Buying an entirely new Xbox 360 in your own designed colors will be $500 (it’s normally $300), but if you mail in your already-purchased Xbox, it’s just $175.

So if you want your Xbox 360 to be like the old Xbox 360 (a bit less “modern” than Microsoft says they’re trying to do with the new one), here ya go. Then you can run it over with your new Segway. [Colorware]

Deciding to take the opportunity for a clean break, Microsoft has not included any red lights in the console’s “ring of light”, only green ones, so if something goes wrong this time around, you’ll get a …green ring of death. Which is surely more calming! red dot of death (see below).

The Red Ring – or RRoD – had become less common in recent years as Microsoft gradually improved the quality of the Xbox 360, but it was still an issue in the general consciousness, so it’s understandable the company would want to clean the slate. Let’s just hope the new console has the reliability to really put the RRoD to bed.

UPDATE – According to Microsoft’s support team, while the console won’t display a “red ring” in times of hardware failure, it will still clearly indicate an error by switching its power indicator (the light in the centre of the ring) from green to red. So we’ll get a red…dot of death instead. RDoT. It has a certain ring about it, no?

AnandTech put the new 360 through its technical paces. Their findings:

• It’s “noticeably quieter,” spinning discs at 51 dB(A) rather than 54 dB(A) of last gen
• Idling, it’s 6dB(A) lower than that—indeed, about the volume of a whisper just as Microsoft claimed

• Power consumption dropped more than 50% from the original Xbox (idling, and about that much during gameplay)
• Compared to the most recent model, power consumption dropped roughly 20%
• Vampire power is down to 1/4 that of all other 360s, .6W
• You’ll still need a T8 torx to disassemble one

If you REALLY want to get into the nitty gritty, AnandTech has even more in their original post. [AnandTech via Engadget]

EXTREMELY GEEKY DISCLAIMER: AnandTech speculates that Microsoft may be using 40nm manufacturing. Microsoft confirmed with us that it’s 45nm.

While Microsoft may have stated up, down and sidesaddle that the 250GB version of its Xbox 360 HDD would remain exclusive to special console bundles (e.g., Modern Warfare 2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction), it would appear that the particular drive will arrive as a standalone accessory sometime soon. As spotted by eagle-eyed Joystiq reader Rodney in the Spotlight section of the Xbox 360 Dashboard (pictured above), the accessory should be available at “participating retailers” rather soon — the ad’s wording indicates that the HDD might already be on store shelves (as of this writing, Amazon has the product listed without a price).

Though it’s odd to see an official reveal through the Xbox Dashboard, we have been hearing rumblings about a standalone version of the 250GB HDD for quite some time — listings even popped up on retail sites earlier this month bearing … today’s date! We’ve contacted Microsoft for pricing and release info, but until the West Coast wakes up, we’ve got this thrilling hi-res gallery of the Dashboard advertisement for you below