New Xbox 360 Teardown Cracks Open The "Offline Gamers" Console

During Microsoft's E3 2013 press conference where they mostly focused on Xbox One games, the company also outed a new and redesigned Xbox 360 to hold gamers over until the Xbox One launch in November. Naturally, though, it was immediately bound for the iFixit teardown waitlist, and it's finally on the surgery bed getting its guts splayed out.

While most people would think that the redesigned console would see at least a few updated components on the inside, that's surprisingly not the case this time around. The Xbox 360 E, as it's called, has a similar interior to the previous Xbox 360 S, including the same cooling components. The new console even has practically the same performance power as the previous model.

However, where the majority of changes have occurred is on the outside, where the console received an Xbox One-esque look, as well as a new port layout on the rear of the console that does away with the old A/V and S/PDIF ports in favor of a single optical audio out jack. Microsoft also cut down on the USB ports, only giving gamers four USB ports this time around — two ports on the front and two in the back.

However, the new Xbox 360's outer shell is far easier to open than the Xbox 360 S's casing, making it a bit easier to repair if your DIY self ever want to get inside and change some things around. Plus, the new model has a more modular design this time around, so replacing various components like the drives, fan, WiFi card, RF module, and heat sink will be fairly easy.

Of course, it was a bit of a confusing moment when Microsoft unveiled a new Xbox 360 when they just announced a new console, but it seems the company is marketing the Xbox 360 as the solution to gamers who want to remain offline, as the Xbox One will require an internet connection at least every 24 hours.

SOURCE: iFixit