Xbox 360 is one of the seventh generation of gaming consoles released by Microsoft competing with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii. Because of its popularity as well as its anticipation, the console sold out completely upon release in all regions except in Japan,and, as of March 31, 2009, 30.2 million units have been sold worldwide, according to Microsoft. But since its release, according to Electronics Philippines reviewers, many articles have appeared in the media portraying the Xbox 360's relatively high failure rates, some estimates indicate a failure rate of over 54%. Many of these issues can be identified by a series of red lights flashing on the face of the console; the three flashing red lights nicknamed the "Red Ring of Death" being the most infamous. The Ring of Death When a Microsoft Xbox 360 console experiences a big "general hardware" failure or "core digital" failure, three flashing red lights appear, known as the Red Ring Of Death or RROD, around the power button, in lieu of the one to four green lights indicating normal operation. According to Electronics Philippines reviewers, this error code is usually caused by failure of one or more hardware components, although it can indicate that the console is not receiving enough power from the power supply, which can either be due to a faulty power supply or if the power supply cable is not fully inserted into the console. Causes One possible cause of the General Hardware Error may be cold solder joints. The added mass of the CSP chips (including the GPU and CPU) absorb the heat flow that allows proper soldering of the lead-free solders on the motherboard, therefore, the solder has not properly melted underneath these chips, which can lead to voids (air bubbles) and weak spots in the solder known as cold solder joints. Because of prolonged constant temperature changes inside the console, the voids cause cracking. Another report is with the Nyko Intercooler with which to have led to a general hardware failure in a number of consoles. Microsoft stated that the peripheral drains too much power from the console (the Intercooler power cord is installed between the Xbox 360 power supply and the console itself) and can cause faults to occur, and stated that consoles fitted with the peripheral will have their warranties null and void. However, according to Electronics Philippines reviewers, Nyko has recently released an updated Intercooler that uses its own power source. Nyko claims this problem no longer occurs with new versions of this cooler. One article claimed that the problems were primarily the cause of the use of the wrong type of lead-free solder. This type of solder that, when exposed to elevated temperatures for extended periods of time, becomes brittle and can develop hair-line cracks that are almost irreparable. For more information visit to our site at http://buyandsellplus.com
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