Cooler CPUs Available Yet For 360?

Well, finally ran out of luck... got my RRoD this evening and MS is sending out my coffin.

I'm wondering if the smaller, cooler running CPUs are on the market yet in any of the consoles. Frankly, I'd rather just sell the 360 I get back and get one that won't have the same problems, and has HDMI input. The main reason I didn't want to switch one out was due to the DRM issues with logging into XBL to play arcade games and such, but this point is now moot due to my dead console. Any information about this would be appreciated greatly. In the meantime, I'll be reacquainting myself with my PS3 and Wii, which I have barely played since I got them. *sniff, sniff* I'm gonna miss you so MUCH, 360! :cry:

Well, finally ran out of luck... got my RRoD this evening and MS is sending out my coffin.

I'm wondering if the smaller, cooler running CPUs are on the market yet in any of the consoles. Frankly, I'd rather just sell the 360 I get back and get one that won't have the same problems, and has HDMI input. The main reason I didn't want to switch one out was due to the DRM issues with logging into XBL to play arcade games and such, but this point is now moot due to my dead console. Any information about this would be appreciated greatly. In the meantime, I'll be reacquainting myself with my PS3 and Wii, which I have barely played since I got them. *sniff, sniff* I'm gonna miss you so MUCH, 360! :cry:

Generic_Dude

Only rumors of 65nm CPUs (the GPUs are still 90nm chips until next year)

1. Microsoft still makes money off each console sold, whether they have to repair it for RROD's or not. It's just some of their profits now goes into their warranty/repair department.

2. Because of that fact, they'd rather sell off the remaining faulty 360's stocked on shelves in stores, rather then recall them all and replace them with new models, which would cost them a TON of money. I read somewhere that because the majority of 360 owners play casually (like 2 or 3 hours a day and maybe 10 to 15 hours a month), those 360 owners might not see a RROD for a long time if ever, since they rarely stress their system enough to overheat it. So the yare banking on the fact that their current line of faulty 360's will only have roughly a 30% Warranty/Repair rate. So roughly 1 in 3.5 Xbox 360's sold will be sent back for repairs.

3. So for the time being, expect to see shelves in stores with older models on them and then maybe a small mix of the newer models.

(most of this is from 360 wiki sites like this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360_technical_problems )

Microsoft still makes money off each console sold, whether they have to repair it for RROD's or not. It's just some of their profits now goes into their warranty/repair department.

I pretty sure they lose money on each system.

And these repairs are costing them 1 BILLION WOW what a huge fck up! They could of bought SQUARE or Locked up Some Exclusives to bury Sony. 1 BILLION I hope some heads roll over there at microsoft. Its a no brainer these consoles are gonna be used and abused. Theres no excuse how they could of put these defective consoles on the market. I just hope they put it behind them and start making some money before there stock holders make them get out of gaming all together. That would suck for all gamers...

Microsoft still makes money off each console sold, whether they have to repair it for RROD's or not. It's just some of their profits now goes into their warranty/repair department.

I pretty sure they lose money on each system.

And these repairs are costing them 1 BILLION WOW what a huge fck up! They could of bought SQUARE or Locked up Some Exclusives to bury Sony. 1 BILLION I hope some heads roll over there at microsoft. Its a no brainer these consoles are gonna be used and abused. Theres no excuse how they could of put these defective consoles on the market. I just hope they put it behind them and start making some money before there stock holders make them get out of gaming all together. That would suck for all gamers...

beachbob1

11.6 million Xbox 360's with Design Flaws...

I wonder if Electronic Arts was testing these consoles during Development?

LOL sorry - cheap shot.

Well, is there any viable information to suggest that the Elites or Halo Editions have less issues with overheating? I don't mind taking a loss... I'll sell the replacement, consider the loss a rental fee and enjoy a console with HDMI, larger hard drive and working innards.Generic_Dude

Some people have reported the RROD still happened with the new Halo LE models and the "Falcon" Elites, but nobody knows for sure if those models had the 65nm chips or the 90nm chips in them. Or if those people were morons who played with their consoles on rugs or stacked on top of other electronic components.

It's all a bunch of rumors and independent reports - nothing is confirmed.

[QUOTE="beachbob1"]

Microsoft still makes money off each console sold, whether they have to repair it for RROD's or not. It's just some of their profits now goes into their warranty/repair department.

