Xbox 360 replaced; keep or?

My son has had an Xbox 360. It was just replaced by MS. Red Ring of Death, again... He has an auxiliary cooler for it.

He is afraid of it failing a 3rd time, and wants to go see what Gamestop would give him as a trade-In. Even before sending it back for repair/replacement, he was so disappointed with it failing. In addition to two red rings, he had a power supply fail.

When it is working, it is a great game console. Graphics are awesome. He has about 10 games(mostly Halo, Call of Duty).

I do not want him to trade it in; he has traded games before and I thought it was worth than trading a used car in. If he sells it, I think he would do better on Craigslist or Ebay.

He got a used Playstation-2 and a few games for cheap. He used that a little while his Xbox was broken. I thought the Xbox 360 was a nicer platform, albeit the Xbox-360 should be compared to a Playstation-3.

I think he should just keep the Xbox-360. I am a little hesitant myself though; Microsoft has replaced the consoles but they have had continuing issues. How would we know if the latest version is finally up to snuff?

What to do, what to do?

Any thoughts from the FF gaming folks?

Did they replace it with a new version of the hardware, repair your existing console, or give you a refurb that could be the same or even older hardware?

The 360 has a known problem with the mounting plate for the motherboard. The plate has a slight bend in it. When the MOBO is attached to the plate with too much torque on the screws, it flexes the MOBO right where the GPU (graphics chip) is located. This causes the GPU to eventually lose contact with the MOBO (solder connections break) and the unit fails. You get 3 flashing segments on the ring when this happens, and an error code of E08 or 0020 which is a general I/O error.

If you get a ring error, you can discern what it is with this look-up table.

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=484726

There are mods to fix the E08/0020 GPU flex issue if you are inclined to crack the case of your box. But, it’s not terribly easy to do.

If the hardware is newer on your replacement 360, then MS has already addressed this problem and you should be good to go.

You say he got "two red rings"? Do you mean 2 segments of the rings? That is an overheating issue.

Keep the unit in a well ventilated area. Don’t place it inside an entertainment center or on top of another heat generating device. The 360 gets HOT, and can easily overheat without good ventilation. Also, to save wear and tear, don't use it to play DVD movies....get a dedicated DVD player for that.

I say keep the box. Put it in a well ventilated area and see how it goes.

If you decide to get rid if it, NEVER trade to GameStop. They give you almost nothing for a trade, and then mark it up 400% to sell to the next guy. A real rip off. You’d be better off selling on eBay.

He said it had 3 red rings.

The replacement is "Certified Microsoft Replacement Xbox360 Console".

"Your "Certified Microsoft Replacement Xbox360 Console" has been completely inspected, and if required, upgraded to the latest firmware and technical improvements for durability and playability. Only after it has passed rigorous technician and computerized testing using the same test equipment and processes used in the Xbox factory, can it be called a "Certified Microsoft Xbox360 Console"".

I'm tech savvy; 21 years in high tech. Last couple working in Energy Star test labs on PC's, and in labs that do thermal design and test. I just have not messed with opening one of these up. It's my sons, and I am just not in to games myself.

He has an add on cooling unit for it. We have a regular DVD player.

It appears from the letter that they gave him a fresh warranty. And they gave him an Xbox Live card. I guess he can use that to extend the "Live" time he already has.

I lean towards keeping it too. But still question a refurb for reasons you note above.

It does amaze me what Microsot gets away with. They knew they had issues with the Xbox. All the Windows issues over the years. Most other companies would be long out of business.

I question this.

"Your Certified Microsoft Replacement Xbox360 Console" has been completely inspected, and if required, upgraded to the latest firmware and technical improvements for durability and playability.

Click to expand...

Sounds like an older refurb unit. But, if they DID add the “technical improvements”, then they will have replaced the GPU clamp with a comparable X-Clamp mod which will solve the E08 I/O failure.

Hopefully anyway.

As for a flash update for firmware, you can do that yourself at any time, so nothing great there.

With so many cross platform games, I’ve come to like the 360 better than the PS3, and I’m a Sony fanboy from way back. Not many exclusives these days, and if you have a new warranty, I say hold onto that 360, keep it in free-air for ventilation, and game on!

Have to find some games I can play for it. Do they make "Pong" for Xbox

Keltin said:

With so many cross platform games, I’ve come to like the 360 better than the PS3, and I’m a Sony fanboy from way back. Not many exclusives these days, and if you have a new warranty, I say hold onto that 360, keep it in free-air for ventilation, and game on!

Click to expand...

Actually, if you MOD your 360, you can download an emulator and burn a compilation disc with several ROMs....including PONG. I modded my PS2 with the Infinity chip and have 10 or 12 compilation discs running ROMs from Atari to NES to SNES and more. It's a trip to see those old games gome back to life on the PS2. Nothing like a little Donkey Kong Country of FF3 on the big screen! :lol: