is it safe to buy a 360 yet? did they fix all the problems with them?

9/25/2007 1:16:28 PM

problems? its always been safe. If you get the 3 rings of death microsoft fixes/replaces it hassle free.

9/25/2007 1:26:07 PM

I wouldn't call having to send off your console for several weeks, quite totally hassle free.

It's true that they will replace/fix it for free however and the failure rate is improving.

FWIW, I've had a 360 since day one and never had a single problem with it.

9/25/2007 1:30:43 PM

I think if you get one of the new Premium's with HDMI, you should be ok. Those at the very least have the new heatsinks, and possibly the .65nm GPU.

9/25/2007 1:34:11 PM

^^ ditto

btw halo 3 in 3 hours w00t

9/25/2007 1:59:59 PM

i wouldnt hesitate to purchase a new one. plenty of old ones broke, but the people who went through 4-5 are the vocal minority.

9/25/2007 2:00:10 PM

one would assume the ones they received were other bad ones refurbished.

9/25/2007 2:05:54 PM

Quote :

"If you get the 3 rings of death microsoft fixes/replaces it hassle free."

It would be more hassle free if they just went ahead and shipped you a new x-box in a coffin. Then you could just put your drive on the shipped system, mail your broken system in the coffin the new one came in, and be off.

From what I understand you just get an empty coffin and play the wait game for your system to come back.

9/25/2007 2:32:27 PM

^I thought the wait game was a Sony exclusive this generation


HARDYHARHAR

9/25/2007 3:28:53 PM

^^ i dont think it is unreasonable to NOT send people new xboxes without receiving one back. think of the cost of hunting down all the system abuse.

9/25/2007 5:22:08 PM

I wouldn't think it would take several weeks to get it replaced. Maybe a week.

9/25/2007 5:26:16 PM

It's easy, I do it with online purchases all the time. If I need to return something that broke, I have them charge me for and ship me the new item as soon as I call them. After they receive the returned item that I shipped back, they refund me the money. Simple.

Granted, MS isn't sending people shiny new Xbox 360s. They are either repairing the one they sent or sending them another refurb. That's the reason why the failure rate on repaired/returned 360s have been so high, they aren't fixing the defect, just the damage it caused.

[Edited on September 25, 2007 at 5:31 PM. Reason : :]

9/25/2007 5:28:01 PM

i dont think johnny 13 year old wants to be charged 400 dollars until they get the broken one though.

9/25/2007 5:41:20 PM

Indeed. MS is handling this thing about as good as they possibly can. Where they failed (imo) is waiting as long as they did to admit their was a problem. I think they underestimated the amount of idiots out there who stick their consoles in enclosed cabinets while running.

9/25/2007 5:54:10 PM

heh, just called MS, a month wait on repairs right now.

9/25/2007 5:55:37 PM

Quote :

"FWIW, I've had a 360 since day one and never had a single problem with it."

ditto

9/25/2007 6:15:20 PM

^^ at least one person in the 360 thread was quoted 4-6 weeks and got it back in 1 though.

9/25/2007 6:18:45 PM

^that was me

9/25/2007 6:24:09 PM

my room mates was only gone 1.5 to 2 weeks tops from the time we dropped it off and picked it up

9/25/2007 9:05:46 PM

HAHAH MY FRIEND JUST GOT HALO 3 AND HIS GOT THE OOO OF DEATH

9/26/2007 11:54:07 AM

Man, just imagine what the Xbox 720 is going to be like... MS is actually producing most of the silicon themselves for that one. They can't even PUT A MACHINE TOGETHER right.

9/26/2007 12:15:30 PM

fanatik sure does try hard.

9/26/2007 12:21:28 PM

^^I'm sure it will be called the Xbox Revolution or something similar

9/26/2007 1:36:18 PM

So how long will this generation of consoles last?



I'm sure the next gen is already in the works. Is there a specific market strategy in play here? (IE 3-4 years = new console)

9/26/2007 1:38:36 PM

The next gen of consoles were in the works before this gen of consoles even came out. I'd say 3-4 years would be for the prime years of the products life. Now that next gen consoles are becoming very expensive, I'd say they will have a longer rate for new products, but the money would be in support such as games, accessories and service. Look how long PS2 was supported, I think they are still supported.

9/26/2007 1:58:02 PM

5-6 years is the usual lifespan for a console. The original Xbox only lasted about 4 though, and then you've got the PS2 which is nearing 7 and probably has another price drop left in it to keep it going for another year or 2. Hell, even the Dreamcast had a handful of new games released for it in Japan this year.

[Edited on September 26, 2007 at 2:00 PM. Reason : :]

9/26/2007 1:58:06 PM

My console is still going strong after 1 year.

Though it rests on a granite slab next to an AC vent currently.

9/26/2007 2:16:37 PM

Quote :

"FWIW, I've had a 360 since day one and never had a single problem with it."

9/26/2007 5:05:45 PM

Quote :

"Man, just imagine what the Xbox 720 is going to be like... MS is actually producing most of the silicon themselves for that one. They can't even PUT A MACHINE TOGETHER right. "

LOL

9/26/2007 6:51:19 PM

Quote :

"Though it rests on a granite slab next to an AC vent currently."

my entertainment system has a dedicated a/c vent.

no problems yet.

9/26/2007 6:59:54 PM

Quote :

"5-6 years is the usual lifespan for a console. The original Xbox only lasted about 4 though, and then you've got the PS2 which is nearing 7 and probably has another price drop left in it to keep it going for another year or 2. Hell, even the Dreamcast had a handful of new games released for it in Japan this year."