I pretty sure they lose money on each system.

And these repairs are costing them 1 BILLION WOW what a huge fck up! They could of bought SQUARE or Locked up Some Exclusives to bury Sony. 1 BILLION I hope some heads roll over there at microsoft. Its a no brainer these consoles are gonna be used and abused. Theres no excuse how they could of put these defective consoles on the market. I just hope they put it behind them and start making some money before there stock holders make them get out of gaming all together. That would suck for all gamers...

Netherscourge

11.6 million Xbox 360's with Design Flaws...

I wonder if Electronic Arts was testing these consoles during Development?

LOL sorry - cheap shot.

I agree with you. WTF happened you would of thought they would of tested them. They are obviosly some dumb executives over there. To manufactur that many defective consoles for that long. I could see the first mil maybe before they cuaght it. Becuase they where rushing to beat sony. I am a microsoft stock holder by the way and they are a great company but they need to spend another billion for exclusive ip's or buying some developers or get out of gaming. They are on the fence I have been waiitng for them to make a move. They got plenty of cash and could secure there future in gaming but they seem complacent. If they don't start shaking things up The Sony train is gonna run them over.....Once the PS3 gets momentum and it will there oppurtunity will be lost and they will have another xbox on there hands...Not to mention the WII whish I owned there stock,,Who knew???? There genuis..selling those last gen Wii's for a profit!!!

yes go to live forum. rrod under techinical.. Even if you don't get one with the new 65 all the recent ones(check the production date)have a new disimating heat system. So they should be more reliable. There are some pictures posted in those forums you can verify new heat or chips if you know where to look.... http://forums.xbox.com/15804553/ShowPost.aspxbeachbob1

I didn't read through every page, but these seem to be dealing primarily with the CPU. What about the GPU? Wouldn't that cause more heat than the CPU anyway? I know they're supposed to be updating that by early January, but it seems more than a little ridiculous to me that it's taking them this long to get around to putting reliable parts into their machines.

But that's kinda getting off the track... I'm frustrated here. The point is that even if I do have these new revisions, how likely is it that this is going to still be an issue?

[QUOTE="beachbob1"]yes go to live forum. rrod under techinical.. Even if you don't get one with the new 65 all the recent ones(check the production date)have a new disimating heat system. So they should be more reliable. There are some pictures posted in those forums you can verify new heat or chips if you know where to look.... http://forums.xbox.com/15804553/ShowPost.aspxGeneric_Dude

I didn't read through every page, but these seem to be dealing primarily with the CPU. What about the GPU? Wouldn't that cause more heat than the CPU anyway? I know they're supposed to be updating that by early January, but it seems more than a little ridiculous to me that it's taking them this long to get around to putting reliable parts into their machines.

But that's kinda getting off the track... I'm frustrated here. The point is that even if I do have these new revisions, how likely is it that this is going to still be an issue?

Did you get your 360 back yet? My friendraised hell with themand he got them to send him new ones. You should try to make a big stink tell them you don;t want a refurbished defective console. If you read the latest post alot of people have been recieving new ones instead of the refurbished ones the seem to have the same issues. I do beleive they are rectifying this problem. Its unfortunate they sold all this defective hardware but they put 1 bil aside to make it right, extended the warranty's and the new ones you can be assured will be reliable. They have already taken a huge PR hit over this. I say we give them a break everyone screws up.......

[QUOTE="Generic_Dude"]

[QUOTE="beachbob1"]yes go to live forum. rrod under techinical.. Even if you don't get one with the new 65 all the recent ones(check the production date)have a new disimating heat system. So they should be more reliable. There are some pictures posted in those forums you can verify new heat or chips if you know where to look.... http://forums.xbox.com/15804553/ShowPost.aspxbeachbob1

I didn't read through every page, but these seem to be dealing primarily with the CPU. What about the GPU? Wouldn't that cause more heat than the CPU anyway? I know they're supposed to be updating that by early January, but it seems more than a little ridiculous to me that it's taking them this long to get around to putting reliable parts into their machines.

But that's kinda getting off the track... I'm frustrated here. The point is that even if I do have these new revisions, how likely is it that this is going to still be an issue?

