# Xbox 360, A Risky Proposition?



## unlcky alf (Nov 19, 2006)

Are there any Xbox 360 owners here?

I bought a Nintendo Wii just before Christmas but Iâ€™m a bit disappointed with the lack of blood & guts titles available. Iâ€™m considering getting rid of it and buying an Xbox 360 Elite, But I have been a bit put off by the reliability issues that always seem to crop up whenever I read about it.

Unfortunately it seems that itâ€™s really difficult to get an unbiased opinion about anything related to games consoles. I have a sneaking suspicion that half of the defamatory remarks Iâ€™ve read have actually been made by Sony PS3 owners, who would rather conduct their own home vasectomy than say anything positive about a rivalâ€™s product. So Iâ€™ve come here for opinions from trustworthy people, who donâ€™t spend all their time shut in their bedroom, hoping that Mum knocks before she opens the door. :lol:

It seems clear that the Xbox 360 suffered from some pretty serious issues from launch, but has Microsoft got on top of the problem with later machines? Have any of you guys had problems, and if so what was the fix? Would you buy another? Do you know anyone who wants to buy a 6 week old Wii?

Thanks,


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## Clum (Feb 14, 2009)

I've owned an Xbox 360 since launch day, it did break several times (but I got 3 replacements/repairs from Microsoft), but this was years ago. I sold mine and bought a newer built version and it've never had any problems with it for over a year. I think if you bought one that'd been manufactured within the last 2 years these versions have no problems like the old ones.

I also own a PS3 and a Wii and enjoy them all.


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## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

The wii is a bit nicey nicey perhaps but there are some great tongue in cheek titles... Rabbids Go Home being a firm fave with me...


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## Guest (Feb 16, 2010)

I've been playing games since I was three and still own everything from the NES to the Master System, Famicom, Neo Geo, Virtual Boy to a full size 1980s arcade cabinet. I also have a 360.

I can't compare it to the PS3 as I've never had one but compared to the Wii I find it much better for "real" games. The Wii is great but it's all very gimmicky games your girlfriend or Mum might play.

In saying that I only spend my time playing Oblivion, Fallout 3 or Dead Rising when I'm on the 360...I personally found other so called "must have" titles such as Assassins Creed, Halo, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War a little boring...

I've never had a problem with the 360 in the 3 yrs owned - touch wood


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## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

levon2807 said:


> ... The Wii is great but it's all very gimmicky games your girlfriend or Mum might play.


 :lookaround: Im not much of a gamer so im ok with that


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## Markybirch (Apr 24, 2009)

According to Microsoft, if the machine breaks down with the RROD (Red Ring of Death) within 3 years, they will fix it Free of Charge. Any other problems, then you only have the standard 1 year guarantee. My son has had an xbox now for pretty much 18 months and it suffered the RROD just over a year old. I managed to buy a fixing kit off the bay - cost Â£3.50 and fixed it myself. The problems lie within the cooling system for the main board - ie not adequate enough for it. The kit I bought allows the heat to be dissipated more evenly. Other than that problem, the machine is far more value for money then the PS3. Hope that helps


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

unlcky alf said:


> . I have a sneaking suspicion that half of the defamatory remarks Iâ€™ve read have actually been made by Sony PS3 owners, who would rather conduct their own home vasectomy than say anything positive about a rivalâ€™s product.


Sounds a bit like most I Phone owners :lol: :lol:

Can't comment on the reliability issues but all the younger guys in the last workshop I was looking after swore by the X-Box, wouldn't have anything else. According to them, best games and best graphics and better than playstation. They had one set up in the canteen. Now as far as I know the guy who owned it never had any problems with it and it was his older one as he had a newer one at home. They used it every day at break times and it seemed to work ok.

They sometimes played a shooting game (no idea what one) and although of absolutely no interest to me the graphics did look good and the football one looked not to bad either.


