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[penguinofdoom564]

Thanks for the informative post Toddler.

I've got mine working with 1.1 Fast right now and it's much louder than before. If it can be quieter and almost the same speed then I'm all for that. This will also give me an excuse to do a cable mod. Hopefully I can snag a male to female SATA at Fry's tomorrow.

[Epps]

I was hoping Hitachis would be next in line for multispeed (or at least one speed, a slower one) since they've been around longer  

Oh well, my 59DJ will have to continue speeding along at 12x  

[drowsy]

Can anyone direct me to a good post where flashing BenQ is explained step by step please?

Thanks

This post has been edited by drowsy: Nov 8 2007, 02:51 PM

[caster420]

QUOTE(drowsy @ Nov 8 2007, 08:50 AM)

Can anyone direct me to a good post where flashing BenQ is explained step by step please?

Thanks

 

You can find a good tutorial here.


Caster.

[Martinchris23]

QUOTE(phoenixdigital @ Nov 8 2007, 07:28 AM)

Is there a way to swap a hitachi for a benq? I would love to silence my 360...

I think so -

1. if you've already flashed your hitachi, open the .BIN file with a hex editor and grab the key from it. It should be 32 characters long.
2. Get your BenQ drive and read the firmware with DOSflash.
3. Run it through the ixtreme batch file to create your patched firmware.
4. Get a copy of 360 FW Toolbox 4.5 and open the newly patched firmware.
5. Paste your Hitachi key into the Key Information box and click on 'replace key'.
6. Click on Tools/Spoof Firmware and select the drive model and FW version of the one you're replacing it with. You'll get the message that the string detection has been changed. Click on OK.
7. Write your newly spoofed hacked firmware with DOSflash.

I haven't carried out the above steps myself, so can't vouch 100% if they would work. I know for sure thaqt FW Toolbox can open and manage the Benq firmware, so it's just a case of if the new firmware works ok!

[TerminatR]

Thanks for the super useful information. My only question is how do these BenQ timings compare to the Samsung and Hitachi drives?

Which drive is King? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

QUOTE(Toddler @ Nov 8 2007, 03:55 AM)

For those who don't know, it bears explaining that there are actually four firmware versions in this package (12x/8x/5x/2x speeds), just choose whichever you prefer.  The 12x is identical to what was formerly "fast" and 2x is what was "quiet" in the previous release.  Obviously 8x and 5x fall somewhere in between.

Samsungs don't have as many speed capabilities (hence the "fast" and "quiet" versions), and I think Hitachis can't be modified at all.  So BenQ owners win yet again, with more options to choose from to suit your needs and preferences.

Here are my personal observations.

The simple testing I did was to see how long it took from clicking "Resume Saved Game" in Halo 3 until the game actually loaded. Here's what I found:

12x: Load time was 27 seconds, drive rotation noise was loud and constant, seek noise was mildly noticable.
8x: Load time was 29 seconds, drive rotation noise was slightly noticable, seek noise was mildly noticable.
5x: Load time was 30 seconds, drive rotation noise was completely silent, seek noise was nearly silent.
2x: Load time was 36 seconds, drive rotation noise was completely silent, seek noise was the loudest of all.

Based on the results, 5x was my sweet spot.  Reads were fast, seek noise was a whisper and spin noise was silent.  The 8x setting was much quieter than 12x, but still somewhat noticable.

With that said, every drive is different, and there is enough variance in hardware that while 5x might be my sweet spot, it may not be for everyone.  I just can't imagine any reason to go below 5x because it is every bit as quiet as 2x and the seek is actually quieter, at least on my drive (and others have reported the same).  I also can't imagine any reason to go with 12x because the speed isn't appreciably faster, whereas the noise level is definitely intrusive.

If you are reluctant to try anything other than 12x because you think it is the "right" speed, keep in mind that the drive is meant to throttle down to slower speeds as needed.  The max speed is 12x, but it's not always reading at 12x.  And slower speeds often mean less wear-and-tear on the drive, as well as helping to read less-than-perfect media.

I should also mention that I played 5 minutes of Gears of War and an entire level of Halo 3 with the 2x firmware and had no problems.

This post has been edited by TerminatR: Nov 8 2007, 05:00 PM

[Toddler]

QUOTE(TerminatR @ Nov 8 2007, 09:56 AM)

Thanks for the super useful information. My only question is how do these BenQ timings compare to the Samsung and Hitachi drives?

Which drive is King? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

Depends on what criteria matters most to you.  For me, it's not all about timings.  In my book, the drive that is fast, reliable and completely silent is king, and that's the BenQ.

