For People Who Own Or Plan To Own An Xbox 360: Read This!!!

[JohnnyBlaze]

I just got my new EGM and I found out something that turned me off to buy a 360:

It turns out that Microsoft is putting all of its good 360 parts(i.e. the ones that actually pass the stress tests and whatnot) are going into the Elite units and the regular units are getting untested parts. This could probably explain the rash of "Red Ring Of Death" malfunctions we see. So, basically we're paying $400 for a unit that will screw up in about a year and being forced to pay $500 for a working unit! That to me is a ripoff. I just want all of you to be aware.

Check out the "Rumor Mill" section. You'll see it.

[jonjandran]

Well if it does mess up in a year you will just get a new one since it has a 3 year warranty now.

And it would most likely be one with the new design.

I personally don't see a problem.

[Slate]

I personally don't believe anything that EGM says, But that actually makes sense! No wonder why the elites are better...

[jjessop]

I just got my new EGM and I found out something that turned me off to buy a 360:

It turns out that Microsoft is putting all of its good 360 parts(i.e. the ones that actually pass the stress tests and whatnot) are going into the Elite units and the regular units are getting untested parts. This could probably explain the rash of "Red Ring Of Death" malfunctions we see. So, basically we're paying $400 for a unit that will screw up in about a year and being forced to pay $500 for a working unit! That to me is a ripoff. I just want all of you to be aware.

Check out the "Rumor Mill" section. You'll see it.

Don't believe this for a second. No reputable manufacturer would (or even could) do this in a production enviornment.

JJ

[Lothars]

Don't believe this for a second. No reputable manufacturer would (or even could) do this in a production enviornment.

JJ

Though it is Microsoft, So honestly I could see this happening.

[FAMOUS]

fake...

[unwinddesign]

Wouldn't be cost effective at all.

[ProgrammingAce]

How exactly would that work?

Besides, the 360 doesn't fail due to spot failures, it fails due to stresses over time.

[heybtbm]

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

(what does "rumor" mean again...I forgot)

[alxbly]

Bill Gates also takes a dump in every 360 apart from the Elites. That's why the Elites weigh less... LOL

Seriously though, there's better 360 rumours than this to post; 360 killed my children, 360 burned down my house, 360 made me a violent psychopath, etc, etc. But not buying a console because of a rumour is pretty extreme, especially since you're missing out on loads of good games.

[Kid Ice]

Link to the article? Quotes? I find it difficult to believe that is what it says.

[Chuplayer]

Probably fake as hell. I heard of an elite that was red ring right of the box.

[RPG_Fanatic]

I just got my issue today and it's on page 50 "rumor mill" by Quarterman
and that's what is says. But it's on the rumor page.

[RPG_Fanatic]

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb195/stephbm6/egm001.jpg

[RPG_Fanatic]

Sorry if the pic. sucks i tried my best, if i used a flash you couldn't see the page.

[boatofcar]

It's in the rumor mill! It must be true!

[smork]

This thread should be moved to the tinfoil hat forum.

In other news, we need a tinfol hat forum.

[Anexanhume]

This makes no sense at all considering their recent upgrade to a 3 year warranty and their committment to smaller chips for the box. They're trying to improve the xbox to avoid failures, not allow them to persist.

[RyanMurf]

I have been saying that the elites have a more reliable board construction but no one ever believed me even with links provided.

[Kid Ice]

OK so it doesn't say the units are getting "untested parts". It simply says the Elite parts "pass rigorous stress tests".

[RyanMurf]

I have been saying that the elites have a more reliable board construction but no one ever believed me even with links provided.

I said that they had a better board construction nothing else.

[Family Computer]

No idea whether this particular rumor is true, but car manufacturers do this type of thing all the time.

If they are making a special version of a car they will hand pick the very best engines from the entire production lot (there can be somewhat significant compression/horsepower differences even within the same newly produced engine). This doesn't mean that the hand-picked engine can't break down, or that the cars that use the non-selected engine are going to be slow or break down.

It just means that the manufacturer is trying to limit the defects on the higher priced model in order to keep brand image alive. Even if it is replaced for free for 3 years, it says a lot to have your flagship model break down within 6 months.

[Alucard79]

No idea whether this particular rumor is true, but car manufacturers do this type of thing all the time.

If they are making a special version of a car they will hand pick the very best engines from the entire production lot (there can be somewhat significant compression/horsepower differences even within the same newly produced engine). This doesn't mean that the hand-picked engine can't break down, or that the cars that use the non-selected engine are going to be slow or break down.

It just means that the manufacturer is trying to limit the defects on the higher priced model in order to keep brand image alive. Even if it is replaced for free for 3 years, it says a lot to have your flagship model break down within 6 months.

Great example...

[kedawa]

The Elite systems are simply more expensive to replace than the stock units, so there's at least some logic in making them more reliable.

[Porkchop]

This thread should be moved to the tinfoil hat forum.

In other news, we need a tinfol hat forum.

Speaking of tinfol hats. The Halo 3 limited edition tinfol hat will be released in October. Designed to protect you from the emissions of poor quality parts in the Halo 3 limited edition XBox 360. Send me $25 (cash only please) to reserve yours today. Limited Quantities.

[thegardentool]

It is entirely possible that Microsoft is using the best parts for the highest-priced system.

Intel, AMD, RAM manufactures and other electronic manufactures have been doing this for years. Ever wonder why an Intel Extreme Edition processor costs 5-10 times the amount of the lowest end Core 2 Duo? It is because Intel tests chips from each wafer to speed bin the processors. Only a few of them acutally test to their standards for EE, which are the only processors guaranteed to run at that speed. Now other processors might overclock to the same speed or higher, it isn't guaranteed and it is likely they a chip that could have been binned higher but for some reason did not. AMD follows the same general idea with their FX line. RAM manufactures have been doing this for years and some companies hand pick certain ICs for their highest-end RAM. Which is why the better RAM costs more because it uses better parts and has a higher profit margin.

Now is Microsoft doing this? I don't know. It does happen in the electronics world though. I doubt it helps Microsoft's profit margin because the differences in price reflect mainly on the larger hard drive and HDMI, both of which make it cost a lot more but do not increase the manufacturing cost by the $130. So they are making, or rather losing less money per Elite unit sold rather than the Premium.

[jcalder8]

This thread should be moved to the tinfoil hat forum.

In other news, we need a tinfol hat forum.
I've heard that there already is one