The Great Console Debate

[Peteinbkk31]

Turok,

Out of curiosity how old are you ??? I do know the characters you mention having got a Wii and had a SNES, but to love and want to know all about Kirbys adventures and Pikachus adventures, I have to admit seems pretty childish.

Ian B please tell me where you got your X-box 360 fixed, the place I go to never repair it right, at the longest it has worked about 4 hours after getting it "repaired"

Thanks

[Ian_B]

Turok,

Out of curiosity how old are you ??? I do know the characters you mention having got a Wii and had a SNES, but to love and want to know all about Kirbys adventures and Pikachus adventures, I have to admit seems pretty childish.

Ian B please tell me where you got your X-box 360 fixed, the place I go to never repair it right, at the longest it has worked about 4 hours after getting it "repaired"

Thanks

Got all 3 xboxs' fixed at Gamemania in Pantip - cost around 6k if I recall

All 3 been working without a hitch for 3 months now

[Turok]

Pete:

In my mid 40's! Who needs to grow up and get games about war, bloodshed and rape! I can see that in the newspaper. Give me something different! Mario games never cease to amaze me and I don't think you can argue that the Zelda games are some of the best adventure and puzzle games around. Funny thing is, I play more of the Nintendo DS than any console or handheld. I love backgammon so Clubhouse Games online play is awesome.

Nintendo I find is just more fun to play. Even though I am horrible at it, Mario Strikers Charged is a blast especially when I am getting my butt kicked by some 7 year old in Switzerland! Its all fun. I just prefer the the games not be like real life. Mario and the gang provide all of that.

Turok

[Firefoxx]

Strictly speaking of *console* generations, these wouldn't count as being third generation. If we consider consoles that didn't flop and weren't generally computers first, gaming second:

Let's count "Pong" as the first "real" console that actually sold in any significant quantity and made waves. That's first gen.

Second gen would probably be Atari's 2600 and its cousins. Also the Colecovision.

Third (and very important) the Famicom (or NES to the US). The Sega Master Sytem is also in this generation, and probably the PC engine (third and a half?) with the Sega Genesis.

Fourth, the Neo Geo, which was revolutionary for its time, but way too expensive (about what a PS3 costs now).

Fourth also, the Super Famicom, which was also revolutionary, but actually affordable ($199).

Fifth generation, the Playstation, and start of the Sony era, and the Nintendo 64.

Sixth generation the Sega Dreamcast, Xbox, Gamecube, and Playstation 2.

Seventh gen is probably today, with the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3.

I've probably left out a few, since this is pretty arbitrary, but this just goes to show that consoles have come a loooong way. Compare, say, Halo 3 to Pong.

[Wolfie]

So whats the deal with regional based?

Is the PS3 regional (i.e. if i buy a US one, i have to buy US games?)

[Peteinbkk31]

No regional locking on the PS3 ......

Thanks for the info Ian B, I'll try their, and do you mean 6,000 each or 6,000 for the 3 consoles !!

Turok I can understand your escape reality way of playing games, and I suppose my liking of mainly Jap Rpgs is my way of doing that too. I'm really liking Metroid at the moment. I'm thinking of getting a Nintendo DS, my daughter has one and the games are so small it's ridiculous, I mean for downloading which I know you don't do but the biggest game I downloaded for her was 64mb. So compared to the PSP which has games at 1 or even 2gb. It would be very quick and easy to get the best games.

[Peteinbkk31]

Strictly speaking of *console* generations, these wouldn't count as being third generation. If we consider consoles that didn't flop and weren't generally computers first, gaming second:

Let's count "Pong" as the first "real" console that actually sold in any significant quantity and made waves. That's first gen.

Second gen would probably be Atari's 2600 and its cousins. Also the Colecovision.

Third (and very important) the Famicom (or NES to the US). The Sega Master Sytem is also in this generation, and probably the PC engine (third and a half?) with the Sega Genesis.

Fourth, the Neo Geo, which was revolutionary for its time, but way too expensive (about what a PS3 costs now).

Fourth also, the Super Famicom, which was also revolutionary, but actually affordable ($199).

Fifth generation, the Playstation, and start of the Sony era, and the Nintendo 64.

Sixth generation the Sega Dreamcast, Xbox, Gamecube, and Playstation 2.

Seventh gen is probably today, with the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3.

I've probably left out a few, since this is pretty arbitrary, but this just goes to show that consoles have come a loooong way. Compare, say, Halo 3 to Pong.

