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Own an Xbox 360? Here's your T-shirt! ^_^

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  • Own an Xbox 360? Here's your T-shirt! ^_^

    Yesterday, I got the newest print catalog from ThinkGeek.Com. Upon looking at their newest T-shirts, I discovered the shirt that many Xbox 360 owners need...





    And yes, I AM allowed to say it... I've owned an Xbox 360 for about 2 years! And while I have NOT experienced the dreaded RROD myself (most likely owing to my winning combination of using a Nyko Intercooler since Day 1 and hooking my Xbox 360 up to a STANDARD DEFINITION TV, which means that the graphics chips aren't having to push around nearly as many pixels, thus keeping them from getting too hot), my best friend bought his a couple months AFTER I bought mine and he's already had 1 warranty replacement. But then again, his original one was, at that time, a brand-new, redesigned unit that Microsoft had engineered to be incompatible with the Intercoolers that were available at that time. So, from "birth" to "death", his system was used WITHOUT the cooling fans necessary to keep it from roasting itself to death. Add on top of that the fact that he was running it on his HDTV in full 1080p resolution, and that's a recipe for a RROD if ever there was one! He has since solved that problem on the replacement unit, having added the necessary cooling fans as soon as he got it back from Microsoft (as by that time, new models had become available that circumvented Microsoft's "fix" that prevented them from working.)
    Last edited by Jack T. Chance; 12-06-2009, 04:33 PM.
    "Eventually one outgrows the fairy tales of childhood, belief in Santa and the Easter Bunny, and believing that SCs are even capable of imagining themselves in our position."
    --StanFlouride

  • #2
    Oh I wish I could have handed out that shirt to people who complained to me. Then again, I don't think I could ever have enough.

    The funniest thing about what your story is that Microsoft was saying that the cause of the RROD was from using third party attachments like cooling units and, get this, power bars.

    Thankfully, the rep I dealt with wasn't a company brainwashed moron and was actually encouraging me to sell stuff like that.
    I AM the evil bastard!
    A+ Certified IT Technician

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    • #3
      Quoth lordlundar View Post
      The funniest thing about what your story is that Microsoft was saying that the cause of the RROD was from using third party attachments like cooling units and, get this, power bars.

      Thankfully, the rep I dealt with wasn't a company brainwashed moron and was actually encouraging me to sell stuff like that.
      Well, Microsoft or someone managed to brainwash some Gamestop employees a couple years ago, because when I was buying my Xbox 360 Elite System and looking for the Nyko Intercooler in black to match, I had at least one Gamestop employee tell me not to use it, because it would "ruin" my system!

      But 2 years later, it's still running fine. And I can't help but wonder how many times that Gamestop employee has had to replace HIS 360 due to a RROD?

      So, let me explain what I was talking about earlier. Make sure you're sitting in a comfy chair, this'll take a couple minutes...

      I bought my 360 in the fall of '07, just before Mass Effect came out. My 360 included the AC adapter that has a METAL tip on the end that plugs into the 360, as you can see in this photo:


      (click to make it bigger)

      This is important to note, because that's the model of AC adapter that works flawlessly with the Intercooler EX model that I have, which is black to match my Elite system:





      Since it runs off of the system power, its fans are on whenever the system is on, creating the continuous airflow needed to properly cool the components in the system. A HUGE part of the 360's overheating/RROD problems comes from Microsoft's insistence on using temperature-controlled fans that only run occasionally. They do this so users won't complain that the system is "too noisy" from the fans running. The problem is, Microsoft has never managed to program the drivers for the fans correctly. Temperature-controlled fans are a sound idea as long as the idea is executed well. Most modern laptop computers use them to conserve battery power. And when the temperature parameters are set correctly in the drivers, the fans truly run at just the right times, when they're actually needed, and are off when they aren't. But Microsoft has clearly failed at setting those parameters correctly, because their fans DON'T run often enough, causing millions of Xbox 360s to prematurely meet their maker(s) after slowly roasting themselves to death.

