Since its release, the Xbox 360′s name has become synonymous with overheating and the good ol’ red ring of death. This of course, was a big enough problem to have Microsoft extend the warranty for RROD’s to 3 years, at a cost a 12,673,536,078,579,524,000.00 Zimbabwean Dollars (That’s a billion US dollars and is in fact, the real amount at the current exchange rate on that side of the border). The blokes from GoFanboy decided to run test on the new Xbox 360 “S” to see how it fares against the PS3 slim as well as the old fat-ass Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 as well.
To do the tests, GoFanboy aqcuired 4 Xbox 360 S consoles, 4 PS3 Slim consoles, and then one fat PS3 and one fat Xbox 360. They then ran the consoles inside barely ventilated cabinets, in order to simulate the type of heat experienced when consoles are inside demo stands on hot, sweaty showroom floors. So how do you think the new Xbox 360 S did? Here’s what they had to say about the results: “After putting the consoles in barely ventilated cabinets, the tests finally “heated up”. In every slim model tests, the PS3 models shutdown first. This occurred multiple times as we tested each pairing three times. This doesn’t mean the PS3 models are faulty by any means. It simple means they’re designed to shutdown at a lower temp or possibly they heat up faster. Even after multiple tests in identical situations with high temp exposure, not a single console showed any sign of damage after rebooting. The “fat” models however were a much easier test in terms of time and results. The PS3 160gb won this test in under five hours. Sadly the 360 Premium (fat model) was under able to reboot as we got red ring and boxed that one up.”
So then, it seems like Microsoft have actually been doing something right lately. It seems as though the old days of overheating Xbox 360s may just be a thing of the past, well, that is if you fork out for one of the new models. All of the consoles fared well, with the exception of the Xbox 360 fat, but that’s no surprise now is it? A special mention has to go out to the old PS3 for still coming out on top. What this essentially means is that everybody wins. We have finally gotten to a stage where stupid technical faults are becoming a thing of the past, but that’s still no excuse for the amount of turmoil caused by Microsoft and its RROD in the past. I’m just happy that the new Xbox 360′s run cooler, meaning that less folks like you and me have to sit through a late night Friday RROD surprise ever again. Source: GoFanboy | 
12:00 pm
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License.
July 13, 2010
1:09 pm
It’s fixed but 4 years too late imo.
July 13, 2010
1:11 pm
It would’ve been great to see some actual results. I hate these type of articles. I want to see some thermal imaging pictures!
Have you read the other articles on GoFanboy.com? “PSP2 Phone Running Windows 7 Mobile Spells End of the iPhone”
July 13, 2010
1:35 pm
I don’t think that everyone has access to that kind of tech whenever they want to do a test though. And in anycase, they were testing for shutdowns , not fires.
July 13, 2010
2:04 pm
I suppose. It’s really silly to test which console shuts down first though.
What does that even mean? Could it be that: Sony protects gamers more than Microsoft. PS3 quicker to react when on fire. X360 is slower than the PS3 [then some fine print after the sensationalist headline - at heating up].
July 13, 2010
2:55 pm
I agree with RSA-Ace. We don’t know what’s the temperature thresholds in the experiment.
July 13, 2010
3:25 pm
who says, that the PS3 didnt just switch it self off for being on too long? lol
July 13, 2010
1:12 pm
Reminds me of that time when i played Modern Warefare, when suddenly………. My screen went fuzzy, like a bad reception when you watch SABC at your friends crappy antenna signal. I immediatley knew it was the E71. Greeted my friends, turned it off and moer it stukkend with a hammer. Felt good
July 13, 2010
2:04 pm
Sounds like a loose cable… maybe you should have tested it first
July 13, 2010
1:17 pm
Good to see the 360S come out on top, no more rrod on the 360 and no more Ylod and Brlod on the PS3 hopefully.
July 13, 2010
2:53 pm
As longs as the things doesn’t sound like an aeroplane taking off, I’m happy.
July 13, 2010
3:20 pm
I wasn’t around the new Xbox 360 for that long during my time at E3, but during the MS interview and unboxing, it was running right next to my ear and was very quiet. Let’s hope it stays that way after a few months though, as the fat models were known to get louder over time.
July 13, 2010
3:18 pm
Nah dude when i restarted,before hitting the crap out of it, the screen said E71… I cried myself to sleep that night, and lost 2 months of Xbox Live Gold Play time…. sigh
July 13, 2010
3:27 pm
E71 or E74? E71 is a dashboard update error, and is really easy to fix.
July 13, 2010
3:34 pm
Why didn’t you just get it replaced for free? Or was it chipped?
July 14, 2010
10:27 am
LOL!!! Im gonna be honest…. It was chipped,It was karmas way to say ….. UP YOURS!!!!! I stand corrected Geoff. It was E74… E71 is a hard drive related problem, if im not mistaken?
So I smashed it up got a new Xbox, bought all the games over original that I liked and gamed, Till December. Got myself a PS3, and never looked back
July 14, 2010
10:46 am
Very naughty Wolfy. IMO piracy ruins the experience since you don’t appreciate the games when you can get enything for free.
