Mrs Jetset bought a 360..Please enlighten her.

[jetset]

Ok, so I've not been shy in my criticism of MS and their uber-shitty workmanship, misleading of the public with unkept promises, worst customer service ever (that being total denial by their reps that any of the dozens of problems both the 360 and original box are anything but common), and of course, a general lack of giving one ounce of shit about their customers. Ok now, that said...

 

 

 

The wife bought a (360 premium) unit for my boy at BJ's today (one of those mega-warehouse superstores). For $350 bucks she got the unit, 60 gig hard drive, three games, and two controllers. Seems to be an awesome deal right?

 

Of course with what I stated above I am totally against this. Sure the games kick ass, blahblahblah. My son is 10 yrs old. He's a pretty well adjusted kid, but at the same time I foresee HUGE disappointment when (NOT IF) this unit takes a shit. I realize IF its the RROD that MS will fix if for free (but this is suposedly only for the first 3 years? WTF is that all about?!?!?!) but that is not the only problem with these things. So, here's my ask...

 

Either;

Tell me I'm now wrong. Tell me MS has addressed all the problems on the newer models which is likely what she bought (maybe there's even a way to know by reading the serial #?). Sure I know it will never be 100% fixed so I'm not looking for a guarantee here, just maybe some words from people I trust telling me the probs have been addressed.

 

Or;

Please tell my wife why I'm so hesitant to keep this and not take it back. When I first told her of the problems, not only did she not believe me, she didn't want to let me show her info on the web about it. She insisted that *if* the 360 ever even HAD these problems they would have certainly have fixed them by now. Myself I know better. There are original xbox units being sold to this day with Thompson dvd drives that have the good old "dirty disc error", and MS still refuses to acknowledge there is a problem, much less fix if free.

 

Oh, and on top of all else because it was at a warehouse store they don't make available any extended warranties. So if there's a problem after 30 days we're fucked, and if it's the RROD only three years.

 

SO...I didn't mean to make this a slam/bash/pick on the 360 post. I REALLY want to be wrong but even in the past week some die hard 360 fanboys have even admitted they've had MAJOR problems. Hell I'm PRAYING Im wrong. my boy would literally shit a golden egg if he got a 360 for Christmas. I can just picture him now on Christmas am playing it! Unfortunately I also picture him crying when it takes a shit and has to go to to some facility in Kentucky for like an entire week and all he can do is wait.

 

Any and all help, advice, links, etc etc etc...would be GREATLY appreciated.

Edited November 30, 2008 by jetset

[Atariboy]

Just enjoy the games, they have good customer service and I've heard of hardly any issues that weren't taken care of free of charge and in a timely manner.

 

The worst part of being a 360 owner is knowing its a ticking time bomb that you'll be without for a couple weeks on occasion.

 

If you want someone to tell you its not going to break, it would just be a lie.

[+remowilliams]

A few tips - make sure the unit is kept in as wide open, flat and well ventilated space as possible. Inside a typical semi closed entertainment system will spell death. Do NOT keep it stood on end, lay it down horizontally and leave it that way.

[+Random Terrain]

If I eventually get one, it will be sitting on something that looks like this, turned upside down:

 

 

If that's not enough air, I'll throw the Xbox 360 out the window.

[moycon]

My understanding is the latest hardware is fine and runs cool.

Does that mean you absolutely won't have any issues. No of course not, every generation of videogames has system breakdowns.

Just enjoy the system and don't worry about what might happen, people that worry about what might happen are always stressed and get greyer quicker. Not worth it if you ask me. It's a game system....not a 401k.

Me personally I think it's the best of the three latest game systems. Hopefully you will too.

[Mendon]

Here are two stories, classified as rumors, that you might be interested in reading, Jet:

 

Xbox360Fanboy: the new Jasper consoles have improved performance and increased their internal storage from 12mb to 256mb

Story is here

 

Kotaku: the new Jasper consoles are hitting the stores and this is how you can tell if you have purchased one

Story is here

 

 

Mendon

[+HammR25]

The consoles have a 1 year warranty for everything that's not RROD related, not 30 days unless I've missed something.

[+Random Terrain]

Here are two stories, classified as rumors, that you might be interested in reading, Jet:

 

Xbox360Fanboy: the new Jasper consoles have improved performance and increased their internal storage from 12mb to 256mb

Story is here

 

Kotaku: the new Jasper consoles are hitting the stores and this is how you can tell if you have purchased one

Story is here

If that stuff is true, 2009 might be the year I finally get an Xbox 360 and stop drooling on my shoes.

[moycon]

Awesome news Mendon. Thanks for the info. I'll definitly be picking up a Jasper unit soon.

