Xbox 360 is an unreliable piece of shit

[Umon Daisuke]

Still a bit off topic, I noticed that the Hong Kong store doesn't get updated nearly as much. The Japanese store on the other hand gets 3-4 PS1 game on a weekly basis.

Too bad, since the HK store actually accepts any international credit card, whereas I'm stuck buying PSN cards off eBay for the JPN store. Couldn't resist getting some of the titles, like MGS, RE2 etc. Actually, RE3 is the only one missing from the PS1 trilogy and it's only a matter of time I suppose.

[Scream]

I haven't checked out the Wii's. It must be quite decent, a lot of great SNES games out there. The PS3 retro collection is good but extremely limited, for example Xenogears (woohoo) in Japanese only (boo).

[Umon Daisuke]

The elite looks good yeah. I decided to get a 360 because I keep seeing news articles about games on XBLA (Duke Nukem, SWOS etc).. Can't believe I turned into a retro gamer lol.

Don't blame you. Gaming overall isn't as fun as it used to be. Problem is, if you have a varied taste, all 3 consoles have different retro type of retro collections, with the Wii leading the pack.

[Corrin]

The elite looks good yeah. I decided to get a 360 because I keep seeing news articles about games on XBLA (Duke Nukem, SWOS etc).. Can't believe I turned into a retro gamer lol.

I'd wait till E3 is over at least, to see if the rumored price drops go into effect and to see if the rumored new hard drive is announced.

[Project Omega]

I love the XBLA. I haven't played this much Castlevania SOTN since I first got it.

[Scream]

The elite looks good yeah. I decided to get a 360 because I keep seeing news articles about games on XBLA (Duke Nukem, SWOS etc).. Can't believe I turned into a retro gamer lol.

[Umon Daisuke]

Anything would be safer now than it's ever been. I've had my 3rd since April, with no problems. The DVD drive started making a faint whistling noise when it's in idle (spinning at 1X or less), but everything else is fine.

If you're planning on using it for purposes other than games, the Elite is the way to go. Pro is fine for gaming, but given more persistent rumours of a larger HDD version on the way, I'd wait for a couple of weeks or so.

Videos, unlike XBLA games, aren't compressed as much as one would like, so that 20GB HDD can be filled up quickly. Technically 13GB (7 are reserved), but you get my point.

[Project Omega]

I've had the X-Box 360 Pro (with HDMI out) for almost a year now and it's worked like a charm. I'll be getting elite version after the price drops though so I can play system linked games that don't have a dual screen form of coop

[Scream]

Which version of the 360 would be best to buy now?

[abbatoo]

Don't, I know exactly what you mean. Truth be told I'm also sick of all these mods and repairs I have to do in order for the system to remain operable. I'm sure as hell going to think twice before I buy another Microsoft console, which is a shame considering I really liked the first one.

While the CPU cooling is a lot better on the newer HDMI revisions of the 360, they completely forgot about the cooling of the new HANA chip, which can result in an E-74/E-73/whatever error code (thanks to warped motherboard, broken Southbridge). Add to that the fact that the extended warranty only covers the RROD (as far as I know) and there's gonna be a lot of pissed off people.

BTW, there's a lot of shops over here that specialize in repairing 360s. For $68 they re-ball your GPU with professional equipment (seen in attached pics) and give you a cooling and overcool mod for free so the problem doesn't return. Funny how they do a better job than M$. Sure, there's no more warranty but since RROD is about the only thing you'll need it for...

[Rombie]

Well to be fair, as far as console modding goes, once you buy something it's yours to customize to your hearts content. I see it as an add-on which makes the system not only more reliable as it's getting adequate ventilation from it's normal fans, but the processors are now being cooled substantially by the radiator set up, it can also add to any future external mods...

I remember in the old days where Nintendo was king of the market, we used to blow our lungs out into the NES carts and the system itself to keep it working so maybe this is the modern equivalent to that? Perhaps as consoles evolve, gamers have to become more resourceful and come up with fancier and sometimes riskier solutions to keep playing the game. I guess in this age, as sad as it is, blowing into the console just won’t cut it

I wish I could agree but I can't. Blowing into a cart doesn't cost money. The towel trick for example would be more like the equivilent, a cheap cost effective means of extending the life/operation of your console. Modding it isn't.

I hope neither of you have the wrong idea about my comment here.... I'm not/can't say it's wrong to modify your console to get better preformance in general or for just wanting to do so for you own reason, but it's just if you have to because the company has screwed up is a shame. Clearly the cost justifies here because it would cost more to get it fixed otherwise... but again it's still a resolve to fix a problem, and not just improve on an already stable platform.

[abbatoo]

No offense intended here abbatoo, as cool as that mod is, .... how did you justify that cost to being worth it?

It cost approximately 100$ including an overcool and a cooling mod (fans work for 5 minutes after turning system off, etc.). Considering a new Arcade costs over 400$ in Hungary and the fact that my system's out of warranty (a launch unit) AND after I've had the 3 RROD four times, I'd say it was worth it.
It's sad, yes, but what other options do I have? They could fix the problem at a repair shop for about 150$ but what's the guarantee that it won't surface again? I'm going to wait until both the GPU and CPU are made with 65mm technology and the HANA scaler chip has a heatsink, only then am I going to invest in a new unit.
That or I'm just gonna buy a Playstation 3...

BTW, here's a temperature comparison of two systems (measured during a session of Dead Rising):

Factory standard:

CPU: 188F
GPU: 180F
RAM: 150F

With watercooling:

CPU: 152F
GPU: 150F
RAM: 130F

[Project Omega]

Well to be fair, as far as console modding goes, once you buy something it's yours to customize to your hearts content. I see it as an add-on which makes the system not only more reliable as it's getting adequate ventilation from it's normal fans, but the processors are now being cooled substantially by the radiator set up, it can also add to any future external mods...

I remember in the old days where Nintendo was king of the market, we used to blow our lungs out into the NES carts and the system itself to keep it working so maybe this is the modern equivalent to that? Perhaps as consoles evolve, gamers have to become more resourceful and come up with fancier and sometimes riskier solutions to keep playing the game. I guess in this age, as sad as it is, blowing into the console just won’t cut it

[Rombie]

There is apparently no consistency. If you get a brand new one or newer refurbished instead you might get one with it... sometimes you might get yours or another like yours with some added parts... referbs which have tested fine.

No offense intended here abbatoo, as cool as that mod is, .... how did you justify that cost to being worth it?

It's a shame Microsoft has a shitty system with cooling issues... but if you have to waste money to fix their problems by having to watercool a console it's a sorry state of affairs. PC's I can understand because of what people can do to change whats going on, but having to do that to a console just shows shitty design issues and I'd end up feeling like I'd have to send pictures and a invoice to Microsoft and tell them they had to pay for me for the cost to fix the problems with my console properly.

[The Dude]

Sorry to say but no it isn't correct at all. Those are considered another model of the 360, and as such, they will just give you another like the one you have now. Sorry Dude...

Well thats shittastic.
Coulda sworn I read that some 360's which got repaired came back with HDMI output soldered into it