It is not news that the Xbox 360 has some serious tech issues and it breaks a lot more than it should. Fine. MS has changed the chip configuration and there are some benefits to see if the Xbox 360 you are about to buy is the right one.
Here is how:

All you need to do is look at the UPC symbol and see the 175W, which is the wattage for the newer power supply. This confirms that a Falcon chip is inside and not the Zephyr, which is an older model.
The Falcon chipped models have a much less chance of failing due to aluminum heat sinks and uses much less power so will be a lot quieter.
So this Holiday Season, make it a Falcon if you can. Thanks to http://www.falz.net for the close up.