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See the original image at getsatisfaction.com

Xbox 360 Failure Rate: Will My Christmas Present be a Dud?

getsatisfaction.com — A few hours into my first game I feel a crazy amount of heat radiating from the machine. It gets warmer and warmer until the green circle on the front of the console fades into the sickening red of hardware failure. Instead of a game box I now have a worthless brick.

Bury
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  • hungarian33, on 12/12/2007, -76/+6Why mention the xbox? its kicks ass. dugg.
    • Four20, on 12/12/2007, -3/+53huh
      • ilukedukei, on 01/04/2008, -1/+1He sounds like most MS Fanboys... Retarded. PS3 is the only gaming system.
    • greenlight2001, on 12/12/2007, -3/+47He had first post jitters. Kind of like the first time you had sex... you've heard how awesome it is to do, but as soon as you start, your nerves kick in, you start screaming random stuff, thrashing around wildly, and you're done 6 seconds later. Sad really, but understandable.
      • mywhitenoise, on 12/12/2007, -4/+13I've had sex hundreds of times, I still act like that.
        • greenlight2001, on 12/12/2007, -2/+10With another person?
          • mywhitenoise, on 12/13/2007, -3/+5Well, personally I consider her a person, but most people wouldn't because she doesn't speak, or blink her eyes, and was artificially made...but what's the difference?
        • Matteos, on 12/12/2007, -6/+2I feel sorry for your girlfriend/wife/partner.
        • kutateli, on 12/12/2007, -2/+6@Matteos:

          don't you mean left hand / right hand ?
        • kilmer, on 12/14/2007, -0/+1Pics or it didn't happen.
  • MikeonTV, on 12/12/2007, -7/+43Damn, and for Hanukkah all I get are dradles.
    • JonnyTrombone, on 12/12/2007, -8/+5But are they nice, or are they the ***** little 10ยข plastic ones?
      • andy3109, on 12/12/2007, -5/+3Gold plated dradles ftw.
        • woohhaa, on 12/13/2007, -0/+1The gold goes in the sack worn around ones neck at all times.
      • Matteos, on 12/12/2007, -2/+9No it was made out of clay.
        • strictnein, on 12/13/2007, -1/+1With dradle I will play?
        • Matteos, on 12/14/2007, -0/+3PS to all.
          I 'm just waiting for my Red Ring to happen, the sounds my 360 makes now-a-days (especially since Mass Effect) can not be good.
    • Kumaku, on 12/12/2007, -4/+9"This son, is called a droodle."
      /random Simpsons comment
    • greatblackowl, on 12/13/2007, -2/+10??? Fake Jew! It's "dreidel," not dradle.
      • bot001220, on 12/13/2007, -1/+4... and it's "Channukkah", with a super hard H, like you're going to hock a loogie.
  • truspector, on 12/12/2007, -77/+32"Will my Christmas present be a dud?"

    Only if you get a PS3rdplace.
    • WhereAmI, on 12/12/2007, -27/+3Obviously because of their high
      • WhereAmI, on 12/13/2007, -8/+3eh? how did that cut off, I didn't even edit the comment.
        "Obviously because of their high less than 1% failure rate.
        lol, the less than symbol got it :P
    • mywhitenoise, on 12/12/2007, -17/+47"PS3rdplace"

      Holy *****, give this guy a medal, because that was too ***** clever! He must be getting a ton of pussy with a wit like that.
      • DiggzDE, on 12/12/2007, -15/+23More than you probably.
      • Lou3000, on 12/12/2007, -7/+9That is actually the first time I've heard that phrase, and I laughed out loud. Bravo!
    • coheedcollapse, on 12/12/2007, -7/+31I haven't blocked you yet because your stupidity is entertaining.
    • kinseyincanada, on 12/12/2007, -11/+11seriously just stop wiht your stupid crap, the PS3 is not a terrible gaming machine at all, it has plenty of great games, and i just wish i wasn't poor so i could afford one, Uncharted looks like a brillian game, that ive been dying to play, so just shut up and go away. and this is coming from a Wii360 owner.
      • WhereAmI, on 12/13/2007, -5/+3Uncharted is a great game, but with your choices go have fun with no online play and that new FPS.
        • DarkShroud, on 12/13/2007, -3/+3Huh? PS3 has online play, it's free and even uses dedicated servers.
      • dronkmunk, on 12/13/2007, -6/+3Don't you have enough ***** games, then?
  • Khansoul, on 12/12/2007, -72/+15The XBOX 360 is an antique the thing is already getting killed by PS3 graphically. I need you to look no further than Uncharted as proof.
    • gwolf, on 12/12/2007, -13/+26I have looked at uncharted and you obviously don't have a 360 or you wouldn't say that. Uncharted is graphically just OK, nothing to get excited about.
      • Nathrat, on 12/12/2007, -25/+8Go check out Gears of War. I haven't seen better graphics yet.
        • Syphon8, on 12/12/2007, -8/+6Crysis.
          • Phyltre, on 12/12/2007, -3/+11Cryis isn't the game to trot out just yet. It's well ahead of hardware right now, which means we can't even play it properly on virtually any PC out there. Maybe in a year when hardware catches up?
          • strictnein, on 12/13/2007, -2/+4Am I the only one more impressed by some of the levels in UT3 than much of Crysis? Maybe I just like the look and feel of the Unreal Engine better.
    • Zamfir, on 12/12/2007, -34/+8There is no console game that looks better than Uncharted. If you disagree, you're a liar.
      • daggah, on 12/12/2007, -13/+6 that is better than If you disagree, you're a liar.

        L2KnowWhatAnOpinionIs
        • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -2/+1I haven't seen Uncharted yet but I'm pretty skeptical of that claim, have you seen Ace Combat 6?
    • KingGoonie, on 12/12/2007, -9/+18So Hkan by your definition a Howard The Duck in high definition is a better movie then Citizen Kane in standard defintion... you know because it looks better..
      • mywhitenoise, on 12/12/2007, -15/+9He never mentioned anything outside of graphics. So for your argument, yes Howard the Duck in HD would most likely look better than Citizen Kane in SD.
        • Shanobi, on 12/13/2007, -3/+6Wrong. Citizen Kane could be 320dpi and still look better than a hi def Howard the Duck. Composition, lighting, pacing, and camera work are more important than super high resolutions.
      • bCabulon, on 12/13/2007, -0/+4Meh, Citizen Kane is overrated.
    • jacksons98, on 12/12/2007, -28/+11For the doubters and the blind. Uncharted is better than anything on X360

      Ripten review: http://www.ripten.com/2007/12/01/uncharted-drakes- ...

      "Uncharted has great textures. So what? Well Gears of War is lauded as a graphical show piece mainly due to both its artistic vision and its high resolution textures. Uncharted, however, trumps Gears of War."

      "Uncharted also has the best graphics you've ever seen on consoles"

      Eurogamer review: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=87 ...

      "Talking of environments, it's hard to think of a single game that's ever included such lush and staggeringly detailed gaming environment. As much as Gears of War provided a stunning next-generation shooter setting, the moody greys and browns made it a harsh, dark, hostile, and monochromatic place to be. In Uncharted, it's not just superior to Gears in terms of out and out detail, but brings a feel-good factor with the sheer level of environmental variety on offer."

