360 Elite now 299.99!

[Da_Shocker]

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/compare101.htm

Now all we have to do is see if Nintendo FINALLY decides to drop the price of the Wii.

[gamevet]

I can't help it, but when I see that price I think back to Sony's Playstation announcement at E3 in 1995......$299!

[TheEdge]

Wow........Does it come with a dozen empty repair boxes just in case it craps out in the first half an hour of playing it?

[Genesis Knight]

With the new Jasper chipset, RRoD should be a thing of the past, correct?

Just a note, though, the 'new' Elite comes with COMPOSITE AV cables only, not component.

[j_factor]

With the new Jasper chipset, RRoD should be a thing of the past, correct?

No. The newer chipset runs a bit cooler, so they may RRoD a little less. But Microsoft has done nothing to address the underlying hardware problems.

[runback22]

What a turn of events.....The 360 is now the overpriced console. (minus the craptastic Wii which is a toy). They are charging the same price for a console that has no wifi, no blu ray, and is very unreliable to say the least.

I think this is Sony's chance to shine and MS better not be feeling to arrogant. Besides having turned off alot of their userbase (like me) due to multiple RRODs, they no longer have the price factor to rely on.....Should get interesting.

[FoxHound]

With the new Jasper chipset, RRoD should be a thing of the past, correct?

Just a note, though, the 'new' Elite comes with COMPOSITE AV cables only, not component.
My Elite came with a single cable with both AV and component. Your choice of what you use. and also HDMI

[Genesis Knight]

As far as I know the new 299 Elite no longer has component.

[FoxHound]

Looking at the site.You get still the AV/Component combo still, but they did away of including HDMI now....thats how they are saving money and can lower cost of system

HDMI line

CABLE SOLD
SEPARATELY

[Genesis Knight]

They say you get 'Standard AV', which means composite not component. I'm going off several sources.

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2009/08/27/xbox-360-elite-no-longer-includes-hd-cables/
http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/698764/Xbox-360-Elite-Bundles-No-Longer-Include-HDMI-CableOr-Component-Cables.html

[kool kitty89]

No. The newer chipset runs a bit cooler, so they may RRoD a little less. But Microsoft has done nothing to address the underlying hardware problems.

Why the hell didn't they revise the hardware with the configuration used for MS repaired units? (added heat pipe to GPU) I think they're still using the crappy brackets/clamps, but those shouldn't be problematic so long as the chips dodn't get hot enough to melt the solder.

Or have they done this and are you referring to a different RRoD? (ie DVD drive related)


On that note, somehting happened resently that made me wonder about the whole overheating problem. (I don't own a 360 so I havn't had a whole lot of personal experience)
So anyway, I had a freind bring over his 360 (a launch model or close to it a bit beat up as well), and we had it set up in our sun room with a spare monitor. It was ~85 *F in there at the time, and of course, his 360 being an old model was running hot. (we'd also put it next to the fan we had going in there to help with air flow)
So we played for a while and then it got a 2 bar red ring error and shut off, we reset it (after moving it onto a tray for more ventilation and turnign up the fan we had going) and it did the same thing a bit later. We figured it must have been overheating and shutting off to prevent damage (and looking it up later on discoverd the 2-light RR meaning just that), so we moved it inside and the problem stopped.

So my question is: why do so many systems overheat to the point of melting the solder and having the GPU come disconnected when the systems automatically shut off when they overheat?

[gamevet]

Probably because the inside of the case has to hit a certain temperature, before the system shuts down. The GPU could be overheating long before that happens and that's what the heat-pipe is supposed to prevent.

[kool kitty89]

So do newer units have the heat pipe standard or not?

[gamevet]

The heat-pipe has been standard since late 2007. I'd bought my Elite in November of 2007 and it had the pipe. It still RROD, but that was the power supply and the DVD drive that failed, and I now have a model from July of 2007.

[Knuckle Duster]

"Lazy Hardware Design Shortcuts" + "RoHS Compliance" = "FAILBOX 360"


Lets not blame Microsoft though, that would be too easy, lets blame the European Union for meddling with technology standards. ;)

[kool kitty89]

The heat-pipe has been standard since late 2007. I'd bought my Elite in November of 2007 and it had the pipe. It still RROD, but that was the power supply and the DVD drive that failed, and I now have a model from July of 2007.