Did you get your 360 back yet? My friendraised hell with themand he got them to send him new ones. You should try to make a big stink tell them you don;t want a refurbished defective console. If you read the latest post alot of people have been recieving new ones instead of the refurbished ones the seem to have the same issues. I do beleive they are rectifying this problem. Its unfortunate they sold all this defective hardware but they put 1 bil aside to make it right, extended the warranty's and the new ones you can be assured will be reliable. They have already taken a huge PR hit over this. I say we give them a break everyone screws up.......

Everyone screws up, and I'm willing to forgive so long as they don't continue to screw up. That being said, I thank you for your advice and will make an effort to get a new one. Any thoughts on whom I should be forwarding these complaints to? Would it be beneficial to just send the gripes to India or should I call an alternate number?

I think some of them are out. Theres a post at live some peeps claiming to have gotten them in there Halo3 editions coming from certain production line. Microsoft is bieng tight lipped till they get rid of all the crappy ones still out there. I think some of the new Elites bieng produced now have it. But who knows all my info comes from post. I just sent my dead 360 in and the soppurt guy wouldn't give me much info. Bit he did say if you go buy another one get a elite and check the production date to make sure its a recent one.....beachbob1

ive seen the pictures from the halo 3 systems, they do have them in them, although im not sure if they all do. i think most do.

Well, finally ran out of luck... got my RRoD this evening and MS is sending out my coffin.

I'm wondering if the smaller, cooler running CPUs are on the market yet in any of the consoles. Frankly, I'd rather just sell the 360 I get back and get one that won't have the same problems, and has HDMI input. The main reason I didn't want to switch one out was due to the DRM issues with logging into XBL to play arcade games and such, but this point is now moot due to my dead console. Any information about this would be appreciated greatly. In the meantime, I'll be reacquainting myself with my PS3 and Wii, which I have barely played since I got them. *sniff, sniff* I'm gonna miss you so MUCH, 360! :cry:

Generic_Dude

[QUOTE="Generic_Dude"]

Well, finally ran out of luck... got my RRoD this evening and MS is sending out my coffin.

I'm wondering if the smaller, cooler running CPUs are on the market yet in any of the consoles. Frankly, I'd rather just sell the 360 I get back and get one that won't have the same problems, and has HDMI input. The main reason I didn't want to switch one out was due to the DRM issues with logging into XBL to play arcade games and such, but this point is now moot due to my dead console. Any information about this would be appreciated greatly. In the meantime, I'll be reacquainting myself with my PS3 and Wii, which I have barely played since I got them. *sniff, sniff* I'm gonna miss you so MUCH, 360! :cry:

Blk-Gnome

This is not true I guarantee the new ones will not have as high a failure rate. They may be cheaper but thats normal as tech gets older,but they have made other improvments to the design with the rrod problem being thier focus.

[QUOTE="Blk-Gnome"][QUOTE="Generic_Dude"]

Well, finally ran out of luck... got my RRoD this evening and MS is sending out my coffin.

I'm wondering if the smaller, cooler running CPUs are on the market yet in any of the consoles. Frankly, I'd rather just sell the 360 I get back and get one that won't have the same problems, and has HDMI input. The main reason I didn't want to switch one out was due to the DRM issues with logging into XBL to play arcade games and such, but this point is now moot due to my dead console. Any information about this would be appreciated greatly. In the meantime, I'll be reacquainting myself with my PS3 and Wii, which I have barely played since I got them. *sniff, sniff* I'm gonna miss you so MUCH, 360! :cry:

beachbob1

This is not true I guarantee the new ones will not have as high a failure rate. They may be cheaper but thats normal as tech gets older,but they have made other improvments to the design with the rrod problem being thier focus.

"will not have as high"

you said it yourself its not designed to solve the RRoD.

tho the numbers are slowly coming down as MS gets slightly better hardware on the inside, the point of the 65 nm was to lower the price.

if you had looked into the main cause of the RRoD you would find the root of the RRoD is the GPU not the CPU.

the thermal grease on the GPU tends to dry up and doesnt allow the part to be efficently cooled. leading to the RROD.

by reducing the size of the chip the cost of the 360 comes down greatly.

OK... I figure the GPU would be a bigger offender as they tend to get hotter than CPUs as far as I can see.

Regardless, I went out and purchased the Elite, got a replacement plan this time and set the whole thing up about fifteen minutes ago. Thanks to everyone for their support and their information. Let's hope 360 #2 gives me better luck and just as much fun.

You may be correct about this. But they made other changes besides just the chips. They have been redesigned with a new heat dispensing system.