      "Truly, Uncharted is the first game I've seen to date that makes me wonder if it could be done on the Xbox 360, and as a huge admirer of the software line-up on Microsoft's system, that's saying a lot."
      • AwesomeMonster, on 12/12/2007, -12/+17Well if two relativly obscure sites say so, it must be true!
        The game looks miles behind orange box.
        • jacksons98, on 12/12/2007, -10/+13Orange box? I bought that for half the price on my PC $24.99. And unlike Xbox owners I don't have to pay for online and get frequent updates via Steam. Guess what you don't need a high powered gaming rig to enjoy it either. Meanwhile Uncharted is the best game graphically on consoles, if you don't agree with that how about Unreal Tournament on PS3. Oh that one doesn't work for you either? How about Gran Turismo? Keep trying cause X360 just can't hang with PS3.
          • AwesomeMonster, on 12/13/2007, -4/+6If you got orange box for pc for 24.99 I'd like to know where because steam sure isn't rolling that way (i have it on pc too, I think we can both agree that it's better on pc). The unreal 3 engine has been on the 360 for quite some time now (try bioshock and lets not forget ut3 is coming to 360) Gran tourismo, well, I'll hand that to you, with the amount of effort they put into it it should look great, but thats not to say with a team that skilled we couldn't have something look just as good on the 360.
          • jacksons98, on 12/13/2007, -2/+6Here is how I got Orange box for $24.99
            http://bfads.net/BioShock-PC-at-Best-Buy



        • Syphon8, on 12/12/2007, -8/+6PS3 just can't hang out with PC.
        • BattleScars, on 12/12/2007, -2/+7I disagree. The updated source engine is pretty sweet but it's lacking depth of field, motion blur, decent texture mapping (most textures are just painted on) and loads of other stuff which is rapidly becoming the norm.
          • AwesomeMonster, on 12/13/2007, -1/+2motion blur is the bloom of the next generation, it's overused and kind of dumb.
      • santasing, on 12/12/2007, -6/+9That's what you get for being a fanboy. Ripten is one of the premium gaming websites that haven't sold out yet.
    • phoenixp3k, on 12/12/2007, -9/+4Off topic!
    • Pake, on 12/12/2007, -5/+17Just remember, the playstation 2 was an antique when the xbox was released and yet it still won because of the game selection. The graphically superior system doesn't always wins. It still comes down to games and the PS3 still lacks that.
      • Matteos, on 12/12/2007, -5/+8What good are graphics when you can't play it?
        • iampoch, on 12/13/2007, -6/+9And what good are games when your system keeps conking out for the nth time? extended warranty can NEVER replace quality hardware i.e. what'll you do when your three years is up? buy another 360?
    • FredFredrickson, on 12/12/2007, -11/+8Uncharted is the poor-man's Gears anyway.
      • novaj666, on 12/12/2007, -13/+6and 360 gears in a poor mans pc gear fag
    • novaj666, on 12/12/2007, -15/+6ya man ***** 360, ps3 for life
    • Khansoul, on 12/13/2007, -3/+4I have an XBOX 360 which currently is a dust collector and yes Uncharted is far beyond any XBOX 360 game graphically. I know the XBOXTS are having some real issues being left behind but it's happening and you cannot stop it.
    • ericrous, on 12/13/2007, -2/+1I have a 360, a PS3, and a quality HDTV and I can say categorically that you are full of *****. The two consoles are very comparable in their graphics abilities. And yes, I've played the Uncharted demo on PSN.
  • Snuff99, on 12/12/2007, -23/+9Let the battle begin...
  • jtbndy, on 12/12/2007, -28/+148I wonder what the reason for this article is. It really doesn't answer any questions.... or should I say answer them in a meaningful manner.

    Its well known that the 360 had issues upon release, and the figures he gave about 30% or 60% maybe realistic, but currently, its not realistic. As long as you purchase a new 360 ( one with the HDMI port) you should be fine. It has an upgraded quieter CD rom drive, and an improved heatsink which reduces the chances of bricking.

    This article just seems to try and scare you into not buying a 360 this holiday season by relying on information that happened 1-2 years ago.
    • WhereAmI, on 12/12/2007, -21/+11Your thinking of the Falcon brand. And not every HDMI 360 has the smaller CPU. The earlier Elites, ie, do not have it. I'm sure any HDMI 360 have it wso long as they were shipped in September, so be on the lookout where you buy it. I have not seen anyone saying their new 360 with HDMI has broken, so it looks like the problem has been fixed. Anyone with a 360, with HDMI, and unless your sure its a Falcon, was bought in September or later, share your experience.
      • highgrade00, on 12/12/2007, -17/+14Sorry folks... try again.. I've had 2 friends with HDMI 360s that have already bricked...
        • popfrogs, on 12/12/2007, -3/+7The astroturfing is strong with the parent poster.
        • kinseyincanada, on 12/12/2007, -6/+15and ive had one 360 that has never broken.
          • strictnein, on 12/13/2007, -3/+1But wait, he had TWO friends with newer 360s that have bricked, so his evidence is clearly more persuasive!
        • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -2/+1Yeah I'm calling BS on that one, I'm unaware of a single instance of a RRoD (3 red lights) on a post-summer 07 360.
      • venom8599, on 12/12/2007, -2/+7It would be the "Falcon" model not brand, or rather the models that are code-named Falcon that were using the newer and smaller CPU manufacturing process. Before they switched over to the new process they also started changing up things with the redesigned heatsink.
    • JackTreehorn, on 12/12/2007, -3/+13HDMI with 90nm CPU's were codenamed Zephyr. These were used in the elites and some pros. AFAIK all pros with HDMI had the improved GPU heatsink, and most Elites had the improved heatsink. I have had no problems so far with one of these units purchased in July. Also note that the 65nm process is only used in the CPU right now, and that was never the major cause of failure. The improved GPU heatsink is the crucial difference as far as reliability.
      • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -0/+2the 65nm CPU would still make a difference because there is less hear being generated inside the console so the heat sinks can do a better job.
    • WiseWeasel, on 12/12/2007, -18/+12My buddy bought the 360 at launch, had the RROD a few months later, got a replacement, and the second one just died yesterday. He's going to have to send it in again, and he's understandably pissed off about it. If MS can't get ALL their models of 360 working reliably, then they deserve all the negative press they're getting. Personally, I only have a Wii so far, and I'm waiting for GTA4 before I get a PS3 or X360, and I've pretty much made up my mind for the PS3 due solely to the reliability and noise issues, despite the wider variety of decent games, better online experience, etc. of the 360 (also slightly due to the BluRay and upscaling DVD player). Even if the HDMI model is quiet as a whisper and perfectly reliable, the fact that their other models are crap, and that they're replacing broken ones with more broken ones, keeps me far, far away from a 360 purchase in general.
      • FredFredrickson, on 12/12/2007, -16/+13Your buddy got his replacement before they actually worked out what the problem was. As for picking up a PS3... I'd rather replace my 360 again 10 more times than put down money for that piece of dog *****.
        • Zedix79, on 12/12/2007, -9/+12Amen. Had 2 replacements here also, and still enjoying it much more than I'd ever enjoy a PS3!
        • rdoger6424, on 12/12/2007, -9/+10the ps3 is not crap, but if you have a 360 you're not missing much
        • ZenMojo, on 12/12/2007, -3/+12I've got a pair of Adidas and I know for a fact that I'm enjoying them FAR more than I'd ever enjoy a pair of Nikes. Those ***** shoes....
          • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -1/+1Not really a fair analogy, since the principal drawback of the PS3 is the lack of games, as well as the still high price of the non-crippled 80Gb versions.
    • monkeyballsoup, on 12/12/2007, -5/+14I agree with your statement whole-heartedly. This old information is retarded. The answer I've gathered from the article to the question it's supposed to have answered, is essentially "maybe", which is stupid and a waste of time.
    • tas08, on 12/12/2007, -12/+6I just love the term 'bricking' or 'bricked'. Webster should add the XBox 360 definition for that right along with w00t to their new dictionary.
      • Truegod, on 12/12/2007, -0/+7the xbox 360 definition of Bricking? The term was being used in this fashion long before the 360. The first time I ever heard it used for a game system was referring to the PSP.
      • wabbiteh, on 12/13/2007, -0/+2Besides, using the term bricking is inaccurate for the xbox 360 - bricking generally means that the device is physically fine but you managed to remove or break some piece of important software, rendering it basically useless. In the case of the xbox, the device is physically failing.
    • MrFisty, on 12/12/2007, -3/+37The Internet: making the vocal minority seem like the mainstream majority for nearly 20 years.
    • RiverBelow, on 12/12/2007, -6/+15It's called sending it back, I laugh at everyone who says they're on their 5th 360, or what have you, unless you count times you shipped it in, red rings are 100% covered. I haven't had the problem, but almost all my friends have, and got a new working one in 2 weeks absolutely free. It's not like you're gonna be i a $400 hole, you're just inconvenienced a few weeks, IF THAT. Like I said, I've never had this problem at all.
      • archiesteel, on 12/13/2007, -8/+11"Being inconvenienced a few weeks" is pretty serious. When I fork over 300$ for a piece of hardware, I expect to run well for a year or two.
      • iampoch, on 12/13/2007, -7/+11Do you truly believe what you're saying? Think like a normal consumer for a moment and not as a blind fanboy. You paid more than $400, not counting the other things you bought for your system (games, etc). And it's perfectly OK for you to be "inconvenienced" for a few weeks because your expensive equipment keeps conking out? Wow, just wow.
      • logandurand, on 12/16/2007, -0/+1So when $400 dollar hardware breaks fails for "almost all of your friends", that's acceptable to you? That's just sad. The reason Micro$oft is getting away with making a bad console is because people like you keep saying it's merely an "inconvenience".
    • topace3000, on 12/12/2007, -8/+19All I want for Christmas is more Sony propaganda!
      • Zamfir, on 12/13/2007, -12/+3All I want for Christmas is more ass pounding from Microsoft... Maybe my ass can catch the red ring of death too, w00t!
    • patch6, on 12/13/2007, -5/+5The key is prevention, since actually fixing the problem requires a professional BGA reflow, or reballing, though even that might not be enough. Any amateur can run a hot air gun over the chips, but it is easy to render the board irreparable with heat damage.

