How can I tell if the Xbox 360 is a Jasper chipset?

Question

I'm gonna buy one from Best Buy or Walmart or somewhere next week when the price drops, and I'd like to know how to tell which consoles have the Jasper chip set.

Answer 1

You'll want to check the box for 1 of 2 things:

1) Power consumption of the device. I believe they are required to print this on the box. Jaspers should be under Falcon power consumption, which is around 173-175w (Xenons were around 205w). The best place to check, is to open the box up (if they let you), and look at the power supply, which WILL have the output of the device. Some boxes will have the power usage printed on the box, but it *could* be an older box.

2) Mfg. Date. Jaspers will have a mfg. date of August 2008 or newer. The MFG date will be on the back of the console, near the SVid/HDMI/HDTV port.

IMO, the supply chain and distribution of Xbox 360's may not have had enough time to get sufficient Jaspers into stores with large distribution centers such as Wal Mart and Best Buy.

You may want to wait an extra week or two - the Xbox 360 is dropping in price to $199.99 for the Arcade model, and $299.99 for the 60GB Pro model on September 7th. Inventory will move briskly after that date, increasing the chances of you obtaining a nice Jasper-based Xbox 360.  

Answer 2

Honestly man, if you end up with the 60GB system, you'll be fine.