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#1 2007-02-06 6:37 pm
- Bat
- Adult's Play
- Royal Wombat

- From: Björk, Björk
- Registered: 2001-05-14
- Posts: 24085
360 Gets New Optical Drive
Probably too old to resurrect, so a mention that this...
bratboy wrote:
Though I just recently bought a 360, i got the version with the older optical drive (thanks a lot, overstock.com!)
Anyway, i noticed today that the drive was making a constant 'access' noise, like the piece with the lens was constantly moving back and forth.
So far, I could only hear this on Ninja Gaiden Black, a xbox game running in emulation. The 360 games I've tried were just making the usual noisy drive sounds.
Anyone have a similar experience?
... is teh solved.
No, not THAT optical drive; just a quieter DVD drive
The sharp-eyed folks over at Engadget have picked up on a bit of interesting news for potential Xbox 360 owners out there. The Xbox 360 has been criticized for a number of issues over the past year. There's the hulking power supply, the tendency for the machine to overheat, the red rings of death that seem to show up on occasion and the extremely loud DVD drive.
It looks as though Microsoft is finally getting around to solving that last problem. According to Xbox-Scene, Microsoft has begun shipping Xbox 360 consoles manufactured in November 2006 onward with new BenQ VAD6038 DVD drives. The BenQ VAD6038 replaces the Toshiba-Samsung and Hitachi-LG drives currently in service on the Xbox 360.
According to user reports, the new Philips-based drive is extremely quiet compared to its predecessor and even loads games faster.
So it now appears that Microsoft is slowly but surely chipping away at the Xbox 360's weaknesses...
If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw
"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."
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#2 2007-02-08 2:09 pm
- nayrk
- User Error

- From: Outland
- Registered: 2004-05-01
- Posts: 622
Re: 360 Gets New Optical Drive
I was also under the impression that it was getting the ability to use HDMI
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I'm a schizophrenic
And so am I
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#3 2007-02-08 3:29 pm
- bratboy
- attorney-at-law
- Royal Wombat

- From: Austin, Texas
- Registered: 2003-01-19
- Posts: 30563
Re: 360 Gets New Optical Drive
I believe this is actually the third different drive...in that top post I was referring to the first version (which I have).
"One thing we've learned is there's a difference between being disappointed and having madmen in authority."
--Paul Krugman
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#4 2007-02-08 7:34 pm
- Bat
- Adult's Play
- Royal Wombat

- From: Björk, Björk
- Registered: 2001-05-14
- Posts: 24085
Re: 360 Gets New Optical Drive
bratboy wrote:
I believe this is actually the third different drive...in that top post I was referring to the first version (which I have).
The BenQ VAD6038 replaces the Toshiba-Samsung and Hitachi-LG drives currently in service on the Xbox 360.
Those two may both have been used up to now; not sure. It does look like this will be the only one used going forward.
I only used the quote from you to reintroduce the topic of 360 DVD noise, tho the issue of replacement (unlikely by MS, I think) might have been raised. Perhaps one might do that oneself once it's out of warranty (might require different firmware etc.; not to be done likely, especially for XBL use).
If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw
"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."
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#5 2007-02-08 7:36 pm
- Bat
- Adult's Play
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- From: Björk, Björk
- Registered: 2001-05-14
- Posts: 24085
Re: 360 Gets New Optical Drive
nayrk wrote:
I was also under the impression that it was getting the ability to use HDMI
Not now. Perhaps a future version, which might also come stock with larger HDD etc. as the article mentions. You do read the links?
If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw
"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."
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#6 2007-02-08 9:12 pm
- nayrk
- User Error

- From: Outland
- Registered: 2004-05-01
- Posts: 622
Re: 360 Gets New Optical Drive
^not at school computers
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I'm a schizophrenic
And so am I
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#7 2007-02-08 11:24 pm
- sosumi
- numbery
- Royal Wombat

- From: North Mexico
- Registered: 1999-02-21
- Posts: 17513
Re: 360 Gets New Optical Drive
Thanks to a poewrful sound system and Shotguns of War, I never hear the thing.
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#8 2007-02-09 4:12 am
- Bat
- Adult's Play
- Royal Wombat

- From: Björk, Björk
- Registered: 2001-05-14
- Posts: 24085
Re: 360 Gets New Optical Drive
Same here. I use earphones, so... 
If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw
"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."
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