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

I never graduated past Space Invaders on a machine like this that they had in the Voyager pub in Guisborough. Haven't played a game since, 1983 I think it was


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## Jack83 (Aug 4, 2009)

I own both an xbox 360 and a ps3... the xbox is just about to go off for it's 2nd rrod fix (though it is very old) so am thinking of just getting a new 'elite' model.

on balance i have to say that i prefer the ps3, partly because it comes with the blu-ray dv player built in; the only real difference is in the 'exclusive' games, which often transfer anyway. Right now dragon age and demon's souls are ps3 only (both great games) but then mass effect 2 and forza 3 are xbox only and they are meant to be very good. The PS network is also good, i'm not really into 'online gaming' but having bbc iplayer and also a film rental service is quite useful.

reality is that there is no perfect solution, but if you're into your bloodnguts type game i'd probably err on the side of the ps3 (plus the blu-ray advantage) and maybe pick up a 360 later on when that 'must have' 360-only game comes along!


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## BGM (Jan 21, 2009)

I got a 360 Elite off the bay about 3 years ago. It was like new with full box and all sundaries.

I've never had any issues with it and love it (again, touch wood!).

From what I've heard and from friends experiences, the main problem is the Rings Of Death. This is caused by the console over-heating. In most cases it seems like the machines in question have been kept in poorly ventilated areas (e.g in TV cabinets or sandwiched between other electronics...) and therefore the air-flow to the vents has been compromised. You'll also find that a lot of the machines that die do so after hour upon hour of CONTINUOUS use (i.e. kids/teenagers with nothing better to do....).

I'd consider myself a light user, usually between 3-4 hours per week, longest session I've ever done is probably 3 hours! So, this is probably why I've not had issues. I keep my console in a well ventilated place and dust the air vents periodically to prevent clogging!

As far as the console experience goes I can't fault it! Loads of great games and Xbox Live is brilliant. Just got Sky TV on it the other day, amazing! The graphics are several leagues above that of the Wii and when played via HDMI with a HD TV the experience is taken to another level.

If I had one criticism it would be that the console itself is SO NOISEY!!! This is due to the number of fans needed to prevent ROD, there are several in the console itself and even one in the power adapter. This means that using it as a DVD player can get anoying! One way round this is to upload your games to the hard drive and play them from there, that way the DVD drive doesn't need to spool up and the fans are a little quieter. With the Elite and 250GB hard disk there's pleanty of space for games, music and whatever else you want.........


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## Odo (Mar 22, 2009)

My two sons both have an Xbox 360, one about 4 years old, one 12 months ( the consoles age not the kids!). My eldests has had the RROD twice now, first time about 2 years ago and a faulty power supply. The first RROD was fixed by Microsoft at their expense as was the power supply, very quick service with no hassle, the new power supply was sent out as soon as they received the old one to confirm it was faulty. This time however the fault is outside the extended warranty and will be Â£80 to repair so he's buying a new one.

My youngests is working perfectly and to my ears seems a lot quieter as well, so I'm assuming some of the overheating problems have been sorted.

One thing they both say about the Xbox is the online side of things is better than the PS3, I have no idea but that seems to be the clincher for them, my eldest consdered a PS3 but decided against it for this reason. Not sure if you are much of a CO-OP gamer but may be worth thinking about.


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## mulliner86 (Jan 12, 2010)

PS3 everytime for the simple reason microsoft want you to pay through the nose just to look at the 360 i.e if you want wifi buy the adapter, if you want bluetooth buy the adapter, if you want to watch blu-ray guess what? buy the adapter etc, etc.

whereas the ps3 comes with everything on-board and no subscription to play online. IMHO a much better value machine


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## Who. Me? (Jan 12, 2007)

mulliner86 said:


> PS3 everytime for the simple reason microsoft want you to pay through the nose just to look at the 360 i.e if you want wifi buy the adapter, if you want bluetooth buy the adapter, if you want to watch blu-ray guess what? buy the adapter etc, etc.
> 
> whereas the ps3 comes with everything on-board and no subscription to play online. IMHO a much better value machine


I bought a PS3 for the above reasons too. Even better value if you can get one of the first generation 80GB ones 2nd hand from ebay.