Yeah, not only that, but because newer consoles are backwards compatible, games for older consoles seem to still be coming out. Specially with the Wii, huge market now for retro games. But I think these consoles and the next gen's will hold their life longer because they offer more capabilities and features. Sony PS3 really tried to market it as an entertainment platform, not just a gaming console.

9/26/2007 11:09:50 PM

I'm on #3 right now

[Edited on September 27, 2007 at 2:49 AM. Reason : i should have stappoed after #1]

9/27/2007 2:48:48 AM

So I guess the general consensus is that it's not safe to buy a 360 yet if you are the kind of person that never wants to deal with the three rings of death, mailing it away for another refurbished unit that will eventually get the three rings of death, etc.

Sure, you could be one of the lucky ones, but I think the point of this thread was to find out if the 360s that are currently on the shelf have progressed to the point where you are truly unlucky if you eventually have problems with your unit.

9/27/2007 8:54:07 AM

What? No dude, 3rd reply in this thread.

Quote :

"I think if you get one of the new Premium's with HDMI, you should be ok. Those at the very least have the new heatsinks, and possibly the .65nm GPU."

The new Premium 360's with HDMI, do not red ring. They have a new heat sink on the GPU, and I should hope they are using the right kind of solder now. If the only thing holding you back from buying a 360 is reliability, you have no reason to wait anymore. The only people getting screwed now are the ones who are in an endless cycle of defective refurbs.

9/27/2007 9:07:42 AM

What, No dude, third reply in this thread.

Quote :

"I think if you get one of the new Premium's with HDMI, you should be ok. Those at the very least have the new heatsinks, and possibly the .65nm GPU."

That doesn't sound like decisive enough language to overcome the perception. Then the rest of the thread is dedicated to how people are on their third box and how mailing off your box really isn't that much of a hassle.

[Edited on September 27, 2007 at 9:20 AM. Reason : -]

9/27/2007 9:19:16 AM

I don't care what you perceive. Do you whatever you want. I'm just telling you the facts. You're never going to be 100% safe, there is no telling what other issues may crop up in the future. But for now, the problem that was causing the majority of the red rings has been addressed, and the fix has been implemented in every new HDMI Premium and Elite out there.




If you have that in your 360, you have nothing to worry about.

[Edited on September 27, 2007 at 9:32 AM. Reason : :]

9/27/2007 9:29:14 AM

Quote :

"and possibly the .65nm GPU."

not yet.. that will be in a few months i think

9/27/2007 10:36:37 AM

Quote :

"fanatik sure does try hard."

What exactly am I 'trying' to do?

9/27/2007 11:42:03 AM

so no word on if microsoft will implement heat-sink technology in newer generations of the non-elite 360?

Quote :

"the ps3 is alot of money second of all theres not that many good games coming out and the blu ray people have been talking about. Yeah they have a date when they still have them but there giving it away because nobody wants it for the reason is money is tight and others can get a blu ray cheaper than your system. The 360 has better graphics i think ours got a HD player to to buy but its no big deal and has a hdmi cable like your system. You say its worth it that it is more money than ours but you dont get your moneys worth we get our money worth and ours is cheap. The 360 has better online play and has more better games for it. the ps3 doesn't not to say anything bad but sony has to kick it up a notch yeah its wireless same with ours. Would you rather waste alot or a little on the systems think."

i couldn't help but laugh at this. the reviews on ebgames are almost as bad as youtube comments.

9/27/2007 11:57:55 AM

Quote :

"so no word on if microsoft will implement heat-sink technology in newer generations of the non-elite 360?"

Every 360 with HDMI produced from here on out should have the extra heatsinks

9/27/2007 1:44:43 PM

rumours are flying that SOME of the new Halo 3 x360's have 65nm GPUs and CPUs.

That, coupled with the new bundles coming next month (Forza 2 + Marvel Ultimate Alliance packed in) might finally put me over the edge.

These consoles should be MUCH more reliable, in fact people are saying that the heatsinks have been reduced in the new machines, and that they are less noisy.

9/28/2007 3:12:21 PM

There's nothing I hate more than a noisy heatsink.

[Edited on September 28, 2007 at 3:19 PM. Reason : yes, I know what you meant]

9/28/2007 3:18:38 PM

Quote :

"my entertainment system has a dedicated a/c vent. no problems yet."

wait, that doesn't cause condensation problems?

9/28/2007 3:33:59 PM

Here's how you can tell if your console has the 65nm CPU.

http://forums.xbox.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=15804553

Right now it's just on some of the Halo 3 editions.

9/28/2007 4:43:10 PM

I love how people on ebay are actually selling the new hdmi boxes for more than they are at your local fucking store.

10/4/2007 8:20:58 PM

I love how people on eBay are actually buying the new hdmi boxes for more than they are at your local fucking store.

and...

Too bad the GPU's aren't 65nm as well... It seems like they were the culprit most of the time.

[Edited on October 5, 2007 at 7:46 AM. Reason : d]

10/5/2007 7:46:13 AM

my bro got the 3 rings of death on his 360. we were like 3 days out of the warranty so i took matters into my own hands and did the hot air gun fix and resoldered some stuff with lead (instead of their new solder that is lead free).

works like a charm now.

also, make sure you place your powerbrick somewhere cool (not on carpet, stranded in the air works the best).

10/5/2007 10:44:11 AM

you do realize that it's impossible for his 360 to be out of warranty right now, right?

10/5/2007 1:36:35 PM

well, found one on ebay that wasn't through the roof price wise, so here's to hoping the guy ships it

10/6/2007 1:38:02 PM

im waiting for the forza/mua alliance bundle next week. i think ive finally been talked into one.

10/6/2007 2:35:53 PM