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Thread: Which Console is the Most Reliable?

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    Pretzel (Level 4) Polygon's Avatar
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    Default Which Console is the Most Reliable?

    I'm curious which revisions of a console are the most reliable. The PS2 fat or slim? Any revisions of the original X-Box that were more reliable than another? PS1 or PS One? Which model of 360 and PS3? I just wonder which systems I should be buying up to keep the unreliable systems alive.
    Atari: 2600, Jaguar
    Microsoft: XBox, XBox 360
    Nintendo: NES, GB, GBC, SNES, N64, GameCube, GBA SP, Wii, New 3DS, Wii U
    Sega: SMS, Genesis, Game Gear, Nomad, Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, Dreamcast
    Sony: PS1, PS2, PS3
    Wanted: 7800, Neo Geo CD

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    Peach (Level 3) BricatSegaFan's Avatar
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    Genesis model 1 = Built like a Toyota pickup. This is the one to get for many reasons.

    Nes toaster = self explanatory 72 pin failure

    Sega CDX = very prone to major problems. Opt for the Xeye for the all in one Sega CD consoles.

    Neogeo CDZ = tends to over heat. Opt for the standard flip top for reliability for the CD consoles.

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    Ghostbuster
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    Until the last couple gen's, the older the better, now it's the reverse.
    The Paunch Stevenson Show free Internet podcast - www.paunchstevenson.com - DP FEEDBACK

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    Cherry (Level 1)
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    The N64 will live through the nuclear holocaust, unfortunately the controllers analog stick will not.

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    Key (Level 9) Satoshi_Matrix's Avatar
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    General rule is to never buy a launch version of a system. Launch systems are prone to the most number of problems because they lack actual tested designs that stand the test of time. Later revisions always address earlier problems and try not to introduce new ones. That being said:


    Quote Originally Posted by Polygon View Post
    The PS2 fat or slim?
    Slim models made in 2007 and onward are very reliable.

    Quote Originally Posted by Polygon View Post
    Any revisions of the original X-Box that were more reliable than another?
    Any but the 1.0 which has a fan over the GPU instead of a heatsink. Not only is a fan loud, but it can also fail, while a heatsink just keeps truckin' along. As long as you dont buy a launch release Xbox, you're unlikely to get a gpu fan xbox.

    Quote Originally Posted by Polygon View Post
    PS1 or PS One?
    It doesn't really matter as long as you don't buy a launch PS1. They're otherwise equally reliable.

    Quote Originally Posted by Polygon View Post
    Which model of 360 and PS3?
    Buy an Xbox 360 made after at least 2010 - prior to that systems had a severe risk of RROD.
    Fat PS3s are far more reliable than fat 360s, but I suggest you get a slim PS3 (not the super slim ones that came out not too long ago).
    check out my classic gaming review site: http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/

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    Strawberry (Level 2)
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    60gb PS3 != reliable. I'm on my third one and I have 2 total in the house. one the drive stopped reading discs so it is a media devices now.

    one went yellow light of death and was replaced with another one which the HD went bad with in a month luckily the place I bought it was nice enough to replace the HD for free and get it working again.
    COMPLETED MY USA SMS SET!!!!

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    Strawberry (Level 2) AdamAnt316's Avatar
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    Call me a luddite, but I think the worst thing that's happened to console reliability are moving parts. CD-ROM drives, hard drives, floppy disk drives, etc. Our first two PS2s both suffered optical drive failures, and the hard drive in our first Xbox developed the "click of death" after we'd had it for a month. Some of these drives are more reliable than others, but eventually, all of them are likely to fail at some point, and replacement parts may become hard to find, if they aren't already.

    Cartridge-based systems are generally more reliable, only requiring cleaning/adjustment of the contacts in order to make things work again. Electronic components can also fail, particularly electrolytic capacitors, but these are usually easy to find, and fairly easy to replace in the older systems. Granted, these systems do still have some moving parts in their controllers, but a joystick issue is typically easier to overcome than one with a disk reader.
    Last edited by AdamAnt316; 06-18-2013 at 07:46 PM.

