Getting a XBOX 360...and want to prep it for longevity

9

98EXL

Gawd
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Mar 16, 2006
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The other day I ordered a 360 from Microsoft ExpertZone and I'm going to assume it's not a Jasper chipset. I also have ordered another shell off of eBay so I can paint the shell to match my PS3 (I don't think white is going to cut it for me). At any rate, I'm going to have the bastard open, and figure I might as well add "stuff" to the 360 so that it will run a little cooler.

The "stuff" I am looking to do I guess are replacing some of the stock fans, I guess I should do the X Clamp mod now rather than later, and adding some RAM heatsinks. Short of putting it in the Lian Li case and water cooling it, what would you do with a brand new, virgin, seXBOX 360?
 
Your best bet would be to leave it alone that way when it fails it will still be under warranty. If you mod it (keeping in mind the system has non-cooling related failures), then when it fails, that it won't be under warranty anymore.
 
Do you have to have a receipt for the 3 year warranty or is it based off of manufactured date?
 
It might go off manufactured date or it could be the registration date. I think I've seen people report both after talking to customer service.

As for mods, I wouldn't for the reason bigdogchris listed. If it's not a jasper unit then it could crap out at any moment. I'd only recommend the xclamp and other mods if the unit is out of warranty.
 
Don't mod the console and buy an extended warranty.
 
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I assume that Microsoft will send me something in the mail to do that?
 
bigdogchris said:
Your best bet would be to leave it alone that way when it fails it will still be under warranty. If you mod it (keeping in mind the system has non-cooling related failures), then when it fails, that it won't be under warranty anymore.
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So not [H]. Damn what happened to this forum.
 
MetalX said:
So not [H]. Damn what happened to this forum.
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Not everybody here is loaded and can afford to go through a handful of 360's from them failing.

Leaving the console alone means that when it fails you can get it replaced without out of pocket cost.
 
bigdogchris said:
Not everybody here is loaded and can afford to go through a handful of 360's from them failing.

Leaving the console alone means that when it fails you can get it replaced without out of pocket cost.
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Well, since he's asking, and buying an extra shell, I'd say this particular person is looking to do something specific.
 
make sure you put it in a well ventilated spot, i.e. not a closed cabinet entertainment center. and leave it stock for the warranty
 
overheating is a big RROD issue, but i wouldn't boher doing internal mods simply because we have heard of people who get the RROD even after going water cooling.
There is no 100% sure was to avoid RROD
 
Invest in some compressed air to blow out the dust every now and then.
 
Knock on Wood "knock knock" mine is played daily and was built 12-04-2005 3 ringed on me once a year ago and I reset it and it was fine...
 
Firebomb said:
does installing the games to the HD save the cd-rom? I heard it does.
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well, think about it. It stops the drive from being used at all while playing, so if the drive doesn't have to actually move, you'll get less wear and tear and it should definitely reduce hardware failure. Moving parts = break. It's actually the most common ps3 repair needed also, the BD Drive failing. Drives move a lot and fail a lot.
 
OP if it helps, of the 6 people I know with 360 the only one that has never had a RROD (he did have a power pack one) was a guy who has one of those coolers that snap onto the back of the system and you plug the power cord into that instead of the system. These really pull heat out of the system and you can tell it makes a difference.

The guy who lives below his apartment fixes 360 professionally and said the lead-free thermal paste on the GPU cracks from getting hot/cold and cracks then pulls away from the GPU. Keep the system ventilated and turn it off every couple hours to let it cool down. The other 5 people that I know have had RROD play several hours at a time. I doubt it's a coincidence.
 
Droc said:
overheating is a big RROD issue, but i wouldn't boher doing internal mods simply because we have heard of people who get the RROD even after going water cooling.
There is no 100% sure was to avoid RROD
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Where have you seen a watercooled 360 that got rrod? I'm not saying it's impossible, but you seem to refer to it as if it's something common. Link?
 
watercooling the box might be a fun project , personally i'd probably just go with the shell idea and maybe the xclamp. mine rrod a couple months ago after 3 years and the xclamp seems to be working fine.
 
I was under the impression that the newest revision of the 360 was designed to be less RROD prone? I can't back that up.
 
Furystrike said:
I was under the impression that the newest revision of the 360 was designed to be less RROD prone? I can't back that up.
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The one article from the MS insider that talks about the X360 QA, design, and supply chain problems, thinks RROD will never be fixed until the whole console is completely revised....X360 slim or whatever. There were apparently so many issues with the original design, it's a bit like chasing a needle in a haystack. It's not any one hardware fault that is causing problems. But the quality has definitely improved with each iteration. I don't think they scratch discs anymore either, anyone know ?

