Xboxic » New chipset on the way for 360s

Mercury News has an enlightening piece up about the new a 65nm chipset for the 360. While it is known that 65nm chipset was being developed, when it would be implemented was not until now. The chipset, code named Falcon, is being qualified this summer and could be ready to ship as soon as this fall.

A new chipset would open a lot of doors for Microsoft. The lower costs would make it even easier to respond to Sony’s price drop with one of their own. Sony was able to cut the size, of the PS2’s chipset down to 13% of the original over its lifespan, reducing the manufacturing costs and allowing it to continually drop the price and release the slim PS2. Could a slimmed down 360 be on the way as well?

The smaller chipset has even bigger implications for the failure rate of the 360. Smaller chips mean less heat and more air flow, and the Falcon chipset may have played a large role in Microsoft’s recent warranty extension. While it probably won’t be announced at E3, look for more info on the Falcon chipset and a possible price drop before the holiday season.