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    Key (Level 9) wiggyx's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bigbacon View Post
    60gb PS3 != reliable. I'm on my third one and I have 2 total in the house. one the drive stopped reading discs so it is a media devices now.

    one went yellow light of death and was replaced with another one which the HD went bad with in a month luckily the place I bought it was nice enough to replace the HD for free and get it working again.
    Are you being sarcastic?

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    Strawberry (Level 2)
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    i am not being sarcastic.
    COMPLETED MY USA SMS SET!!!!

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    Pretzel (Level 4) Polygon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Satoshi_Matrix View Post
    General rule is to never buy a launch version of a system. Launch systems are prone to the most number of problems because they lack actual tested designs that stand the test of time. Later revisions always address earlier problems and try not to introduce new ones. That being said:




    Slim models made in 2007 and onward are very reliable.


    Any but the 1.0 which has a fan over the GPU instead of a heatsink. Not only is a fan loud, but it can also fail, while a heatsink just keeps truckin' along. As long as you dont buy a launch release Xbox, you're unlikely to get a gpu fan xbox.


    It doesn't really matter as long as you don't buy a launch PS1. They're otherwise equally reliable.



    Buy an Xbox 360 made after at least 2010 - prior to that systems had a severe risk of RROD.
    Fat PS3s are far more reliable than fat 360s, but I suggest you get a slim PS3 (not the super slim ones that came out not too long ago).
    Thanks man! Exactly what I was looking for. Look like I'm halfway there.

    Quote Originally Posted by AdamAnt316 View Post
    Call me a luddite, but I think the worst thing that's happened to console reliability are moving parts. CD-ROM drives, hard drives, floppy disk drives, etc. Our first two PS2s both suffered optical drive failures, and the hard drive in our first Xbox developed the "click of death" after we'd had it for a month. Some of these drives are more reliable than others, but eventually, all of them are likely to fail at some point, and replacement parts may become hard to find, if they aren't already.

    Cartridge-based systems are generally more reliable, only requiring cleaning/adjustment of the contacts in order to make things work again. Electronic components can also fail, particularly electrolytic capacitors, but these are usually easy to find, and fairly easy to replace in the older systems. Granted, these systems do still have some moving parts in their controllers, but a joystick issue is typically easier to overcome than one with a disk reader.
    I love technology, but I agree with you. I have no real concerns about my cartridge based systems other than freak accidents or leaky caps. All these new systems, there's just too much crap to fail.

    Quote Originally Posted by bigbacon View Post
    i am not being sarcastic.
    Well, reading your post it seems you're saying that the 60GB PS3 is reliable, and then you go on to say how you've gone through three of them as they've broken. So, you can see the confusion.
    Atari: 2600, Jaguar
    Microsoft: XBox, XBox 360
    Nintendo: NES, GB, GBC, SNES, N64, GameCube, GBA SP, Wii, New 3DS, Wii U
    Sega: SMS, Genesis, Game Gear, Nomad, Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, Dreamcast
    Sony: PS1, PS2, PS3
    Wanted: 7800, Neo Geo CD

  11. #11
    drowning in medals Ed Oscuro's Avatar
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    != means "not equal to."

    PlayStation 7500 has been solid for me over the years. Even the controller is still usable.

    PS2, well, I don't have a lot of experience there; I'll give it a while longer. I also need to put back together all my fat PS2s...

    The most common point of failure in the original Xbox is the disc drive, of course. Stay away from the Thompson. Still, ours lasted almost the entire time the console was in service. Some games have circular scratches now but it's not too bad. Gotta boot up my replacement sometime and get back to Otogi 2 and Ninja Gaiden, and other stuff (Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven is a game that drive hates more than the others for some reason).

    For 360 I'm really hoping the latest slim models will be both quiet and reliable. I've got a '09 model but haven't really done much on it - however I consider it a loud console.

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    Pretzel (Level 4) Polygon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ed Oscuro View Post
    != means "not equal to."