      Xbox-scene.org has a great deal of info about preventing the xbox360 from failing, due to its faulty heatsink clamp design which pushes the GPU and CPU upwards from its dead center, which, along with with a low-quality, flimsy motherboard and high amount of heat being generated, causes connection problems on the corners of the GPU and CPU, though the problem could also occur on the bare RAM chips, or the bare XSB/Southbridge chip. Those chips should be given heatsinks.

      I suggest using some Arctic Silver on the GPU/CPU heatsinks, the "x-clamp replacement", the "shroud mod", cutting the metal and possibly the plastic grid off of the rear fans to increase airflow, and a few heatsinks for the ram and southbridge (need some thermal adhesive for that), along with cutting a small wedge off of the 4 thermal pads that might be underneath the motherboard to wedge between the part of the GPU heatsink that extends over 2 of the RAM chips, though you might not even have those pads if the console is of an early run.

      X-clamp replacement: http://rbjtech.bulldoghome.com/pages/rbjtech_bulld ... (requires 8 M5 1/2 inch machine screws and 32 5mm flat washers)

      Shroud mod / fan grid removal: http://rbjtech.bulldoghome.com/pages/rbjtech_bulld ... (basically free)

      Ram heatsinks and thermal paste for the mentioned chips is self-explanatory

      Adding a second fan: http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=5 ... (Fan has to be 70 x 70mm or smaller, and there are holes for a pinheader already, along with a way to choose between 12 or 5 volts, though you could just solder wire directly to the power supply header if you don't have pinheaders to spare: http://liranuna.drunkencoders.com/xbox-360-atx-psu ... has a voltage pinout)

      Seems as if Microsoft cut corners with their console production.
    • guruboyguru, on 12/13/2007, -1/+4Oh good! That only leaves about 10 million consoles that haven't been fixed, since they've already been sold.
  • jacksons98, on 12/12/2007, -50/+59I used to feel sorry for people who got the RROD, but if you buy an X360 now. Knowing what we know. Well you kind've have it coming to you. And don't believe anyone who says Falcon fixes the problem. Look at Amazon reviews people still getting the RROD, not a single reputable website says the problem is fixed, not even Microsoft has said it is fixed. The only ones saying it's fixed are fanboys.
    • WhereAmI, on 12/12/2007, -13/+11True, but I haven't seen reports of it explicitly. Of course not everyone knows their 360 is a Falcon, so therefore when they say their 360 broke, I don't know if its a Falcon or it was some older PoS. Besides your right on the fact no one has said its been fixed. The Falcons have a 65nm CPU, but I always thought it was the GPU that caused the RRoD. Jasper is the next installment of Microsofts PoS, and it should have a 65nm GPU (keeping the 65nm CPU from Falcon).
      • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -1/+2Falcon & the 65nm CPU aren't as important as the improved cooling that was introduced this summer, I've yet to hear of a single one of the improved units getting an RRoD (3 red lights). In any case the 65nm CPU would help a little because less heat being generated inside the console translates to more efficient heat removal for the console in general, but this is mostly a benefit for the morons who entomb their console in their entertainment center, place it on the carpet or otherwise impede it's ability to cool itself.
    • AwesomeMonster, on 12/12/2007, -22/+13Alright captain *****, I don't know why you don't get labeled for what you are like truespector because you definitely troll just as much, When you purchase a 360 the box pretty much states whether or not it gets an rrod. If the side says hdmi, it won't. Fixed heat sinks stop red rings unless you wrap your damn machine in a carpet, and unfortunately, amazon is full of idiots who would.
      • dorkino, on 12/12/2007, -11/+16F-F-F-F-ANBOY!!
      • JenadaeXX, on 12/12/2007, -7/+9HDMI != Heat Dosnt Melt It
        • AwesomeMonster, on 12/13/2007, -3/+6the motherboard with the hdmi is different.
        • WhereAmI, on 12/13/2007, -1/+6But the earlier Elites don't have the Falcon design.
      • DarkShroud, on 12/12/2007, -8/+8The Falcon doesn't have the GPU heat sink because MS said it wouldn't be needed. As usual 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Maybe the Jasper will fix the RRoD. You know the one with the 65nm GPU. You 360 trolls always say PS3 fans always say wait until next year for games. When you say the same thing about the console just being able to run.
      • BattleScars, on 12/12/2007, -8/+11My god you are naive. Think for a second. The only people coming out and saying that Falcon solves the RRoD problem are fanboys. No experts. No thermal engineers. Certainly not Microsoft. Just anecdotal evidence from guys on digg. Don't just assume that a problem is solved because it says so on the box. Think for yourself. Do some research and you will find that the failure rate is still ridiculously high. Sorry but you can't disagree with facts.
        • davidrools, on 12/12/2007, -3/+8Could you like us to some of your research that shows the percentage of Zephyr/Falcon xboxes that have RRoD'ed. We would be quite interested. Oh and my friend from college is a thermal test engineer at microsoft. If there's an added heatsink it's been put there and tested. You don't just throw something into production without having verified its efficacy in at least an acceptable percentage of cases.
          • raitchison, on 12/17/2007, -0/+2Well it's pretty obvious that Microsoft threw the original 360 into production without proper testing and it's cost them dearly in terms of warranty costs as well as market share.

            One would hope that they would learn from their mistakes when they were developing the cooling improvements they introduced this year to make sure that it solved the problem, but you never know when it comes to Microsoft.
        • frygar, on 12/12/2007, -5/+7Obviously MS *didn't* test it properly when they should have, the RRoD fiasco would never have happened in the first place. Anecdotes do not a quality console guarantee.
        • AwesomeMonster, on 12/13/2007, -3/+8First hand experience beats the crap out of any ***** you can't prove.
        • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -1/+1Falcon isn't as important as the improved cooling they started rolling out in summer 07, I've yet to hear of a single instance where one of these units has experienced the infamous RRoD.
      • mywhitenoise, on 12/12/2007, -8/+7Jackson isn't a troll. He doesn't go on 360 diggs and bash their console. He stays on PS3 threads, the console he owns and he likes...of course he's going to defend and praise his console of choice.

