FOR ANYONE WHO OWNS OR PLANS TO OWN AN XBOX 360, READ THIS!

[JohnnyBlaze]

I just got my new EGM and I found out something that turned me off to buy a 360:

 

It turns out that Microsoft is putting all of its good 360 parts(i.e. the ones that actually pass the stress tests and whatnot) are going into the Elite units and the regular units are getting untested parts. This could probably explain the rash of "Red Ring Of Death" malfunctions we see. So, basically we're paying $400 for a unit that will screw up in about a year and being forced to pay $500 for a working unit! That to me is a ripoff. I just want all of you to be aware.

 

Check out the "Rumor Mill" section. You'll see it.

[Gregory DG]

I think it just means that they'll keep selling the old units with the old parts until they are gone. Then the new parts will also appear in the non-Elite boxes.

 

But hey, since I'm planning to get an Elite one of these days, it won't affect me anyway.

[Hyper_Eye]

They are using the old parts in those systems but adding a couple things to eliminate RROD. They now have a heatpipe on the GPU as well as sticky pads on the bottom of the memory to provide support to the memory and board. These changes should reduce RROD considerably.

Edited August 4, 2007 by Hyper_Eye

[SINGLE TOOTH]

I have to say, I am scared to buy a 360. I'm used to Sony making the shitty systems that brake right away.

[jetset]

I learned my lesson with my original xbox(s). Really shoddy work and shitty product support. MS needs to stick to making software. They have that down to a science. Gaming is not their strength.

[Atarifever]

MS needs to stick to making software. They have that down to a science.

 

Have you used Vista yet? If that was what science amounted to we'd still believe the sun circled the earth.

[jetset]

MS needs to stick to making software. They have that down to a science.

 

Have you used Vista yet? If that was what science amounted to we'd still believe the sun circled the earth.

 

Yes. The laptop I use 90% of the time is running it. Why? am I supposed to be having problems with it? I guess I'm doing something wrong. Vista isn't much of an upgrade over XP, but it's a great piece of software IMO.

[Gabriel]

Wouldn't it be ironic if the problems were because people bought a Premium or Elite instead of a Core? So far, I haven't heard of any problems from people who bought a Core. It's always one of the other SKUs.

 

I've had mine for 1 year 7 months so far. Considering my experiences with the original XBox, I didn't have much faith it would last longer than a couple of months before I would be trying to get it repaired. Instead, it has given me no problems at all. I've even used it as my primary DVD player for about a year.

[Video]

Wouldn't it be ironic if the problems were because people bought a Premium or Elite instead of a Core? So far, I haven't heard of any problems from people who bought a Core. It's always one of the other SKUs.

 

I've had mine for 1 year 7 months so far. Considering my experiences with the original XBox, I didn't have much faith it would last longer than a couple of months before I would be trying to get it repaired. Instead, it has given me no problems at all. I've even used it as my primary DVD player for about a year.

 

That's an interesting theory. i'll have to admit, I have heard of no problems with the core (even though there's quiet a bit of them sold, I know half the stock at our store is always cores, and due to cheaper prices, it sells faster)

 

I'm in the market for a 360, but honestly, I'm looking at a core myself, I don't really need a hard drive, as I have no means of useing the online anyways. (which seems to be the main reason for tetting it)

 

But yeah, I'll definately get one when Halo3 comes out, if not soon befor that.

[Bruce Tomlin]

It turns out that Microsoft is putting all of its good 360 parts(i.e. the ones that actually pass the stress tests and whatnot) are going into the Elite units and the regular units are getting untested parts. This could probably explain the rash of "Red Ring Of Death" malfunctions we see. So, basically we're paying $400 for a unit that will screw up in about a year and being forced to pay $500 for a working unit! That to me is a ripoff. I just want all of you to be aware.

Well, that would certainly make them Elite, no?

 

But what I've heard is that sales were so much lower than predicted that MS hasn't produced a non-Elite 360 for months, and has enormous inventory. Which means they were all manufactured before the re-design. By they time they run out, it'll probably be time for the 65nm model.

