Oh crap..... It may be time to hack up the 360

[FudgeNuggets]

So I picked up Godfather for $20 on the 360 Sunday (GREAT game btw) and have been playing it a few hours a night every night. Last night after seizing a warehouse the screen goes all funky psychadelic colours and starts artifacting. I panic because I hadn't saved the game in a long time and hightailed it to the nearest save point. Figuring it was just a game glitch, I dropped to the dashboard and it was still messed up. Shut down the system and ate dinner. Came back and 15 minutes in, it started doing the same thing. Shut down the system for the night and watched Old School.

It's a launch system, has NEVER had any heat problems except for when I hooked up that damned Nyko Intercooler.

I've already sent it back once to have the DVD drive replaced.

First of all, with it taking weeks or even over a month to get back I have decided I'm NOT sending it back to Microsoft, warranty be damned.

I've got a few options here:

Take it apart and spray it out good with an aircan (my place is VERY dusty) then do the shroud-mod that somebody posted here like a month ago. Also will allow me to see if they added the extra GPU-sink after I sent it back for the dead DVD drive.

Do the above and slap some AS5 on the GPU (I don't really want to have to take the motherboard out though.

Trade the damned thing in on an Elite at GameStop (although I don't want black) while it is still working and pay the difference.

Trade the damned thing in on a new model core unit with HDMI at Gamestop/EB/wherever while it is still working.

I'm just wondering how suspicious they would be if I traded a 360 core for a 360 core (I'm keeping my hard drive)?

Crap, do I hack it up or trade it in.......tough decision....... thoughts anybody?

 

[deception``]

Trade it in the for a new Premium with HDMI. Chances are you'll get a system with the quieter DVD drives and with the extra GPU heatsink. I personally think my Elite is much better built than my older Premium. Don't risk opening up the box as it might not produce the results you want.

deception``

 

[John G]

If the unit artifacts and such even when it is not yet hot (still cool), opening it up to dust-bust and improve cooling won't help. They might have helped to prevent the situation from developing if it were caused by heat, but if it starts off doing it, you're past the point of no return.

Also, if it constantly or intermittently displays funky stuff and colors but the system appears to otherwise play properly, there's also the possibility of a damaged video cable or TV input, etc. I've seen some pretty funky stuff from damaged cables before. It usually has a different look than a lot of video hardware based artifacting, though.

Here's another option....buy a new system (whatever one you want), send in the old one for repair. (Might be free to fix.) When the old one comes back repaired, sell it. If it comes back soon enough, you might even be able to return the new system for full refund without doing anything quite as dishonest as switching systems.

 

[FudgeNuggets]

Well, I know it is not the cables as the problem only occured after playing for a couple of hours, stopped playing for 30 minutes, came back and 15 minutes later started again, so if it were the cables it'd be all the time, not just after it gets warmed up.

I guess I can't screw anything up by opening it and blowing the dust out. I'll do that and play it tonight. If it does it again, then it'll be traded in Saturday afternoon.

Please keep the suggestions comings as I'll not definately decide what to do until late tonight. Gotta work til 4:30 then going to see Halloween, then meeting for dinner with the wife (she's scared of Michael Meyers (not the former SNL one) ).

 

[Burninate]

Well, you don't have to trade in your system for another system. If you want to avoid suspicion, trade in your system and just take the store credit on a gift card. Then you can go to another EB Games/Game stop and redeem your store credit for another system there. Any chance to screw EB Games/Gamestop should always be taken IMO. As for opening it up, I would think that they'd be a bit wiser in checking the tamper sticker (with all the broken 360's showing up now-a-days) before accepting any 360 on trade, but I'm just assuming that, it may or may not be the case.

 

[Romulox]

If you want to keep your hard drive just tell them .
They should be able to take the new hard drive out of the box and put it with your old sytem for the trade in.
Thats what I did at compusa when I used the warranty.

