The Cover Project
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: juan0tron on November 28, 2009, 05:52:53 PM
-
So, after years of always being one generation behind, my parents decided to buy me my first not-hand-me-down console. I got the Elite model that comes with Lego Batman and Pure. Aside from those two games, what other freebies come with my new $300 console? A t-shirt. For my avatar. Woopee. Not even a trial to XBL gold. (they had a black friday deal that came with 2 free months so I guess I can't really complain).
Seeing as I already know quite well what games I want for this thing, my question to you guys is this: how can I keep this $300 console from red ringing on me? Radioshack gave us a 3-year warrantee but they just mail it into Microsoft for you, meaning you still have to wait a week or 5 for the mailing process and maybe receiving another broken 360.
-
I have a fan I place in front of the Xbox 360 when I play it.
-
Mine's never red ringed, I don't believe my brother's has either and he's a heavier player than I am. So umm, luck? just keep it well ventilated and dust free I guess.
-
I had mine on Rubber Bumpers to raise it up about a half inch. (I noticed the center front of the console gets hot)
I plan on putting it on the raised bumpers again, but since moving have not gotten around to adapting the stand.
Don't bother with an Intercooler. I heard horror stories about that being worse and the fans on the first wave of them were in backwards....keeping the hot air IN...
Keep it laying down horizontally.
I keep mine like this because I think it keeps less strain on the moving parts, and if you stand it up, the intake fans get blocked....poor design right there.
-
Keep it laying down horizontally.
I keep mine like this because I think it keeps less strain on the moving parts, and if you stand it up, the intake fans get blocked....poor design right there.
Standing it up also increases the chance that the disc will get scratched in the drive, leaving a donut on the disc. This happened to me when I borrowed a friend's Xbox 360 to play Dead Rising. Most other systems have a $0.25 piece of rubber that would prevent this from happening, but Microsoft wanted to save money.
-
If oyu have a new elite it should be a jasper and this at least means that the chances that it will ROD are much less than on the old ones.....
I agree with all above though... Keep it horizontal and in a not too crowed shelf....
-
Keep it horizontal and in a not too crowed shelf....
That can't be stressed enough.
MAKE SURE THERE IS AT LEAST 6" AROUND THE WHOLE SYSTEM TO KEEP AIRFLOW FREE
airflow is a major part in overheating. I have seen people online complain their system gets the RROD, but had pics of them playing with it standing upright on the rug, have things piled on and around it, and having it encased in a glass doored entertainment system with no ventilation.
Let it breathe, if you feel you have been playing for a while then take a break and let it cool down.
-
Yeah, free space around the box is very vital. I have a system from around 1 year after launch and it gets played quite extensively. Had some Bioshock sessions that lasted 8 straight hours and more and it still works perfectly. All my friends bought their boxes several months after mine, when the new chips were used to build the system. Still all of them had the RROD once already. So it's either luck on my side or the fact that my xbox has enough room to "breathe".
All I can say is that the only precaution I take against the RROD is to ensure it has enough room around it and my system just turned two in October without a single freeze or any other hickups ;)
-
Well with the 4 other consoles I have cramping my dresser I managed to stack my 360 on top of my old xbox with my ps2 slim on top (not covering any airholes). Hopefully with the addition of weekly vacuuming (this house gets dusty) and wood blocks to raise the system this thing will be running for a very long time. :D
Now, anyone know any good 360 games I can get for dirt cheap? Right now I'm playing whatever my friends don't want/are letting me borrow.
-
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/microsoft/xbox360/2008/10/the-best-xbox-360-games-under-10.html
-
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/microsoft/xbox360/2008/10/the-best-xbox-360-games-under-10.html
Might I also recommend The Darkness, easily one of my favorite video games. It sold very poorly though so you can usually pick up a copy on the cheap. I bought a brand new copy from some video game store for 15 dollars, it was funny because I could peel off the price tag and it would have the previous price tag underneath, I pealed off like 8 of them each one marking it down a little more before I got to the original 60 dollars price tag.