To the OP: anything you can do to reduce heat and vibration is a good idea. I probably wouldn't compromise my warranty, but they have really come down in price. The $199 core is basically all you need if you've already got the hd, right ?
 
Furystrike said:
I was under the impression that the newest revision of the 360 was designed to be less RROD prone? I can't back that up.
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The latest revision is called jasper, and it's widely believed to eliminate RROD, which was largely eliminated in the second revision, the falcon.

They need to come up with a better name. The next revision should be called the pooter.
 
I do plan on installing the games to the HDD, especially since the unit as a whole apparently runs quieter when going from the HDD, and as it goes for all things running off of a drive, I assume things will load a bit quicker.

I am down for modding the thing, I like that idea of adding RAM sinks, replacing the fans, and preemptively doing the XClamp mod. The lack of lead in the solder really bothers me, and if I had access to the equipment, I would just go ahead and re-solder the bitch, even re-doing the thermal paste.

I will be in a well ventilated area, and I find the fact of turning it off every few hours kinda silly. If in fact it is like a computer, leaving it on is the way to go.....or have I been hitting the MS pipe too long?
 
I guess my question is, why bother? Most of the aftermarket products are designed to prevent the system from overheating, but again, the safest thing to do is just to send it back on warranty if it dies. If you really want to play with hardware, just do it on a pc. In that case you can at least get more performance and actually tweak it. With the 360, all you can do is lessen (not eliminate) the chance that it dies. Its best to just use it however you want and accept the fact that it might die knowing you can just send it back.
 
98EXL said:
I assume that Microsoft will send me something in the mail to do that?
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In your XBox 360 there will be a packet to add 2 years extended warranty for $59.99 from Microsoft. It says it has to be mailed back in within 10 days after purchase. It is in with all the Xbox instructions and the Magazine offer

It is folded packet (with the Xbox symbol and the paper is white/grey and has green at the bottom) The front says "Congratulations on owning the best exciting product on the planet. Act now to protect your investment in the amazing Xbox 360".)

Unfortunately you have to send a check or money order and can't be done on line (maybe I am just spoiled and used to doing everything on line anymore and hate writing checks *lol)
 
intent said:
In your XBox 360 there will be a packet to add 2 years extended warranty for $59.99 from Microsoft. It says it has to be mailed back in within 10 days after purchase. It is in with all the Xbox instructions and the Magazine offer

It is folded packet (with the Xbox symbol and the paper is white/grey and has green at the bottom) The front says "Congratulations on owning the best exciting product on the planet. Act now to protect your investment in the amazing Xbox 360".)

Unfortunately you have to send a check or money order and can't be done on line (maybe I am just spoiled and used to doing everything on line anymore and hate writing checks *lol)
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I don't know if this is really necessary, as the rrod is without a doubt the main concern and for this you're already covered 3 years.

98EXL said:
A check, WTF is that? People still use those?
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There's things called "bills" and "rent" that often require such forms of payment. Oh, to be able to return to the blissful ignorance of not knowing such things :)
 
Spaceman_Spiff said:
I don't know if this is really necessary, as the rrod is without a doubt the main concern and for this you're already covered 3 years.
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It's necessary, I've had 4 360's die and only the 1st on was the RROD. 2nd - video quit working, 3rd - MS sent back broke and it wouldn't read discs, and my 4th - error 74.
 
Spaceman_Spiff said:
I don't know if this is really necessary, as the rrod is without a doubt the main concern and for this you're already covered 3 years.
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I did a lot of research on Xbox 360's before I bought mine...and the main thing I read was a lot of people were getting upset because yes they have the 3 year warranty with the RROD but, if it isn't RROD then after the original warranty is expired then you are out of luck (and unfortunately a lot of people didn't understand that and thought it was a overall 3 year warranty.) I have even read articles that had the RRoD but, when people called in was told it wasn't actual the RRoD and it wasn't covered under the 3 year warranty.

I love my Xbox 360 and I am so glad I decided on buying it instead of the Playstation 3 (I like my Wii but not as much as my Xbox 360) ...but, after all the problems that the Xbox 360's have had I personally wouldn't be without a warranty on it....and definitely wouldn't void the warranty.
 
RROD is a design flaw on the 360 itself. Get an extended warranty, as everyone else has said. That said, I did the X-Clamp fix on my 360 two years ago, and it's still going strong.
 
I wired my fan to be at max all the time. Sounds like a mini-vac, but it gets the job done.
 
|Tch0rT| said:
It's necessary, I've had 4 360's die and only the 1st on was the RROD. 2nd - video quit working, 3rd - MS sent back broke and it wouldn't read discs, and my 4th - error 74.
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If you console breaks for anything other than red ring, just tell MS that it red rings SOMETIMES. Mine did that, and they took it no prob.
 
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