        And Jackson, what's your PSN ID, anyway?
        • AwesomeMonster, on 12/13/2007, -5/+4uh, buddy, what is this article related to?
          • mywhitenoise, on 12/13/2007, -3/+8holy *****, you got me there. What was I thinking?
            I'm so used to not clicking on 360 threads, that...nevermind, I can't believe I didn't realize what I was saying.
        • jacksons98, on 12/13/2007, -7/+7I usually don't comment on X360 threads, but I do the RROD ones. The reason is because there is so much misinformation out there. Too many X360 fans claim it's fixed when clearly it's not. I'm not against anyone buying an X360, but I feel like if they are they should at least do it knowing the facts. PSN ID: EmperorSupreme
          • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -1/+1Show me a single confirmed case where a post summer-07 (with the improved heatsink/cooling) experiencing one of the infamous RRoDs? Because I've yet to hear of one.
    • davidrools, on 12/12/2007, -6/+7Amazon reviews are not the most reputable source of information. People with original xenon xboxes are still having rrod's pop up and might be commenting there. I've taken apart plenty of xboxes and noticed the added heatsink even in a returned-from-warranty xenon xbox (w/ no HDMI port) along with zephyr and falcon boxes.
      And I have a friend who bought an xbox at launch and it hasn't failed yet.
      I had a very pleasant experience returning a rrod'ed xbox and getting a "fixed" version back. with a 3 year warranty you can be sure you'll have at LEAST 3 years of excellent gaming.
      • DarkShroud, on 12/13/2007, -2/+6That 3 year warranty doesn't cover the other problems like Disk Read Errors or Console Freezes. Not to mention the month and a half the 360 is in for repiar, that's not excellent gaming when it happens a couple times a year. My 360 had every problem but the RRoD. My new one (Gamestop warranty) just sits in the corner as my PS3, PC, & Wii get all the play now.
      • PedleZelnip, on 12/13/2007, -2/+4*****. My 360 is locking like crazy now but no red lights so I either get to pay MS $100 to fix it, or live with a brick (or buy a new one).
    • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -0/+1Screw Falcon do you have a single confirmed case where a post summer-07 (with the improved heatsink/cooling) experiencing one of the infamous RRoDs? Because I've yet to hear of one.
  • carrera594, on 12/12/2007, -19/+60My 360 just Red Ringed yesterday, and now I will be on my 4th Xbox 360, once i get the new one. 1st Xbox, Red Ringed. 2nd Video Output stopped working. 3rd Red Ringed. Kinda blows cuz i found out i am getting Rock Band, and I wont have an xbox.
    • igjoe, on 12/12/2007, -1/+11Well best of luck with Rock Band. 5 of my guitars were broken out of the box and finally I got my sixth that worked... and a day later the strum bar stopped working. EA is replacing it, which is great, but its a hassle when all I want to do is play.

      Check the bottom of your Rock band box for the sticker with a date, because for some odd reason I only had my luck with the odd number date. I don't know why, but there is clearly a difference in quality between the different manufacturers.

      If you are waiting to get this as a gift and have it in hand, I would open up the box and see if the guitar rattles. All of my broken guitars were clearly rattling and the strum bar didn't have any resistance when moved up and down. If you havent bought it yet, it's a good idea to open it before you leave the store to make sure your guitar isn't broken before you try using it at home.

      Again, best of luck with all of your hardware
      • rkzda, on 12/12/2007, -0/+4Is this why I have seen quite a few people returning rockband to walmart recently...
      • davidrools, on 12/12/2007, -0/+4Gutiar hero guitars work for rock band if you want a reliable replacement.
      • stevea1210, on 12/13/2007, -2/+2Only on the 360. on the ps3, the RB guitar is the only currently working guitar.
      • Smwbigboss, on 12/13/2007, -0/+1Remember back in the day when console games just worked?
        • DarkShroud, on 12/16/2007, -0/+1I remember people blowing in cartriges and wiggleing them around so as not to get a red flasing screen.
    • davidrools, on 12/12/2007, -2/+6Tip: leave the 360 horizontal. All the rrod 360s i know of were used standing up. I leave mine flat on a laptop cooler powered by the 360's USB port for extra peace of mind (much much better than sitting on carpet).
      • B1663r, on 12/13/2007, -3/+4sideways hack!
      • carrera594, on 12/13/2007, -1/+5Mine is horizontal and top of my computer desk. I use my Widescreen LCD monitor as the TV. Thats why its on the desk. But thanks of the advice. Same with you iqjoe.
      • gwolf, on 12/13/2007, -1/+2Same here, always kept mine horizontal, never had an RROD since launch. Perhaps MS should recommend this.
      • PedleZelnip, on 12/13/2007, -0/+6I've always had mine horizontal and I'm on my 3rd box, soon to be 4th. I also know people in my friends list who've had them for a long time and keep them vertical.
      • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -0/+1Yep, we are pretty concerned about it so our's is horizontal on a shelf above the TV, with plenty of clearance on all sides and a small fan blowing sideways across the back of the shelf to evacuate any heat that might build up there.

        http://www.gamertagpics.com/users/r/ra/raitchison/ ...
    • Zamfir, on 12/13/2007, -12/+2Tip: don't buy Microsoft soft/hardware... I thought we all knew that already?
      • logandurand, on 12/16/2007, -0/+1That's not an entirely fair statement . . . Micro$oft cut corners with the 360, but Windows 2000/XP was a great operating system. Then again, Vista sucked, so thinks could be taking a turn for the worse.
    • SantaDuJuan, on 12/13/2007, -2/+1I truly suggest using the towel trick, I tried it once and my 360 worked for a good month, actually it's still working now. But I got the red ring last night and did it again but haven't turned it on since, let's hope it's working!
  • vrtladept, on 12/12/2007, -19/+21So I just had my Xbox of 6 months go red ring of death on me. Even after spending an extra 20 on an external fan to try and keep the thing cool ... Fun Fun RMA process awaits!
    • Ocelot13, on 12/12/2007, -2/+40the intercooler does more harm than good.
      • MrFisty, on 12/12/2007, -1/+8Totally. My intercooler fried on of the internal fans. Not that I told Microsoft that...
      • endlessoul, on 12/12/2007, -1/+5I agree. To be fair, the new version of the intercooler did indeed cool my 360 slightly and never melted anything on the console. However, it got to the point where the thing sounded like a lawnmower taxiing for takeoff after only a few hundred hours of play. Plus, it was a bitch and a half prying it off the power supply. When I took it off, turning on the 360 was like night and day. You couldn't even tell it was on, save for the lights.
      • vrtladept, on 12/13/2007, -1/+4Interesting .. Found a few links to back up Ocelot13's claim.
        http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php?t=535842
        http://www.joystiq.com/2006/10/27/nykos-intercoole ...

        Being that it did jack for me (6 months of fairly moderate xbox use and still red ring of death) I will not be using it again. Although I didn't notice anything melting, but it did make the xbox sound like it was in a wind tunnel. I did notice the box ran much cooler .. I'll just let the next one die on it's own and not suffer the extra noise.
      • DarkShroud, on 12/13/2007, -1/+1There are other coolers than the Intercooler, Pelican has a couple that are powered by the USB slots, this is the only one that seems worth it though:

        http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=8 ...
        • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -0/+1I wouldn't get any cooler that attached to the console, just get a small fan (could be really small) and have it blow air across the back to evacuate the hot exhaust away from the console.
        • DarkShroud, on 12/16/2007, -0/+1Supposedly USB powered laptop cooling stands/plates work well for some people as well. I just haven't bothered with any of the so called cooling devices as the room I play games in gets cold anyway. Northern Illinois weather not FTW.
    • milliamp, on 12/12/2007, -5/+6I just RMA'd mine, they said it would take 3 days to send me an empty box to use, it took 2 weeks. They said it would take 5-6 weeks to get it back and I really hope that does not mean 3-4 months.
    • FredFredrickson, on 12/12/2007, -5/+6The return process is pretty painless.
      • pixelate, on 12/12/2007, -2/+4I did it online through the xbox website.. never talked to a soul through the entire process. Frustrating that I had to do it, but very easy.
      • Zamfir, on 12/13/2007, -2/+2Too bad having your console die isn't painless...
    • davidrools, on 12/12/2007, -1/+4I returned mine for an RRoD and it wasn't bad. I had even bought mine used on ebay and the serial was registered to the seller but they still took care of me. From the initial call to receiving the return box, shipping it a couple days later and getting the refurbed/"fixed" (heatsink added) unit took a total of less than 3 weeks.
    • Dgen_X, on 12/13/2007, -0/+1Here's a tip...costs less than $20 and does no harm

      Cut an old usb cable in half, and wire a 120mm case fan to it. It runs slow enough to be completely silent...but fast enough to move the hot air away from the 360 (or at least out the back of my entertainment center!)
      • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -0/+2I'd prefer a solution that doesn't put more of a power drain on the 360.
    • KozmoTKramer, on 12/13/2007, -2/+1Just buy one from Costco then return your broken one, if you don't want to wait. I'm on my 4th too. I just Costco returned 2 before finally going through Microsoft on the 3rd break since I was going on Vacation anyway.
      • DarkShroud, on 12/16/2007, -0/+1Screwing Costco is why they are changeing their warranties and in turn screwing the rest of us. If Costco changes their 360 warranty that will leave Best Buy with the last in store warranty replacement plan.
  • cnowacek, on 12/12/2007, -16/+30I've had mine since about 6 months after it came out. I have had no problems.
    • yoinkdigg, on 12/12/2007, -6/+18I've had mine since launch and none here either.
      • BattleScars, on 12/12/2007, -3/+9That's because you make up the 66% of 360 gamers who have a console that actually works.
    • Uranium118, on 12/12/2007, -5/+18Same here, bought mine day one, it was build in October 2005 and no problem at all.
    • EchoAlpha, on 12/12/2007, -4/+12I've had mine for a year and half and haven't had any problems.
    • pcpimpster, on 12/12/2007, -2/+6Had mine two months after launch, no problems here other then some dirty discs that just needed cleaned.
      We'll see...