 

For those interested in hunting one down, there is more information here...

 

http://forums.xbox.com/24344540/ShowPost.aspx

 

Sounds like maybe the Arcade units are the only ones confirmed as Jaspers at this point.

Edited December 1, 2008 by moycon

[PressureCooker2600]

Mine's an arcade unit....but I've had a few 's here and there.

[jetset]

Thanks for all the input guys! We actually called the store back, and they do offer a 2 year extended warranty after all so of course we got it.

Hopefully we'll never need it. I already plan on buying a small desktop fan and having it blow at the fan intake to help keep the unit cool!

[+remowilliams]

Good move on the warranty. Now kick back and enjoy some of the best gaming ever.

[moycon]

Mine's an arcade unit....but I've had a few 's here and there.

 

To specify, Arcade units manufactured 10/23/2008 have been confirmed Jaspers.

[Chickybaby]

Awesome! I'm one of those people that always goes for the extended warrenty and that was the one thing that concerned me. I just don't know what incentive Microsoft would have to fix the RROD issue if people keep buying them. I wouldn't mind one eventually or a PS3(preferably) but funds aside, that's why I'm waiting.

I hope you guys enjoy and I am sure that you will be playing the system too besides yoru son. Hopefully it will be something the whole family can enjoy together.

 

Thanks for all the input guys! We actually called the store back, and they do offer a 2 year extended warranty after all so of course we got it.

Hopefully we'll never need it. I already plan on buying a small desktop fan and having it blow at the fan intake to help keep the unit cool!

[hex65000]

I am the embodiment of lazy (or at least should be a poster child.) I bought Crazy Climber's 360 um... at least three months ago, and it remains in the box he shipped it to me in. I don't have anywhere to set it up right now...

 

As for ventilation, you could always buy this: (shameless plug)

http://www.chasethechuckwagon.com/item.cgi...item=0000040486

 

Oh please get this thing out of my house.

 

I'm pondering (slowly) some massive changes in my game room setup, but I haven't worked everything out yet. I am excited about the prospect of a new HDTV to make my setup look cooler, but that's another topic for another time.

 

My bigger concern is that even though there's very little mileage on the 360 I bought, I've lost a chunk of warranty time because I haven't the time to bother to unbox it. <sigh> This is a true high-priced problem.

 

Hex.

[ There is no point. Only fjords... ]

[Mendon]

Here's a follow-up story from Xbox360FanBoy that has a YouTube video that shows the new Jasper 360 with the internal 256mb upgrade. According to news stories around the internet, the Jasper Arcade Bundles do not include the 256mb memory card that used to come packaged inside the bundle because of the increased internal memory. If true, this might be an easy way to determine if the Xbox360 you are about to buy is a Jasper or non-Jasper.

 

Xbox360FanBoy Story

 

 

Mendon

[keilbaca]

I have completely torn apart and figured out the engineering of the 360. Here's a copy/paste that I posted on a different forum.

 

How to prevent your 360 from a RROD, as much as humanly possible, without voiding your warranty:

 

Most RRODs are caused by a nice thing called shitty engineering. So, to compensate for their mess up, I decided to write this, to prolong your 360 from blowing up.

 

There are 3 main causes of the 360 going bad, of course there's 20 different ones, but there's 3 very main ones.

 

You get the E-74 error, which is the GPU ANA chip, and that fix is to take a heat gun to the bottom of the board.

 

When you get the RROD, Turn it on, so you get the 3 rings showing. Hold the Sync button, then press the eject button. If you get 4 lights, its a 0, 1 light, 1, 2 lights, 2, 3 lights, 3. If the 4 in error is 0102, then your gpu or cpu has a cold solder joint, needs an x-clamp fix (google it, I'm not going to beat a dead horse), and possibly a heat gun to the bottom of the board. BOTH OF THOSE VOID THE WARRANTY.

 

Last but not least, I'm not actually sure of the error code, but it basically is, one of the ram chips came partly desoldered from the board.

 

What's the cause for all of these problems? HEAT. Yes, wonderful Heat. This is a computer, this isn't your daddy's NES, so it needs proper cooling. Here's my do's and don'ts.

 

Don'ts:

 

- Put it vertical (I give one exception at the end).

 

- Put the power brick on top or near the 360.

 

- Put the 360 on carpet.

 

- Hide the 360 in the corner.

 

- Use the Intercooler. It'll actually cause a RROD.

 

Now, the Do's.

 

- Use it horizontal.

 

- Put the power brick in a different area away from the 360, as far away as possible.

 

- Give it its own shelf space, the higher up, the better. This keeps hair and dust away from going into the system.