      While researching the overheating issues, I also learned that if you have your system standing up in "tower" mode, as I do, you can place your hand on the left side and feel the heat of the graphics chips and/or CPU, so you can tell if your system is overheating. I ran across a messageboard post where somebody said that what he does when he's done playing, instead of just immediately shutting the system down, is to exit out to the Xbox Dashboard and let the system sit there "idle", with his Intercooler running the whole time, for several minutes, until he can place his hand on the left side and feel that the system's chips are getting sufficiently cool. THEN he shuts it down. So, for 2 years, that's what I've been doing, as well. And it's worked out pretty well so far.

      So, back to my friend... 2 months or so after I bought my 360, he went to Best Buy and bought an Xbox 360 Elite and the black Intercooler EX to go with it. I was with him at his house when he set it up... and we discovered that we could not get the power cord to plug into the Intercooler!

      The culprit? Microsoft's REDESIGNED AC adapter, which can be immediately identified by the presence of a COMPLETELY PLASTIC tip where it plugs into the system:



      Upon closer examination of both the Intercooler EX and the AC adapter, I found out what was going on. If you look inside both the tip of the adapter, and the socket it plugs into, you'll see that both have a plastic "grid" that helps all the pins line up correctly. Microsoft added an extra piece to this "grid", a little bit of plastic, strategically placed in such a way that it blocks the plug from being inserted into an Intercooler EX.

      So, my friend returned the Intercooler, got his money back, and foolishly trusted Microsoft to have fixed the overheating problems. Nearly a year later, one day he was playing his Xbox 360, and the picture went out. He was getting no video at all. Didn't matter if he used the HDMI cable, or the Component Video cables, he was getting no picture. He contacted Microsoft and they had him send it in for replacement. I started researching what the accessory manufacturers had done to address Microsoft's redesigned AC adapter, and discovered the Intec Turbo Cooler, a shameless knock-off of the Intercooler EX with just one important difference:



      As you can see in that picture, it does NOT connect to the system's AC adapter the way the Intercooler EX did, instead having its own separate AC adapter and its own separate on/off switch. So, you have to remember to reach around to the back of the system and turn the fans on when you begin playing, and you have to remember to turn them off when you're done (after you've given them a few minutes to cool the system down, naturally! ) But it circumvents Microsoft's stupid BS move, and over a year later, my friend's replacement system still works like a charm, now that he's keeping it cooled properly.

      Months later (meaning earlier this year) Nyko FINALLY released their equivalent to Intec's Turbo Cooler... the new, redesigned Intercooler TS:



      Like the Intec product, it now has its own separate power supply. Unlike the Intec, it does NOT have an on/off switch. This new model borrows an unwanted page from Microsoft's playbook: It has TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED fans that run only when "needed"!

      I've been told by someone on another messageboard that it DOES work well, better than Microsoft's built-in fans. His proof? His 360 kept overheating, and would shut down after less than an hour of gameplay due to getting too hot. He bought and installed the Intercooler TS, and was able to play for several hours at a time, like he should be able to. He even said that when he turns the system off, the fans will keep running for a few minutes until their temperature sensors indicate that the system is cool enough for them to shut off. But still, I wouldn't trust it to keep the Xbox 360 cool enough. The 360's GPUs get so hot that it needs the CONTINUOUS, steady airflow provided by either the older Intercooler EX or the Intec Turbo Cooler.

      So, that's what I recommend for keeping the 360 from suffering the dreaded Red Ring of Death. Use one of the 2 coolers I recommend (choosing the appropriate one based on which of the 2 AC adapters your system came with) and you should be able to enjoy your system for years to come! And if you want to make extra sure it doesn't roast itself, do NOT hook it up to that lovely, large, full 1080p HDTV hanging on the wall in your living room! I KNOW you want to run your games in full HD, I KNOW they look lovely at that high resolution! But resist the urge! Use it with a set running at "only" 720p for high def gaming, that'll make sure the GPUs aren't working as hard, so they won't get quite as hot. If you were having trouble with gaming on a PC causing your system to overheat, or otherwise overtaxing your graphics card, one of the things you might do is turn down the resolution you were running the game at, because pushing less pixels around on-screen means your graphics card won't have to work as hard. This is the same principle. Running at 720p instead of 1080p will mean that your system isn't being pushed as hard, so it'll generate less heat, and your system will survive to game another day!

