The July 2007 date for Falcon isn't true. There are many factors that determine whether or not it is. From my personal experience anything made after the holidays (i.e. mid-January 2008 ) will definitely have the Falcon. Check the box when you buy it. If is has a 175w power supply, you are guaranteed a Falcon. There are ways to verify if you check out http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/02/05/how-to-spot-a-falcon-65nm-360-in-the-wild/ Apparently the Falcon CPU hasn't resulted in any major drop in failures, because it's the graphics chip that causes most of the problems. I'm on my 5th 360 so I know it's frustrating.

Hey all. Before I contact Microsoft just wondering if anyone has had the same problem as me. When I put a disc in the tray and it closes, it makes a whirring sound, almost like a quiet woodpecker. It does this intermittently for like 30 sec and then the "open tray" sign comes on in the dashboard. I have rebooted, tried different games, but alas, no success. Has anyone been able to solve, or even have, this problem?

This is my third 360. First one got on launch, died 10 months later, got a second one, died  5 months later. This one is a replacement from MS and I've only had it since Friday. I wish MS would admit it makes garbage. I am still an Xbox fan but this is getting ridiculous. BTW, I live in Canada so temperature is not a factor. I always leave my 360 vertically and it's on a hardwood floor with one foot clearance between the unit and the wall. The previous two read discs fine, but both got the dreaded 3 red lights. This one boots up great but doesn't read any games. It's been almost 1.5 years since this system came out - these things should NOT happen. A $50 DVD player can go for years with consistent performance but a $400 DVD player breaks at least twice a year. I did buy an extended warranty from Best Buy but they won't honor it until 1 year Xbox warranty expires.