My shiny new 360 Elite

Ryuda_69 · Post by **Ryuda_69** » October 8, 2007, 1:23 pm

so yesterday was my birthday and i decided to live a little and eat out with friends, drink booze til all hours of the night, and Purchase a 360 elite at some point during the debauchery. needless to say that i was happy as cat shit to come home with an elite unit and play gears of war on online coop, and download a shitload of demos in between (1 month of free xbox gold is kick ass)

however, after about 4 hours i started getting a little bitter since i was messing around in the marketplace... and while playing a demo of streets of rage 2 my elite froze on me. i went behind the unit and noticed that it was hot as a fuck(let alone it sounding like a jet engine). so i called 18004myxbox to ask a few questions, and they said when the unit freezes its an indication to let it cool for a while to prevent the RRoD.

now that is all fine and dandy, but wasn't this new 65nm chipset supposed to rectify some of these heating issues? and is there anyway that i can personally check on the specs of my system? the guy on the phone was telling me that i do have the new chipset while he was registering my 360, but i'd like to see it for myself... and on top of that i have to call back cause i dont see my 360 registered when i sign in with my windows live ID.

for funkmasterr: are you having any weird issues with your 360 elite?

overall, i do understand that systems need a break here and there between gameplay, and i'm also not the kind of guy that plays for 10 hours straight since i literally dont have that kind of time to begin with. however, every now and then i have a complete day off to relax and id love to have the freedom and piece of mind in knowing that i could play for hours with friends without having to worry about my system melting on itself. i think it's bullshit that i'm being advised to shut my system off whenever i see any slight indication of overheating... it makes me feel like i have a certain "fixed" amount of gameplay before i have to worry about cooling down this fucking furnace that i call an elite.

aside from the rant... i do love the 360 overall. i love the selection of games, and the online coop is awesome. playing gears of war on coop with a buddy and chainsawing the locust is teh win. the xbox life marketplace is OMGIAMRETARDEDCAUSEALOTISTWOWORDS of fun and very easy to work with.

by the way... any recommendations on games that are a must have? i have a pretty good run down on all the titles out right now... and i'm looking to buy at least 2 more titles today to keep me happy till kane and lynch drops next month. so far i have gears of war and Rainbow6 <--teh love. any recommendations on which games are the better bang for my buck?

thanks~

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » October 8, 2007, 1:34 pm

Far as I know that wasn't in widespread release yet. I read somewhere that some of the Halo Limiteds had it but didn't think the regular Elite's had gone to 'Falcon' or whatever with 65nm for both CPU and GPU. I could have things mixed up though as I don't really follow the 360 (or PS3) news all that closely.

Anyway, even if it is it was never stated that it would solve the freezing and red ring issues. People just speculated that it would. That's why if I were in the market for a new console I'd wait for the word on the street when it comes to new hardware revision reliability .

Fash · Post by **Fash** » October 8, 2007, 1:50 pm

do you have it vertical?... if not, do so. I've had several long play sessions on my elite and haven't had any heat issues.

Xatrei · Post by **Xatrei** » October 8, 2007, 2:08 pm

Happy birthday, Lamont!

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » October 8, 2007, 3:42 pm

Happy Birthday! I put mine on an open shoebox, so its just held up by small thin cardboard strips, sitting horizontal, with a floor fan pointed directly at the side opposite the hard drive. The air coming out the back is still hot as hell, so I honestly don't think there is a way to really "cool" the thing, just trying to get as much airflow across the unit as possible is the best way.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » October 8, 2007, 4:34 pm

Couple of things that bear repeating with an xbox 360. Don't put it on carpet. Closed entertainment centers are also bad. Power brick, not on carpet as well or near the 360.

Always make sure you have adequate ventilation around the thing as well.

Waran · Post by **Waran** » October 8, 2007, 6:33 pm

Among the recommendations Animalor made, my biggest one is this product:

http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=802687

It will considerably help cool the inner workings of your 360 and this one matches the color of your system

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 8, 2007, 6:42 pm

Waran wrote:Among the recommendations Animalor made, my biggest one is this product:

http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=802687

It will considerably help cool the inner workings of your 360 and this one matches the color of your system

I heard some bad things about it being a bad idea to be running those extra fans off the 360's power supply. Something that has it's own power supply would be preferred. Sounds like you've had success with it. Are there any reviews of it on a place like Newegg or Amazon to check out?

