes it has a heatpipe & it's got three inductors laying down well, crapola

Final analysis: it's not a Falcon, but it's the newer Zephyr motherboard. Apparently the CSON team denotes that it's made by an OEM company in Canada, while the FDOU is a different company in America (apparently where the 65nm CPU was first rolled out). No Falcon for me, despite the relatively late Lot # & Mfr. Date.

I may swing by Costco tomorrow, see if I can tell if any of their bundles have Falcons in them, and pull a little switcheroo on the return. ;-) My wife won't let me "open it" until it's my birthday anyway (almost two more weeks, noooooooo).

 

[WHipLAsh13]

Originally posted by: TheJTrain
Mine arrived today, and here's my thought process as I look for the various indicators:

Box: no "Go Pro" label crap, it's an older one
Lot: 0739 looking good!
Team: CSON uh oh
Mfr. date: 10/4/2007 woohoo!
PSU: 203W not so good
Look through vent for heatpipe & inductors: yes it has a heatpipe & it's got three inductors laying down well, crapola

Final analysis: it's not a Falcon, but it's the newer Zephyr motherboard. Apparently the CSON team denotes that it's made by an OEM company in Canada, while the FDOU is a different company in America (apparently where the 65nm CPU was first rolled out). No Falcon for me, despite the relatively late Lot # & Mfr. Date.

I may swing by Costco tomorrow, see if I can tell if any of their bundles have Falcons in them, and pull a little switcheroo on the return. ;-) My wife won't let me "open it" until it's my birthday anyway (almost two more weeks, noooooooo).

Friend of mine received the following:
Lot 0743
Team FDOU
Mfg Date 10/21/2007

Not sure about the rest of the details.

 

[matas]

Mine is still on "Sent To Warehouse" status.

 

[Lalakai]

it seems a bit random for the components. stopped at wal-mart and found an elite there.

lot #0724
Team FDOU
203 w ps

unable to see date. but i did notice that the security tape was patched over, so i think someone else looked and verified that it had the heatsink, and returned it. But i was suprised to see the FDOU on an early lot number. I didn't want to take a chance so i left it there. I think the power supply will be key; if you get one with 175 w ps, that should be mated with the Falcon chip.

oh well. keep looking i guess

 

[jloor]

I just checked an mine has a 175W psu. I guess I lucked out.

 

[AmpedSilence]

Mine arrived on Tuesday,

manfac. date of 10/27/2007 (six weeks from fatory to door step :shocked
175 w psu.

That thing runs unber cool, might be cooler than the original XBOX i have underneath it!

 

[holden j caufield]

I don't mind the heat from my 360. It's a good space heater this time of year and in the summer it's like a personal sauna. Win/Win

 

[viivo]

Originally posted by: matas
Mine is still on "Sent To Warehouse" status.

Same here, and I ordered on Friday. How long does it usually take for them to ship once it's at that stage? I've never ordered from buy.com before.

Thanks OP for the deal, though the site now says they are sold out. Hope I got in on time.

 

[TheJTrain]

Originally posted by: viivo

Originally posted by: matas
Mine is still on "Sent To Warehouse" status.

Same here, and I ordered on Friday. How long does it usually take for them to ship once it's at that stage? I've never ordered from buy.com before.

Thanks OP for the deal that is still going, though the site now says they are low on stock.

I ordered a 360 and two books in the same "cart" on a Saturday; the two books shipped on the following Monday but the 360 didn't make it out of the warehouse until the following Wednesday. Then because of UPS's stupid schedule I had to wait until the Monday after THAT for it to be delivered.

All's well now, though, what with me drowning in Mass Effecty, Assassin's Creedy goodness...

 

[crzyc]

thanks OP, in for one, I'll let you guys know what I get next week

 

[matas]

Originally posted by: viivo

Originally posted by: matas
Mine is still on "Sent To Warehouse" status.

Same here, and I ordered on Friday. How long does it usually take for them to ship once it's at that stage? I've never ordered from buy.com before.

Thanks OP for the deal, though the site now says they are sold out. Hope I got in on time.

Mine took I think 4 days to process it to the warehouse.

 

[amicold]

Mine took a day to process and ship.

 

[matas]

Mine is a Falcon Xbox 360. I checked the label on the box. It said LOT 0744; team FDOU; and 175W

 

[crzyc]

Originally posted by: matas
Mine is a Falcon Xbox 360. I checked the label on the box. It said LOT 0744; team FDOU; and 175W

Same here, except LOT 0743. Just got it today. Thanks again OP!

 

[Geekbabe]

Originally posted by: NSA Lummox
I can confirm how to determine if it's the Falcon motherboard and 65nm core, but there's absolutely no way to tell if it is prior to ordering it.

You can find more info by searching for these numbers, but I've spent a particularly large amount of time gathering this information when I purchased my holiday bundle a month ago.

First, lot number. There is a LOT# token on the side of the box by the UPC and you're going to want lot number 734 or later

Second, the team. There's also a TEAM token on the UPC label, you'll want it to say FDOU.

Third, manufacture date. There's a small perforated tab which I think is on the top of the box. You can safely pull this back and shift the console down a little in the box to view its serial number sticker and manufacture date. You'll want it to be 08/24/2007 or later.

Fourth, the heatsink seems to be an accurate measure as well. You can see this by shining a flashlight through the bottom vent. The heatsink should appear to have flat, broad sides and no visible heatpipe if memory serves me correctly. The original ones had very thin fins on them and featured a very prominent heat pipe.

Fifth, there should be no heatsink visible behind the power button. This was implemented on the Zephyr boards (which came out with the Elite models), however, if you've verified the lot#, team and date this should not be a factor at all.

Hope that helps. If anyone knows if I screwed up on anything please quote/correct me.

Thank you for this info,bought my son a system from Amazon that arrived this evening

lot # 0742 ,team token FDOU, date of manufacture 10/15/07, 175W