Beta

Beta

007 Beta 1 XeDK

CPU	2.8 GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon (Beta 1) 3.2 GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon (Beta 2)
Memory	512MB of GDDR3 RAM clocked at 700 MHz
Storage	80GB SATA 2.5"
Graphics	500 MHz ATI Xenos
Networking	100Mbps Ethernet

History

Beta hardware came in two flavors; internal kits, and eventually development kits. As previously noted the nomenclature of "Beta 1" and "Beta 2" was created by the scene and not accurate, but commonly known. A more accurate way to identify beta hardware is by board revisions. You can find the revision string behind the ROL, it will say X801054-005 through 008 or X803600-009 through 010.

Internal units will be in a white case with stress wires. Known board revisions that came as internal units are 005-008. It wasn't until board version 007 when Microsoft made a full development unit to send to developers. That unit is the only beta development kit referred to as Xenon Development kit (XeDK) on the mfr (no mold branding on case). Board revisions 008 - 010 are given final branding of "Xbox 360" on MFR and case.

Beta development hardware were later replaced with final Xenon XDKs. Microsoft required that studios return their Beta units after their use had ended. They were intentionally damaged by Microsoft before and then shipped overseas with the intention of being destroyed.

Chinese sellers on marketplaces such as TaoBao began selling the damaged Beta units which is where the term "China Kit" originated from. These kits often came with destroyed AV/ethernet ports, missing sidecars and also had their serial numbers defaced with a disc grinder. With the ports being identical to the launch model Xenon, the damage was relatively easy to repair and were obtained by many different community members.

Board revisions 007 and below are restricted to pre-release software, making them more of a collectors piece then a useful unit. Board revisions 008 and above are capable of going to latest recovery, making them more useful for enthusiasts.

Hardware

What constitutes a Beta 1 or Beta 2 Xbox 360 XeDK is something that is debated within the XDK community. While this wiki uses the term Beta 1 to refer to XeDK versions up to 007, be aware that other users may use that term for XeDKs up to 008 or further.

In order to prevent confusion between users, using the PCB part number of an XeDK is usually preferred over using the Beta 1/2 moniker.

Development kits

One of the biggest differences between a Beta 1 XeDK and the later Beta 2 consoles is the use of the Titan debugging board. Beta 1 XeDKs also use an earlier XCPU that was clocked at 2.8GHz instead of the final 3.2GHz clock speed. As a result, they are only able to run XEX1 applications and are not able to run retail or retail patched games.

All Microsoft custom chips in the Beta 1 XeDKs are labelled as engineering samples. It is believed that there is little (if any) difference between the Beta 1 GPU, Southbridge, ANA chip and their retail counterparts.

The case of 007 Beta 1 is an early dark black that is darker than the retail Elite or XDK gray colors. There is also a distinct lack of any Xbox 360 branding on the console with the exception of the rear serial label. The faceplate of the console also different including a convex bind button, extruded text on the first memory slot cover and rubber USB doors.

007 Beta 1 XeDKs were not approved by the FCC and have multiple warnings to deter the possible resale of the consoles.

Beta 1 XeDKs can not run recoveries later than 1838.1.

Gallery

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