      • CCB0x45, on 12/13/2007, -2/+7Also had mine for a couple months after launch, never had a problem, not even dirty disk. On another note, MASS EFFECT RULES!
    • minitrollster, on 12/13/2007, -5/+3I'm on my 5th one...and I bought my first in mid August, this year.
    • Zamfir, on 12/13/2007, -8/+3You guys should actually turn on your console, it needs power in order to generate enough heat to have a meltdown.
    • Dgen_X, on 12/13/2007, -0/+1March 06 build date, but I don't play more than 8 hours a week on average (a little more now that I've got halo..)
      • Dgen_X, on 12/14/2007, -1/+3GOD ***** DAMNIT *****

        I knew I shouldn't have left this comment...***** red rings 20 hours later

        jesus.....
    • kilmer, on 12/14/2007, -0/+2Mine was a little over a year old when I got the red rings. Got a replacement in about 2 1/2 weeks so not too bad. Just bought a new one and returned it. Yea not good to do, but I wanted to keep playing Halo 3 online. Look me up on XBL diggers.
  • FredFredrickson, on 12/12/2007, -28/+17360's don't have this problem much any more. It was solved about half a year ago. Nice try on the fear-mongering, though.
    • mywhitenoise, on 12/12/2007, -20/+18Nice try on the damage control, the 360's hardware is still a piece of *****.
      • gwolf, on 12/13/2007, -4/+6So don't buy one. Why all the angst about a product you will never own? I smell Fanboy.
        • bot001220, on 12/13/2007, -3/+6He's been trolling 360 forums since 2005. You can always count on him to show up and start spewing ***** hate on this console. He's technically the ps3 fanboy equivalent of the famous trollspector.
      • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -2/+1"Nice try on the damage control, the 360's hardware is still a piece of *****."

        Fanboy much?
        • DarkShroud, on 12/16/2007, -0/+1I had fun with my 360 until it died with less than 100 hours of game play. It's kind of hard to tell someone that it's good hardware when the things die like crazy.
    • Pyehole, on 12/12/2007, -6/+9Oh really? I've purchased 2 Xbox 360s both of which have been sent in for repair twice. In fact, both of them went in for their second round of repairs within the last week. (the first xbox was sold to a friend after I got it repaired after having bought the second one because I didn't want to wait to get the first one back from the repair center).
    • jacksons98, on 12/12/2007, -8/+11Who says it's been solved? Microsoft hasn't said anything. There are no reputable websites saying anything.
      So far all we know is that the falcon is cheaper for Microsoft to produce, lowering their cost to manufacture X360s. Nowhere has anybody said it fixes the RROD issue. Please link to where they say it is "solved."
      • yoinkdigg, on 12/12/2007, -11/+5Open up the xbox yourself *****. It's quite obvious if you have any type of smarts about you. It's easy to see without a microscope that more thermal paste and an extra heat sink have been added to new 360's and ones back from repair.
        • jacksons98, on 12/12/2007, -7/+7Only a "*****" would open his Xbox in the first place, you just need to look at the power supply if you want to know if you have the Falcon. What I'm saying is Falcon, extra heat sink or not the problem isn't solved. More thermal paste sounds more like a band-aid than a fix.
          • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -1/+1"What I'm saying is Falcon, extra heat sink or not the problem isn't solved."

            I'd say prove that claim or STFU.
      • FredFredrickson, on 12/12/2007, -7/+6There are no reputable websites saying it hasn't been fixed either.
        • DarkShroud, on 12/12/2007, -6/+6The continued RRoD say it hasn't been fixed.
          • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -1/+2So you have seen an instance where a 360 with the summer 07 improved cooling has experienced an RRoD?
          • ssn697, on 12/14/2007, -0/+2My 360 went back to MSoft for repair on Aug 20th. Came back, then went bad again 10 days ago.
        • davidrools, on 12/12/2007, -3/+6@DarkShroud/Jackson: Continued RRoD doesn't mean that revised (zephyr/falcon) xboxes are experiencing the problem. Original launch xboxes that haven't yet failed may fail for the first time this year or next. That says nothing about the revised versions. Microsoft has admitted that the original units did have an unacceptably high failure rate and extended the warranty to 3 years.
    • rdoger6424, on 12/12/2007, -3/+6tell that to my 360: broken in september, came back just in time for guitar hero
      • Shanobi, on 12/13/2007, -4/+2It hasn't even been but a half year since they instituted the "3 year warranty". You know, the one that only covers the red ring of death, but NOT most any other hardware defect?

        Yeah. You might want to wise up.
  • nutniqs, on 12/12/2007, -34/+50Why on earth are people still buying a defective product that even Microsoft admits is defective? I've heard stats of 39% failure rate. That does not instill me with a lot of consumer confidence. Until the heatsinks and chipboards are fixed so they do not overheat and break apart I will never buy an Xbox 360.
    • venom8599, on 12/12/2007, -12/+27Because they have a long warranty, so it's not like you buy one and it breaks and you're completely ***** out of luck.
      • Shanobi, on 12/13/2007, -4/+10Unless you MIND waiting 6 weeks or so for your game system to be returned, and likely will have to go through that more than once.

        If it breaks, you're ***** out of luck for probably a month and a half.
      • WhereAmI, on 12/13/2007, -2/+9The 3 year warranty doesn't last forever.
        • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -1/+1No I'd say it lasts about 3 years.

          What is the point of your comment?
      • PedleZelnip, on 12/13/2007, -0/+4Not really, it's 1 year on general failures and thats a long way from being a "long warranty". I'm now on my 4th failure and only one of those has been the RRoD (the others were: dead upon arrival, dead DVD-ROM drive, and now random locking).
    • philhatesyou, on 12/12/2007, -18/+12Because we as gamers are retarded and like to reward bad behavior. It kinda reminds you of every episode of COPS.
    • decay, on 12/12/2007, -9/+6Its got amazing games and the RROD is something you just learn to live with. Some people have launch consoles, others are on their fifth, sixth etc.

      Personal preference. I'll play great games till mine breaks then its not like I can't find another hobby for a 3 weekends.
    • ByteGuerilla, on 12/12/2007, -4/+15I heard if you sneeze without closing your eyes, your eyes pop out.
    • davidrools, on 12/12/2007, -6/+7And the best online gaming experience available right now (arguably on par with PC gaming, clearly blows away any other console) and the most useful as a media extender/IP tv unit/movie downloading device (way better than appleTV for windows users)
      • flickr, on 12/13/2007, -4/+3Are people really arguing XBLive is on par with PC online gaming? Come on. Also unlike XBLive, both PS3 and Nintendo's online systems, while arguably not as refined, are free.
        • MentalV, on 12/13/2007, -2/+6"not as refined" - that is an understatement of epic proportions
        • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -1/+2No of course Xbox Live isn't "on par" with PC online gaming, it simply blows the doors off PC online gaming, unless you want to sell your soul to steam you get to have a completely different online system/friends list for every single game, which is why I never ever got into online gaming on the PC.

          Regarding the cost of a full Xbox Live membership, that's a valid point though some might argue that you get what you pay for.
          • DarkShroud, on 12/16/2007, -1/+1PC users have many options, I'll leave it at that.