      And now that I've finished writing that little "book" of a post, I'm off to continue playing Borderlands on my 360... most addictive game I've played in quite some time!
      Last edited by Jack T. Chance; 12-06-2009, 11:53 PM.
      "Eventually one outgrows the fairy tales of childhood, belief in Santa and the Easter Bunny, and believing that SCs are even capable of imagining themselves in our position."
      --StanFlouride

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      • #4
        So why exactly did Microsoft object to an add-on device to keep the machine cool?
        Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed.

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        • #5
          Best guess? Because it makes them look bad that you actually NEED a device like that to keep your system operational. Personally I can't think of another reason, as Sony nor Nintendo has any issues with the idea. (their policy is so long as it's outside, it's fine.)
          I AM the evil bastard!
          A+ Certified IT Technician

          Comment


          • #6
            Quoth Jack T. Chance View Post
            If you look inside both the tip of the adapter, and the socket it plugs into, you'll see that both have a plastic "grid" that helps all the pins line up correctly. Microsoft added an extra piece to this "grid", a little bit of plastic, strategically placed in such a way that it blocks the plug from being inserted into an Intercooler EX.
            I'm surprised that Microsoft didn't do something sneakier, like keeping the plug compatible with the intercooler but reversing the airflow through the vents so that the intercooler would be fighting against the stock fans rather than helping them, causing a "cooled" unit to have less cooling capacity than an uncooled unit. This wouldn't be immediately apparent to most users, and (of course) they could refuse warranty repair/replacement on units where intercoolers had been used, since the aftermarket item had caused the damage (thanks to the system being designed to ensure such damage).
            Any fool can piss on the floor. It takes a talented SC to shit on the ceiling.

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            • #7
              I've had my regular model (60 GB) 360 for almost a year now and thankfully haven't experienced RROD yet. Most of that time it was being played on a 30-year-old 19" television; when that finally conked out I bought a 19" HD set (I think the best resolution was 480p? Whatever, I'm happy with it). Granted, I've recently put all my games in the closet because I was wasting too much time playing and not enough time drawing... which makes me wonder why I'm still online at 3:00 am and not A) drawing or B) sleeping.

              Bought a used slim PS2 prior to the 360 and it's still running fine; can't say the same for the controllers, though. Friggin' Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires and it's Chaos mode. Protip: Do NOT pursue Lü Bu!
              "IT stands away, interrupting himself from the incessant hammering of the kittens…"

              Comment


              • #8
                Horror of Horrors! O_o

                OMG! Tonight, I turned on my Xbox 360 to play Borderlands (which none of you should play because it's HIGHLY addictive! ) and my Intercooler EX immediately started making a LOT of noise, much more than normal! I put my hand behind it and there was almost no airflow!

                So I shut down the system, disconnected the cords, and removed the Intercooler. I looked it over, saw nothing obviously wrong with it, and then reinstalled it, insuring that all connections were good. I then turned the system back on and it ran like normal for a few hours of gameplay.

                When I was done, I turned the system off, did a few other things, then came back to play my game some more. Upon turning the system back on, again, the Intercooler made a lot more noise than normal, but there was virtually no airflow! MY INTERCOOLER HAS DIED! AND IT'S CHRISTMAS, SO ALL THE STORES ARE CLOSED!!!

                In the morning I'm gonna try ordering one online for rush delivery, like 1 or 2-day shipping. This sucks.
                Last edited by Jack T. Chance; 12-25-2009, 09:48 PM.
                "Eventually one outgrows the fairy tales of childhood, belief in Santa and the Easter Bunny, and believing that SCs are even capable of imagining themselves in our position."
                --StanFlouride

                Comment


                • #9
                  I've gotten RROD a couple times but it's always been because the system got jarred and the plug isn't QUITE seated perfectly. Fix the plug, reboot the system, and it works fine.

                  I also have had my xbox since '07 and also bought an intercooler at the same time. Works like a charm

                  I'm planning on getting a second xbox for my bedroom here pretty soon. I'll have to check and make sure it's compatible with an intercooler.
                  My dollhouse blog.

                  Blog about life

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