Topic: XBox 360 Price drop!

[matt oz]

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
No. That'll cost you $99 extra.

That's what I thought...

So how is the Elite different from the Premium, besides the extra 100GB?  After the price drop, it's gonna be $100 more.  What's the point of it then?
If the  DS was wifi enabled out of the box nearly 3 years ago, why isn't the 360?

I'm actually a little surprised that Nintendo has a technology feature that Microsoft doesn't.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: matt oz

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
No. That'll cost you $99 extra.

That's what I thought...

So how is the Elite different from the Premium, besides the extra 100GB?  After the price drop, it's gonna be $100 more.  What's the point of it then?
If the  DS was wifi enabled out of the box nearly 3 years ago, why isn't the 360?

I'm actually a little surprised that Nintendo has a technology feature that Microsoft doesn't.

Elite:
120GB HD
Black
HDMI Compatibility (the biggest addition)
That is about it.

[Kairon]

Ah... and what if they're bundling in Rockstar's Table Tennis?

Joystiq reports.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I found this kind of interesting but in the latest EGM they state that it is very likely that the Elite uses parts that MS has given stress tests to, so it should be quite reliable.

[Kairon]

I've also heard that they're starting to ship new XBox360s with additional heatsinks installed standard... or was that only elites?

Edit: actually, it was new heatsinks, not fans.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
Ah... and what if they're bundling in Rockstar's Table Tennis?

Joystiq reports.

Is this MS attempt at taking a little wind out of Nintendo's sails? Since R*TT is supposed to be coming to Wii pretty soon, is this them attempting to make it seem alot less exciting.  

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: BlackNMild2k1

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
Ah... and what if they're bundling in Rockstar's Table Tennis?

Joystiq reports.

Is this MS attempt at taking a little wind out of Nintendo's sails? Since R*TT is supposed to be coming to Wii pretty soon, is this them attempting to make it seem alot less exciting.

I didn't realize Rockstar Table Tennis was that exciting in the first place?

[Kairon]

With a wiimote, it will be.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

anonymous thermal expert looks at 360

1)  Determined the 360 was poorly thermally designed in order to fit all the junk into its final form factor and reduce noise.
2)  Looked at a "fixed" 360 and finds nothing had been done to remedy the thermal issues.  What the hell was "fixed" anyway?  A small dog?

Looks like MS designed and tested the 360 for IT-grade air-conditioned environments only.  Great going, geniuses!

[GoldenPhoenix]

Buy an external cooling system, tuh duh a cooler system!

[Sir_Stabbalot]

I never trust The Inquirer. And the source seems iffy.

Quote
Located at front end is the graphics LSI heat sink. At the back is the microprocessor heat sink equipped with a heat pipe.

They show this image as evidence. That heatsink seems fitting. I mean, the fan duct is right in front of it, plus the heatsink itself isn't that small.

I think the problem comes from the thermal paste problem others have suggested, but that's just me.  

[UERD]

"We'll sell you this great sports car! Unfortunately, if you don't want the engine to overheat and explode after driving the car for a couple of minutes, you have to go to a third-party mechanic and get the tiny radiator we installed replaced with a bigger one!"

INEXCUSABLE.

Quote
That heatsink seems fitting. I mean, the fan duct is right in front of it, plus the heatsink itself isn't that small.

The heatsink takes up a large area, but the fins are not very tall- ultimately, it's the surface area of the fins and the airflow rate that really matter. And the DVD drive, which generates a lot of heat by itself (although not as much as that of the GPU) is touching (or at least very close) to the top of that heatsink, which means that the heatsink has to cope with heat being discharged both from the graphics unit and from the drive.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: UERD
"We'll sell you this great sports car! Unfortunately, if you don't want the engine to overheat and explode after driving the car for a couple of minutes, you have to go to a third-party mechanic and get the tiny radiator we installed replaced with a bigger one!"

INEXCUSABLE.

Except you should always get an extra cooling fan just to be on the safe side because anything can go wrong and the investment is worth the cost, that is why I have them for ALL my systems. Like a new car your system requires extra care (such as adding a new fan to be on the safe side) to keep it in that condition. So you phail! INEXCUSABLE.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix
Buy an external cooling system, tuh duh a cooler system!

You've just increased the price of an expensive console.

INEXCUSABLE.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: Professional 666

Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix
Buy an external cooling system, tuh duh a cooler system!

You've just increased the price of an expensive console.

INEXCUSABLE.

Expense is relative. Inquirer is irrevelant, and you shall comply.

