Xbox 360

[Mike wanna be 0]

Without it, the processor fries. Fast.

For example,

[Ripper 0]

The problem with the 360's is probably that cheap ass thermal pad on the GPU. If I wasn't in warrenty I would probably pop it open and change that out with something of substance like some Artic Silver or something. But since I am in warrenty then I won't.

 

And I would be all over a firmware hack if I had to open this thing.

[MrRant 0]

If you actually do a search, it's how the heatsink is attached to the system.

[Ripper 0]

They are guessing just as much as I am.

 

But thinking computer wise, that doesn't exactly make the most sense. If it was heatsink attachment they would be going alot faster.

 

Of course I am just thinking in computer terms here. But if you have a shitty heatsink connection, you are going to have high temps from the jump and it wouldn't take nearly this long to kill it off.

 

If you use a shitty paste or thermal pad, it will work just fine for a while, but once that shit disipates, then you have an overheating issue.

 

Not saying I am right or wrong, but that would be my guess.

[World's Worst Man 0]

The Xbox 360 problems are caused by a faulty heat sink and/or motherboard design. Some of the more tech savvy folk have even figured out a way to fix the problem quite easily without having to send it in. It involves putting something under the heat sink to stabilize it so it doesn't come out of position. It's not so much a guess as it is a logical deduction.

 

It's already been established that the 360 failures are due to shoddy manufacturing stemming from Microsoft wanting to cut costs. That is why a great number of the systems have no lifespan. The billions of dollars it's going to cost them/has cost them is a good lesson I think.

[Ripper 0]

I don't even understand the point of the Xbox at all for Microsoft. It isn't making them any money whatsoever.

 

They would have been better served attacking cosumer electronics and putting Sony out of business then attacking the gaming world to get a better grasp of it. As it is, they are in their second generation of money losing systems. And this time they tried to cut the cost of manufactoring and ended up losing a shit load of money in the process.

 

That said, the PS2 cost Sony a pretty penny too. But since they bundled their PS2 Numbers in with their consumer electronics business it was hard to see the real losses, kinda a way of hiding them, but I wouldn't be suprised to know the numbers were roughly the same as the losses the 360 has....of course, Microsoft has incurred them in a realtively short time while the PS2 had a long time to incur them.

 

And i did a quick search and at least this guy figured the same as I did and it worked for him: http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2006/6/16/4353

 

Although it could just be that he reseated the heatsink better than before. But still. My guess was a pretty good one!

 

 

[World's Worst Man 0]

Sony and Microsoft both (try to) make their money on software. They sell their hardware at a loss to keep the price down, and hopefully get a big install base, which will then drive software sales. They get a cut of all game sales, and they also have their first party studios where they theoretically get all of the profits. It does seem like a bizarre and risky way of doing things. If the console sells well, it can eventually turn a profit on it's own (see; PS2), because the manufacturing costs eventually will drop low enough to where they can sell at a profit; and with such a large install base, you have exorbitant software sales. That's one reason why system life is important, and one reason why Sony's long-term approach should eventually benefit them. But if the console doesn't perform to a certain standard, the developer is pretty much hosed because they don't have a big install base to sell games to, and theyre not going to be able to overcome the losses incurred on the hardware.

[Downhome 0]

I'm sure this was mentioned a month or two ago, but I just discovered it. Have any of you tried out that Pac-Man Championship Edition game on XBLA? I fucking love that little game.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

So the new update for xbox live dashboard is to allow for wireless guitars, however, it won't update for me.

[BUTT 0]

Are newer models of the 360 better protected against the red ring deal? And if so, how would I be able to tell if the version I am buying is one of the safe versions?

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

They'd be no way to tell till you got it back home, opened the box and saw the production line date on the back of the 360.

[Craig Th 0]

I didn't see this posted, but the 360 is now coming with HDMI (the Premiums, so it isn't exclusive to the Elite).

 

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/08/08/hd...w-360-premiums/

 

It don't get much more official than this folks. It seems someone purchased an Xbox 360 Premium system from an Atlanta Target today, only to find out that it includes an HDMI port (confirming the rumor we posted just today). Shacknews has confirmed with Microsoft that Xbox 360 consoles will now include HDMI ports and that are gradually finding their way into retail outlets. Microsoft is currently mum on whether or not the HDMI port will make it into the Core System (then again, why would it be if the Core is on the way out, right?). Also unknown is if the inclusion of HDMI also means users can expect the new 360s to have the smaller, cooler 65nm chips. Considering the magnitude of the addition of HDMI, the 65nm chips would definitely make sense. If the above image is any indication, the port should appear on consoles manufactured on July 4th or later. If anyone out there is willing to check for the 65nm processor, be sure and send the proof our way.

