Xbox 360, an expensive piece of unstable technology?

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JBIT

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#16188 28-Sep-2007 11:03

Hi fellow GZers,

Just writing to express my experience with Microsofts X360.

In a year, I had 3 die in me after each one of them was replaced after getting a brand new one.

After the third, I decided I wanted to get my money back from Harvey Norman. I had a battle with them for about 2 months as they were adamant that they were not entitled to give me my money back, but to give store credit instead.

Is this true?

Anyway, wanted to really cover two topics in one thread.

1) What are your experiences with the xbox 360, how many have you had? Or how many problems have you had with it. (Note - I had a cooling fan on all of them from the day of purchase).

2) Were harvey norman fair in only dishing me out store credit after my battle with them?

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675 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#88484 28-Sep-2007 11:16

My Experiences:

My 360 - not one problem. It froze once and never again. Works perfectly and runs like a beast for hours on end. Have had it since Feb

However, I have 2 mates (both with 1st gen 360's whereas mine is 2nd) that have had numerous issues, both have had theirs since last year.

Both 360's scratched separate copies of Need for speed carbon (I think the DVD's were pretty cheap though),
Both 360's have had drive failures and have been replaced with Toshiba-Samsung drives (no more drive issues)
Both 360's have had 3 red rings to indicate overheating and have failed to work, infact both of them are in with Microsoft now as they wont even boot.

So I'm happy with mine, but have seen what can happen to them..

rscole86

4999 posts

Uber Geek
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Moderator

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Lifetime subscriber

#88494 28-Sep-2007 12:07

1) I have never had a XBOX360, though working in retail I do see some of them coming back. Since its release I have only seen 4-5 come back to us. Now that is not necessarily a good relection of actual failure rates as consumers are encouraged to go to MS directly.

2) http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/consumerinfo/cga/cgaGoods.pdf
http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/businessinfo/cga/cgaretail.pdf

Have a look at those two links, it is your right to ask for a refund or replacement. IMO the retailer should be doing what is right for the customer, if they want a refund then they should get it, within reason!

MikeGayner

183 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#88523 28-Sep-2007 14:46

I have 2 mates who own these machines - both have various issues. One of them had an overheating issue, and it took nearly 6 months to fix it, despite weekly phone calls to the service people, who kept promising more than they could deliver. Both of my friends have drive issues, and both have games that run slow and lock up. It's just not worth it, especially when console players always go on about how consoles are 'plug and play' - it's just not the case with Xbox 360. Every time I watch a mate playing it, it locks up at least once, or fails to load a game, or just plain runs slow.

As for whether HN are within their rights - that's a subjective issue, though I would argue that you're entitled to a refund after 3 mmajor failure. The CGA allows a retailer to chose the remedy for an issue, to the extent where the issue becomes 'major' or they are not quick enoguh in providing a remedy.

Fossie

1240 posts

Uber Geek

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#88601 29-Sep-2007 00:18

The latest ones don't break...as often. And they will get even better when they start using 65nm (i think thats it) cpus.

update: speak of the devil...

vindaloo

57 posts

Master Geek

#88915 1-Oct-2007 14:33

I picked up a console on launch day and since then its failed twice. Both times repaired and back to me within 10 days. Not ideal obviously, but overall, I can live with it.

For me personally, the positive experiences I've had on xbox live far outweigh the negatives of the hardware failures. The last repair was about 6 months ago so the hardware seems to have stabilised and given the recent release of Halo 3 and pending release of COD4 & Assasins Creed, things on the games front look to be on the up.

The alternatives for myself aren't all that attractive anyway - PS3 continues to underwhelm with its high price point and limited games catalogue, Wii is pitched at a different audience and I've never really been a PC gamer.

So all things considered, I'm pretty happy.

Nightwyrm

588 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#88958 1-Oct-2007 19:02

I've been lent one for the week (first console!). I have to say that I was a bit "wtf?" when I saw the size of the power box and plugs that go in the back of the console.
And the noise!! It's like a small jet plane taking off (I think it's the optical drive making all the noise). I had to crank the sound system up to block it out (good thing Her Indoors is away, pity about the neighbours!).

