First question is have the heat problems been sorted out with the Xbox360, or do new ones still overheat and melt the graphics chip housing ?

Second question, it seems like everything is advertised as being HD nowadays, does that mean that you need an HD telly or is it just that HD is an option in some games but they can still be played on standard definition tellys ?

Cheers.

I've never had heat issues with my 360 and it's been on overnight a few times. Mine is plugged into a non HD TV so yer fine there.

Nice one, cheers (I'm considering biting the bullet and getting one, cos it's gonna cost me a fortune to upgrade my PC so I may as well spend less on a console in the meantime so I got summat to play while I'm saving up, and though I do like Nintendo, there just aren't enough games on the Wii cos hardly any 3rd party developers are developing for it ).

still get a standard scart with a 360 - i think it looks better on an old tv tbh

not had heat or any other probs. i ased about red ring when i bought it they said if it red rings bring it back for immediate replacement.

If your worried about over heating, you could remove the side panels, that should help with keeping it cooler.

The newer XBOXes have a re-designed heatsink etc., inside them, although they've still got a reputed 50% failure rate.

If you want some cheap options for upgrading your PC, get in touch with me - I've been over the current price lists recently, and can point you in the direction of the best bang per buck stuff. There's never been a better time to be buying GFX cards, CPUs, RAM, hard drives and monitors.


e2a: HD is just an option, you can plug them into regular tellies, too.

e3a: New model XBOXes are called 'Jasper', IIRC.

Jasper, not heard that. What's it mean Scribble?

It's the code-name of the improved XBOXes.

It wasn't the heat sink that caused the problems it was the fixing for the heat sink it didnt clamp down on the Gpu causing it to heat up and bow away from the pcb breaking the contacts

If you are using an old TV Booj,just make sure it's capable of 60HZ, got our XBOX, only to then have to shell out another £300 smackaroos when we realised you couldn't play most of the games on our current 50HZ TV

Ah, that may be a problem Dunno if my TV is capable of 60hz & dunno how to find out

Type in the make an model into Google, should get info on the tv

Yeah - I didn't know about that - apparently you can set the XBOX to 50Hz, but not all games support it.

Look up your TV and see if it supports 'PAL 60Hz'.


e2a: ¿Does your current PC have PCI-E support on it, Booj, or is it just AGP?

Just AGP, it's a pretty old mainboard. That's why upgrading aint gonna be cheap, cos I need the works, mobo, CPU, RAM and gfx.

But just checked the back of my telly for the model number and it says 50/60hz on the back, so that's cool (and saves me googling)

You know, RAM's dirt cheap now, and you can get a half-decent motherboard for about £40, a cheap (but adequate dual-core CPU) for around £40-50, and then spend around £100 on a PCI-E GFX card, and you're laughing.

In other words, you could spend around £250 on PC parts, and get yourself a rocking machine.

That's like the cost of a cheap new XBOX and a game or two.


e2a: M$ have made it so their XBOXes only take 'special' M$ hard-drives, so you can't even upgrade them with cheap, standard PC drives.

Could you not play the 360 in HD on your monitor? I think alot of people do it.

Aye, I've been giving it a lot of thought, problem is I still can't shop online cos I still can't get a credit/debit card due to banks continued policy of discrimination against those unable to work for medical reasons (I can't even pass the credit score for a pre-pay credit card), so I'd have to use a local computer shop and they're all a good 50% more expensive than the equivalent hardware online So I may as well fork out for an xbox360 now and save up as much as I can for PC parts (my gaming fingers are getting itchy and I really need something soon )

Booj thats the psu frequency not the refresh frequency of the screen sorry to say

Ah, back to the drawing board. Bloody techno language

Hey, hows it?

1. 'jasper' consoles and beyond (july 2009 and later mfr date) are guaranteed heat problem free! Reason being, both gpu and cpu are the new smaller nm size i.e. less heat dissipation. MS was succesful ever since the jasper (subtle) launch.

2. any game will work on any tv. hdtv cables (now not included) will let you see the same game in all its glory on a hdtv set (full hd is where to be if you have the money) otherwise imo hd aint worth the expenditure unless you have access to hd television channels!

hope that helps

e2a i picked myself a jasper box to replace my overheated one, which was ixtremed (so games were relatively cheap for me). My new jasper has a liteon drive (instead of the hitachi i had before) and itl soon also be iextremed! (lets ya play ya backups and then some!)

¿Isn't iextreme some kind of modded firmware for the XBOX360?

¿If so, how easy is it to apply it, and does it have to be updated or reverted when M$ send out firmware updates etc.?

It usually needs updating with any Ms updates. It's fairly easy to do with the older xbox's. Can be a pain with the ones with newer drives, might be different now I haven't done it in months. Jungle flash was the last thing i used.

Yeah , its as simple as that. You get a usb boot disc version which simplifies all things... And as ben enlightened you, with any m$ update comes a new ixtreme so awareness is a must if you wanna stay live. All you need is a x3 connectivity kit + adapter and your good to go. oh and its only the dvd fw not the box itself..

Cheers!!

hi booj

ive had 2 of mine die of the 3 red lights

if they brake in the first 3 years you can send them back to ms free of charge for a repair

when i baught my new 360 it said microsoft refurb (or something like that) on the box so i think that means it wont die from the 3 red lights

¿How/what for do people get banned from XBOX Live?

I've read some things where people are asking is it true that new firmware can get you 'unbanned' (apparently it's not - once banned, you're banned for ever unless you can persuade M$ to 'rescan' your XBOX).

I take it that the bans are per individual XBOX then - it must use something like the XBOX's MAC address or serial number on a blacklist or something like that.

Theres a Drive Key and a SS or some sort of key. To each xbox there own, to each drive there own, linked with the 'marriage theory'... Drive keys are long interchangeable now through extraction, however console id stuff is left to the pros, dont think theres a way without risking a brick hope that helps

e2a check these handy resources here and here; these places have taught me a lot...hth

I'm sorry but am pretty sure your wrong! The games even have a logo on the back to signify there compatability with tv's, nearly all decent games are in 60HZ. That is whether you are using HD or standard PAL connection

Cheers for the reply Scribble.

Booj, after a squizz at the Xbox site, it appears that most games support either 50Hz or 60Hz with only a few being only 60Hz. That's the way i read it anyway. Here's the link:

hxxp://www.xbox.com/en-GB/support/xbox360/pal60.htm

Having said this I'm not exactly sure where the method of connection comes into it, i.e whether it matters or not if you're connecting with the SCART that comes with the 360 (actually it's a composite that has a SCART adapter which plugs into the red, yellow and white).

Hope this helps.

i have this problem with the xbox. i cudnt play cod4 or gow because my tv only played in 50hz so i had to get a new tv.

Just to add.. Remember if you crack a new xbox open to mod it..Your warranty is fucked. M$ wont touch it. If its new.

any one know a good online xbox repair for a liteondrive box thats damaged due to a modding fuck up?

HDTV also is a gimmic to sell Booj. Im glad your TV can handle an xbox.n Did you get one?