Waran · Post by **Waran** » October 8, 2007, 8:04 pm

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/custom ... merReviews

Never had any problems with mine. A friend of mine actually had one of the prongs on the connection side from the powersupply arc the connection plastic to a brown burned color, which didn't zap his 360.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » October 9, 2007, 11:11 am

I've used an intercooler with great effect. Viva Pinata used to freeze my 360 every 5 minutes or so. After I got the Intercooler, that never happened again.

The thing evacuates a massive amount of heat from the unit. Just make sure that it's pushed into the power plug all the way and snapped in very tightly.

It does increase the noise a bit however it's worth it.

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » October 9, 2007, 1:34 pm

I was wondering, since thsoe things are fairly popular, when I was on the phone with Micropoop, the technician decided to tell me that using one of those voids the warranty.

So what I was wondering...how in the hell would they know you used one?

Vaemas · Post by **Vaemas** » October 9, 2007, 1:36 pm

I read a LOT of reviews on amazon.com regarding the intercooler and decided not to go with it. If you use it, make sure as hell you get that sucker secured tightly. I have mine vertical with plenty of air room and the brick on my hardwood away from the 360.

And happy birthday!

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » October 9, 2007, 1:49 pm

Kluden wrote:I was wondering, since thsoe things are fairly popular, when I was on the phone with Micropoop, the technician decided to tell me that using one of those voids the warranty.

So what I was wondering...how in the hell would they know you used one?

Same way they know if you don't use official cables...

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » October 9, 2007, 2:20 pm

The only way MS will know if you used an intercooler is if the thing melted your 360's power socket. And if the intercooler would do that, Nyko would replace your 360(or so I've heard).

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » October 9, 2007, 2:24 pm

I haven't had any issues so far with my Elite, and I've had it since the first week they were out. If/when I do though I'll definitely post it here.

Ryuda_69 · Post by **Ryuda_69** » November 12, 2007, 11:37 am

Sorry for my late response, but thank you all for your imput as it was really helpful. I was already aware of keeping it ventilated but i didn't know to what extreme. I used to keep my 360 on my wall unit, but now i have it vertical and on the floor when i play... since i noticed that keeping it horizontal will make it even hotter on the side facing the floor. I even keep my A/C on to keep the room cool sometimes hehe. Since the initial freeze that i mentioned... it hasn't happened at all since... so maybe it had to do with the fact that it was the first time the system was on since being out of the box... but who knows.
Other than the heating issues i'm loving my 360 elite and all the storage space... since i'm an insane packrat and never delete demos til i get the full game. So far i'm playing the Darkness and loving it, and when im not being a rock god on GH3 i'm also firing up plasmids in bioshock.

Thanks again for your suggestions~

Dregor Thule · Post by **Dregor Thule** » November 12, 2007, 3:22 pm

Doesn't seem right that you have to jump through all these cooling hoops just to get a system to run reliably.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » November 12, 2007, 3:45 pm

Mine is sitting on the same glass-topped table I used for my last console. It's sitting horizontal. It has no additional fans. Nothing. I am not sure what "hoops" you seem to think I "have to jump through."

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » November 12, 2007, 4:40 pm

Mine sits on a wooden table next to my tv (vertical). I have done nothing at all for extra fans or anything else either, and I have had no issues with my elite (which I got the day the elites came out). My original 360 wasn't actually broken, I would just get disc read errors once every day or two and it annoyed me, so I took advantage of my warranty and exchanged it.

Fash · Post by **Fash** » November 12, 2007, 4:43 pm

Mines been great... no hoops.. I just have it vertical and it's worked smashingly, even when I forget to turn it off and it stays on for a day.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » November 12, 2007, 4:46 pm

Haha, yeah I have a tendency to do that too, but I have the option turned on to power it down after 6 hours of being on standby.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » November 12, 2007, 7:25 pm

Mine is in an entertianment center however the backing of the unit behind the 360 is completely removed. I also have an intercooler pulling the heat out of it.

