Design

The DreamX-1480 that was sent to us is based around a standard NTSC-J Xbox with a few notable differences. Immediately noticeable is the colorful red Xbox skin that signifies that this is not your normal system. The bundled AV cable is an S-Video AV cable with optical output. If you recall from my Console Picture Guide, upgrading the composite AV cable is the single most important upgrade for any gaming system. Lastly, there is a “Media Key” external BIOS.

Xbox motherboard with memory and CPU removed

DreamX-1480

Fundamentally, the DreamX is a hardware upgrade – it’s an Xbox with a faster CPU and more RAM. The system is fully capable of running in this configuration as a standard Xbox (in our case a Japanese region one) with a few compatibility issues.

DreamX CPU speed selection switch

Xbox Controller S

The first issue is the lack of Xbox Live. With a non-standard CPU, the DreamX is flagged by Xbox Live’s anti-cheat technology. The only workaround is to use XBConnect, tunneling software that runs through your desktop PC. XBConnect allows you to play Xbox LAN (System Link) games over the ‘net. It’s almost the same as VPN software. As far as the Xbox is concerned, the game is being played on an unusually laggy LAN. While this is effective for Xbox games supporting LAN plan, you lose the downloadable missions from some of the more featured Xbox Live games and the entire anti-cheat structure which has made console online gaming a strong companion to PC online gaming.