You may be correct about this. But they made other changes besides just the chips. They have been redesigned with a new heat dispensing system.

beachbob1

which goes back to the new CPU not being the fix for it.

only reason i brought it up is some people have gone and bought new 360s just to get the new CPU cause they think it will fix the RROD.

Well, is there any viable information to suggest that the Elites or Halo Editions have less issues with overheating? I don't mind taking a loss... I'll sell the replacement, consider the loss a rental fee and enjoy a console with HDMI, larger hard drive and working innards.Generic_Dude

I'm in your same position. I thought about just buying a new one, but my only option is buying an Elite. You can't buy another Premium because you can't upload your data to the new HDD. I called MS CS and asked them about my options.

I asked if I can just attach my HDD on the new system, they said maybe, not yes, but maybe. They said that some of my DLC (tv shows) won't work and I'll have to re-load them, or something along those lines.

They also said that I can't transfer data between 2 20gb. The new HDD that requires the upload, must be bigger than the old one. Meaning you can't only use a 120gb hdd. So you'll be losing your data if you go with a new console, unless you get an Elite, and then you must order the transfer kit.

[QUOTE="Generic_Dude"]Well, is there any viable information to suggest that the Elites or Halo Editions have less issues with overheating? I don't mind taking a loss... I'll sell the replacement, consider the loss a rental fee and enjoy a console with HDMI, larger hard drive and working innards.xbxjetraider

I'm in your same position. I thought about just buying a new one, but my only option is buying an Elite. You can't buy another Premium because you can't upload your data to the new HDD. I called MS CS and asked them about my options.

I asked if I can just attach my HDD on the new system, they said maybe, not yes, but maybe. They said that some of my DLC (tv shows) won't work and I'll have to re-load them, or something along those lines.

They also said that I can't transfer data between 2 20gb. The new HDD that requires the upload, must be bigger than the old one. Meaning you can't only use a 120gb hdd. So you'll be losing your data if you go with a new console, unless you get an Elite, and then you must order the transfer kit.

I am jealos generic Dude. Good for you though.

I'm in same position waiting to get my 360 back, was gonna get a core but there all defective so thought about getting the Elite but can't tansfer my 20G to the new 120G plus a waste of money. So I just post and post some more :cry: went out and bought a new PS2 game other day but can't bring myself to play it's crappy graphics and no achievments or friends:cry: Might go pick up Fury for PC and probally waste more money....

The GPUs overheating will continue to be a problem until they switch to the 65nm GPU chips. (Jaspers? in 2008 )

With the newer Xbox 360 games pushing every shader pipe in the GPU, you can bet they're only gonna get hotter. Shooters like Halo, GoW, etc... the big 3D games are cooking up the GPUs.

It's a shame too - because this could kill Microsoft's momentum down the road.

And now there's $399 PS3's coming out in November... MS better watch out and get this crap fixed soon...

The GPUs overheating will continue to be a problem until they switch to the 65nm GPU chips. (Jaspers? in 2008 )

With the newer Xbox 360 games pushing every shader pipe in the GPU, you can bet they're only gonna get hotter. Shooters like Halo, GoW, etc... the big 3D games are cooking up the GPUs.

It's a shame too - because this could kill Microsoft's momentum down the road.

And now there's $399 PS3's coming out in November... MS better watch out and get this crap fixed soon...

Netherscourge

The RROD Club Thread on Live is getting like 3 new members a day. With a very small % of 360 owners posting I fear the worst is yet to come. Some lawyer is gonna file a Class action lawsuit soon.When thePR nightmare spreads beyond us hard core gamers to the mainstream media it will be the end of the 360.:? I hope I am wrong..

[QUOTE="Generic_Dude"]Well, is there any viable information to suggest that the Elites or Halo Editions have less issues with overheating? I don't mind taking a loss... I'll sell the replacement, consider the loss a rental fee and enjoy a console with HDMI, larger hard drive and working innards.xbxjetraider

I'm in your same position. I thought about just buying a new one, but my only option is buying an Elite. You can't buy another Premium because you can't upload your data to the new HDD. I called MS CS and asked them about my options.

I asked if I can just attach my HDD on the new system, they said maybe, not yes, but maybe. They said that some of my DLC (tv shows) won't work and I'll have to re-load them, or something along those lines.

