How To Tell Which Xbox 360 DVD Drive You Have
Xbox Scene has a photo of the three different DVD drives that have shipped inside Xbox 360 consoles, from the uber-loud Hitach-LG, to the slightly-less-like-a-747 Toshiba-Samsung drive, to the new, considerably quieter BenQ drive. Check it out closely and figure out which one you have. I’m kind of pissed off that when I exchanged my bricked 360 for a new one at Best Buy last month, it came with the two generations old Hitachi.
Joystiq actually ran a poll asking readers what their drive is, and removing the non-360 owners, here’s what they found:
| Toshiba-Samsung TS-H943 |  48.27% |
2,608 |
| Hitachi-LG GDR-3120L |  47.44% |
2,563 |
| BenQ VAD6038 |  4.3% |
232 |
| 5,403 votes total | ||
So is there any way of telling which drive is in use before you buy?
Comment by paul haine | February 22, 2007
Not as far as I know. I will update if one comes up. For now, return it if you get a bad one.
Comment by Nathan Weinberg | February 23, 2007
I’ve heard the new ones have the BenQ VAD6038 which is supposedly more reliable and quieter. You can check how new a 360 is by looking at the lot number on the outside of the box. I think for the United States, Lot 650 and up most likely have the BenQ. I just purchased a 360 today and that’s the drive in mine. This is just what I’ve noticed from the on the attached website.
The site is all user submitted info.
Comment by Thayer | March 26, 2007
http://www.360drives.com/list
Comment by Thayer | March 26, 2007