 

[Automata]

If you want to keep your hard drive just tell them .
They should be able to take the new hard drive out of the box and put it with your old sytem for the trade in.
Thats what I did at compusa when I used the warranty.

Or you could, I don't know...keep the HDD? He has a core system, he would just remove it

 

[Scott9027]

I would trade it in, it doesn't sound like you're going to be able to fix it. You're welcome to try of course, but I would just bring it back.

 

[Romulox]

Edit NVM. I get it now. I missread it. I would trade it in on a new core with the hdmi if it ever comes out.

 

[FudgeNuggets]

Edit NVM. I get it now. I missread it. I would trade it in on a new core with the hdmi if it ever comes out.

Rainman already got one with HDMI, just no new core.

 

[jstutman]

Rainman already got one with HDMI, just no new core.

yeah but thats rainless whom has avery good skill at searching and searching till he finds one. I havent had that luck. I got an Elite but a friend wants a new 360 with the HDMI.

 

[FudgeNuggets]

My launch Xbox 360 console:

RIP 2/14/2006 - 8/31/2007

Turned it on to watch 300 on HD-DVD tonight, wife was dragging her ***, so I decided to play Godfather for a bit, not even a minute into the game --artifacts-- rebooted it and the dashboard wouldn't even come up. Switched to a different set of component cables just to be sure they really weren't the culprit and it was like this.

Kirk: Bones, what about the 360? Will it be okay?
McCoy: It's the GPU.... It's dead Jim


I'll be buying a new core tomorrow. I'm not going to bust my *** to find an HDMI one but if I do then that'll be gravy. I'll try to fire it up again in the morning and if it even makes it to the dashboard then I'll be tossing it in a box and RUNNING like hell to the closest EB or Gamestop.

 

[rainless]

My launch Xbox 360 console:

RIP 2/14/2006 - 8/31/2007

Turned it on to watch 300 on HD-DVD tonight, wife was dragging her ***, so I decided to play Godfather for a bit, not even a minute into the game --artifacts-- rebooted it and the dashboard wouldn't even come up. Switched to a different set of component cables just to be sure they really weren't the culprit and it was like this.

Kirk: Bones, what about the 360? Will it be okay?
McCoy: It's the GPU.... It's dead Jim


I'll be buying a new core tomorrow. I'm not going to bust my *** to find an HDMI one but if I do then that'll be gravy. I'll try to fire it up again in the morning and if it even makes it to the dashboard then I'll be tossing it in a box and RUNNING like hell to the closest EB or Gamestop.

I went to three game stops and got mine (two days later) from the second one. I could've just stopped with the second one, since they said they were receiving a shipment on Wednesday, but I figured I'd try one more just to see if I could get one that day. (I was borrowing someone else's car.)

All in all... for all three stores... it took me 45 minutes. Store one is right around the corner from me... LITERALLY. Lake Shore Drive is the first left after that and Roosevelt is the first stop downtown (that's fifteen minutes past). That guy said he was getting a shipment wednesday. Took Roosevelt to the Dan Ryan and got off at 18th street for store number 2 (half hour mark). They had the exact date of the system I was trying to trade in... and that was the new shipment.

So I went home, called Store #2 on Wednesday. They said they had it. Five minutes later (maybe this is where my car trouble comes from...) *I* had it.

Video game shops are a dime a dozen these days. I don't know about Canada... but I have to pass three video game shops just to get to the bookstore. So it would be no work at all to get one of the new systems with HDMI. And frankly... why wouldn't you? Particularly since you'll know for sure it has the new cooling heatsinks. Why would you buy another 360 that's going to give you the same problem in a few months? Doesn't make sense... (Tsk... tsk... and all your talk about Sony... )

All you have to do is ask them if they have a system with that specific date. If they're anything like here in Chicago they won't even know where to look, so you'll have to show them and ask them nicely to look in back and see if they have a 7-2007. (Of course if you go to best buy or something you can look through a hundred or so yourself. If it wasn't for my warranty at gamestop, that's what I would've done.)