-
Hah I was planning on getting most of these games anyway. I did see a lot of these being way overpriced at FYE, so I'll remember to stay away from there. I do actually remember seeing the special edition of Perfect Dark Zero run around 3 bucks now that I think of it.
-
Yeah, the Darkness was the first game I got for my PS3 and I still have a soft spot for it.
By the way, for those wanting to know of cheap PS3 games, I made an article:
http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/the7k/new-ps3-empty-wallet-cheap-quality-ps3-games-inside--155978.phtml
-
I agree with what's been said already, but let me add in something else: if you are at all technological minded, you can fix the RROD yourself. There is no need to send it back to M$ wasting several weeks when you can have your system up and fixed in a matter of 1 hour.
As for good cheap games......
Earth Defense Force 2017 (~$12) EDF is a third game in D3's popular Simple 2000 series in Japan. It's a budget third person shooter where you kill giant ants, spiders and UFOs. It should by all accounts be awful, but it defies its conventions and is actually one of the best off-line games of the system, espically when playing local co-op split screen.
Prey (~$10) Prey uses the Doom 3 engine and is about native americans and alien invaders. It's story is outright stupid, but its a pretty fun FPS nontheless.
The Darkness, as mentioned
Beautiful Katamari (~$15) Katamari Damacy on the 360. Not much more I can add.
Eternal Sonata(~$20) a very colorful, beautiful J RPG for the 360. It's rather similar to the Tales of series, and goes for much less than Vesperia does.
-
though it is already listed in the link provided by the7k, I really liked Crackdown. I usually don't play GTA type games, but this one had somewhat RPG elements of leveling up your abilities.
-
Eternal Sonata(~$20) a very colorful, beautiful J RPG for the 360. It's rather similar to the Tales of series, and goes for much less than Vesperia does.
Seconded. Very good game. Although you're better off getting the PS3 version if you have a PS3, for the extra content.
-
I keep mine horizontal but i can't say I have 6" of free space around it....I'll keep that in mind.
It's not RRoD yet though so crossing fingers.
-
There isn't much I want for the 360, but if I got one, the first two games I'd get would be Dead Rising and Earth Defense Force 2017. I had a friend of mine in college who let me play both of those, and they were just complete and utter fun.
Classic Game Room HD's Review of Earth Defense Force 2017
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntDyECvmnIo
-
Dark Sector and Lost Planet. Both third person shooters but both very different from each other.
-
There isn't much I want for the 360, but if I got one, the first two games I'd get would be Dead Rising and Earth Defense Force 2017. I had a friend of mine in college who let me play both of those, and they were just complete and utter fun.
Classic Game Room HD's Review of Earth Defense Force 2017
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntDyECvmnIo
Dead Rising has been on my list ever since it came out, lol. Nice to see someone else follows Classic Game Room HD. That guy talks as if he's commentating no matter what he talks about.
-
The most important airflow space you need to consider is behind the system. Don't put it in a cabinet or on a shelf that has a backing. If it does, cut out a small area so that the hot air can just freely flow into the rest of the room.
If you don't mind voiding your warranty, you can also greatly decrease the likelihood of the RROD by replacing the stock fan with a whisper max fan. Why? because this aftermarket fan is more effiecent and just a better fan than comes with the system, keeping it cooler than what comes out of the factory. The aftermarket fan also comes with a speed switch to change the fan speed. Even at default it flows air much better than the stock fan and at super speed your system will only be lukewarm even after an hour of play. One thing to keep in mind that this aftermarket fan had special "bonus" feature of little LEDs so that your system will lightup at its back creating a cool effect. I was slightly worried the LED contacts would hit the metal case and cause a short, so I wrapped the LEDs up with a thin layer of nonconductive tape. Not nessesary, but I'd recommend it just so that nothing could ever possibly happen.
As mentioned, do not bother with an intercooler. They don't do much to help as its an exterior product. It would be like having an air conditioner for your house located in your garage. There are some horror stories online, and while I don't think its a terrible choice to put an intercooler on your system, replacing the internal fan is simply a much better choice.