It only took them about 5 days to get me a new console when mine got the RRoD (but that was in the days when you had to pay to ship it to them yourself so I sent mine priority. Be watchful and make sure you complain if you get back a console that is as loud as a jet engine or where the Disc Tray sticks there is no reason to accept a POS in return.

One the plus side, now you get a new motherboard which should be more durable and cooler running than the last one. Have to look for the silver lining.

When my 360 is nearing the 3 year mark (Fall 2007 model), I think I'll run it 24/7 for about a week until it fries itself. If it passes that test, I'll just buy a replacement when it finally dies since by then they'll probably be even cheaper.

How can I tell if a new MB is installed ?

Is it luck of the draw or policy now.

From the research I've done given the sudden graphics problems and then failure the Scaler chip is fried.

MS doesn't actually "repair" the vast majority of consoles they receive. They've processed so many that the repair process is more of a replacement process, using refurbished models using revised chipsets that are theoretically more reliable. It only costs MS more money to replace a refurbished unit should that one fail as well.

SCE does this as do many computer manufacturers like Apple with non-customized devices like iPhones/iPods.

You can tell which model you receive by a number of signs, the easiest being to look up the serial number and manufacturing date.

With the original Xenons, the most obvious difference is the lack of HDMI port, which means any Xenons being returned won't receive a Falcon or Jasper mobo, but the Opus, which used a revised chipset minus the HDMI port.

The heatsink should be of the revised design as well (it was made larger with the first revision Zephyrs and may have been scaled down in subsequent revisions due to the die reduction of the GPU and CPU).

It's sort of a mixed bag when you receive a refurb since it's unknown what component failed when it was returned to factory. It could have an older, noisier DVD drive, it could feasibly have an older motherboard if it was returned to replace a broken DVD drive.

But if the DVD drive's quieter, you probably have a newer DVD drive. And if the fans run quieter, you probably have a newer motherboard.

Ultimately, you get what MS sends you since it is essentially a free repair.

Ah well I guess I will be grateful for a working Xbox.....thx all

Sorry that is a very sad story. I hope you feel better.