Why the Xbox 360 Has the Red Ring of Death Problem
Got a love-hate relationship going on with your Xbox 360? You love it due to the fact that you’re massively addicted to the intense fun that it provides. You really detest it because of…well, need I mention the red ring of death?
The red ring of death gives countless consumers a good amount of grief and frustration. It’s likewise given Microsoft some headaches as well…to the tune of about a billion dollar »”>billion dollars or so in warranty repairs. Now the first question that needs asking is why?
What exactly triggers off the three quarter circle of lights called the ring of death? Its main cause is heat. The Xbox becomes overheated when it’s played continually over lengthy time periods.
So how can the Xbox get so overheated? There’s two parts to the explanation here. Firstly, the graphics chip was engineered on a cheap budget by Microsoft.
Instead of going to an experienced vendor to design the chip (ASIC vendor), Microsoft decided to do the graphics chip design in house, that is, on it’s own. They did this in an effort to save a few tens of millions of dollars in design costs. We all know that to get the job done right, you have to hire an expert.
It’s well known that home made just will not work as well as work performed by professionals. Microsoft’s in house job is very inefficient because it dissipates far too much heat. The other part of the overheating problem is that the console’s cooling system is barely adequate at dispersing the tremendous heat put out by the graphics chip.
It doesn’t seem to take a lot to cause it to get too hot. Run the unit for too long, particularly in a warm un-air conditioned room and it’ll get too hot. The unit does not deal well with partial blocking of its cooling vent-holes either.
For example, it is very easy to allow cables and cords to become really clumped up at the back end of the console. This by itself can induce the console to get over heated. Thinking of running it in that cluttered up recess where the midday sunlight will hit it inside that room without air conditioning?
Well, it isn’t a good notion either. Of course, you probably don’t treat your toys like this, but the point that I’m making here is that consumer products are supposed to be able to tolerate some customer abuse and keep on ticking. An issue that I have no answer to is what went wrong with the quality control process at Microsoft?
There must be some sort of product testing program in place to protect the customer from defective products. Maybe it was deficient in that it didn’t simulate typical customer use of the Xbox. Or possibly it was ok, but management shipped it out the door anyway?
All conjectures aside, the great news is that Microsoft has already gone to a US based ASIC vendor and got the graphics chip redesigned. Maybe someday, your ordinary Xbox gamer won’t know what you’re speaking about when you mention: red ring of death.
Filed under: Computers & Technology