In the Guts of the X360

[Mythos]

In case any one is interested here's is an inside look at the X360's guts.....

some excerpts..

"Meanhile, Portelligent said it identified custom ASICs it believed to have come from Silicon Integrated Systems Corp. and Chipidea Microelectronics SA. They perform key interface functions. Portelligent also said it identified lesser components from ON Semiconductor, Analog Devices, Broadcom, Hynix, National Semiconductor and Cypress Semiconductor. Samsung provided all 64 megabytes of high-speed graphics SDRAM, the third most costly element in the design, Portelligent said."

"According to Portelligent, Microsoft's console design showed evidence of multisourced component solutions in several places. Parts thought to be supplied by one vendor turned out to be from someone else in the unit analyzed."

""The Xbox 360 board design and layout shows clear evidence of enabling alternate parts in selected areas," Carey said. "In fact, our analysis turned up four different surprises for component design wins when compared with information already out in public.""

Sounds like lots of outsourcing!!!

Link:http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/...d=OHVTWHJKQZUIKQSNDBESKHA?articleID=174401545

 

[PC-Engine]

Samsung provided all 64 megabytes of high-speed graphics SDRAM, the third most costly element in the design, Portelligent said

 

[one]

It has 8 GDDR3 chips.

 

[Bill]

"Portelligent estimated the total hardware cost-of-goods sold for the $300 retail version of the core game system is around $310."

Sounds like a low estimate.

 

[Carl B]

"Portelligent estimated the total hardware cost-of-goods sold for the $300 retail version of the core game system is around $310."

Sounds like a low estimate.

All of these analysts are just taking stab - if one's closer than another it's just a combination of luck and intelligence.

 

[Guden Oden]

"Portelligent estimated the total hardware cost-of-goods sold for the $300 retail version of the core game system is around $310."

Sounds like a low estimate.

Ars Technica links to another cost estimate that pins the complete premium package x360 at $525, including the harddrive, joypad, cables, PSU, cardboard box and other crap. They also say southbridge costs an estimated $12, RAM is $65, CPU is $106 and GPU/eDRAM $141. Total mainboard chip cost is $340 they say, and that is not including the RF board for controllers or anything else, and might not even include the board itself or any of the discrete SMD components either. So there's a lot of cash invested in the main giblets that's for sure...

 

[Carl B]

Ars Technica links to another cost estimate that pins the complete premium package x360 at $525, including the harddrive, joypad, cables, PSU, cardboard box and other crap. They also say southbridge costs an estimated $12, RAM is $65, CPU is $106 and GPU/eDRAM $141. Total mainboard chip cost is $340 they say, and that is not including the RF board for controllers or anything else, and might not even include the board itself or any of the discrete SMD components either. So there's a lot of cash invested in the main giblets that's for sure...

There's no way though that the premium costs MS more than $50 to 'make' than the core version. So somewhere in between $310 and $525 lies the answer...

 

[Guden Oden]

There's no way though that the premium costs MS more than $50 to 'make' than the core version.

You say this based on what, exactly? Gut feeling?

 

[Carl B]

You say this based on what, exactly? Gut feeling?

Well, what - the HDD has to cost them $30 around, and I'm not thinking that the cables and remote are $20 more. I mean maybe I low-balled it by $10-20 or something, but you know the system itself is the same. There's not like different mobo's, GPU's, chipsets, CPU's, casing and such going into the premiums rather than the cores, y'know?

They're the same system, it's just the accesories they ship with that're different.

 

[<nu>faust]

well since we know that they are some substantial amount of money per 360,(jallard made it clear in recent interviews) that $310 portintelligent report seems too low.My estimate is that they are losing 75-100$ per core and 65-90$ per premium sytem.

 

[Mythos]

to add on the conversation about money loseage...

Microsoft loses money on each Xbox
By Reuters
Published: November 24, 2005, 8:20 AM PST

The cost of building a Microsoft Xbox 360 video game console is nearly 40 percent higher than the retail price, technology and microchip research company iSuppli said on Wednesday.

The firm estimated the total cost to manufacture and test a premium Xbox 360, the software giant's sleek and powerful new gaming machine, which debuted on Tuesday, was $552.27, compared with its retail price of $399.

Microsoft aims to sell about 5.5 million premium and lower-priced basic Xbox 360 units by the end of June. The machine will compete with the PlayStation 3 from Sony and Nintendo's Revolution, each due out in 2006.

Console makers have historically subsidized manufacturing costs by creating and selling their own video games and by collecting fees from publishers who make titles for their systems. Several new Xbox 360 games are priced as high as $60.

Crotty said the IBM chip that runs the Xbox 360 cost $106.

ATI Technologies' graphics processing unit, which provides the system's high-definition graphics, cost about $141, including DRAM memory from NEC.

The Xbox 360's main memory from Samsung Electronics added another $65, while an SIS Southbridge chip cost about $12, iSuppli said.

Other costs included a DVD drive, accessories, literature, packaging, assembly and testing.

The price of the system's two main chips should drop during the next year as manufacturing efficiency improves. That should save at least $50 per unit, in addition to other cost reductions, Crotty said.

Analysts had predicted that the Xbox 360 would initially sell at a loss.

"We expected the cost of the console to at least exceed the retail price," Crotty said.

Microsoft, currently in second place to Sony in the $10 billion U.S. video game market, is gunning for the top spot with the release of its new console.

But Crotty said the big winner in the video game wars is IBM, since its microprocessors power all three of the new consoles from the industry's heavy hitters.

The release of those machines is expected to reignite hardware sales growth. Crotty said iSuppli is forecasting 38.5 million video game consoles sold next year, up from 28.5 million in 2005.