The Sega Genesis or Sega Megadrive as called in the UK was in the 4th Gen with the Super NES in the Uk or Super Famicom ... I used to have the Super Wild Card that fitted on top of the SNES, it cost more than the SNES but you could then put all of the games on floppy discs, I think that was the first mod for a console ever, that let you play copy games.

[quiksilva]

You missed the Dragon which is probably before 3rd gen (I think).

[Wolfie]

So the XBox360 is region locked? What effect does the region locking have? Only games fro mthe specific region can be played?

I've seen a 360 for sale, 20gb model (Taiwan or Japanese model) for sale... with 5 years warrenty (Repair not replace) for 13,000b. Standard model i guess...

The Elite is the one with the bigger drive and bigger heatsink (more importantly), correct?

[Etrigan]

Xbox360 Core - Very cheap. Controllers are not wireless.

Xbox360 Premium - The most commonly sold. Wireless controllers, 20gb hdd, headset.

Xbox360 Elite - Latest model, 120gb hdd, HDMI output, and black colour.

The Elite may or may not have the new heatsinks, MS aren't admitting any liability.

Xbox360 Falcon - Production Q3 this year, so now I guess. Uses a new mainboard and CPU. Won't be available for some time.

Wolfie - Check the fine print, some of the warranties specifically do not cover the 3 red rings.

[Wolfie]

Wolfie - Check the fine print, some of the warranties specifically do not cover the 3 red rings.

Thanks for the breakdown there AjarnRuss, that makes things a little clearer. My assumption about the Region locking is correct though, yes?

The Warranty issue is the shop not M$. They will pay for all labour and i have to pay for spare parts (so basically worthless as in TH its the parts that cost, not the labour generally). Its a Modded system so i doubt M$ will touch it with a barge pole. I talked to the guy in both the shops and they are fully aware of the over heating/3ROD issue and cover it. Also spoke to one of the guys about the manufacture date of the system and he was saying those made this year are still causing problems and hes had some returned with the over heating problem.

I almost bought the 360 last night, just scared to death about this over heating issue... i would be mightily p*ssed off if the damned thing broke down after a week or two. You expect these electronics to run 1-2 years minimum without any problems.

The same guys had the PS3 for 19k, one of them could get the imported games within 24hrs and had an impressive catelog. I'll check down Pantip/MBK this weekend and see how the prices compare

[Khutan]

Wolfie;

I certainly am a huge fan of the Wii.

I like the Wiimote, but also the backward compatibility to SNES, Sega and Game Cube, so all the old games can come to life with an emulator.

One of the great things is that for the simple games, kids (big or small) can learn the game very quickly, like Bowling or Tennis.

[quiksilva]

Xbox360 Core - Very cheap. Controllers are not wireless.

Xbox360 Premium - The most commonly sold. Wireless controllers, 20gb hdd, headset.

Xbox360 Elite - Latest model, 120gb hdd, HDMI output, and black colour.

The Elite may or may not have the new heatsinks, MS aren't admitting any liability.

Xbox360 Falcon - Production Q3 this year, so now I guess. Uses a new mainboard and CPU. Won't be available for some time.

Wolfie - Check the fine print, some of the warranties specifically do not cover the 3 red rings.

Sorry but thats misleading, of course MS are admitting liability they even have a GLOBAL warranty on all xbox 360's, as I have posted before elsewhere on this forum.

Furthermore, the Falcon chipset is definitely available today. Check the barcode of the box it will either say 'Zephyr' or 'Falcon' and if you want to be sure buy the Halo 3 special edition console.

Wolfie, some games are region locked but the vast majority aren't. Check out places like Play-asia.com who describe the ins and outs of this matter for every game.

[Wolfie]

if you want to be sure buy the Halo 3 special edition console.

They have the Halo3 edition of the 360 on play-asia.com for 19k (will get stung for customs imports though)

So basically, i should only entertain the Falcon or Halo3 editions, forget the others are they will be more prone to the overheating problems?

[LivinLOS]

Xbox360 Core - Very cheap. Controllers are not wireless.

Xbox360 Premium - The most commonly sold. Wireless controllers, 20gb hdd, headset.

Xbox360 Elite - Latest model, 120gb hdd, HDMI output, and black colour.

The Elite may or may not have the new heatsinks, MS aren't admitting any liability.

Xbox360 Falcon - Production Q3 this year, so now I guess. Uses a new mainboard and CPU. Won't be available for some time.

Wolfie - Check the fine print, some of the warranties specifically do not cover the 3 red rings.