Post-geek, opinionated mediaphile, and natural born cynic. Jack of all genres, master of none.

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paradoxsm

3000 posts

Uber Geek

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#88965 1-Oct-2007 19:44

That massive power brick does put out 15A at 12v which would be incredibly handy though. I totally avoid anything with a massive power brick.

MikeGayner

183 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#88988 1-Oct-2007 21:37

Does the size of the brick matter? I mean, it just sits behind your TV, not doing a whole lot.

stevonz

397 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#90407 10-Oct-2007 09:54

I'm considering getting an Xbox 360 - not for games but as a media centre. I like that is already has wireless connectivity and I have a lot of .avi movies on my PC, that I want to play on my TV. I just have a 29in CRT at the mo & won't be upgrading to LCD/ Plasma until it dies...

The question is, I already have a PS2 (with a heap of games), so I just want it a a media centre. Do I buy the 360 or just an Xbox XBMC??? I considered the PS3... but these appear to be even more expensive for my actual requirements. Have also considered just getting an AV sender from the laptop to the TV. - but this just seems to be a flaky solution.

Recommendations anyone?

Nightwyrm

588 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#90413 10-Oct-2007 10:45

stevonz: I'm considering getting an Xbox 360 - not for games but as a media centre. I like that is already has wireless connectivity and I have a lot of .avi movies on my PC, that I want to play on my TV. I just have a 29in CRT at the mo & won't be upgrading to LCD/ Plasma until it dies...

The question is, I already have a PS2 (with a heap of games), so I just want it a a media centre. Do I buy the 360 or just an Xbox XBMC??? I considered the PS3... but these appear to be even more expensive for my actual requirements. Have also considered just getting an AV sender from the laptop to the TV. - but this just seems to be a flaky solution.

I'd confirm the wireless bit if I were you. From reading the specs, the 360 is WiFi-ready but it looks like you need to buy the Wireless Network Adaptor to enable it (at an additional $188). Add the $250 HD-DVD player and you're heading up to PS3 prices.

I was thinking along similar lines to you but it's looking more like the PS3 will be my solution in the end. It already comes with WiFi/Bluetooth as well as Blu-Ray, PlayTV is not too far away (DVB-T tuner + PVR), and you can change the HDD yourself. I'm not sure what the interconnectivity currently is or will be with a PC though.

Post-geek, opinionated mediaphile, and natural born cynic. Jack of all genres, master of none.

stevonz

397 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#90416 10-Oct-2007 10:51

I was thinking along similar lines to you but it's looking more like the PS3 will be my solution in the end. It already comes with WiFi/Bluetooth as well as Blu-Ray, PlayTV is not too far away (DVB-T tuner + PVR), and you can change the HDD yourself. I'm not sure what the interconnectivity currently is or will be with a PC though.

Bugger. Didn't realise that about the 360, will definitely need to check whether wireless is included in any device I look at.

The majority of my media is stored on an external 250gig HDD, so I could also conenct this via USB...

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JBIT

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#90417 10-Oct-2007 10:52

Stevonz - To be honest with you mate, when I had my Xbox 360 and went to set it up as a media centre to connect to my PC I had all sorts of issues and never actually got my PC and Xbox 360 to talk to each another. So never actually got to use it as a media centre :(

JBIT

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#90419 10-Oct-2007 10:54

Also Stevonz, you just said that your media is on an external HDD and you would just plug it into the 360? That never worked for me either, so I would also look into that...

stevonz

397 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#90420 10-Oct-2007 11:00

Bugger & bugger again! A mate of mine has the original xbox - modded, and connects this wirelessly to his PC. I thought that if I went for newer product (Xbox 360) , that this would be a little more future proofed.

Do you know if the PS3 connects wirelessly with a PC or will play .avi's from an ext HDD?

Back to the drawing board.

JBIT

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#90422 10-Oct-2007 11:04

The 360 might connect to your PC wirelessly, I dont know for sure as I dont have wireless at home, but with Cat5 cables, I couldnt connect it up to my PC.

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