[Sir_Stabbalot]

Quote
Originally posted by: UERD
The heatsink takes up a large area, but the fins are not very tall- ultimately, it's the surface area of the fins and the airflow rate that really matter. And the DVD drive, which generates a lot of heat by itself (although not as much as that of the GPU) is touching (or at least very close) to the top of that heatsink, which means that the heatsink has to cope with heat being discharged both from the graphics unit and from the drive.

True, but it's the GPU, and not many video cards have tall heatsinks. Many don't even cover all the card.

You do have a point about the drive being so close. But still, it's The Inquirer. They just publish total bull**** too often for me to trust them.

[UERD]

Quote
Except you should always get an extra cooling fan just to be on the safe side, that is why I have them for ALL my systems. So you phail.

My Gamecube has done just fine without an external fan, even when I've left it on for days at a time. None of the more than five computers that I or my family have used in the past five years have ever needed external cooling. Even the WiiConnect issue has gone away with the latest firmware update. So why it is so important, all of a sudden, for me to have to buy a cooling fan for a system? This is not by any means an old paradigm.

If Microsoft wanted to, they could have made a console with an intentionally inadequate cooling system and warned the user in the manual to buy a third-party cooling solution for proper operation. All indications are that they did not ever include such a warning. Plus, overheating damage results in a lot of wasted money and/or downtime while the problem is being fixed, especially if one of the chips has been cooked, and shortens the life of the other components as well.

So, in summary, to avoid incurring large losses by properly operating an electronic device exactly the way the instruction manual specifies, I'm not only supposed to, but also expected to spend my own money buying a third-party product that neither I nor anyone else has had any need for in the past (so I could not possibly have drawn on experience)? What about all the people who've never owned a console before? Are they supposed to psychically pick up on the fact that they're supposed to spend more money for a cooling station, even though nobody bothered to tell them?

Quote
True, but it's the GPU, and not many video cards have tall heatsinks. Many don't even cover all the card.

That's a good point. Most gaming PCs have larger cases than the XBox 360, though, and the CPU/GPU are further apart.

Quote
But still, it's The Inquirer.

They got the article from some Japanese magazine.

Quote
They just publish total bull**** too often for me to trust them.

I thought that was the Register. My bad.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Still better to be on the safe side, just because something may not have happened doesn't mean it isn't best to be on the safe side especially when you have the more powerful (and in turn hotter) GPUs/processors etc in a confined space like a console. So once again you PHAIL. You have been terminated.  

[Sir_Stabbalot]

Quote
That's a good point. Most gaming PCs have larger cases than the XBox 360, though, and the CPU/GPU are further apart.

Well, that shut me up.

Quote
They got the article from some Japanese magazine.

Oh... I'll stop talking now.

Quote
I thought that was the Register. My bad.

Wait, now I'm confused... One of them was publishing a lot of crap about the Intel Conroe dual-core chips. Maybe it was both... Both sites look alike.

[UERD]

Quote
just because something may not have happened doesn't mean it isn't best to be on the safe side

So I should get rid of all my electronics because they might come alive one night and decide to murder me while I'm sleeping. Yes, it's never happened before, but it's best to be on the safe side.

Quote
you have the more powerful (and in turn hotter) GPUs/processors etc in a confined space like a console.

Mhm. You don't hear about this problem with the PS3 or any of the gaming PCs that are being sold by big computer companies these days. Of course, that might be because there are no games on the PS3, nobody's ever bothered to try and find out.

Quote
So once again you PHAIL. You have been terminated.

So, it's too much to ask for a company to make a product that isn't so obviously defective? I mean, yes, it's Microsoft, but at least Windows 98 didn't erase your hard drive or turn your computer into a flaming pile of ash every time it gave you a BSoD.

Quote
Maybe it was both... Both sites look alike.

I think that's fair. I thought it was the Register when I clicked on it. Gratuitous use of bright red EVERYWHERE.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Seeing all this made it a great work day for me.

[UERD]

I do want an XBox 360 eventually. But I won't get one until the price drops again, and I can be sure that it's not defective, and that I won't have to put up with anything like this.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

ok, things are getting ridiculous.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: UERD
I do want an XBox 360 eventually. But I won't get one until the price drops again, and I can be sure that it's not defective, and that I won't have to put up with anything like this.

I bought one of those nyko intercoolers and it broke the same day, it was way too brittle and I hated how it went on, my current one uses the USB port. My PS3 on the other hand uses the intercooler that snaps into the power connector (though it fits SOOOO nicely over my PS3).

[Kairon]

Rumors are that MS is gonna "softlaunch" their 65nm  consoles this fall, and include HDMI in em all too! Cross your fingers, do your research, and maybe we'll have dependable X360's this fall!