Xbox 360 overheating?

Energize · 4 Jan 2009 at 19:03

When playing games my xbox 360 can sometimes just freeze, is this overheating or something else? And why can a multi billion dollar company not design a console that doesn't overheat while having fans like a jet engine, yet I can build a silent pc that never overheats? :confused:

Streeteh · 4 Jan 2009 at 19:06

iirc the 360 resets/goes into standby when it overheats. It sounds like yours could be suffering from a more serious underlying problem (potential 3rrod coming up?). How long has the problem been occurring for?

The reason why the 360 isn't as well built as one of your pcs is that it's built on a budget, MS want to profit from its sales and so build it as cheaply as possible just like any other non high end hardware manufacturer.

Nismo · 4 Jan 2009 at 19:11

Streeteh said:
The reason why the 360 isn't as well built as one of your pcs is that it's built on a budget, MS want to profit from its sales and so build it as cheaply as possible just like any other non high end hardware manufacturer.

Whilst that's true, the 360 cooling solution has never really been very good, and only with the Jaspers lower heat output has it (probably) been fixed.

MS rushed the 360 out in terms of hardware, and the QA of the initial revisions shows this.

Streeteh · 4 Jan 2009 at 19:12

Nismo said:
Whilst that's true, the 360 cooling solution has never really been very good, and only with the Jaspers lower heat output has it (probably) been fixed.

MS rushed the 360 out in terms of hardware, and the QA of the initial revisions shows this.

I don't disagree with you, but i decided against mentioning the previous hardware issues as we all know how... volatile this section of the forums can be

Memphis · 4 Jan 2009 at 19:24

I would just like to add, the only reason the 360 cooling solution doesn't really work too well is because of the clamp system used on the heatsinks which are obviously the well recognised design flaw. With the heatsinks attached more evenly and firmly, you would be very surprised at the temperatures the 360 will quite happily operate in.

Energize · 4 Jan 2009 at 19:26

Streeteh said:
iirc the 360 resets/goes into standby when it overheats. It sounds like yours could be suffering from a more serious underlying problem (potential 3rrod coming up?). How long has the problem been occurring for?

It was a christmas present and it's been doing it from day 1. Is it rma time then? :rolleyes:

So annoying, the ps3 runs silently and doesn't have these problems despite having an in built psu. 3 years and they still haven't fixed the problems. :mad:

Streeteh · 4 Jan 2009 at 19:32

Energize said:
It was a christmas present and it's been doing it from day 1. Is it rma time then? So annoying, the ps3 runs silently and doesn't have these problems despite having an in built psu. 3 years and they still haven't fixed the problems.

I would certainly call up microsoft tech support, i've only had a 360 freeze on me once and that was followed shortly by a rrod. They do sometimes freeze for no apparent reason, but if this is a common occurrence as i say it is a good sign of an underlying problem.

Gashman · 4 Jan 2009 at 23:01

its not the xbox 360 fans that are noisy, its the disk drive, sounds like a freaking hovermower (PS3 is well, silent until the stupid hard disk starts making noises), but yeah it should do that it resets when it overheats like said above, contact microsoft, you might have to send it back for repair

NorthstaNder · 4 Jan 2009 at 23:12

does it do it in the same game? some games are known to be buggy and can cause random lockups.

Spyhop · 4 Jan 2009 at 23:19

Energize said:
And why can a multi billion dollar company not design a console that doesn't overheat while having fans like a jet engine

Someone should put that Major Nelson fellow on the spot and ask him to justify the thing being a hoover.

Streeteh · 4 Jan 2009 at 23:21

wush said:
Someone should put that Major Nelson fellow on the spot and ask him to justify the thing being a hoover.

Surely its justified instantly by the 360s very low price tag? The downside of a better built piece of kit is cost, evidence of this being the PS3 which costs a heck of a lot more and Sony still make a loss on every unit sold.

Lucifurr · 4 Jan 2009 at 23:22

Energize said:
It was a christmas present and it's been doing it from day 1. Is it rma time then? So annoying, the ps3 runs silently and doesn't have these problems despite having an in built psu. 3 years and they still haven't fixed the problems.

If its a Chrustmas present, then just get a replacement from the shop it was purchased from.

Lucifurr · 4 Jan 2009 at 23:23

Streeteh said:
Surely its justified instantly by the 360s very low price tag? The downside of a better built piece of kit is cost, evidence of this being the PS3 which costs a heck of a lot more and Sony still make a loss on every unit sold.

I thought the Blu Ray drive was the main reason for the higher cost.

Spyhop · 4 Jan 2009 at 23:25

Surely its justified instantly by the 360s very low price tag? The downside of a better built piece of kit is cost, evidence of this being the PS3 which costs a heck of a lot more and Sony still make a loss on every unit sold.

It hasn't always been that cheap. It just smacks of being being trashy hardware from the moment you turn it on to the moment it gets sent off in its cardboard coffin. Good software, good games, but the hardware is a total embarrassment.

"We turn out ****, but it's cheap! **** Yeah!" ~ Major Nelson, 2008

Streeteh · 4 Jan 2009 at 23:26

Lucifurr said:
I thought the Blu Ray drive was the main reason for the higher cost.

It's certainly one of the largest contributing factors, however to create such a huge price difference in manufacturing costs takes several factors

Things change I've changed · 5 Jan 2009 at 00:11

First and foremost MS is a software company not a hardware company, you only have take look at the below pictures to see what a difference years of electronics experience makes,

PS3 Mobo,

360 Mobo,

The build quality of the PS3 is in another league altogether, but with regards to MS, like I said they are still pretty inexperienced when it comes to mass production of electronics, hopefully they will learn from their mistakes and the next iteration of the 'xbox' will be made to a much higher standard.

Energize · 5 Jan 2009 at 00:15

Streeteh said:
Surely its justified instantly by the 360s very low price tag?

It was released at £280 which is equivilent to £324 now, so no. And considering the price of decent fans and dvd drives, again no.

Streeteh · 5 Jan 2009 at 00:47

Energize said:
It was released at £280 which is equivilent to £324 now, so no. And considering the price of decent fans and dvd drives, again no.

I'm not sure what you're getting at with the equivalent price, surely inflation affects all things and has no sway on what an item really cost on release.

Keep in mind, back at the 360s launch, hardware capable of producing graphics such as those seen in gears of war were not as cheap as they are today. To put together a PC back then with the same capabilities would have set you back quite a bit more than £280 i imagine. Also the PS3 launched at over £400; build quality costs money and everyone's out to make a profit.

[EDIT] I feel i should point out, i am in no way condoning the early poorly tested hardware that was prone to failure, that was just poor business. What i am trying to say is that more 'cosmetic' things such as a lack of sound dampening etc all exist in order to cut costs