For once, Sony have made a product that does what you want it to do without having to faff around.


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

I like the wii, I don't do gore


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## unlcky alf (Nov 19, 2006)

Thanks for the replies guys, sounds like I'll be ordering an Xbox :thumbup:

The reliability was a big concern for me as I'll be buying from the UK (much cheaper), so it's great to hear that a home fix is available for the "red rings of death", as I'm not sure if importing one will cause problems with the warranty.

One of the big attractions with the xbox is the ability to stream media from the PC to my television, a facility which the PS3 doesn't seem to offer. I'm glad to hear that the HDMI works well, I'll finally be able to justify buying that enormous HDTV.

I'll probably have a go at the online gaming , until I get tired of getting the c**p kicked out of me by a bunch of 10 year olds, I play like a girl h34r: A situation which will only get worse with all the extra buttons the other consoles seem to have, the wii controls are great, it's just a shame that the games seem so much more limited.

JoT, I was in the same boat as you until Christmas, I hadn't played a game at all since I had Missile Command on an Atari console in the early 80's. The wii was an impulse buy when I was in the local supermarket, I should probably have gone away and done some research first, but I'm famous for repenting at leisure :duh:


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## Who. Me? (Jan 12, 2007)

unlcky alf said:


> One of the big attractions with the xbox is the ability to stream media from the PC to my television, a facility which the PS3 doesn't seem to offer. I'm glad to hear that the HDMI works well, I'll finally be able to justify buying that enormous HDTV.


At the risk of sounding like a fanboy (which I'm definitely not); the PS3 does that.

You just turn on Media Sharing in Windows Media Centre (or equivalent) on the PC, select 'Unknown Device' (which will be the PS3) and then click Search for Media Devices on the PS3.

HD movies can only stream freely over a LAN cable as WiFi speeds aren't fast enough yet (but the XBox will be the same for that).

I find that everything else streams fine over WiFi.


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## HappyLad (Oct 28, 2009)

We've had 360's for a few years now. We now have 2, an Elite in the lounge and the older machine in my sons bedroom.

Not had any problems with teh Elite, but the original early machine is on its 4th replacement. Faults have been failed DVD drives and RROD. The last time it went back it was simply swapped out for a new build machine, so not expecting any further trouble with it tbh.

Each time it has failed, its been a bit of a faff to sort out collection and delivery of the console, but all was done under warranty and never cost me anything.

Xbox live is great for online gaming - but its Â£40 a year for the subscription, so you need to factor that into the cost.

Xbox vs PS3??

Not sure... I think the PS3 is a better engineered console, better made and the Blue Ray disc is an advantage.

But... the 360 just seems a better gaming experience - and you don't get the Halo games on the PS3....


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## Technium (Feb 9, 2010)

Ive got an xbox 360 which has been modded a fair bit and ive never had any problems with it and mines one of the earlier models.

There was a concern about the rrod problem but I think that was for the very early systems and this (I believe) has since been fixed with the new systems out in the shops now. Another common fault was the disk tray leaving a scratch mark around the entire game disc but again this has been resolved.

Ebay have systems fairly cheap but with that you dont know exactly what your getting and at least with a shop brought one you can take it back if you have issues.


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## minkle (Mar 17, 2008)

Get an xbox, i had to send mine away last year but they fixed it fairly quickly for free.

They organise pick up and tell you not to write on the box what it is..but the guy knew straight away.. :lol:

Get your subscription from Play or Ebay


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## Tom Radford (Apr 28, 2009)

Xbox all the way. I have a Wii too, and its pretty much sat there unused since 2 or 3 Xmas's ago.

I had the RROD once, and I fixed it myself with the kit off Ebay. Worked fine ever since.

I got my years subsciption for about Â£20 off some website I found, so a lot cheaper than Play or Amazon or MS.


