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How to: Spot a Xbox 360 "Jasper" unit

By December 11, 200823 Comments

Welcome Xbox360forum Members! This is a Xbox Arcade, while the Jasper Xbox Pro is now shipping. Please subscribe to this blog if you found this interesting.

Okay, for the noobs: a Falcon unit has a 65nm CPU, 90nm GPU while a “Jasper” unit, the new one, still has a 65nm CPu but a nice, shiny 65nm GPU!

So, how do I buy the newer one then?

OK here’s the star of the show — the new GPU. The main body is the same size as the past GPU’s, which I did not expect, but there are a lot less components on the surface and the main heat die is considerably smaller and not centered on the package, either.


Old 90nm GPU for reference.


The CPU hasn’t changed much from the Falcon.

I’ll do some heat tests with this unit once I inevitably slap it into an Xbox 360 laptop. Now let’s move onto how you can spot one of these new units in the store!

The Xbox 360 box has a hole at the top of it where the bar code of the console is visible. Clerks usually scan this when you buy one. What you need to do it look at the lower left corner of this box. If you peer closely you can make out at least half of the voltage/amperage rating of the unit. The # of amps used by the 12 volt rail is the key to determining which console it is. The photos below show this in detail.

14.2 amps equals a Falcon unit (65nm CPU, 90nm GPU). Please keep in mind there’s nothing wrong with having one of these, I play mine a lot and it’s fine. You might not be able to see the whole voltage listing just through the peep-hole, but you should at least be able to see if a 14.2A or 12.1A is just to the left of the “5V”.

12.1 amps equals a Jasper unit (65nm CPU, 65nm GPU). This voltage rating is also listed above the power input, but of course you can’t see that when it’s in the box.

There has been a lot of discussion about lot #’s, power supply ratings, and things of that nature being used to find Jaspers. I have found those to be unreliable. For instance, this Jasper was lot #0842X. However at Circuit City today I saw a 0843X Arcade unit, but it was 14.2 amps.

Also this particular Jasper came with a 175W power supply (like the Falcons used). They are probably trying to use up all the older PSU’s and thus it was packed with the unit. Keep in mind that even if this Xbox only needs 150W it’s not a issue to power it with a 175W supply, just like people who put 700W PSU’s in their PC’s for no apparent reason.

Above we see the power port of the Jasper 360. Note how it has a slit in the middle of the top plastic bar. The plugs on the PSU’s are designed in a way to be forwards not backwards compatible. That is, an original 203W PSU will fit in any Xbox 360, but because of these ‘keying”, a new 150W PSU will only fit in an Jasper. Likewise a Falcon PSU will fit in a Jasper but not vice-versa.

So yes, check the amperage rating of the unit at the back — it’s the most sure-fire way to find a Jasper from what I have seen.

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Josh Lam

Hi my name is Josh Lam and I'm from the city-state of Hong Kong. Realizing there was more to explore than this city, my goal is to visit all 193 countries in the world by using a combination of credit card points and airline miles to travel better for less.

23 Comments

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  • Martin says:

    All

    Here’s the list of Amperage ratings and the motherboard version used:

    16.5A – Xenon/Zephyr – used in launch consoles and the first Elite systems.

    14.2A – Falcon/Opus – used in 90nm GPU/65nm CPU systems as well as some factory refurbished launch consoles.

    12.1A – Jasper – used in the newest range of consoles.

    Note – the TYPE of console has no bearing on the motherboard used with the exception of the first Elite consoles (identifiable by the Amperage). Therefore Arcade, Pro and Elite consoles could have a Falcon or Jasper motherboard in them. The ratings above are the only real way to tell.

  • God of War says:

    hi-ya, I view all your blogs, keep them coming.

  • Zola Lowy says:

    Its incredible now there is a cool way to fix your XBOX 360 RED RING OF DEATH I just found out today.

  • Merissa Detar says:

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  • vkash1208 says:

    I just bought a new xbox 360 build date is dec 29 2009. it says 12.1 on the rear label, and my power cable is a jasper one (has the bar splitting the top portion) although the connection on the xbox itself does not have the notch it’s supposed to fit into, looks as if it is a falcon connection. any ideas what i should do? having microsoft correct the problem will take to long. would it be okay to cut a notch myself or go out and find a used/referbed falcon power supply?

    Guy above with the 4 red lights: 4 = no AV cable is pluged in. 3 is a hardware failure(RRoD)

  • Bernie Wynn says:

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  • Hey, just today discovered this blog but I have to say that it looks awesome. I totally agree with you. Does someone have some tips on how to repair the casing of my xbox, it has broken.

  • arturo says:

    my xbox 360 elite was from the goty bundle. The label reads ” 12v..16.5a. 5v…1a ” and the brick reads “203 w” do i have a jasper or what chip please tell me.

  • acai says:

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  • Ash says:

    Hi
    ok just to make sure…i have an xbox arcade and the power lable read 12v..12.1A and 5V…1A, thats 150W. My adapter reads 12v..16.5A and 5V…1A, thats 203W. SO can I use this adapter with the xbox or do I need a step down converter. THanks.

  • John says:

    Hi, um I got a Xbox 360 Arcade that has the 14.2A and I was wondering if it was safe from the “Red Ring of Death” or if I should just go ahead and throw it away and just get a new Resident Evil Limited Edition Xbox 360 Elite with the 12.1A Jasper Unit.

  • Anonymous says:

    i just bought A used XBOX 360 and the numbers for it are 12v 16,5A; 5v 1a ? i bought it knowing it had the 4red lights, was wanting to know if anyone knew what to do to fix it without sending it off? thanks, you may also text me, 816 739 1218 thanks again

  • Josh says:

    Guys, there is seriously nothing wrong with having a Falcon at all. I have a Falcon myself too.

  • gregory says:

    now that you have made us all paranoid, I too have an Elite , so are there Falcon and Jasper issues with these units?
    Thanks

  • Anonymous says:

    I also have an elite, mine also says 16.2A. What does that mean?

  • Anonymous says:

    Great guide. I have an elite. Mine says 16.2A?

  • Stanley Tang says:

    Thanks for the guide!

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