 

[MrRant 0]

It was posted. Just not in this thread.

[World's Worst Man 0]

Are newer models of the 360 better protected against the red ring deal? And if so, how would I be able to tell if the version I am buying is one of the safe versions?

 

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/10/spot-the...mium-at-retail/

 

Well there you go.

[skullman80 0]

I picked up an Elite today with a mfg date of 6-16-07. Not sure if it has anything new in it, but it does run ALOT quieter, and less hot than my old Premium system did.

[Ripper 0]

They made elites back then?

[skullman80 0]

Oops that should read 06-16-07 not 2006.

 

Sorry my mistake...that was a typo.

[World's Worst Man 0]

The fact that it runs significantly quieter makes me wish I had waited to buy one of those, even more so than the HDMI or extra hard drive space.

[skullman80 0]

The fact that it runs significantly quieter makes me wish I had waited to buy one of those, even more so than the HDMI or extra hard drive space.

 

I have no way of knowing if it has the new chip set in there without tearing the thing apart. I just noticed the difference when I fired it up. It was just quieter, it just sounded like it was doing less work. I dunno. Hard to explain.

[World's Worst Man 0]

It's possible that the system had a better heat-sink, which would mean a less powerful fan could be used, which would explain the quieter sound. That's one area with MS originally fucked up apparently - by putting a small fan in the system, which meant it needed to be spinning at a higher RPM than a larger fan, thus causing more noise. The PS3 for example, makes almost no noise at all, despite blowing plenty of really hot air out of its sides, probably because they used a big fan that could blow a lot of air out without running at a high RPM.

[AndrewTS 0]

The rumors (i.e. basically fact but MS have been clamming up) are that the new run of new HDMI 360s have the new heatsinks and identical motherboards to the recent Elites, but that the Falcon ones haven't shipped out. "Soon" for the Falcons, but it shouldn't really matter all that much, as the ones with the new heatsinks should be "fixed" for real.

[skullman80 0]

I was one of the lucky ones though, even with the Pemium that I had owned since launch, I never got the RROD.

 

So hopefully my luck continues.

[Ripper 0]

No lucky would be it dying now before your warrenty is up. Because it WILL die.

[Ripper 0]

No lucky would be it dying now before your warrenty is up. Because it WILL die.

[AndrewTS 0]

All 360s have the 3 year RROD protection, so he has no worries until Nov of next year.

[Ripper 0]

Yes...until Nov of next year. You have to know there are going to be some PISSED off people because some are going to make it RIGHT past that Three year mark.

 

I do have to say, that call to get mine replaced was one of the more annoying calls I have ever been on. Not that it was difficult or anything. Just the guy was annoying and kept saying "Okay" after ever sentence and wouldn't go on until I said "okay".

 

[AndrewTS 0]

Yes...until Nov of next year. You have to know there are going to be some PISSED off people because some are going to make it RIGHT past that Three year mark.

 

I do have to say, that call to get mine replaced was one of the more annoying calls I have ever been on. Not that it was difficult or anything. Just the guy was annoying and kept saying "Okay" after ever sentence and wouldn't go on until I said "okay".

 

English-speaking Indian folks seem to do that all the time, especially the older folks.

 

And there are always people that have stuff break on them just outside warranty. If you happened to get a launch 360 that lasted 3 damn years, thank your lucky stars because it lasted well beyond what it ever should have. You might be able to fix it yourself at that point, or sell it/trade it to some one who could.

[MrRant 0]

Or you could have just done it via service.xbox.com. Much easier.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

And there are always people that have stuff break on them just outside warranty. If you happened to get a launch 360 that lasted 3 damn years, thank your lucky stars because it lasted well beyond what it ever should have. You might be able to fix it yourself at that point, or sell it/trade it to some one who could.

 

 

There's a 3 month lee way of the production date on the back, as they can't tell how long a unit might have been sitting in a store before it was sold. Not sure how helpful that'll be, and I'm not sure if it extends to the 3 year warranty. But, it's how they did things with the 1 year warranty.

[AndrewTS 0]

That's why you should always make sure an electronics product you bought is registered, and always keep the reciept.

 

And I'm not sure how MS does it, but at work, yeah--if the ship date from the factory and purchase date are more than 90 days apart, and your DOP isn't in the system, we got to hastle people to fax in a copy of the proof of purchase.

 

It's 3 years from the console purchase date, but if you never registered and don't have your proof of purchase, MS will go by the ship date I assure you.