Topic: ChipWorks inside Microsoft's Xbox 360 Silicon (Read 103 times)

XanTium · « **on:** November 24, 2005, 04:29:00 PM »

ChipWorks inside Microsoft's Xbox 360 Silicon-- Posted by XanTium on November 24 18:29 EST
Chipworks Inc., an industry leader in reverse engineering and analysis of semiconductor chips and systems, today announced that they analysed the key chips of the Xbox 360. Their full report is not available for public viewing, it can only be bought for 'private' use:

Chipworks monitors advanced semiconductors and systems, and creates detailed reports of what is inside technology. Their customers use this information to maintain their competitive advantage, benchmark their innovations and improve their business costs.

"Microsoft has developed creative relationships with some of the leading-edge chip suppliers in order to meet the performance needs of the Xbox," said Gary Tomkins, manager of Technical Intelligence at Chipworks. "We wanted to see how advanced the process technology is that is being used, considering the pressure to keep the component costs down."
The extensive use of state-of-the-art technology in the Xbox illustrates the trend that the consumer market is driving technology these days," continues Tomkins.

Most of the dedicated parts have the Microsoft X-logo on them, including the silicon die markings, not the design or IDM origin. We could call this Microsoft inside'," added Tomkins. "So far we have identified the IBM, ATI, and NEC parts, Samsung GDDR3 SDRAM, Hynix NAND flash, and other chips whose origin we are investigating."
Chipworks also reports that the NEC embedded DRAM is co-packaged with the ATI processor, rather than being integrated into the same piece of silicon. This allows the processes to be optimised for the separate devices, without forcing a compromise to achieve what could be a false economy.

You can see there full press release here.

Cichlid_Guy · « **Reply #1 on:** November 24, 2005, 06:50:00 PM »

I only read acouple of sentences, but from what I read I am guessing that the people analyzing the chips are helping out with mod chips, am I right?

eDeus · « **Reply #2 on:** November 24, 2005, 07:58:00 PM »

what is the cost to get this information? is it out of reach for the mod scene?

(It does sound interesting even if it wouldnt be useful)

throwingks · « **Reply #3 on:** November 24, 2005, 08:02:00 PM »

QUOTE(Cichlid_Guy @ Nov 24 2005, 05:21 PM)

I only read acouple of sentences, but from what I read I am guessing that the people analyzing the chips are helping out with mod chips, am I right?

no

koufontinas · « **Reply #4 on:** November 24, 2005, 08:05:00 PM »

QUOTE(Cichlid_Guy @ Nov 25 2005, 01:21 AM)

I only read acouple of sentences, but from what I read I am guessing that the people analyzing the chips are helping out with mod chips, am I right?

Why else would you pay for information on the console's insides? But I am sure it would take quite some time for the first stable chips to come in the market, especially when the console itself isn't working properly lol.

alexh · « **Reply #5 on:** November 25, 2005, 03:25:00 AM »

QUOTE

Chipworks also reports that the NEC embedded DRAM is co-packaged with the ATI processor, rather than being integrated into the same piece of silicon.

The fact that they are using phrases like "co-packaged" rather than the industry term "Multi-Chip-Module" or MCM makes me wonder if they are indeed experts.

wumarkus · « **Reply #6 on:** November 25, 2005, 03:46:00 AM »

Pay for this? The press release is just market speak with descriptions of chips easily identifiable from the various hi-res pics posted on tons of different websites. Forget the modchip hopes, they just want a quick buck from Sony or Nintendo...

koufontinas · « **Reply #7 on:** November 25, 2005, 04:59:00 AM »

QUOTE(alexh @ Nov 25 2005, 09:56 AM)

The fact that they are using phrases like "co-packaged" rather than the industry term "Multi-Chip-Module" or MCM makes me wonder if they are indeed experts.

Or perhaps they want their major audience (that is, the ones that do not have a degree in computer architecture) to know what they are on about.

WaferJ · « **Reply #8 on:** November 25, 2005, 01:32:00 PM »

I've heard of chip works before... Reverse engineering is what they do. If you read the press realease, you will see the pictures of the die (dice) show MS logos ets, that is on the actual silicon chip itself, not anything externaly visable. They probably did something along the lines of what bunnie did - milling down the top of the package until the silicon is exposed and taking a peek under the microscope..
Here's their "About Us" which gives some insight into why they do it.

QUOTE

ABOUT US

At Chipworks, we find out whats inside technology specifically, whats inside chips, devices, software, almost anything electronic you can think of. Whether youre involved in patent protection or litigation, researching your latest product design, or just trying to find out what the competitions up to, let Chipworks do the analysis for you. We have the expertise to take apart the product or the patent to discover its secrets. An internationally-recognized leader in patent portfolio management and technical competitive analysis, Chipworks is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with offices and representation worldwide. .

Author Topic: ChipWorks inside Microsoft's Xbox 360 Silicon (Read 103 times)