Ryuda_69 · Post by **Ryuda_69** » November 13, 2007, 2:45 pm

wow... i didnt know that you could set up your 360 to shut down after X amount of hours idle. i'll remember that for next time since i came home one night to find my friend sleeping on the couch after playing guitar hero 3, but with my 360 still on. i was pissed off since i couldn't help but worry about the heating issue etc.

also, i dont think that keeping the 360 properly ventilated is such a big hoop to get around. However, i do agree with dregor in saying that we shouldn't have to worry about the reliability of the product... especially when we're paying 400 bucks and up for these damn things. i practically baby my 360 cause i dont wanna have to deal with problems, but then again i'm overprotective with all my gadgets =p.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » November 15, 2007, 11:24 am

After I got mine I used to fret about it overheating and dying constantly.

Now I don't really think about it anymore. I just make sure it gets adequate cooling and use it as I would something I was sure was bullet proof. If it dies it dies. I got the extended 2 year warrenty from MS so I'm covered end to end until something like May 2009 on my original or any refurb they send my way.

I've had to send it in once already and it was shipped and received back in 6 days(weekends included). I also got a free month of Live for my troubles. All in all it was a painless process and the machine works. Sure having the hardware as bulletproof as the PS3 would be nice but all in all, I'm real happy with the 360.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » November 15, 2007, 5:30 pm

the PS3 is thew worst purchase I've ever made up to this point.

I may get some value out of it in 2008 but it's been even less useful that I anticipated. The online demo/store, etc sucks so there's no reason to even turn it on until they get their new Sony Home fixed (which they aren't happy with so it's been delayed until sometime in 2008) and at least one major game (FFXIII or MGS4 which seem like vaporware)

The 360 is by far the best choice for entertainment value.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » November 15, 2007, 6:17 pm

I'll get a PS3 around the time Blu-Ray wins and it drops another 100$ or so (which should be about 6 months for the price drop the way things have been going). If I don't own an HDTV at that point, then it'll be put off even more.

I do expect to own one at some point but the 360 will be my go-to console this gen and the one I buy all my cross-platform games for.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » November 15, 2007, 6:59 pm

I have thought about picking up a PS3, but I have no clue what to look for to ensure that I get one with backwards compatability.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » November 16, 2007, 1:42 pm

Boogahz wrote:I have thought about picking up a PS3, but I have no clue what to look for to ensure that I get one with backwards compatability.

For full back compat, simply look for the original 60GB version or the original 20gb version.

Those will be harder to find since they're no longer produced.

Aardor · Post by **Aardor** » November 16, 2007, 1:48 pm

If you are looking for backwards compatibility...use the PC ps2 emulator =P. Friend recently introduced me to it, it produces much better quality video than the ps3 does. I plan to make a post about it later, with more info.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » November 16, 2007, 1:57 pm

Animalor wrote:
Boogahz wrote:I have thought about picking up a PS3, but I have no clue what to look for to ensure that I get one with backwards compatability.
For full back compat, simply look for the original 60GB version or the original 20gb version.

Those will be harder to find since they're no longer produced.

Have you seen if there is anything on the box that would indicate which 60gig unit is is?

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » November 16, 2007, 2:17 pm

Boogahz wrote:
Animalor wrote:
Boogahz wrote:I have thought about picking up a PS3, but I have no clue what to look for to ensure that I get one with backwards compatability.
For full back compat, simply look for the original 60GB version or the original 20gb version.

Those will be harder to find since they're no longer produced.
Have you seen if there is anything on the box that would indicate which 60gig unit is is?

If you look on the front of the box, the HDD size is indicated in the lower left corner.
To my knowledge, they haven't released a 60GB model in NA without the full back compat hardware built-in.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » November 16, 2007, 2:21 pm

ah, I was worried that they had released one here without it already. I was worried about mixing up which had what, since there is no way I would buy one based just on the PS3 titles available.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » November 16, 2007, 3:15 pm

If I bought a PS3 today, I would get a subscription to a netflix-type service to try out Folklore, Uncharted and Ratched and Clank myself.

I'm doing the purchase/play/tradein-quick thing right now to get to experience most of the 360 lineup and it's starting to cost a bit more than I like.

I forsee myself hanging on to my last 2 purchases(Assassin's Creed and CoD4) for a while though. I dumped Halo3 already cause the multiplayer didn't really do it for me and I prefer CoD4's by far.