 

Benheck has a post on his site somewhere where he shows how you can shine a flashlight into the bottom of a 360 and look through the grille to see if you have the new heat sink re-design without voiding the warranty.

[Atarifever]

MS needs to stick to making software. They have that down to a science.

 

Have you used Vista yet? If that was what science amounted to we'd still believe the sun circled the earth.

 

Yes. The laptop I use 90% of the time is running it. Why? am I supposed to be having problems with it? I guess I'm doing something wrong. Vista isn't much of an upgrade over XP, but it's a great piece of software IMO.

Yes, you are supposed to be having problems. What version are you using? I'm using Home Premium, and it's garbage.

 

If it turns all my sound off and takes away the ability to unmute it one more time, it's back to XP for me. Also, the tabs along the bottom stop working sometimes, also they disappear sometimes, also they overlap the windows menu button sometimes making it impossible to click them or the button, also it shuts Ares off for no reason if it's been on for awhile, it has reset itself for no reason, and folders sometimes refuse to open for no good reason. Other than that, no major complaints.

[Artlover]

I learned my lesson with my original xbox(s). Really shoddy work

What problems have you had? I've got 5 original xbox's, all still work fine. Some even spend weeks & months turned on 24/7.

[jetset]

I learned my lesson with my original xbox(s). Really shoddy work

What problems have you had? I've got 5 original xbox's, all still work fine. Some even spend weeks & months turned on 24/7.

 

Three words.

Thompson DVD drive.

MS has a known factory defect. Thousands of xbox's died because of this fault (do a google search, there's online petitions, youtube videos of TV stations doing "shame on you" type reports, Better Business Bureau complaints, the list goes on), and MS pretended they know nothing of such a problem. When my first of 2 died, I called and they told me they knew nothing of all the complaints. Even on xbox.com there were HUNDREDS of postings. Know what the guy told me? "Those are just likely Sony fanboys trolling for an argument". Most of these posts were not rants or the like. They were genuine appeals of people who owned these units asking for help because the drive died out just weeks past the warranty period (1 year IIRC).

Now, I have 2 newer xboxs, and neither have had any problems, of course, both have the samsung drive (I made sure of that).

But still...MS cannot deny they knew of this problem, ignored it, and wished it away.

It was a real kick in the balls when mine died, and I was faced with 3 options;

Shell out $100 bucks to fix it,

Buy another new one,

Forsake the dozens of titles I had bought and sell them.

 

AND, they're doing it all over again with the 360! Although this time, public pressure has forced them to reconsider, and make the warranty 3 years.

 

Just poor IMO.

[+Random Terrain]

Yes, you are supposed to be having problems. What version are you using? I'm using Home Premium, and it's garbage.

 

If it turns all my sound off and takes away the ability to unmute it one more time, it's back to XP for me. Also, the tabs along the bottom stop working sometimes, also they disappear sometimes, also they overlap the windows menu button sometimes making it impossible to click them or the button, also it shuts Ares off for no reason if it's been on for awhile, it has reset itself for no reason, and folders sometimes refuse to open for no good reason. Other than that, no major complaints.

Except for a couple of programs that no longer work, my Vista Home Premium computer has been great so far.

 

If I ever get around to buying a 360, I guess it will have to be an Elite then.

[Lastblade]

My Elite's DVD drive died within 90 days. So without RROD, there are still QC issues. I was lucky since I could return it to Target and get another.

[Artlover]

Three words.

Thompson DVD drive.

Those are what I got.

 

I'm not saying some people didn't have problems, of course they did. It looks like you were one of the unlucky ones. But by and large, more people didn't have problems then did.

 

To that end, sure it was a crappy mech with some issues (including disc burn, read errors and media compatability). What was the final failure rate of those drives anyway? I can't find any references to the original anymore with all the 2nd gen thomson drive failures in the 360 comming up in my searches.

 

Of course, other people may list heat related console failure as their primary factor, as that happened back then too. Some units just like running 20-30+ degrees hotter then it's immediate brothers and sisters on the line.