    For 360 I'm really hoping the latest slim models will be both quiet and reliable. I've got a '09 model but haven't really done much on it - however I consider it a loud console.
    Never seen it done that way before. I've always seen that represented by ≠ to say, not equal. I'm guessing someone came up with the other way because they didn't want to bother to look the right one up on the character map?

    I've also been wondering the same thing about the new slim 360s. I've thought of getting the 4gb model and just saving to a flash drive.
    Atari: 2600, Jaguar
    Microsoft: XBox, XBox 360
    Nintendo: NES, GB, GBC, SNES, N64, GameCube, GBA SP, Wii, New 3DS, Wii U
    Sega: SMS, Genesis, Game Gear, Nomad, Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, Dreamcast
    Sony: PS1, PS2, PS3
    Wanted: 7800, Neo Geo CD

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    Famicom Pirate Custom rank graphic
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    Original Fatboy Playstation SCPH-5000 and up. The slim "Psone" has power buttons that stick or completely break over time. The Debug console is best overall as it is region free and will play back ups, stock.

    Genesis Model 1 "High Definition Graphics" version (says this on the console) has a better picture and sound than other models


    Panasonic Q Gamecube....it plays DVDs and looks cool.

    Dreamcast Divers 2000.....its a Dreamcast TV.

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    Pretzel (Level 4) Polygon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Parodius Duh! View Post
    Genesis Model 1 "High Definition Graphics" version (says this on the console) has a better picture and sound than other models
    That's not true. All Genesis model 1s had equivalent video quality. Especially when RGB is used as the video isn't encoded. Also, the audio quality is the same among all model 1s except that last revision, the VA7.
    Atari: 2600, Jaguar
    Microsoft: XBox, XBox 360
    Nintendo: NES, GB, GBC, SNES, N64, GameCube, GBA SP, Wii, New 3DS, Wii U
    Sega: SMS, Genesis, Game Gear, Nomad, Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, Dreamcast
    Sony: PS1, PS2, PS3
    Wanted: 7800, Neo Geo CD

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    ServBot (Level 11) tom's Avatar
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    Using VCS and Coleco with no worries my first console to break was the NES, there and then I thought, yes Japanese cheap crap (should have known when I later found out that Nintendo recalled over 1 million consoles in Japan), later same with PSX, CD stopped working, again Made in Japan, crap...
    My first VCS still works a treat, as did my Coleco/Adam setup (sold the Coleco/Adam in 2004).

    Even Wall-E still uses a VCS, so there you have it
    Last edited by tom; 06-19-2013 at 02:39 AM.

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    Key (Level 9)
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    Stuff sure isn't built to last nowadays is it?

    Everyone see that Gameboy that survived a bombing?
    "If each mistake being made is a new one, then progress is being made."

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    Cherry (Level 1) Guyra's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Polygon View Post
    Never seen it done that way before. I've always seen that represented by ≠ to say, not equal. I'm guessing someone came up with the other way because they didn't want to bother to look the right one up on the character map?
    Actually no, but it's not strange if you haven't seen i before: It's mainly used in programming languages, because they use ASCII and not Unicode. And ≠ is not found in ASCII.

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    Peach (Level 3) BricatSegaFan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tom View Post
    Using VCS and Coleco with no worries my first console to break was the NES, there and then I thought, yes Japanese cheap crap (should have known when I later found out that Nintendo recalled over 1 million consoles in Japan), later same with PSX, CD stopped working, again Made in Japan, crap...
    My first VCS still works a treat, as did my Coleco/Adam setup (sold the Coleco/Adam in 2004).

    Even Wall-E still uses a VCS, so there you have it

    My broke Xbox,Xbox 360 and Atari jaguar CD aren't Japanese......

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    ServBot (Level 11) tom's Avatar
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    true, one could say American quality went downhill after the Japanese invasion (although my Jaguar, and CD and XBOX work fine)

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    Peach (Level 3) BricatSegaFan's Avatar
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    Either way, I do agree with the reliability of the vcs. My coleco vision still works like a champ with zero hiccups.

    Don't knock all Japanese products, Toyota made a name for itself for reliable trucks. Sony makes some of the best tvs on the market and they have Godzilla

    On that note Chinese products are crap not Japanese.

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