 

NOW, If you are already experiencing problems starting, here's how to prevent those. I recommend EVERY 360 OWNER TO DO THIS. This will prolong your 360 the longest, will *never* lock up (with a heat problem, other problems might occur with the 360, the 360 is known for their GPU heatsink clamps to come off), and, unlike the intercooler, its pretty silent.

 

Go to you favorite computer store/wal-mart, and get yourself a laptop cooler. The kind that has two fans, that are powered by a USB, that blow onto the laptop. Now, put your 360 on it VERTICALLY, over both fans.

 

2/3 of the air holes, are on the bottom of the 360. By doing this, you're doing what every gaming pc needs: air intake. The board won't warp anymore, the video card ram chips won't desolder off, and you won't get cold solder joints.

 

So there you have it, how to prevent yourself from a RROD, as much as humanly possible, without voiding a warranty.

 

Now, if you're like me and crack it open, you can install internal intake fans into the 360, but that requires solder skills, usually using a PC power supply because the 360 PSU is kinda lacking in the wattage department, etc. But, as I said, without voiding warranty, this will make it last the longest.

[Seob]

Or add a watercooler to your xbox

[keilbaca]

Or add a watercooler to your xbox

 

Oh, I would have done something just as nutty when I eventually get my xbox. I wouldn't use the original case, I'd modify the whole thing into a PC case, using a PC power supply, adding a bunch of fans, painting the computer case, front panel mount for the xbox lights and all.

 

But, until the girlfriend gives me some slack on wanting to spend my money, I won't be able to do so.

Edited December 2, 2008 by keilbaca

[Artlover]

the video card ram chips won't desolder off

Was that ever a problem? I thought it was mostly cold solder joints on the GPU and CPU.

 

and you won't get cold solder joints.

Typically, cold solder joints are a manufacturing/assembly defect, not something you get after the fact. But given we are talking about heat generation high enough to flow solder, I could see it creating them as being possible. But it still rises the issue if they existed before and were simply exasperated by the thermal issues which could be caused by cold solder joints to begin with.

 

I know when I took mine apart, I was less then impressed by the quality of some of the visible soldered joints inside the machine like on the front panel. Showing tattletale signs of impropper prep work & soldering. If they can't get the front panel right, I shudder to think what the high density surface mount joints under the chips are like.

 

Lead free solder for required RoHS compliance + a manufacturing company with no experience in working with lead free solder = poor/defective manufacturing out of the box.

 

Now, if you're like me and crack it open, you can install internal intake fans into the 360, but that requires solder skills, usually using a PC power supply because the 360 PSU is kinda lacking in the wattage department, etc. But, as I said, without voiding warranty, this will make it last the longest.

I dunno if you really need an external PS. I guess it depends on the model of 360 you have and what kind of fans you add. I've got a earlier model with larger PS. First thing I did was cut a hole in the top over the extended GPU heatsink that is in front of the CPU heatsink, installed a small thin CPU fan from a socket 478 cooler there and wired up the two existing fans to 12vdc (I actually just tapped everything of the DVD power). Been working just fine, and staying quite cool.

 

I know MS keeps putting the fans down at 6 volts for the sake of noise, but a cooling fan is pretty useless if it's not moving a sufficient amount of air to effectively cool. There were so many other things they could have done beside just drop the voltage, like choose fans with a low noise profile, or atleast use high flow rate fans that can move an effective amount of air at slower speeds. I think the only thing MS has ever done right in their cooling is airflow design. How they used the internal braces as air dams in the original xbox, and the scoop/shield in the 360. Guiding the airflow exactly where it needs to be. You know it works because they both run hotter if you remove these features. But again, without sufficient airflow, it's not going to do you any good.

[keilbaca]

the video card ram chips won't desolder off

Was that ever a problem? I thought it was mostly cold solder joints on the GPU and CPU.

 

Yes, indeed it is. There is actually a "fix" floating around the internet. Its basically wrapping pennies around in electrical tape, so when you bolt in the 360, the pennies actually push the ram chip enough to make the connection again. Ultimately its solved with a heatgun and pressing against it.

 

Oh, and I know its not practical, in fact, I know it would be complete overkill. I just think it would be a cool project. Trust me, once I'm done adding the lights and stuff into the 360 box, the 360 PSU will most definitely not handle it.

 

I would be doing proper airflow in the PC case like I would with a gaming PC. I would also be directly bolting quiet fans pushing a ton of air onto the cpu and gpu. And one final thing, I do have a spare set of CPU/GPU heatsinks, so I would basically use the CPU heatsink on the GPU as well.

Edited December 2, 2008 by keilbaca