Oh No! The dreaded Red Ring of Death for 360.
After years of highly pleasurable gaming on your Xbox 360 it finally happens, the awful red rings of death. Those three blinking lights that spell doom for your gaming addiction. Rather than throwing the expensive brick through a wall, what are your options?
Your first option that you might think about would be to buy a brand new xbox. Now that the prices have dropped, and the console is only $299 it’s a viable option. Definitely cheaper than the first console you bought on Ebay for $600. One of the benefits of the newer versions of 360s is the addition of HDMI output. Definitely more compatible with the newer Plasma and LCD screens out there, plus it allows multiple HD inputs with the HDMI cables. Versus usually only one HD Component cable connection per tv.
Also the newer versions of the Xbox 360’s are coming out with larger hard drives. In fact the new version of the Xbox Basic that sells for $299 has a 60GB hard drive. That in and of itself is a good reason to “upgrade”.
The new 360s have been redesigned as well, so that most of the issues with overheating should be avoided now. It does appear that the newer versions have much smaller failure rates. Time will tell if the new 360s will stand the test of time and heat.
Second, for those with electronic experience, the repair itself is pretty straight forward. However, I must reiterate that you should have extensive electronic experience to undertake this, a small slip and you’ll end up killing your entire system. There are ebooks, message boards, and video tutorials on how to fix xbox 360’s so there is definitely some help out there if you’re feeling adventurous.
Third, and probably the safest bet is to send the console back to Microsoft. Just by calling them, they will send you a box to send the console in. It will cost roughly $140 to get Microsoft to make the repairs, however that’s still quite a bit less than buying a whole new system.
As a fourth alternative, there are plenty of independent repair firms that will fix xbox 360’s. These repairs start at around $69 and go to around $200. Make sure you look for a company with a good warranty, and that guarantees their work.
Regardless of what you choose, there are definitely options to getting back into the gaming world with your Xbox 360. Now, the only question is when can we get a Blue-ray drive with our 360?
