Xbox 360 Elite-based laptop. Click here for a larger version.

Well after a long process my new Halo 3-inspired Xbox 360 laptop is complete. It has some new features compared to past units:

• 120 gig Elite hard drive.
• HDMI-to-DVI video connection for digitial picture on the LCD (versus VGA on past mods)
• Uses an Xbox with the new 65nm processor die.

In a departure from my usual design asthetic, this one has a lot of surface detail. Click here for a larger version.

Click here to view the Demonstration Video, large and small.
This unit, like all of them, was done by request and thus already spoken for. I do not plan to build any new Xbox 360 laptops in the near future, since they tend to be quite time consuming and I’d like a bit more variety in my life. That said, for the making-of story click below. Enjoy!

Note: Though I am tired of Xbox 360 laptops I am always up for other design consultation or custom jobs – email me.

Continue reading Xbox 360 Elite Laptop →

For the last year or so talk of the new, fabled 65nm Xbox 360’s have circulated the interwebs. Now – in this brave year 2008 – I have installed one of these newer  360’s in a laptop-type enviroment, to replace a Zephyr Elite I had been using.

What will Ben find? And at what temperature?

For a temperate-difference breakdown – done in an incredibly scientific manner as usual – see the rest of this article.

Continue reading Testing a new 65nm Xbox 360 in a laptop configuration →

According to the Mayan calendar and Mel Gibson, every 2 years when the sun reaches its winter solstice I must write an article in which I predict the “Future of Gaming”. (It’s true, you can find cave paintings about it)

Much like this dude, I am going to dish out the future

So here it is – “The Future of Videogaming 2007 Edition”. A lot of it is probably redundant if you’re familiar with our opinions in the podcast, but now you can see them as words. Includes obvious predictions for new 2008 models of the Xbox and Wii. Enjoy and have a safe and fun New Year’s…

Our awesome band “Power Supply”

I really enjoy Rock Band, just yesterday some friends and I actually did that “Endless Setlist” thing (FYI it takes about 5.5 hours, including breaks) but the strummer on the Rock Band guitar does leave something to be desired. At first I appreciated the fact that it didn’t click, then realized it made high-speed accuracy harder.

Being, well, myself, I decided to get in there and see if it could be improved. What follows are the easy instructions to do it yourself and finally shut up your friends who swear by that Les Paul from GHIII (like Jones does).

Continue reading How to improve the Rock Band guitar strummer →

Recently I have been getting a lot of email regarding either the Xbox 360 laptop (as usual) and lately the PS360 controller. I find it funny that people hate the SIXAXIS (and probably soon the Dualshock 3) so much that they keep looking for a Xbox-y alternative. My suggestion would be to just buy an Xbox 😉

While I appreciate the interest and do indeed at least read every email I need to mention that due to a backlog of existing projects it is hard for me to take on new work at this time. Here are some suggestions in the meantime:

PS360 controller – Check out the how-to article I did about it for Engadget. This controller projects takes me a good solid day to do and when I have done it I have to charge way too much. If you’re willing to wait a month and pay as much as a system costs for a controller then maybe I can help.

Nintendo and other classic system portables – Put a request to buy one on my forums, either in Forum 42 or Trading Post. The folks on there have made great stuff, and often times things I have yet to conquer (Gamecube, Dreamcast) Plus many of them are college-age and could probably use some extra modding money.

Xbox 360 laptops – Due to the challenges I can maybe squirt out two a year. Considering I haven’t quite finished the 3rd one, it’ll be a while before I’d consider another. Of course you can always read my How-To article on that for Engadget.

Hopefully this clears up any burning questions of why I haven’t answered every email. Again, thanks for continuning to visit Benheck.com, and maybe someday if I grow some more arms, or get some help, I can crank out more of the stuff people love.

1. The Chevy Chase Show
2. Cheese curds left on dashboard of car on hot summer day
3. Ford Edsel
4. Crystal Pepsi
5. German invasion of France, 1940
6. Cop Rock
7. Julia Ormond’s career
8. Tiger’s Game.com
9. Flavor in average piece of chewing gum
10. New Coke

Difficulty settings aside (I went through on Normal) I can’t recall the last time I played a game so fricking short. The rumors are true – you can blow through this in about 6 hours. I find it strange this isn’t taken more into account in all the sky-high ratings it’s been getting – this is the first time in quite a while where I’ve felt like I didn’t get my 50 bucks worth (PC).

I don’t care how good the multiplayer is, or how good the [albeit short] action is – whatever happened to a good 15-20 hour FPS? You know, like Medal of Honor Allied Assault, or the first Call of Duty? It’s kind of sad that either of the Half-Life 2 episodes takes as long or longer than this full retail game.

Let’s hope this isn’t a trend – short single player that is “excused” by having really good online. I wouldn’t even count that – anyone that doesn’t play with every free minute of their time will get “outclassed” by those who do and subsequently get their asses kicked = no fun. Discuss below!