 

[FudgeNuggets]

I've got a dozen or so place up on Upper James that I can check out, some retail stores, a Circuit City, Best Buy, a couple of EB/Gamestop stores. At Best Buy they keep them all locked in a cage, not just sitting on the shelf, so I'll have to look like a goob and ask to look at the dates on them. I'll hit them all to see if any have the 7/07 or 8/07 date. Did yours have the BenQ drive? I'd really like to have that one since it is quieter.

 

[rainless]

I've got a dozen or so place up on Upper James that I can check out, some retail stores, a Circuit City, Best Buy, a couple of EB/Gamestop stores. At Best Buy they keep them all locked in a cage, not just sitting on the shelf, so I'll have to look like a goob and ask to look at the dates on them. I'll hit them all to see if any have the 7/07 or 8/07 date. Did yours have the BenQ drive? I'd really like to have that one since it is quieter.

Not sure. But if you can find out what the drive's supposed to look like I can check for you. One thing it DOES have now is this annoying internal fan... I'm sure it keeps things much cooler... and it outputs a hell of a lot of heat... but it's annoying as f***.

EDIT: Not to say that it's "loud"... just "annoying".

DOUBLE EDIT: http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/Xbox_360_DVD_Drive_Comparison.htm

I have the BenQ

 

[FudgeNuggets]

Well I scoured all of Upper James and nobody had a 7-07 HDMI core 360 unit but everybody had 7-07 HDMI premium/pro units. What I did was I bought a premium and at the same time sold them back the controller, headet, A/V cables and hard drive thus paying only $20 more than a core unit. Going to go hook it up in a bit.

If by chance I can get MS to repair my dead one, when I get it back I'll take it in and trade it in on a PSP-slim.

 

[Neuromancer]

(she's scared of Michael Meyers (not the former SNL one) ).

i dont know some of his SNL skits were downright horrifyingly bad



EDIT: nm you already did what you gotta do

 

[FudgeNuggets]

Well mine has the BenQ drive as well, so I guess probably all 7-07 or later production date 360s have them. I myself cannot really tell it is any quieter except for maybe when it is first spooling up.

I hope this 360 lasts since it has the new GPU heatsink and the BenQ

 

[Neural Net]

My launch Xbox 360 console:

RIP 2/14/2006 - 8/31/2007

Turned it on to watch 300 on HD-DVD tonight, wife was dragging her ***, so I decided to play Godfather for a bit, not even a minute into the game --artifacts-- rebooted it and the dashboard wouldn't even come up. Switched to a different set of component cables just to be sure they really weren't the culprit and it was like this.

Kirk: Bones, what about the 360? Will it be okay?
McCoy: It's the GPU.... It's dead Jim


I'll be buying a new core tomorrow. I'm not going to bust my *** to find an HDMI one but if I do then that'll be gravy. I'll try to fire it up again in the morning and if it even makes it to the dashboard then I'll be tossing it in a box and RUNNING like hell to the closest EB or Gamestop.

Funny story: I purchased a launch console and it died on me several months later, the usual three red rings of death. As it was still under warranty (thank the lord) I sent it back to Microsoft, it was repaired, and the ring of doom had gone, however it started developing problems about 6 months later, no red rings in sight, but extreme slowdown, rendering errors, freezes and crashes. This was running on a NSTC TV, so what I had was a stuttering, low resolution gaming experience.

Then I bought the VGA cable and hooked it up to my PC monitor, thinking that running the console at a higher resolution would only further kill the performance and increase the frequency of the crashes, not so: It runs perfectly, with a constant 60fps in games and not crashing or freezing, it's still going strong. Why this has happened I do not know, perhaps it's happy to stretch its legs, there is next to no difference in the temperature in my living room and bedroom either, so I just hope this good fortune continues. *touch wood*

 

[jstutman]

I elite didnt even come with a BenQ. consider yourself lucky