Sorry but thats misleading, of course MS are admitting liability they even have a GLOBAL warranty on all xbox 360's, as I have posted before elsewhere on this forum.

Furthermore, the Falcon chipset is definitely available today. Check the barcode of the box it will either say 'Zephyr' or 'Falcon' and if you want to be sure buy the Halo 3 special edition console.

Wolfie, some games are region locked but the vast majority aren't. Check out places like Play-asia.com who describe the ins and outs of this matter for every game.

Its my understanding that 'global' doesnt mean worldwide, it means only where MS have official sales channels and does not include Thailand or Indo the 2 places I would spend 95% of my time..

So 'global' is misleading if you ask me.

[Wolfie]

Doing a bit of research into the problem it seems to be the solder thats causing the problem, when it gets too hot and cracks. So i would imagine a number of things can be done to prevent/solve this.

Theres a new XClamp available from a company who claims to have solved this, could try that, claims to use spring steel which keeps the pressure on the gpu and helps it stay on the board... or from a prevention point of view you could just open the case and stick the raw open system under an aircon unit to keep the motherboard cool (this is something i do for my PC anyway cos my gfx card runs too hot anyway)

Ian_B probably what the guys have done is put new solder in the affected areas, using a lead based solder which is apparently more resistant to the heat problem... sounds plausible to me

.. still researching, will update as i find stuff

[Ian_B]

The people who fixed my 360's also must have installed extra fans as it now blows out a lot more air than before and the DVDs are cool when ejected - before they used to be very hot indeed!

Only problem is that it makes a hel_l of a racket so play with volume up

[Wolfie]

I'm finding this thread a most interesting read... might prove useful to some of you with broken XBox360's - i hope i can help one or two of you guys

[cowman1]

Wolfie, the Ps3 is only 14,500 baht here - www.nadzproject.com. It's worth bearing in mind. I got mine from here, great service.

[cowman1]

oh yeah, and Ian B - can you just confirm was it 600 baht to fix 3 xbox's, or 6000 baht for each one 1?

[Wolfie]

oh yeah, and Ian B - can you just confirm was it 600 baht to fix 3 xbox's, or 6000 baht for each one 1?

If your XBox360 is already modded then you might wanna try the 12cent fix described in the link above... i'm 18 pages into the 28page thread and so far its only failed for one guy, the rest have got their dead Xbox's working again and running for months without any issues.... after all, if its already modded, you dont have an offical warrenty anyway, right?

[Ian_B]

oh yeah, and Ian B - can you just confirm was it 600 baht to fix 3 xbox's, or 6000 baht for each one 1?

It was a couple of grand per console - think 5-6k but can't remember the exact amount

[Peteinbkk31]

Bear in mind Wolfie, do you really think that after buying a machine for 14,000 baht, that you should then be expected to open the machine up yourself and stick 12 cent coins in it, or stick bits of erasers on the chips .......

Buy a PS3 for 14,500 from www.nadzproject.com or wait for the newer 360's available soon

[Wolfie]

Bear in mind Wolfie, do you really think that after buying a machine for 14,000 baht, that you should then be expected to open the machine up yourself and stick 12 cent coins in it, or stick bits of erasers on the chips .......

Buy a PS3 for 14,500 from www.nadzproject.com or wait for the newer 360's available soon

I'm aiming for the Halo3 edition or Elite version - the fix will only be used when/if it fails.

I see your point, no i shouldnt have to jury-rig the console ever, but if it fails its an option. My first line of defense is going to be positioning the unit directly under my aircon unit (with the vents pointing downwards) - which i do with my PC anyway, so i dont need to do anything different for that. All the hardware is linked upto the PC so the big monitor etc is at that location.

The PS3 will have to be added to the new year shopping list i reckon

[Etrigan]

3 penny fix - Might give that a try too. The area he talks about does indeed have silicone thermal plasters over the RAM chips (MS non-existent QA), so he is saying that by removing those and installing the 3 penny device is a better way to dissipate the heat.

Khun Jack - Any thoughts on this particular mod?

Also, I don't think my post was misleading. Extending a warranty is NOT an admission of fault. Everyone knows that admission opens up all kinds of lawsuits. Therefore, MS HAS not, nor WILL not, admit liability, which is a bad hand dealt to those of us who just happen to live in a region where MS don't officially sell their consoles. It is also for the same reason that MS will not reveal anything to consumers regarding which boards are in which consoles.

[Mozikillah]

System built PC FTW!!