July 14, 2010
11:54 am
So reading through this I pick up that your chipped console which you used to be a filthy pirate had a software problem. So you smashed it up and blamed Microsoft and now are a PS3 fan?
I’m sure Microsoft are weeping over the loss
July 14, 2010
12:06 pm
no not at all Got tired of Xbox, you havent experienced the generation untill you owned atlest 2 of the 3 conoles in my opinion
:) Like I said I bought all the games over original. I can show you my catalogue of games too If you dont believe me
42 Xbox 360 Original and 27 PS3 games so far. Like that one Achievement says on Gears of War 2 “Variety is the spice of life” ;)
Why curse on my now. Was ages ago anyways? lol
July 13, 2010
3:19 pm
@RSA-ACE and @Fox1
Hopefully, someone out there has the equipment to do a proper test soon, but for now this is just a decent indication that the consoles can take a good amount of heat without ventilation without going all emo on themselves and ending it all.
July 13, 2010
3:25 pm
@NICKDEBRUYNE
Yeah it really is cool (i
puns).
July 13, 2010
4:15 pm
‘cool’ as in cold – get it
July 13, 2010
4:30 pm
I remember their was a dude on some site on the interwebz that recorded the temps of the Jasper vs the Falcon and he also recorded the temps of the xbox temps while playing from the hdd vs playing off the disc.
July 13, 2010
5:19 pm
Thermal imaging would be more interesting :)
July 13, 2010
7:33 pm
ps3 best architecture console ever made.
ugly xbox 360 orginal,elite ,xbox 360s—->bullshit
July 13, 2010
8:25 pm
the ps3 slim – yes, not the ps3 phat.
July 14, 2010
10:28 am
I own a PS3 phat 40GB upgraded to 320GB, And it works like a dream, I just miss the old In game cross game chat on XBL…. sigh, you win some, you lose some
July 14, 2010
11:26 am
@witwolf, eventualy the thermal paste in the
ps3 will give the same probles as the xbox 36.
To say the ps3 is the best arhitecture console ever made is not true , because you still have a higher than avarage failure rate on the ps3 (yes the xbox is about 10* higher than the ps3 phat.)
The best consoles architecture would be the nes or snes which after 20 years still run.
Problem is most ps3 phats will not last that long as the thermal past use is “greener” and as a result not as robust as a few years back, and it will crack etc, – why do you think so many ps3 owners get YLOD, and this increase with age.
July 14, 2010
12:17 pm
I guess your right, im not saying it will last forever :) God knows i had my share of 360′s, I came across this other place in PTA called Quickflow. A highly rated store on PS3ZA repairs all 3 consoles and decent prices.
Check it out when your console(s) are giving you crap man
http://www.quickflowit.co.za
July 14, 2010
10:51 am
@WitwolfyZA
Dude, do us all a favour and don’t come in here and complain that your modified console wasn’t working as expected. Im so damn sorry that MS wasn’t able to maintain a higher level of stability so that you could continue to screw them over for a longer period.
July 14, 2010
12:14 pm
You know what Nick ive been coming here for 3 freaking years. Owned 4 Freaking Xbox 360′s, been part of the community for a long time now. Supported you guys ,spread the word for people to come here.
And your giving me this shit? Just over something I deserved to happen to me from 2 years ago??? Go look at my freaking Xbox live gamertag idiot I still own a xbox 360 and ive been offline so far for 11 days, Enjoying Battlefield 2 on PS3… Are you gonna accuse me of having chipped that as well? GAMING IS MY HOBBIE, I SUPPORT THE COMPANIES AND DOVELOPERS. Dont come act like you never pirated a console cd or whatever. Hypocrite
July 14, 2010
12:27 pm
I believe that people can do whatever they like, seriously, but it kills me when people who modify or pirate things complain about the thing they have modified.
I’m having a bad day, and that comment was probably more aimed at the people that have annoyed me in the past. Because nothing grinds my goat more than these other okes who pop into one of my high scoring reviews, after playing a pirated version of the game and then telling me that the game they didn’t bother paying for was only worth a 6 or 7.
It’s tough enough being objective as a reviewer who gets games delivered to me for review, and these okes that just play every single thing that releases each week have forgotten the value of a game.
There’s really nothing that kills me more than someone popping in to the comments, after not having even paid for a game at all, and complaining about its faults. Only the people who pay get to complain.
Again, I do apologise if it all came out on you, I know that you are a big supporter of the local scene and gaming in general. I’m glad you are not pirating games anymore though, as a small emerging market, every little bit counts and if we don’t all do our bit then gaming is never going to properly take off in this place.
Phew, what a day.
July 14, 2010
12:40 pm
Confession time:
I used to play pirate games on the Commodore 64 … but I liked the intros and cheats
July 14, 2010
4:51 pm
DAMN YOU FRED! How could pirate games on the commodore 64? I can only hope your tape deck ate your tapes, or your play button broke!