I know this may be old but a lot of people still might not know about this, and it might give the first people to get the 360 that still have a working one more incentive to get a newer model of 360, in case the HDMI slot and cooler-running, more energy-efficient 65nm hardware revisions aren't enough.
So back in like November or December 06, Microsoft switched from using the noisy Hitachi and Samsung drives to using much quieter/faster BenQ drives.
This guy reports that it was not only quieter but the stutters and pauses on Oblivion are much reduced, in addition to having quicker and smoother load times. He also reports that it takes slightly less time for the game to start up after being inserted.
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=584312&view=findpost&p=3882837I've heard also that it's less likely to eat discs as well.
Here is how to tell which drive you have by simply looking at the shape of the disc tray
http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/Xbox_360_DVD_Drive_Comparison.htm 
Reply