My threshold for buying a PS3 will be the price dropping another 100-150$ and Blu-Ray winning the format war.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » November 16, 2007, 3:40 pm

I would also probably buy a PS3 after another $150 + price drop, but not before then.

I never understood the whole trading in games thing, I did it in the past and always ended up regretting it (I traded in all 150 or so of my NES games when the SNES came out and I regret it greatly to this day.) When I think of how much I paid for a game, and how much they would give me for credit, it's easy to dismiss the idea of selling them back. The way I look at it is, if I am EVER going to play that game again, even 5 years down the road - it's worth it for me to keep it

I've got like 20 games for the 360 now, which is more than I have had for any console since the PS1.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » November 16, 2007, 4:18 pm

I'm liking GameFly right now. I have opted to keep a couple games, and my only complaint has been the long turn-around time. I can check to see if they have any kind of referral options when I get home.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » November 16, 2007, 4:31 pm

Boogahz wrote:I'm liking GameFly right now. I have opted to keep a couple games, and my only complaint has been the long turn-around time. I can check to see if they have any kind of referral options when I get home.

Pretty sure they do, a friend of mine has been trying to get me to join because it would benefit him somehow, not sure how. For me though, if I am going to bother playing a game at all I will buy it

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » November 16, 2007, 5:48 pm

I'll sell my 60GB fully backwards compatible PS3 for 100,000,000,000.00 Schrute Bucks.

Not sure why backwards compatibility matters. I popped FFX12 into the PS3 and it looked like complete crap. (as it did on the PS2) They should completely redo FFX12 for 1080i or at least 720p.

Aardor · Post by **Aardor** » November 16, 2007, 9:58 pm

Winnow wrote:I'll sell my 60GB fully backwards compatible PS3 for 100,000,000,000.00 Schrute Bucks.

Not sure why backwards compatibility matters. I popped FFX12 into the PS3 and it looked like complete crap. (as it did on the PS2) They should completely redo FFX12 for 1080i or at least 720p.

Or learn to emulate above 480p

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » November 16, 2007, 10:42 pm

Aardor wrote: Or learn to emulate above 480p

The game looks like shit in 480P as well. I can output 480p, 720p or 1080i.

PS3's solution to improve PS2 game graphics is to blur stuff. It looks even worse that way. You want to run to the eye doctor and get a new prescription after suffering through the blur effect.

Old games don't matter but FFX12 is meant to look good, but just can't on the platform it was developed for. You could tell they had to cut corners for technical reasons all over the place in that game and it shows. Don't give a shit how Pong looks or Pac-Man. Those type games will look ok no matter what res they're in.

Ryuda_69 · Post by **Ryuda_69** » November 17, 2007, 1:48 pm

i could see why people would think that the ps3 has no games to offer. for all of us on this board who already have 360's it's easy to say that there is nothing for the ps3.. which is true in our case since OMGIAMRETARDEDCAUSEALOTISTWOWORDS of these flag ship titles coming out are multiplatform. but think about the people that have neither next gen console... they could look at the ps3 and very well pick it up for the games that it does offer which are the same games offered on the 360. so theoretically the ps3 does also offer good games, but people like us with 360s don't really see it that way since we already have the same games for the 360. the fact that the 360 has a year on the ps3 doesn't help them at all... and at this point with the majority of games going multiplatform and the 360 having the bigger installed user base i think the exclusives are the only thing that may get the ps3 outta the rut it's in.

Just a thought i had while drinking my coffee =D. now back to assassins creed... i gotz shankin ta dooo.

Ryuda_69 · Post by **Ryuda_69** » November 17, 2007, 1:56 pm

also, despite the fact that xbox live is superior to the PSN, i didnt mention that on my above post because it's subjective in my opinion. don't get me wrong... having online multiplayer is amazing in everyway and definitely extends the life of games. a good example would be halo3. if halo 3 didn't multiplayer i'd play it once and maybe a few times more and then shelf it forever, but because of online multiplay i can still get more bang out of my buck and play with friends which is sweet. However, having the awesome online hook up is not a make or break deal for everyone. i know people that live for online play, and others who could care less about it... so in the end it's all up to the individual.

Personally, i love online multiplayer but i wish i had more time for it =/