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## unlcky alf (Nov 19, 2006)

Thanks for all the advice guys, I had no idea there were so many gamers amongst us B)

I took the plunge this afternoon, and ordered an Xbox 360 Elite 120GB from Amazon, as they are doing a bundle with Bioshock 2 and Dante's Inferno for just over Â£200. It was a close run thing between the xbox and the PS3, and if wireless had been an issue the PS3 would probably have won, but fortunately the console will only be afew feet from the router. When I upgrade my router to 802.11n I'll think about an adapter.

Thanks for the tips on the Live subscriptions, I'll give the free trial a go and see how I like it, I suspect getting slaughtered all the time may get a little tedious.

The postie is going to think I'm stalking her for the next few days.


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## Technium (Feb 9, 2010)

Thats great mate, youre going to love it!

Check out your local gamestation for games there as cheap as chips for preowned games. Not worth paying Â£30 for a new game when you can get it a few weeks later pre owned.


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## sparrow (Feb 7, 2009)

i agree that an xbox or PS3 is much better suited to someone who properly enjoys their games - I still hold (despite how much fun pratting around with a remote might be) that you need a proper controller to play a decent in depth game...

I've not had an xbox, I'm afraid I'm a faithful sony follower, but with how competitive the markets are, i doubt there is a huge deal of difference in the games quality.

Red eye of doom is pretty much sorted i believe on the newer xboxes (but all electronics can break, whichever brand - only takes some dodgy solder). I cant personally get used to the xbox controller, but then i have only used nintendo and sony since year dot.


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## sparrow (Feb 7, 2009)

unlcky alf said:


> It was a close run thing between the xbox and the PS3, and if wireless had been an issue the PS3 would probably have won, but fortunately the console will only be afew feet from the router. When I upgrade my router to 802.11n I'll think about an adapter.


if its only a few feet away, you're as well to run a network cable from router to xbox, loads better in the long run than WIFI.


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## msq (Feb 18, 2010)

Not that I'm suggesting it, but X-box can be played "illegitimately," if you can get my drift...


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## jaslfc5 (Jan 2, 2007)

i have both an xbox and a ps3 and as much as i hate to say it (ive been a loyal sega/sony gamer all my gaming life)the xbox blows the ps3 away for gaming.

the price you pay for the slick online multiplaying experience of the xbox is well worth it i reckon and even though the ps3 is free it is underpopulated and not as good.

but beware with the xbox do not get it chipped or modded and dont use any second party storage devices you will get banned very swiftly indeed.

the ps3 is superb in so many areas ,i have the 250gb version and have it set up for media really lots of films on there and music.i am looking forward to getting grand tourismo when it eventually launches on the ps3 but until then im just about to get to season 6 on forza 3 on the xbox i have some superb cars on there what a game that is.

my gamertag on xbox is the same as it is on the forum send me an invite i dont play as much these days but i buzz in and out so see you on there.

nintendo wii;s are good for kids but no real good games on it apart from party/excersise games. ive never owned a nintendo console before the wii and it only lasted a week before i sold it,il stick with my beloved saturn and dreamcast over all the new consoles though, they were games in those days.


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## stevieb (Feb 12, 2010)

Just to add to the mix both my son's[18 and 20 yrs) swear by the gaming experiance provided by Xbox live. Their consoles have been sent back 2 or 3 times each, to the point they bought an elite between them so they have a spare. Sending the units back for repair has been made so simple [uPS provide a door to door service with a 10 day turn around]. IMHO Microsoft has been honourable in extending the warranty to 3 years because they both play Call of Duty modern warfare continually [generally 4/5 hours every day at times 12 hours plus] you could concider after that amount of time the units being worn out. Its like doing 50 thousand miles in the first year on a new car. Overall though its testament to the quality of the online gameplay. They've also got a Wii [collecting dust] and ps3.

Steve


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## Stuart Davies (Jan 13, 2008)

I can't advise you either way because I am a grown man who no longer plays with such childish things...so I just wanted to say 'hi' Simon! 

PS - Get a SNES - from the days when games were 'proper' proper games! :bag:


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