Were you running it vertically? I've heard, or rather read assertions that the drives used (or at least some) weren't meant for vertical use and doing so can contribut to failure. (whether this is true or not I don't know)

[gamegenie]

I have had my Xbox 360 arcade since 2008. My first 360 was the original "Zypher chipped" Core 360 that I purchased on black Friday back in 2006 and I used my 2 warranty to swap it with the new Arcade model when Microsoft started releasing the 360s with the "Falcon chips" to correct the mass RROD problem. My Arcade has been working fine since purchase. I also keep my system running 24/7, I figure there's no need to power it off and on like it's some cartridge based system when since the NXE update last year the 360 now has features on LIVE that you can interact with the device away from home over the internet. RROD is less of an issue today than it was with the launch models.

Also remember Elites were released before MS started manufacturing the Falcon chips, it's possible that some of those older Elites that were RROD if they had old hardware.

The new issue is the E74 error that some Xbox 360 "Falcon chips" are reportedly getting, my Arcade never got this error, but my brother-in-law's Pro 360 gets it. Got it fixed by Microsoft twice for FREE now.

The Jasper chips are the 3rd chip rendition that is being used in the 360, my take is that these chips should output even less heat and be even better than the last.



MS took out the HDMI cable because the cable is no longer expensive. Go to Sears.com, Target.com, or Best Buy you can find the 3 foot cable for $7.99. Go to ebay you'll probably find it for like a $1. Also all 360 models have HDMI ports.

MS needs to address that $99.99 wifi adapter peripheral, it should have been bundled with the 360s.

[Knuckle Duster]

I know I'm not alone in the world when I say "I will never buy another microsoft hardware product."

Cheap and easy to fail Xbox disc drives were bad enough, and was my main fear with the 360 at it's launch, luckily microsoft have completely outdid themselves in failure with the absolutely ridiculous 360. Destroying their credibility as they bleed money everywhere.

I love both consoles for numerous reasons, but I'm not willing to 'extremely compromise' and support their brand, as it lowers customer standards across the industry.

[Genesis Knight]

MS took out the HDMI cable because the cable is no longer expensive. Go to Sears.com, Target.com, or Best Buy you can find the 3 foot cable for $7.99. Go to ebay you'll probably find it for like a $1. Also all 360 models have HDMI ports.

For me, though, it's disastrous that they took out component since that's the best my TV supports and the cable is 39.99.

[gamegenie]

For me, though, it's disastrous that they took out component since that's the best my TV supports and the cable is 39.99.

get a used one from Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Component-HD-AV-Cable/dp/B000B6MLPU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1251464443&sr=8-1) it's like $1 dollar used. I use to have component but gave it away to a friend who bought an arcade and needed one.

[runback22]

The heat-pipe has been standard since late 2007. I'd bought my Elite in November of 2007 and it had the pipe. It still RROD, but that was the power supply and the DVD drive that failed, and I now have a model from July of 2007.

I have a Falcon chipset that I bought in May 2008. It died in July 2009. Thats pretty much standard. My launch console has died every year. This 2nd one I have, the Falcon, is keeping with that schedule.

Its really turned me off to the Xbox. It used to be my main console to play on. The ratio of playtime between my 360 and PS3 used to be 95% to 5%.......After this last RR, its reversed. I dont even want to touch my 360 because I'm so disgusted with it....

What really gets me is people who get the RROD, are out of warranty, and run out and buy a new 360. That arcade 360 was MS way of reselling xboxes. Hell, you already have a HD, all you need is the unit. Hell no. My launch 360 is a couple of months away from being out of warranty. I figure I have about a year left before it breaks again. At that time, its going in the trash. I refuse to reward MS for making a shoddy console by purchasing another.

[acdc]

i m the only one here that hasn t had the ring of death
i bought that system second handed for the 3d shooters i have it almost 2 and a half years but never did it failed me
or is it that some other user play 24 houers behind a machine instead of a hour or half a houer

[Devil N]

i m the only one here that hasn t had the ring of death
i bought that system second handed for the 3d shooters i have it almost 2 and a half years but never did it failed me
or is it that some other user play 24 houers behind a machine instead of a hour or half a houer
No, you're not the only one. I've had my Xbox 360 for three and a half years now, and it still hasn't failed me in any way. If you were to believe some of the stories here, it should have blown up in my face and bitten my legs off 10 times over by now, but it hasn't.

