About the 360 hardware failures..
 

Hi everybody! I've been gone for some 5 or 6 months, I was trying to stay away from the internet but couldn't manage it, lol :) I'm pretty sure nobody even realized I was gone, but here I am, now you know I'm back :)

Anyway, here's something that's been really bothering me.. I'm planning to go to England in about a month, and I was thinking about buying a 360 Elite (with PES2008, Bioshock and Halo 3 - rate the games as well :p). But I'm hearing everywhere that these things have that hardware problem. I'm going to be bringing it back to Turkey of course, no warranty, no service even - Microsoft Turkey still haven't started selling 360's here, they say March 2008 or something.

What I'm asking is, how common is this hardware failure? Has anybody here had it, what did they do? What can I do to prevent it? And the most important of all, does this still happen with the Elite model - one of the reasons I want this is because it's a newer model and that the problem might have been fixed..

Oh, and what exactly are these, and what are they doing on our forums?!

Re: About the 360 hardware failures..
 

The 3 red lights is the most common and worst of the problems that the 360 has and indicates the components overheating. I personally haven't experienced it with my system, but my friend went through 3 systems and each had the problem within the span of 6 months (each purchased new) before he eventually got a PS3 early this summer.

The Elite has had some problems, but my understanding is that the first batch was released based on the old manufacturing method. My understanding is that all 360's since this past Fall are based on the new 65nm chipset and generally run cooler and are less prone to the problem.

But that's all I know.

Re: About the 360 hardware failures..
 

That sounds good, the new batch being more stable. I'll be getting it in mid/late December, I just hope it's a new one..

And because it's a problem about overheating, I guess not playing it excessively would be a step towards prevention..

Edit: I also have some other things on my mind, I hope nobody minds me asking..
1. If I get a Live account, can I have more than 1 user name and gamer card and stuff? I'll be using it with my brother, and it would be nice if we could have two separate users, kinda like WoW's multiple-characters-under-same-account system.
2. I heard that sometimes games just freeze while playing. What is the cause of this, and does it happen often? Is it a serious problem, or does resetting solve the problem?

Wow, I see that I'm actually scared about buying this :) Thanks for the help people..

Re: About the 360 hardware failures..
 

I will say the hardware issues are real.
I had my 360 replaced. My brother has. My cousin has. A few of my friends.
However, I have been hearing the new models are a lot less prone to such things but I couldn't tell you personally.

I will say the system is worth it and maybe you can get a friend in UK so they can return it for you if anything goes wrong.

And if you do get it working don't forget to post gamertag so we can all play together. haha

Re: About the 360 hardware failures..
 

I guess I was one of the lucky ones. I bought my 360 last November and never experienced any problems with it.

Re: About the 360 hardware failures..
 

Probably from as far as I could tell you are never on it. :p

Re: About the 360 hardware failures..
 

I bought one of the new holiday bundles, which I assume runs on the new, cooler chip...
Granted I've only had it for a month, I haven't had a single problem of any kind so far, and I haven't found a single spot on the outside of the console that remotely approaches anything that could be considered "hot" to the touch, even after an 8 hour gaming session one weekend...

My Wii runs hotter than my 360... Unless there's some sort of crazy business going on inside the thing...

Re: About the 360 hardware failures..
 

It comes from a poor clamp used for the heatsink causing the motherboard to flex. Is it real? Of course. Will you replace your console 11 times? No.

I have a launch 360 and I just had it happen in late August. It goes away for a month, then comes back. No biggie, just have a spare sitting around :D

Re: About the 360 hardware failures..
 

I did some research on this since I want to get a 360 eventually. I remember reading a thread on a forum about how to tell if you have the new 65nm chipset or not. Not sure if I can find the link again...

I finds it. Here.

Basically, there are some 360's with the new 65nm chipset out there. However, only the CPU is 65nm on these new 360's, not the graphics chip which actually seems to run the hotter of the two chips. So the biggest part of the problem won't be fixed until the gpu goes to 65nm sometime in mid 2008.

Best advice, if you purchase one now, don't use it vertically even though it says you can. Doing so blocks the largest vent on the 360 and airflow is key to longevity. Also, make sure that wherever you place you 360, there is plenty of room around it to keep the air flowing.

As for your other questions,

1. You are only allowed one username per live account. However, additional people can play online with you as guests in most games. You could use any profile with you live account on Halo 2, but on Halo 3, it seems you are only allowed one profile these days. If anybody knows differently, I'd like to know too.

2. I've had games freeze on me once in a while while playing my roommate's 360. It's a rare occurrence and a simple power cycle fixes the problem. Not sure what causes it.

Re: About the 360 hardware failures..
 

Didn't even see his other question.

Er on the first one, I believe your console can have a bunch of gamertags. So as long as you aren't going online it will be fine. Once you start going online though as Jeepnut said you have to pay per account.
Sometimes signing in as a guest can be a pain in the arse. Especially in Gears.

Re: About the 360 hardware failures..
 

How much would it cost to send it to a friend in the UK, who can then get you a new one?

Re: About the 360 hardware failures..
 

My friends used to do this a lot.
He got the intercooler/fan/whateverit'scalled for it, and it stopped for a while.

Most of the time, we realized it has to do with the positioning of the system itself, and how close it is to other things. Like if it's in a cramped little cubby-hole, it's more likely to overheat because the heat cant escape too far, so it will just pile up (more or less). If it's standing up, it's more likely to overheat than when it's sitting flat. We stuck his on the floor with nothing around it, and it hasnt overheated for about 5 or 6 months - and prior it used to overheat nearly every day.

I don't know, though.

Re: About the 360 hardware failures..
 

From what I've read the best plan is to not stand the system upright, as doing so blocks one of the larger vents on the console. Since buying mine I've kept the 360 in a large shelf with plenty of space and on its side. Haven't had a problem as yet.

Re: About the 360 hardware failures..
 

I'm thinking about that. My cousin lives there, and she comes to Turkey quite a few times every year. And when she doesn't, her brother visits her frequently, so I may even be able to send it with them.

Although if something like this does happen, it'll be gone for at least 3-4 months - I don't know if I can live that long without games :D Oh well, I'll finish up RE4 and Mario Galaxy if it does. I just hope it doesn't..

The 360 looks to be too good a console to miss out on, and it just seems it's worth the risk. And thanks a lot on the tip to prevent it - I'll be playing it outside.. :)

And thanks for answering my other questions. Sucks that I can't have more than one online user name..Oh well..

Re: About the 360 hardware failures..
 

Playing it outside? :D In the full Turkish sun?

And I was wondering, does Nintendo sell in Turkey? Or did you get your Wii somewhere else as well?