            I like the two tier system that MS has on the 360. I still won't pay for live, but I don't hate it now. My main issue with paying for XBL is that you're paying for p2p connections. Some people don't mind that but here in the Midwest we have few choices beyound Comcast. So for me paying for XBL is just getting screwed all the way around.
    • GauchoCoder, on 12/13/2007, -7/+5You've heard stats of 39% failure rate? Please post a link to the source. The only stat I heard was about a 2-3% failure rate.
      • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -1/+1I think the truth is likely somewhere in between, I'd guess closer to 5-10% which is still abysmally high.
    • PedleZelnip, on 12/13/2007, -3/+2I agree. I love my 360 (when it works), but I would never recommend the system to a friend. The problem is that now I have a significant amount of cash invested in games, so just "walking away" doesn't seem like a particularly attractive option either.
  • zebr, on 12/12/2007, -31/+12Lawls my 360 hasn't broken yet because I was smart and returned it (ELITE) lolololol
    as for "PS3rdplace" - GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    • novaj666, on 12/12/2007, -7/+1PS3rdplace haha it almost as funny as that aids you have!
  • maaddmax, on 12/12/2007, -9/+3Didnt he save the receipt?
  • blingfinger, on 12/12/2007, -14/+3Here's the short-list of the major problems that can kill your machine:
    * Red Ring of Death

    Well duh, look at the red ring of failure directly above...
  • phoenixp3k, on 12/12/2007, -13/+7Santa put a fail safe on his Xbox 360s, if you open your gifts early it turns into a brick.
    With recent extension of the warranty I am not surprised that they will continue with a similar failure rate (considering the already existing Xbox pool); hopefully if you get your hands on the more updated version (small chip or more fans or something) you might be spared.
    • cplex, on 12/12/2007, -6/+2I don't know why you got dugg down, I loled!
  • YamiJim, on 12/12/2007, -10/+14I've been thorough 2 personally, but they fixxed them pretty fast each time, ***** happens.
    • BattleScars, on 12/12/2007, -11/+7Yeah, but isn't it funny how ***** always happens to Microsoft?
      • dood, on 12/13/2007, -3/+6And every other company that's sold millions of complicated devices, yeah. Heh.
        • BattleScars, on 12/13/2007, -3/+2Oh so they've all got a 33% failure rate too then? I see
  • CaLeDee, on 12/12/2007, -4/+31I've had my 360 since 2 months after release and never had a problem with it, even when it has been on for 24 hours straight. Very little heat comes off it also. I keep it on a TV stand with nothing behind it or above it. I've read other people mentioning that they keep theirs well ventilated also and still get the RROD which makes me wonder what is the difference between their machine and mine.. I'd like to know how it can happen to people over and over, yet others can have 1 system and never have any problems.. Very strange.
    • highgrade00, on 12/12/2007, -1/+13luck of the draw... im on number 3, but one of them lasted over a year.
    • TrevorBelmont, on 12/12/2007, -4/+14360's are like snowflakes...
      • Goombellaofgoom, on 12/13/2007, -2/+8Prone to meltdowns at room-temperature?
    • KamikazeeDriver, on 12/12/2007, -1/+3I've got a friend who's had it about 4 months since release, never had a problem either.
    • chess007, on 12/12/2007, -6/+2Its likely some kind of software bug - one that happens randomly. For example if there's software that controls the fan speed, a bug in that could cause issues.
    • staticneuron, on 12/12/2007, -1/+6Wow, I knew I wasn't the only one. My 360 is still going strong (very loud) but strong. And now every single one of my 360 owning friends have had rrod. One of them had it happen twice in the past year. So I am just hoping that mine is magical and never breaks.
  • Calypsoaf, on 12/12/2007, -22/+11Where is my bury "fear mongering" button?
    • kingmanic, on 12/12/2007, -3/+6My brother in laws just gave up the ghost. 3 months old, not heavily used, in a open glass shelf alone. That makes him the 15th person have a 360 die and the 18th 360 to give up the ghost in my circle of friends. Making it a total of 100% failure within this sample group. The worst was my Friend who got it at launch who is on his 3rd. Unless there is some funky in this city, it's hard to chalk it up to users/environment. Also our wii's, GC's, PS2's, and PS3's are still running strong. I don't think this is merely FUD.
    • BattleScars, on 12/12/2007, -4/+8It's the one with "Hide from the truth" written on it.
  • aznhomig, on 12/12/2007, -15/+10Welcome to the Red Ring of Death.
    • BattleScars, on 12/12/2007, -2/+7That's the new 360 splash-screen.
  • heartcooksbrain, on 12/12/2007, -1/+15I got my 360 at launch, which was very douche like. Anyway, it actually surprised me by outlasting all of my friends' boxes. A few months back, it stopped showing a picture at all, but it had sound. It wasn't the tv, and it wasn't the HD cables. NO red ring of death either, so it's a tricky situation with my warrany being up.
    • highgrade00, on 12/12/2007, -6/+6not tricky at all... buy a new one at wallmart or target, swap xboxs and serials and return...
      • dezman2003, on 12/12/2007, -6/+7Yeah good way to ***** over a kids christmas when they resell it.
        • SpeedSteamBoat, on 12/12/2007, -4/+4Wal-Mart does not re-shelve returns. So no, that won't happen at all.
          • dezman2003, on 12/13/2007, -1/+2What do they do with returns? Throw them in the garbage?
      • KozmoTKramer, on 12/13/2007, -1/+1You moron, they have inventory allotments. They don't care, they don't re sell it. They return it to Microsoft like everyone else, they have to deal with it instead of u. Works at Costco too. This is really the best way to handle it if you want to play a new game really bad.
    • TrevorBelmont, on 12/12/2007, -2/+13Simple fix: Wrap it up in towels and don't turn it off 'till it fries. Ta daaaa!
    • Kazimieras, on 12/13/2007, -3/+2So you know they did extend the warranty by 2 years on top of the original 1 year extension... so it should still be covered. Give them a call and if not sorry to hear :( My 360 died on Monday (2nd defective box 3rd replacement overall)
      • DarkShroud, on 12/13/2007, -2/+3The 3 year warranty is for the RRoD only. Not any of the other problems they refuse to acknodledge.
    • plax3, on 12/13/2007, -1/+5did you just call yourself a douche?
  • Mechmuertos, on 12/12/2007, -4/+8I bought a refurbished one in August. It died last week. I just got the box to send it to Texas today. God speed Xbox360...come back with better guts. The problem is that I got 45 minutes into Bioshock before the three red rings of death came on. So FOr now, I've purchased an Xbox360 with a 30 day no questions asked return policy from Fred Meyers.
  • SharkyTech, on 12/12/2007, -6/+13Had mine since launch day here in Australia. Never had a single problem with it.
    • Timmyftw, on 12/12/2007, -2/+3Im on my 3rd box here in australia. First one was ringed out the box 2nd took a few months and the one i have now is all good. Still never took more than a couple days to swap it out for a new one. Im satisfied with the 360.
      • Zamfir, on 12/13/2007, -9/+2...and I LOVE taking Microsoft ***** up my *****!
  • dorkino, on 12/12/2007, -16/+27I sold my 360 on ebay for $300. Somebody else's problem now.
    • highgrade00, on 12/12/2007, -6/+17you will burn... your new xbox and or girlfriend will self destruct and your feedback from your last crappy sale will come to haunt you.
    • volacide, on 12/13/2007, -0/+1That's exactly what I did.
    • martinaoe2, on 12/15/2007, -0/+2buy a ps3. .no failures
  • sexyflanders, on 12/12/2007, -7/+21I'm waiting for a box to come so I can put my sixth xbox 360 in. I waited in line for the second shipment day before xmas 2005 or whatever it turned out to be I know it was close to xmas. Since then every single Xbox 360 I've had had RROD'd I'm angry and sick and tired of dealing with the boxes.