 

But for the most part, all these problems are mostly isolated to the initial production launch units, not a broad failure across the entire line. Same here for the 360.

 

It's an annoyance for the end user tho, as they are still going to use up their stock, possibly flawed or not, simply because a lot of it is good, and in the end, it would cost less to just deal with the failures as they turn up then dealing with the existing high failure stock on hand.

[shadow460]

I have to say, I am scared to buy a 360. I'm used to Sony making the shitty systems that brake right away.

 

I've never once had a Sony product die on me without substantial abuse. We're talking throwing it into the bathtub, beating it with a sledge hammer, that's the kind of thing that breaks them. I used to have a Walkman cassette player, and I repalced it because the Panasonic I got sounded better, but the Walkman was far tougher than the durable Panasonic units were.

 

I've had only one problem with any PlayStation hardware, and that's my PSP which is picky about what UMD's it reads. It's not the PSP, I think it's the UMD shells collapsing that stops them from reading. It's still 98% reliable, though. I put Sony controllers through abuse that would destroy anything from Sega, Nintendo, or Microsoft.

 

I'm not much for Microsoft's software, due in small part to this fine, fine specimen of their outstanding quality. I'll try their hardware, though. I want to get a 360 for Command & Conquer 3.

Edited August 6, 2007 by shadow460

[liveinabin]

Here's a link to a really interesting article that Kotaku picked up regarging a thermal test of the Xbox 360.

 

Personally I think the problem stems from the chipset, I'm typing this on a G5 iMac with a similar PowerPC processor and the fans are going nuts all the damn time. Apple couldn't ever get a G5 chipset into a laptop and Microsoft seem to have bitten off more than they can chew with shoehorning it into a console.

 

I'm chomping at the bit to get in on the 360, I really am, but there's no way I'm buying one until they have a major redesign. The current model simply isn't saleable.

[StormSurge]

Wouldn't it be ironic if the problems were because people bought a Premium or Elite instead of a Core? So far, I haven't heard of any problems from people who bought a Core. It's always one of the other SKUs.

 

I've had mine for 1 year 7 months so far. Considering my experiences with the original XBox, I didn't have much faith it would last longer than a couple of months before I would be trying to get it repaired. Instead, it has given me no problems at all. I've even used it as my primary DVD player for about a year.

 

That's very interesting. I have a Core as well (too impatient in February of 06 to wait for a Premium to show up) & I have had zero problems. (MAJOR knocking on wood)

[+remowilliams]

WOW. I mean I get it's hip to hate Microsoft and all, but WTF?

 

The 360s have suffered from a very obvious heatsink retention issue that causes warping of the mobo and consequently solder pad disconnects. It's pretty obvious when so many RROD systems have been repaired by replacing the horrible x-brace design with some good old fashioned screws. Shame on MS, but its not the parts but rather the implementation details.

 

Secondly, Vista (while having all kinds of sinister DRM stuff in it ) will generally work quite well if your machine is not a piece of shit and is well maintained. Not saying it's worth the $$ to upgrade, but the "problems" are way overblown.

[Shawn]

Yes, you are supposed to be having problems. What version are you using? I'm using Home Premium, and it's garbage.

 

If it turns all my sound off and takes away the ability to unmute it one more time, it's back to XP for me. Also, the tabs along the bottom stop working sometimes, also they disappear sometimes, also they overlap the windows menu button sometimes making it impossible to click them or the button, also it shuts Ares off for no reason if it's been on for awhile, it has reset itself for no reason, and folders sometimes refuse to open for no good reason. Other than that, no major complaints.

Except for a couple of programs that no longer work, my Vista Home Premium computer has been great so far.

 

If I ever get around to buying a 360, I guess it will have to be an Elite then.

 

 

I have ultimate sitting here on a disk and I still prefer XP Corperate Build. I just don't like donating all my video to the OS, it just doesn't make sense to me. A 512mb Video Card is ment for games not having to donate half of the ram to the OS so it won't chug.