[caster420]

QUOTE(Martinchris23 @ Nov 8 2007, 10:16 AM)

1. if you've already flashed your hitachi, open the .BIN file with a hex editor and grab the key from it. It should be 32 characters long.
2. Get your BenQ drive and read the firmware with DOSflash.
3. Run it through the ixtreme batch file to create your patched firmware.
4. Get a copy of 360 FW Toolbox 4.5 and open the newly patched firmware.
5. Paste your Hitachi key into the Key Information box and click on 'replace key'.
6. Click on Tools/Spoof Firmware and select the drive model and FW version of the one you're replacing it with. You'll get the message that the string detection has been changed. Click on OK.
7. Write your newly spoofed hacked firmware with DOSflash.

Here is what i would do..

1) Dump your firmware from your Benq called orig.bin
2) Put it in 'Fast' or 'Quiet' directory and run the 'Make iXtreme Firmware' command
3) Place your Hitachi original firmware (we'll call it hitorig.bin) in the appropriate 'Fast' or 'Quiet' folder
4) Open a command prompt window and goto that folder
5) Type: firmtool hitorig.bin benq-ix.bin
6) Flash benq-ix.bin to your BenQ drive
 
Caster.

This post has been edited by caster420: Nov 8 2007, 08:28 PM

[Martinchris23]

QUOTE(caster420 @ Nov 8 2007, 07:27 PM)

Here is what i would do..

1) Dump your firmware from your Benq called orig.bin
2) Put it in 'Fast' or 'Quiet' directory and run the 'Make iXtreme Firmware' command
3) Place your Hitachi original firmware (we'll call it hitorig.bin) in the appropriate 'Fast' or 'Quiet' folder
4) Open a command prompt window and goto that folder
5) Type: firmtool hitorig.bin benq-ix.bin
6) Flash benq-ix.bin to your BenQ drive
 
Caster.

If I trusted batch files which spoofed drives and injected keys, I would too

[MaHeSLO]

I just installed my first hacked firmware, that being iXtreme @ 5x speed.
Seems to work fine, except for the following:

In CoD4, for example, during loading of mission 'The Bog', I get a 'clean your disc' error. This seems rather strange, since the disc itself is spotless and it's a quality brand too (Verbatim DVD+R DL). XDVDMulleter confirmed my backup is completely okay.

Is it a firmware problem? Does anyone else with a similar setup experience similar issues?

[caster420]

QUOTE(Martinchris23 @ Nov 8 2007, 03:09 PM)

If I trusted batch files which spoofed drives and injected keys, I would too (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Uhhh... firmtool isnt a batch file and that is all the 'Make iXtreme Firmware' command calls.  So, i'm not exactly sure what you're referring to...

Caster.

[sportsgamer1984]

QUOTE(MaHeSLO @ Nov 8 2007, 09:34 PM)

I just installed my first hacked firmware, that being iXtreme @ 5x speed.
Seems to work fine, except for the following:

In CoD4, for example, during loading of mission 'The Bog', I get a 'clean your disc' error. This seems rather strange, since the disc itself is spotless and it's a quality brand too (Verbatim DVD+R DL). XDVDMulleter confirmed my backup is completely okay.

Is it a firmware problem? Does anyone else with a similar setup experience similar issues?

Were your Verbs made in India or Singapore?  If India, it could be bad media but if they were made in Singapore, then it would be a cause for concern.

[MaHeSLO]

QUOTE(sportsgamer1984 @ Nov 8 2007, 09:45 PM)

Were your Verbs made in India or Singapore?  If India, it could be bad media but if they were made in Singapore, then it would be a cause for concern.

It says Made in Singapore on the box ... Well? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

[sirreco]

QUOTE(MaHeSLO @ Nov 8 2007, 09:34 PM)

I just installed my first hacked firmware, that being iXtreme @ 5x speed.
Seems to work fine, except for the following:

In CoD4, for example, during loading of mission 'The Bog', I get a 'clean your disc' error. This seems rather strange, since the disc itself is spotless and it's a quality brand too (Verbatim DVD+R DL). XDVDMulleter confirmed my backup is completely okay.

Is it a firmware problem? Does anyone else with a similar setup experience similar issues? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

I played a backup of CoD4 on Verbatim, using a 5x firmware and I had no problem what so ever.  It is hard to tell what is exactly the problem you have, but I would bet it is somthing on the disk itself, try making another backup on another brand if possible, or test your disk on another XBOX, just to know for sure.

Regards

[MaHeSLO]

Alright, I will buy some other brand DVDs, just hope it's not a complete waste of money ...