They also said that I can't transfer data between 2 20gb. The new HDD that requires the upload, must be bigger than the old one. Meaning you can't only use a 120gb hdd. So you'll be losing your data if you go with a new console, unless you get an Elite, and then you must order the transfer kit.

I have my old 20 gig in the Elite now and it's working fine... My arcade games are working, anyway... and my profile loaded fine. My achievements are still there, my friends list is intact. Didn't try to access my Oblivion DLC or anything, but as far as I can tell, my old save games and stuff are there. I have to wait until they can send a transfer cable before I can use the new HDD... but I'm not buying anything until I get it. I like this Puzzle Quest game, but I want at least one arcade game that I can play offline. Their stupid DRM idea to link downloads to their faulty consoles instead of their working hard drives or a user's gamertag.

i was told my 20 gig wouldn't work in a new Elite. Now if I can find a extra few hundred dollars laying around I could get back to pwn'n peeps.....

umm yeah...read NOW

http://gear.ign.com/articles/824/824183p1.html

Why do people continue to believe that RROD is caused by overheating?thinicer

Becuase it was? The new 65-nm CPUs will run cooler and more efficiently than the older models, so while there will be no boost in processing performance, less heat will require less cooling and will lead to quieter operation. The new heatsink on the Falcon motherboard abandons the weak X-Clamp that secured the heatsink over the old 360's GPU (and was the cause of the famous three red lights of death) in favor of a burlier four screws that should not warp the PCB. As such, Falcon Xbox 360s should finally be immune to hardware failures that have famously plagued the console.

The excessive heat combined with a fautly x-clamp caused the heatsink to not do its job properly warping the PCB. I am no tech guy but that sounds like a overheating problem?

[QUOTE="thinicer"]Why do people continue to believe that RROD is caused by overheating?beachbob1

Becuase it was? The new 65-nm CPUs will run cooler and more efficiently than the older models, so while there will be no boost in processing performance, less heat will require less cooling and will lead to quieter operation. The new heatsink on the Falcon motherboard abandons the weak X-Clamp that secured the heatsink over the old 360's GPU (and was the cause of the famous three red lights of death) in favor of a burlier four screws that should not warp the PCB. As such, Falcon Xbox 360s should finally be immune to hardware failures that have famously plagued the console.

The excessive heat combined with a fautly x-clamp caused the heatsink to not do its job properly warping the PCB. I am no tech guy but that sounds like a overheating problem?

It has always been the really crappy heatsink. The CPU/GPU needs a nice firm contact to it in order for the heat to be distributed and exited out of the system. If it loses contact with it, then the heatsink is not doing its job and the console goes red ring, not because the GPU got fried, but because the heatsink is no longer has firm contact with it and the console detects it.

[QUOTE="beachbob1"]

[QUOTE="thinicer"]Why do people continue to believe that RROD is caused by overheating?thinicer

Becuase it was? The new 65-nm CPUs will run cooler and more efficiently than the older models, so while there will be no boost in processing performance, less heat will require less cooling and will lead to quieter operation. The new heatsink on the Falcon motherboard abandons the weak X-Clamp that secured the heatsink over the old 360's GPU (and was the cause of the famous three red lights of death) in favor of a burlier four screws that should not warp the PCB. As such, Falcon Xbox 360s should finally be immune to hardware failures that have famously plagued the console.

The excessive heat combined with a fautly x-clamp caused the heatsink to not do its job properly warping the PCB. I am no tech guy but that sounds like a overheating problem?

It has always been the really crappy heatsink. The CPU/GPU needs a nice firm contact to it in order for the heat to be distributed and exited out of the system. If it loses contact with it, then the heatsink is not doing its job and the console goes red ring, not because the GPU got fried, but because the heatsink is no longer has firm contact with it and the console detects it.

When the heat sink stop working properly it OVERHEATS and warps the PCB? So you got the 3 RROD becuase it OVERHEATED?

Unless your logic is you got the RROD becuase your x-clamp is defective...but it didn't stop working till it OVERHEATED!! Therefore I WIN! Plus if the only thing wrong was the x-clamp people wouldn't be going thru 8 refurbished 360's seems like a simple fix. I think it was running to hot without the x-clamp being defective that just quickend its death..

When the heat sink stop working properly it OVERHEATS and warps the PCB? So you got the 3 RROD becuase it OVERHEATED?

