XBox 360 Price Cut - $279 to $199

kuntasensei

Unfortunately, the DVD drive in the 360 is placed directly above the GPU heatsink, in a very narrow space. Despite the ducting they use to pull air across the GPU heatsink, the DVD drive does get exposed to extra heat. This is especially true of launch-era units that didn't have the GPU heatpipe that Microsoft later added to fix RRoD issues (which is actually offset from the GPU's heatsink so that the heat is expelled to the side of the DVD drive). As anyone who deals with computers/electronics can tell you, heat kills.

Regardless of "inadequate ventilation", the first wave of 360s without the GPU heatpipe are all destined to fail. Microsoft simply didn't provide enough space in their form factor to properly cool the GPU. This is why you saw people get the RRoD from some newer games (the OMG, GEARS OF WAR KILLED MY 360 posts, etc.), since developers began to use more of the GPU functions, thus increasing the heat produced. If you've seen the innards of a 360, it's pretty obvious that they didn't completely think the cooling through as far as the GPU is concerned.

jchas41

mmadden28 wrote: »

If the problem occured after 20 hours of use, why didn't he take care of it during the warranty period? IIRC, they extended the original 90 day warranty period no matter what the cause to a full year, and coverage for the the RRoD to 3 years. I also bought the extended warranty. so I'm covered fully for 2 years and like I said I bought mine Feb, just a few months after release.

I haven't heard of a rash of Drive failures, mainly just the RRoD, but either way it is a piece of electronic equipment, a computer actually, and as such is prone to failure. The drive more so since it has moving parts. I would even venture to say that a lot of the RRoD issues were likely heat related, and that many probably had them in less than ideal places with inadequate ventilation-but they'll never admit it. .

I'm the one who experienced the failed drive after 20 hours. I got this unit brand new in April 07, I played some guitar hero for a few weeks and then my 360 collected dust until recently when I picked up Madden 09. During this time from April 07 - now, I used it maybe once every few months for some guitar hero with friends. So I couldn't use the warranty because I simply wasn't playing it. The problem started when I began playing Madden 09. My first 360 that I got on launch day, lasted until April 07. That unit probably saw 50 hours of gameplay (I mostly play WoW on my computer, when my wife lets me ). I fell victim to the RROD. Anyways, yes all equipment is prone to failure. In this case, I think its ridiculous though. Here is a link to an interesting read, this is my feeling...
http://venturebeat.com/2008/09/05/xbox-360-defects-an-inside-history-of-microsofts-video-game-console-woes/

djlogix

$199, $299, $399.

It's low enough where you can see just who will jump in, while not killing your profit. Microsoft is making money on every console sold and considering that 70% of the consoles sold last generation, were at a halfway point 2-3 years into the cycle at $199.99 and below - this is a good move.

It also gives them space to move around their structure. If the $399 PS3 comes down, they can easily follow suit on their Elite package $20-50. This is of course completely based off of a "what it costs to make a 360 / what it costs to sell a 360 / what you make".

The middle tier system has always been branded Pro / Premium. Always. From Microsoft themselves. Just an FYI.

kuntasensei

I don't think Microsoft branded it that way - retailers did. There's nary a "Pro" or "Premium" to be found on any packaging since launch. The Pro/Premium nomenclature was used by retailers to differentiate it from the Core package (which has since been replaced by the Arcade) when the system launched and continued on to differentiate it from the Elite. Microsoft still brands the middle tier system simply as "Xbox 360" and the only time they used the word "Premium" was to describe the "premium chrome finish" that differentiates the 360 from the 360 Core/Arcade. Gamestop and Amazon were primarily the ones who started using "Premium" and "Pro" with their launch bundles and it stuck.

They didn't brand them that way at launch.
They don't to this day.

Not that any of that matters, really. Call 'em what you want.

djlogix

"Go Pro"


The internal SKU at Microsoft's store is also under Premium and has been since launch. I purchased both of mine from the company store. Not that it matters, "just sayin' ".

kuntasensei

That particular bundle has Go Pro on it because that was their marketing push at the time. It's still not branded as Xbox 360 Pro, whereas the Xbox 360 Elite and Xbox 360 Arcade are both branded that way on the box art. And a SKU denotation still doesn't mean the system is branded that way.

Wait... how the hell did we even start this nonsense again? I've totally forgotten!

avelanchefan

jchas41 wrote: »

I'm the one who experienced the failed drive after 20 hours. I got this unit brand new in April 07, I played some guitar hero for a few weeks and then my 360 collected dust until recently when I picked up Madden 09. During this time from April 07 - now, I used it maybe once every few months for some guitar hero with friends. So I couldn't use the warranty because I simply wasn't playing it. The problem started when I began playing Madden 09. My first 360 that I got on launch day, lasted until April 07. That unit probably saw 50 hours of gameplay (I mostly play WoW on my computer, when my wife lets me ). I fell victim to the RROD. Anyways, yes all equipment is prone to failure. In this case, I think its ridiculous though. Here is a link to an interesting read, this is my feeling...
http://venturebeat.com/2008/09/05/xbox-360-defects-an-inside-history-of-microsofts-video-game-console-woes/

I have a Samsung drive sitting in a old dead 360, it's fairly easy to replace, you just need to "know" what to do.

Is the drive totally dead? Does it spin up? Does it open and close? If you have power to it, I could probably fix it for you. I just need to know what kind of drive it is.

http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/Xbox_360_DVD_Drive_Comparison.htm