    I've thought about switching to PS3 but I've put so much money into games, xbox live account payments, arcade games, accessories etc that I'd never get my return on what I spent.
    • SpeedSteamBoat, on 12/12/2007, -5/+14Well, you could always sell your games and accessories, and think of the time you use the Playstation network for free as a steep XBox Live discount.
    • martinaoe2, on 12/15/2007, -0/+3go on get the ps3......
    • logandurand, on 12/16/2007, -0/+1That's why vendor lock-in sucks...you can't switch to a different platform because of the money you've invested, even though M$ made a faulty product.
  • scotz83, on 12/12/2007, -7/+20I got mine November 2006 and I got the red ring of death this October. I was surprised, since I only play it at most a couple hours a week. I suppose some people play it a lot more which could explain why they've gone through so many.

    That said, getting it repaired was easy. You don't have to talk to anyone on the phone. Everything can be handled through the xbox website. All you have to do is tell them it's broken, they'll send you an empty box, you ship it back, then they fix it. In my case, I guess my old one was really broken, and they sent me a brand new unit manufactured just two weeks previously. Only 10 days between shipping and getting it back. Easy. Free. I found other things to do for those ten days.
  • mGARANDEUR1, on 12/12/2007, -5/+10I was hoping that the ps3 would have more games to come out with at, as it seems to be a more stable console. I also wish that the Nintendo wii came out with some series games.
    • FredFredrickson, on 12/12/2007, -14/+8The PS3 is a failure.
      • archiesteel, on 12/12/2007, -5/+6Too early to say, except if you're a fanboy that is...
        Hint: the original Xbox *wasn't* a failure, even though it wasn't in first place. This isn't winner-takes-all, you know...
        Personally, I wanted to get a 360, but all these hardware failure stories have made me reconsider. I'm happy with my Wii for the time being, I'll see how things are in the spring and then decided whether I'm getting a 360 or a PS3.
    • Dingo128, on 12/12/2007, -3/+3What kind of "series" games are you looking for... Hannah Montana?
    • humptyz, on 12/13/2007, -2/+1There are plenty of good PS3 games. Personally I enjoy Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Uncharted, Folklore, and soon I'll be buying Unreal Tournament 3. I don't really care about exclusives I just want to play good games. I was sold on the PS3 because of Final Fantasy 13 and PS2 backward compatibility.
    • martinaoe2, on 12/15/2007, -0/+2dude the ps3 has loadsa games... uncharted unreal 3.... ratchet and clank... haze...
  • OhFrak, on 12/12/2007, -23/+10The only thing keeping Microsoft alive in the console market are US Xbox fans rebuying new versions of the defect plagued 360 hoping that the new ones will finally work. There are massive numbers of existing 360 owners who are now on their second or third model 360 - and that isn't including the standard RRoD replacements.

    The 360 is dead in both Japan and Europe, only hardcore existing Xbox fans in the US will put up with:

    * RRoD failures over and over again

    * Disc scratching/disc destroying

    * The absurdly loud noise the system makes when in use due to the 12x last gen DVD drive

    • FredFredrickson, on 12/12/2007, -7/+11It's dead in Japan because the Japanese view it as an American Halo machine, and have no interest in that stuff. Doesn't have anything to do with the RROD.

      As for Europe, I play with Europeans on XBL all the time... tell them it's dead, it'd be news for them.
    • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -1/+1Fanboy much?
  • Petzke, on 12/12/2007, -8/+5I don't think it is so much a Microsoft problem as it is a "big companies who have too much money and think they don't need every consumer" problem. It took me almost 3 months for Toshiba to finally replace my DOA TV. But as digg can show, word can get around and really hurt their wallets, so they do need every consumer. Although it doesn't matter, because Microsoft eventually owned up and is now repairing them... so really, the worst you may get a big heaping pile of inconvenience for xmas...you'll get a working 360 eventually...though I think most people should be safe.
  • popstop785, on 12/12/2007, -6/+22That was an uneducated post.
  • LordSeth, on 12/12/2007, -2/+5I had mine for like 2 months before I got RROD. Now luckily I can still use it but back USB for the wireless adapter dont work so now i have to use adapter in front USB port.
  • wherl78, on 12/12/2007, -5/+7no problems with mine
  • redban2, on 12/12/2007, -4/+27My XBOX 360 failed for the THIRD time the other day.. so sad, just bought COD4. It broke while playing a dvd, RROD from a dvd! So I filmed a quick video, burnt it to dvd, put it back in the xbox, and shipped it back... here is that video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iufj0pgjvqI :)
    • AppleGeorge, on 12/12/2007, -2/+4I'm sure they'll fix it now.
    • mythicflux, on 12/13/2007, -4/+2Umm, why are you putting another piece of electric equipment on top of a unit known for overheating? While obviously the Wii should not imped airflow, the mere fact and its sitting on top of the 360 should affect the amount of heat being generated and radiated across both systems. Did you stop to think you might have been contributing to what is a known issue with the 360?
      • redban2, on 12/13/2007, -2/+3My 360 was on for about 20 mins and I was watching a movie.. not playing a game, not stressing the system out.. the wii was turned off, and I have it raised from a pack of cards so it doesnt cover any of the vent holes. Hardly the problem here.. its called faulty engineering.
        • mythicflux, on 12/13/2007, -0/+1I'm not arguing that the 360 doesn't have faulty engineering (I'm on my second because my first decided to start scratching discs). It's just that I've noticed that if I leave anything on top of the 360 the case heats up even more than usual. Over time this excess heat can increase the chance of damage to the unit.

          The real question is did you stress the system out the time you had it on prior. It may have been on for 20 minutes but previously it could have been hours of gaming.
  • myranttoyou, on 12/12/2007, -7/+9If it is worthless, I'll take it. Their support is great, and he'll have a new one in about 4 days. Also, how is this news any more?
  • remorsecode, on 12/12/2007, -13/+11The best solution to this problem is to stop feeding Microsoft your console money. As long as the consumer zombies continue to fork out, the problems will go unfixed. Speak with your wallet.
  • neiltc13, on 12/12/2007, -8/+14My Xbox 360 was perfect on arrival but my Nintendo Wii was completely dead. I had to return it and wait weeks for the retailer to get more.
    • MaTT2011, on 12/12/2007, -11/+6Congrats on being one of the infinitesimally small percentage of individuals who got a broken wii.......but why the hell are you bringing ANOTHER system up in a thread/news article about Xbox360? Is it to take a quick cheap shot at a "rival" system that you feel threatens your favorite consoles current place in the console wars?

      Why the hell would you completely change subjects? Its completely irrelevant!
    • ChinchillaHero, on 12/12/2007, -1/+5Just about every other poster has compared to other consoles. Chill out his comments legitimate.
  • highgrade00, on 12/12/2007, -9/+9Funny this popped up... mine bricked the day before yesterday. I'm on my 3rd exbox 360! To be honest, I no longer know anyone who has had the same 360 for longer than a year... Hopefully this new one hold up a little better, but i'm pretty disappointed with microsoft...
    • Zamfir, on 12/13/2007, -5/+1What made you think it was a good idea to buy Microsoft hardware in the first place?
  • sabaoth, on 12/12/2007, -6/+9I have been using my 360 for almost a year without issues; but a friend of mine got the red light of failure and Microsoft replaced the unit in only one week, not only that but they also sent him some Microsoft Points as an apology for the inconvenience.

    I don't understand what all the deal is about; the thing has great games, the warranty is superb and the new units have the issue fixed. This article reads as Christmas FUD to lower sales.
    • DarkShroud, on 12/13/2007, -0/+1The issues is not fixed in the new untils. Maybe that's why they're rolling out the Jasper revision sometime late in '08.
  • deaftly, on 12/12/2007, -4/+10On my first one still from Feb 2006
    • ByteGuerilla, on 12/12/2007, -1/+5Same, though June 2006. What's weird is the room it's in is always boiling hot and stuffy, yet somehow my 360 keeps on going.

      Noisy ***** though.
  • logicalnoise, on 12/12/2007, -3/+5firestone was a bad example. The firestone tire issue was a problem with teh car design not the tire. The tire was used with many SUVs and only the one car model had the fatal problem.
  • chrispix, on 12/12/2007, -10/+11I don't understand how so many people have so many issues with their 360s. I have had mine since release day, and not had a single issue. I am guessing that most of the over heating issues are related to insufficent air flow (i.e. poor positioning), warm environment (+80F? or close to a fireplace), or dirty / dusty environment that keeps the cooling system from operating correctly. I don't doubt that there are some lemons out there, but for the guy that has had 4 fail... Don't put it under the heat lamp!

