to 360 owners:

[BLSR1]

I may have a way to help prevent RRoD.

If you look under your console you'll see 2 vents underneath. RRoD is generally caused by overheating. Right? So what if part of the problem is those vents being covered up?

My solution is to elevate the console off the ground. Get a block or some books or anything that will support it's weight. Make sure its small enough to not cover the vents.


This may or may not work but It can't hurt to try. Im doing it.

[FeurMensch]

My brother modded a PC cooling fan so it can be used via a normal wall outlet, and we use it to cool off our new 360. I must say it works rather well as the 360 is always ice cold now. One downside is that the fan is kinda noisy, but that's ok.... just crank the volume up!!

Oh and my bro said RRoD isn't just from heat, but rather any type of hardware failure such as blown capacitors or a loose solder point. He says you guys should try this out as "it's better than any other inter cooler you can buy at the store", which was quoted by him. He also recommends to stay away from the Nyko coolers as they can malfunction and void your warranty.

[Project Omega]

I have a mini fan blowing into my 360 to provider cooler air Not the crappy ones that attach to the system, just a small high speed desk fan

[FeurMensch]

I would use the fan as the added draw at the back of the system make for more air flow in the system as more is pulled in from the other vents.

EDIT: Another reason our 360 is running cooler is because we have the "Falcon" revision (with HDMI).

[Project Omega]

Yeah, HDMI on the 360 rocks (when compared to the old days of using the regular a/v set of cables). I wanted to get the X-Box 360 Elite version, but when I bought my X-Box, it was before I got my first HD big screen (50" DLP; my old TV was a 32" SDTV).

[FeurMensch]

We have a 32'' CRT 1080i HDTV. I want to figure out how to update it's firmware to 1080p.....

EDIT:Though the Xbox360 video output through component video isn't that much different than HDMI from what I can tell.

[The Dude]

I find theres alot of difference between them, enough to warrant me getting a 360 Elite anyway, beginning to get one or two errors on my current 360.

[Umon Daisuke]

We have a 32'' CRT 1080i HDTV. I want to figure out how to update it's firmware to 1080p.....

EDIT:Though the Xbox360 video output through component video isn't that much different than HDMI from what I can tell.

Right about the edit. There isn't much content out there or TV's that support Deep Color and extra bandwidth that HDMI enables (on that note, the 360's older HDMI 1.2 doesn't support those anyway and games don't require them).

As for displaying 1080p on an existing 1080i CRT, it's not something a simple firmware update/hack enables. There has to be hardware to support upscanning, and a modified tube. Of course, the reason why CRT's are disappearing are the costs associated with making them support the high resolutions (even 720p upscanning is expensive). Imagine the size and weight of such a TV. OLED should bring back the brilliant black levels and hopefully motion reproduction of CRT's to the HDTV scene but we're a few years away (unless you settle for a 20" set).

The difference between the Elite and Pro aside from HDD size is nonexistent, unless you're comparing it to a pre-Elite launch Pro. I had an Elite fail last year, but with all units out there supporting the smaller die and HDMI, the chances of failure are less.

[FeurMensch]

The Dude: The Core Xbox360 has HDMI output now as well.

Our other 360 had a optical drive failure and no longer reads any type of optical media because the motor died. Other than that, the system plays absolutely fine.

[Umon Daisuke]

EDIT: needless elaboration.

[The Dude]

I know the newer versions of the 360 have HDMI, however I may as well get an Elite as they're cheaper now and I need the drive space.

[FeurMensch]

Those are $150 USD more and I heard that they still get RRoD more than the Arcade 360. I have 2 friends and their Elite systems RRoD'ed on them with 3 months of purchase.

[The Dude]

Interesting, I know 2 people at uni who've had them since release, no problems yet.
Must be differences in quality in terms of mass production between the US and Europe.
Perhaps.

UK's had some decent price cuts with 360's.

[FeurMensch]

The American Arcade 360 is $279 USD, the Elite is $450 USD. Plus all the systems are made in China, they just flash them with a different region kernel (firmware-ish).

How much do 360's cost by you, The Dude?

[The Dude]

Arcade Pack: £159.99
Premium: £199.99
Elite: £259.99

I won my 360 in a TV Competition with a load of other gear (HDTV etc), so I can't bitch too much on prices though.
But im probably going to pick up an Elite in a month or so though.