SmartXX
v2 LE/SE HARDWARE Review - December 2004
Where
to buy::
USA and Canada: BMMods.com, Extreme-Mods.com, Divineo.com
Europe: FreakWare.com, Divineo.co.uk
Rest-Of-World: Divineo.cn
Official
Website::
http://www.smartxx.com
Review::
With some
delay
(blame
me), here's
the chip/hardware
review
of the
SmartXX
v2 Special Edition Pack.
A separated
overview/review
of the
latest
SmartXX
OS software will be done later.
Here a pictures of the 'simple' SmartXX v2 package. It includes the chip itself of course, a headerpin, a pre-stripped wire (for D0/Lframe) and a SmartXX case sticker all packed in an anti-static bag.
The sample we received from freakware is the Limited Edition Halloween edition, with the orange PCB color. The 'normal' Special Edition Pack contains exactly the same but with a blue PCB color (like the chip in the image above). The Limited Edition Halloween edition is no longer in production, but the 'normal' Special Edition still is.
This package includes: a SmartXX v2 PCB modchip, a Xebian (Debian for Xbox) pressed CD, a SmartXX case-sticker, a "xbox v1.6 Recovery PCB", a headerpin (not on image above, but it's in the pack) and
an USB-adapter allowing you to easily connect USB devices like keyboard, mouse and others.
The Modchip
Hardware Feature
List:
*
Ultra
Highspeed
SysCon
* 4MB
Hardware
protected
flash
rom
(max.
8MB)
* Emergency
recovery
switch
* Quicksolder
Install
&
PIN-Header
Install
* GND
/ 3.3
&
5 Volt
solderpads
* LED
(1x
blue
and
1x red)
for
Status
/ Programmable
* Direct
Bootup
Config
(Emergency
Recovery)
* External
Switch
Connector
Port
* X-Display
Support
* Dual-side
X-Display
contrast
control
* Highspeed
Transporter
IO BUS
4 Port
!
* Highspeed
transport
IO bus
( LCD/I2C/SPI/LPC)
Port
* Works
on any
XBox
( v1.0-v1.6
)
The
SmartXX
v2 PCB
comes
with a
few 'optimizations'
compared
to the
original
v1 PCB.
* The
LCD contrast
pot is
now accesible
from both
the front
and back
of the
PCB. So
even if
you install
your modchip
using
the headerpin
method
you can
easily
access
the LCD
contrast
pot.
* The
6 dip-switches
have been
replaced
by 1 switch
on PCB
v2. This has probably been done as cost-saving
... 5
of the
dip switched
where
never
really
used by
end-users,
so it
has been
replaced
by 1 normal
switch.
This switch
allows
you to
change
between
the normal
mode and
the emergency
recovery
mode (if
you main
SmartXX
OS flash
is broken
for any
reason).
* The
green
led became
blue.
The red
led is
still
red.
* On the
backside
of the
PCB there
is now
a new
SmartXX
logo.
The
PCB is
still
of the
same high
quality
as the
original
v1 PCB,
thick/solid
PCB and
all ICs
are very
cleanly
installed.
The ICs
themselves
haven't
changed,
the controller
is still
a highspeed
QuickLogic
chip and
the flash
is a 4MB
MX chip
(some
early
v1 chips
were AMD
afaik).
It's also
clear
SmartXX
thrusts
their
own quality
as they
offer
1 year
of warranty
if you
buy your
chip from
one of
the 'SmartXX
Warranty
Centers'.
The USB-adapter
This is the USB adapter that is now delivered with the SmartXX SE/LE package. It fits nicely in the Xbox controller ports. It has a design looking a lot like the design of the connector on the official controllers ... thus matches nicely with the look of the Xbox console. There's also a blue led on the adapter that allows you to check the status of the USB connection.
This USB adapter will allow you to connect any type of PC USB-peripherals with your Xbox. It's very useful for Xbox Linux distros that have support for several USB devices (keyboard and mouse being the most important and useful for Linux), but also some homebrew Xbox applications have support for a PC keyboard or even mouse.
The Xebian CD
This is the CD that comes with the SmartXX LE/SE package. The CD is not burned but pressed which should make it readable even in the worst Xbox DVD-drives.
As the name of the CD says ... it includes Xebian (the Debian Linux distro for Xbox), but it will also contain all the installation guides and manuals and other info found on the smartxx website. You'll also find 2 pdf files to print out a SmartXX or Xebian DVD-cover for the CD.
The v1.6-recovery PCB
This is the recovery PCB for Xbox v1.6/v1.6b that has recently been added to the SmartXX LE/SE pack.
It allows you to easily repair the missing data points on the Xbox v1.6/v1.6b LPC. Just place the PCB on the back of the Xbox motherboard so the LPC holes matches with the holes on the recovery PCB ... and you can directly repair (solder) the missing LAD's on the Xbox v1.6(b) LPC. Advantage is you don't have to buy/cut/strip wires or search for the points on a diagram. You could call it the 'quicksolder' method to repair LPC. This will not really make the points easier to solder, but it's certainly a lot faster.
The recovery PCB is not of the same high quality of the modchip PCB, but that's probably to keep the PCB as thin as possible so it doesn't touch the inside of the xbox case and also to keep the production price low (after all you get it in the LE/SE package without any price raise).
Again the image above is from the Limited Edition Halloween edition - the 'normal' LE/SE pack will contain exactly the same recovery PCB, but in blue. This recovery PCB is also sold separately.
General Stuff
Compared to when the first SmartXX originally launched, Team SmartXX has also been working to optimize a few other things:
- You will now find full quicksolder and headerpin installation guides in english for all Xbox and SmartXX versions on their website.
- While the SmartXX was original hard to find outside germany, the SmartXX modchip is now also widely available on many internet shops all around the world.
POSITIVE::
+ Very high
quality
PCB build.
+ Modchip is very stable in operation.
+ Fully
compatible
with xbox
v1.6.
+ Huge
4MB flash
that should
be more
then enough
space
to save
all your
bioses
on.
+ Safe
chip to
use, with
the recovery
mode you
should
always
be able
to restore
even if
something
goes wrong
with the
SmartXX
OS bios
image.
+ LCD
contrast
pot now
also accessible
from the
back of
the PCB.
+ All
solder-install
methods
possible:
quicksolder,
headerpin
and using
wires
(connected
to quicksolder
pads)
+ The SE/LE pack offers a great and complete package with an USB adapter, CD with all manuals and the Xebian distro and a recovery PCB for faster installation on Xbox v1.6(b).
+ 1year
warranty
from 'SmartXX
Waranty
Centers'
NEGATIVE::
- No 1st
party
solderless
adaptor
yet. Seeing
the succes
of solderless
solutions
... it's
still
something
missing
in the
current
SmartXX
offerings.