[NeoVamp]

i m the only one here that hasn t had the ring of death
i bought that system second handed for the 3d shooters i have it almost 2 and a half years but never did it failed me
or is it that some other user play 24 houers behind a machine instead of a hour or half a houer


Well thats because you are older, back when we were young we'd play games for hoooooours at a time,
but now.. fuck i play like an hour at most.

that and you probably have your 360 placed somewhere where it can vent its hot air better.

(a lot of people have their 360 in a closed cabinet where the hot air can not escape from)


I really would like a 360, but i refuse to pay for hardware that dies so easily.

[Genesis Knight]

Wow, thanks for that Amazon link, gamegenie.

[runback22]

i m the only one here that hasn t had the ring of death
i bought that system second handed for the 3d shooters i have it almost 2 and a half years but never did it failed me
or is it that some other user play 24 houers behind a machine instead of a hour or half a houer

I wish I had that much time to play. My first RROD was immediately after a system update. I hadnt touched the 360 in a week. Turned it on, downloaded the update, popped a game in, immediate RROD. The other 4 times, they also happened immediately after turning the system on.

My longest gaming sessions are about 3 hours late friday and saturday nights, if even that. Daily, I get around 30 minutes of playtime, if i'm lucky.

My gaming systems are all very well taken care of and very well ventilated. My 360 and ps3 have external fans blowing cool air into them and the room I play in stays ice cold.

They system is just shoddy. If you havent experienced RROD, consider yourself damn lucky. Every single person I know, with a 360, has had RROD with the exception of 1 person who doesnt play games and is not connected to live. He bought it used from a pawn shop and uses it for HD DVD movies.....

[Joe Redifer]

Also all 360 models have HDMI ports

Mine doesn't.


I bought my HDMI cables from Amazon for 1 cent each. Truth! All the more reason for MS to include them.

[gamevet]

No, you're not the only one. I've had my Xbox 360 for three and a half years now, and it still hasn't failed me in any way. If you were to believe some of the stories here, it should have blown up in my face and bitten my legs off 10 times over by now, but it hasn't.

My 360 didn't fail because of the X-Clamp pulling from the board. The system sat in an open air shelf with breathing room of at least 6 inches on the sides. I didn't set it up vertical either, yet the DVD drive started having issues reading discs (no matter how many times I cleaned it) and it eventually led to the $90 power supply failing. Lucky for me, MS replaced the power supply, but I had to pay to ship it off.

[kool kitty89]

They system is just shoddy. If you havent experienced RROD, consider yourself damn lucky. Every single person I know, with a 360, has had RROD with the exception of 1 person who doesnt play games and is not connected to live. He bought it used from a pawn shop and uses it for HD DVD movies.....

I think some select machine just happen to be made better, my freinds is an older model (2006 or prior, maybe a launch model) and it's not that well taken care of, skuffed and a bit beaten up and has been played for extened periods in hot conditions. (not in a cabnet, but it's either in a rack or on the floor) I has Red Ringed, but not the failure kind, just the overheated kind (2 lights). Knock on wood. ;)

And HDDVDs? Doesn't the 360 need an add-on drive for that? (it only has a standard DVD drive onboard)


Mine doesn't.


I bought my HDMI cables from Amazon for 1 cent each. Truth! All the more reason for MS to include them.

yeah, same for my freinds, I don't think the early models had them. (just USB ethernet and multi AV port)
His came with the combo composite+component av cables so that's fine anyway. (they don't have anything HDMI compatible in any case)

[gamegenie]

Mine doesn't.


I bought my HDMI cables from Amazon for 1 cent each. Truth! All the more reason for MS to include them.

I was referring to current sold models. If you bought the 1st generation 360s 2005-2006, your highest output is component/vga.

[Joe Redifer]

I was referring to current sold models.
Then you should be careful how you word things or they will bite you in the ass.