Unless your logic is you got the RROD becuase your x-clamp is defective...but it didn't stop working till it OVERHEATED!! Therefore I WIN! Plus if the only thing wrong was the x-clamp people wouldn't be going thru 8 refurbished 360's seems like a simple fix. I think it was running to hot without the x-clamp being defective that just quickend its death..

beachbob1

So does the heatsink stop working because it overheated, or does the Xbox 360 overheat after the heatsink stops working?

What is causing the RROD? Is it because the Xbox 360 gets hot, or is it because the heatsink is pure junk and doesn't do what it's supposed to? Think cause and effect.

The RROD has been all over the map. There have been many personal accounts of people who have put their Xbox 360s in really cool environments, outside of cabinets, away from carpets, and totally out in the open and they STILL got the RROD, while others who have violated all those precautions have not had their 360s fail on them. And then there were people who got their newly repaired 360s in the mail and then had them fail on them in very short order. The one common denominator is the heatsink. Usually it takes some time for things to warp, it's stress that happens over time, but people have had their Xbox 360s have fail on them after a week of use.

By the way, my Xbox 360 went red ring on me. I keep my house at 70 degrees fahrenheit, my 360 is well ventilated, and it never, ever got hot at the touch. It was fine for the longest time and I kept very good care of it. I would never in a million years say it failed because it overheated. It failed because of the junky heatsink inside.

I have seen and read enough accounts of people who have worked up the courage to open up their 360s to replace the x-clamp heatsink with another one that utilizes four screws, and their RROD problems were solved for the long-term.

So does the heatsink stop working because it overheated, or does the Xbox 360 overheat after the heatsink stops working?

What is causing the RROD? Is it because the Xbox 360 gets hot, or is it because the heatsink is pure junk and doesn't do what it's supposed to? Think cause and effect.

The RROD has been all over the map. There have been many personal accounts of people who have put their Xbox 360s in really cool environments, outside of cabinets, away from carpets, and totally out in the open and they STILL got the RROD, while others who have violated all those precautions have not had their 360s fail on them. And then there were people who got their newly repaired 360s in the mail and then had them fail on them in very short order. The one common denominator is the heatsink. Usually it takes some time for things to warp, it's stress that happens over time, but people have had their Xbox 360s have fail on them after a week of use.

By the way, my Xbox 360 went red ring on me. I keep my house at 70 degrees fahrenheit, my 360 is well ventilated, and it never, ever got hot at the touch. It was fine for the longest time and I kept very good care of it. I would never in a million years say it failed because it overheated. It failed because of the junky heatsink inside.

I have seen and read enough accounts of people who have worked up the courage to open up their 360s to replace the x-clamp heatsink with another one that utilizes four screws, and their RROD problems were solved for the long-term.

It doesn't matter how well ventilated or cool it is once the x-clamp fails and the heatsink stops disipating the heat it begins to overheat and either fries or shuts itself down becuase its getting to hot ie:OVERHEATING. Am I crazy here or isn't that same thing you just said..lol Those people that replaced their x-clamp therefore solved the OVERHEATING problem. ROFL

Why did your xbox 360 stop working? Becuase it either shut down becuase it was overheating or it fried. My car didn't stop running becuase theres a hole in the radiater. IT OVERHEATED!!!!ROFL

The Falcons are out people...click the link on my previous post

Well, I've gotten into playing my new Elite for a bit now, and two things are interesting to me. One, the CD ROM drive is quieter so I think I got one of the better ones. It's a LOT quieter, really.

Two, the machine is quieter. So regardless, it's clearly a revision over the console I had.

No offense but the GPU is ATI based. U gonna tell me u DIDNT expect it to overheat?

Ok the GPU is ATI based. U gonna tell me u DIDNT expect it to overheat??

No offense but the GPU is ATI based. U gonna tell me u DIDNT expect it to overheat?

phoenixrebirth

No kidding. Ironically enough, my Elite died shortly after I made this post. Not 3 flashing lights, but one in the 2nd quadrant which, after isolating that there was nothing wrong with my cables or connections or hard drive (I was able to swap out parts with my old 360), it's aparrently a problem with the GPU or scaler chip or somewhere in that reason. The light doesn't come on until I plug something into the HDMI OR proprietary A/V ports. I'm returning this, along with the Best Buy PRP, for a refund. I'll wait to see what they send me from India.

CPU was never the problem.

