On his blog, Dean Takahashi is found talking about Jasper, the code name for the next motherboard for the Xbox 360 that is slated for August 2008. He criticizes Microsoft"s speed in shrinking the size of the graphics chip in the Xbox 360 – many believe this is the key to improving stability and reliability of the company"s second console. He also notes that after it released Falcon, Microsoft cut $50 off the price of the Xbox 360. Since a smaller graphics chip translates into material savings, another price cut should be coming in less than a year - according to Takahashi.
Currently, Falcon is being used in Xbox 360s that are rolling off the production lines. It has a 65-nm IBM microprocessor on it, instead of the previous 90-nm version. It also has built-in HDMI and carries lower costs than the previous motherboard, but not dramatically so. The 90-nm graphics chip on Falcon will be replaced with Jasper"s 65-nanometer graphics chip from ATI Technologies, as well as smaller memory chips. ATI uses TSMC to make its chips out of Taiwan, and TSMC hasn"t been the fastest at moving to 65-nm manufacturing.