Is it okay to leave the Xbox 360 on?

[GameMaster]

I thought I read somewhere that you can leave your 360 on even when you're not using it. Technically, you can do this with any system, I was just wondering though.

[Typhoid]

I'd say no.
Me and my friend were talking about this the other day because he just bought one.


Apparently the 360 sets itself on fire when it overheats.

So we started talking about the downsides of various systems:

Wii: "Arms get tired. Not many games that use the dealy good."
Playstation 3: "The price."
360: "Sets your house on fire."

[Dyne]

Well unless you have a cooling unit, then no. As a matter of fact, I don't see why you would leave ANY console on.

[Null]

it can over heat. which just means it'll fry itself... unlikely to start any fires.

but from what I've read, you do NOT want one of those cooling unit things for it.. they make matters worse. something about a fan being on top of a fan, doesn't circulate air very well. it should be fine if you use it like normal.

I've left the thing on for 5 or 6 hours while I've been out. or i set it to download a few things and leave it on during the night while i slept (because their servers were downloading really slow at the time)

its actually more likely to over heat while its doing a lot like playing a game rather then overheating while just idling there. but honestly if its doing NOTHING there really isnt any reason to leave it on.

[thatmariolover]

Originally Posted by Null

it can over heat. which just means it'll fry itself... unlikely to start any fires.

but from what I've read, you do NOT want one of those cooling unit things for it.. they make matters worse. something about a fan being on top of a fan, doesn't circulate air very well. it should be fine if you use it like normal.

I've left the thing on for 5 or 6 hours while I've been out. or i set it to download a few things and leave it on during the night while i slept (because their servers were downloading really slow at the time)

its actually more likely to over heat while its doing a lot like playing a game rather then overheating while just idling there. but honestly if its doing NOTHING there really isnt any reason to leave it on.

Which is odd. I've heard the same thing from random people but none of them can say why they don't approve of the device, or offer any concrete evidence to the negative side-effects.

Reviewers that have used it are all about the Intercooler from what I've seen.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/703/703791p1.html

[Null]

well, altho i cant remember the site i read it all on,(it was a link on another forum i think...i'll see if i can dig it up) the point was pretty solid.

putting fans overtop of existing fans (unless the fans are synced up together) will restrict airflow. the site stacked up a couple of PC case fans ontop of each other as an example of the idea. the xbox tries to push the warm air out, and instead of pushing it out smoothly, the fan overtop of that fan blocks some air causing it to be pushed back past the original fan. the 2nd fan can only suck air out as fast as it gets it from the original fan anyway.

i dont know if thats really happening with the 360and intercooler. but the idea has been proven in cases of stacking fans before for things like pc fans and such.

and yea the reviews arent bad for it, which has always made me wonder. i've never used the thing myself so i cant say anything from personal experience. but the fact that the question of it is being debated and actually commented on by the makers of the intercooler, is enough to make me not want anything to do with it right now.

[Neo]

I know you can leave the Wii on for at least 30 hours.

[Ric]

I would not leave it on myself. It gets so hot you could fry an egg on it.

Mine usually crashes and is subject to slowdown after 5 - 7 hours of playing Oblivion. Which pisses me off to no end if I havent saved in a while.