Its the GPU.

The DVD-ROM Drive is directly on top of the heat-sink plus the fans always run on low. There is no where for the heat to go.

So it overheats and it breaks.

Eh, just traded it in for another one. I'll at least ride out this replacement plan long enough to play Mass Effect. That game looks too amazing to pass up. But if these boxes keep breaking after I'm done with that, I'm playing b3yond. Sorry, MS.Generic_Dude

Was it one of the new ones? If the new ones break too MS might as well get the hell out of gaming....

[QUOTE="Generic_Dude"]Eh, just traded it in for another one. I'll at least ride out this replacement plan long enough to play Mass Effect. That game looks too amazing to pass up. But if these boxes keep breaking after I'm done with that, I'm playing b3yond. Sorry, MS.beachbob1

Was it one of the new ones? If the new ones break too MS might as well get the hell out of gaming....

My Preemie was a year and a half old that got the RRoD. The Elite was a few hours old that had the general hardware failure. The one I have now is about 12 hours old and hasn't had any problems. That HDMI does make the colors pop quite a bit more, I'll say.

MS does need to adjust a few things though... particularly their DRM policies that tie purchases to the console, requiring Xbox Live checks for every arcade game, piece of DLC that you got on another console. When MS' game division finally does go the way of Magnavox / Coleco / Atari / Philips / SEGA / Hudson / Gizmondo and whoever made NeoGeo, there will BE no Xbox Live to connect to. If I purchase a game on XBL, I want to be able to fire up this console and play it as I will be able to play the Orange Box. Assuming that it hasn't blown up by then.

[QUOTE="beachbob1"]

When the heat sink stop working properly it OVERHEATS and warps the PCB? So you got the 3 RROD becuase it OVERHEATED?

Unless your logic is you got the RROD becuase your x-clamp is defective...but it didn't stop working till it OVERHEATED!! Therefore I WIN! Plus if the only thing wrong was the x-clamp people wouldn't be going thru 8 refurbished 360's seems like a simple fix. I think it was running to hot without the x-clamp being defective that just quickend its death..

thinicer

So does the heatsink stop working because it overheated, or does the Xbox 360 overheat after the heatsink stops working?

What is causing the RROD? Is it because the Xbox 360 gets hot, or is it because the heatsink is pure junk and doesn't do what it's supposed to? Think cause and effect.

The RROD has been all over the map. There have been many personal accounts of people who have put their Xbox 360s in really cool environments, outside of cabinets, away from carpets, and totally out in the open and they STILL got the RROD, while others who have violated all those precautions have not had their 360s fail on them. And then there were people who got their newly repaired 360s in the mail and then had them fail on them in very short order. The one common denominator is the heatsink. Usually it takes some time for things to warp, it's stress that happens over time, but people have had their Xbox 360s have fail on them after a week of use.

By the way, my Xbox 360 went red ring on me. I keep my house at 70 degrees fahrenheit, my 360 is well ventilated, and it never, ever got hot at the touch. It was fine for the longest time and I kept very good care of it. I would never in a million years say it failed because it overheated. It failed because of the junky heatsink inside.

I have seen and read enough accounts of people who have worked up the courage to open up their 360s to replace the x-clamp heatsink with another one that utilizes four screws, and their RROD problems were solved for the long-term.

The CPUs/GPUs are overheating because the Heatsinks + Fans (HSF) are not staying attached properly to the CPU and GPU die. The reason they are not staying attached properly is because the HSF themselves are CHEAP and they are not absorbing enough of the heat from the CPU and the GPU.

So the motherboard areas near the CPU and GPU are warping from the heat - this is very dangerous because warping motherboards can cause all sorts of prblems - like shifting the HSF themselves and preventing from touching the entire face of the CPU/GPU die - thus causing them to overheat and shutdown.

Not too mention if you have soldered resistors/leads/capacitors/chips or whatever near those "hotspots" on the warped motherboard, there's a good chance the solder joints will heat up and cool down over and over again during gameplay and they'll eventually crack and break - then your motherboard will be useless even if the CPU and GPU are working properly because data and electricity will be cut off to parts of your system.

So basically it's a major design error - caused mainly by CHEAP Heatsink + fans.

Switching from 90nm transistor CPU/GPus to 65nm will help, but not solve the problem alone - Microsoft MUST invest in higher-quality Heatsinks + Fans.