    I have mine on a glass shelf in an open (open on 4 sides) entertainment center. I have nothing ontop of it.I have 2 inches of ventilation room around it.
    • FredFredrickson, on 12/12/2007, -1/+6I've read that some of the connections inside the early models break from the constant expanding / shrinking from the heating and cooling of normal use.
      • DarkShroud, on 12/16/2007, -0/+1It seems to be a couple of things. The Falcon uses screws instead of Xclamps for the CPU. There are problems with the DVD drives as well. MS seems to be sticking with the BenQ drives and has been using different models of those as well. When they work they work well. The problem is that when they die the can grind the disc. Combine that with retards using the towel "trick" to permanently damage internals.

        The replacement I got for my 2005 360 pro was a Zypher that I'm hoping to sell. I'll wait to see how the Jasper does before I jump back in with MS.
    • logandurand, on 12/16/2007, -0/+1The biggest problem is poor engineering due to design requirements. Consumers wanted the 360 to be small, so the hardware had to be packed into a small, cramped case with poor airflow. Consumers wanted the 360 to be quiet, so the case has nowhere near enough fans, with no dedicated CPU or GPU fans and two pathetic 60 mm fans handing all of the system's cooling. Consumers wanted the 360 to be cheap, so corners were cut with the hardware, resulting in defects for many owners.

      People wanted the graphics of a high-end PC in a tiny, quiet console for less than $400, putting Micro$oft in the impossible position of satisfying everyone's demands at once.
  • copaceticZ, on 12/12/2007, -8/+13I'm 4 360's in(I did get mine on release date) and i just got one back about a month ago it's already breaking after spending 45 minutes on the phone i was hung up on because i was annoyed that i was obviously talking to someone in india even though i very clearly and specifically stated that i wanted to talk to someone in the UNITED STATES! Microsoft has shown it works with Best Buy there is absolutely no reason that microsoft has not started a program for returns at Best Buy. Am I wrong for feeling that after waiting for a month and finally getting my 360 back that they should allow me to take it to the store i do believe under the law of my state my 360 is now considered a "lemon" even though i have been through 4 different ones...Microsoft you took that billion dollar loss to keep us happy because we are worth it you made a mistake live with it and own up to what you are responsible for you have a much better system but if you think for a second we are going to continue to put up with being treated rudely think again i'll just play nothing.
    • yobbo, on 12/13/2007, -1/+1you're so racist
      • copaceticZ, on 02/08/2008, -0/+1bah i just believe that when i go into intelligent mode and start using big words the person should understand them and appease me rather than trying to use cylical ***** on me where i end up trying to explain to them in better layman's terms what i expect and get more cylical ***** because they have obviously not connected me to the person with whom i need to be speaking with to get the job ***** done. period.
  • anarchytv, on 12/12/2007, -10/+6Just run it like all us PC techs have for years, with the case open. That's right, take off the top off your console, so the heat can vent, and leave it off. If your room is 85 plus degress like it is sometimes in the south, then you add a fan.

    On the PC's I build (and I'm a 20 year PC tech), I put the side panel away in the closet, cut a piece of grill rebarb they use under bathroom tiles that has a cross hatch pattern to size (imagine chicken wire with much smaller holes and much sturdier), and insert it where the panel use to be. It allows air to pass through at every point 100%, and keeps out mice, cats, and children. That really is the only purpose of the case, to keep out mice (from chewing on your cables), kids, and cats. Otherwise the sides on a computer case or any hardware only serve to trap heat. Everyone says my PCs look tight as hell, and they really are nothing but a standard black case with blue lighting and a grill instead of aside panel or clear glass window. You can still see everything going on inside, and know when its time to dust them out.
    • augmental, on 12/12/2007, -3/+8Thing is...the 360 is for normal consumers who don't want / need to go through this hassle. You shouldn't have to install anything special to have your system last longer than a year.
    • XistenZ, on 12/12/2007, -0/+11Have you put 20 year old theory to the test? The fans on atx cases and motherboards are designed to channel airflow to the appropriate places.
    • bxblox, on 12/12/2007, -0/+7that must attract alot of dust
    • quadracr28629, on 12/13/2007, -2/+1Not to mention this would definitely void whatever warranty you have in place LoL but a decent idea nonetheless.
  • smergs, on 12/12/2007, -9/+11What a waste of space on digg this article is. This could have easily been titled "PS3 (or Wii) Games: Will my Christmas Present ever get as many good games as the 360 has?" - I'm not cutting on either of those systems, just saying that this article is stupid.

    That said, I have a close to launch system and haven't had any problems.
    • skaldicpoet9, on 12/12/2007, -8/+2Personally, I would rather play games on a system that doesn't have a high probability of dying. Yes, we all know (because all of you 360 fanboys have told us) that the 360 has way more games then PS3 or the Wii. However, I think this might have something to do with the fact that the 360 has been around for 2 years, nah it couldn't e that could it :D
    • macromorgan, on 12/13/2007, -5/+2Substitute Heavenly Sword, Uncharted, Warhawk and Rachet for Gears, Halo, Mass Effect and Bioshock and it's the SAME ***** GAME LINEUP! It's all about which (very) few exclusives you prefer.
  • Axeman2063, on 12/12/2007, -4/+4i've lost two now....had to pay for the second repair, but I got the refund cheque under the new repair policy a little while ago. Kudos to microsoft for finally doing something about it. but it shouldn't have taken that long. As for 360's now, from what I understand they fixed the problem...but I'd wait it out. get one next year.
    • DarkShroud, on 12/13/2007, -0/+1The problems are not fixed. They just changed the design on use a cheaper CPU while the GPU is still the same.
  • tas08, on 12/12/2007, -2/+6Dugg for RROD with "christmas cheer" video link.
  • Felix57, on 12/12/2007, -8/+7if you're concerned about this
    1 don't stand your xbox 360 up (closes off biggest vent)
    2 get cooling attachment (if your that worried its better then waiting for it and being surprised)
    3 the new 1s have a chipset that shouldn't heat up as much (if you have the choice don't buy a used 1)
    • nygrissplz, on 12/12/2007, -0/+6Yes, laying it horizontal is definitely the best way to lay it.
    • AnimZero, on 12/12/2007, -0/+4Thanks for the advice. I was planning on standing it vertically when I get mine, but now I'll know to lay it horizontally.
    • watership, on 12/12/2007, -0/+9DO NOT get a cooling attachment. #1 way to screw your 360 up.
    • Durrok, on 12/12/2007, -4/+2Try spelling out your words when you are posting... people appreciate it.
    • quadracr28629, on 12/13/2007, -0/+4Im also thinking ... that if the extra fans from the aftermarket were so great...wouldn't microsoft have came out with their own by know...I dont much like the aftermarket accessories for the 360.
    • raitchison, on 12/14/2007, -0/+2I agree with 1 and 3 but definitely not 2, the after market cooling devices do more harm than good.
  • hollismb, on 12/12/2007, -5/+11Buried for not proviing any information you can use to determine what version of 360 you buy, nor for providing an answer to the question the article's title poses. My newer-heat-sinked, HDMI-equipped 360 works like a charm, and is super quiet (Ben-Q drive).
  • lcmatt, on 12/12/2007, -2/+6Never had one problem with my 360 (first batch) up until a weeks ago when I dropped it while moving things around, my fault but I've got the newer premium which seems to be alot quieter and cooler.
  • skaldicpoet9, on 12/12/2007, -0/+2Hmm, I just tried looking up an article about the Xbox360 recall from a few months back but something strange happened....there is barely an mention of the recall. I tried finding the article that I had read when I first heard about it talking about a one billion dollar recall but for some reason it is like it never existed. Shouldn't I be able to find at least one article (that isn't a blog or forum post) that talks about this? I even went to CNN.com and typed in "XBOX 360 Recall" and got nothing. I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist but this seems highly suspect...

    My original point was going to be a link to the article and me saying "well, when something as big as a 1 billion dollar recall happens you know something isn't right"

    However, any "credible" (i.e. major news outlets) articles on the subject are non-existent or incredibly hard to find.
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