please be honest with me...

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I just saw an ad in my area for an XBOX360 for sale for $40, but it has the RROD problem.

I am aware it is fixeable, but I don't really know the skinny on the issue. Is it worth the money, and is it easy to fix?

Thanks.

 

[Hermiod]

In general, even the ones Microsoft themselves have "fixed" go wrong again before too long.

 

[PKerr]

Even though M$ has a three year warranty it is still might not be covered, I'd make sure.

And honestly I learned many many years ago that most times when you buy things used you're buying another person's headache

It's already RROD SO.... you're buying another person's headache

From my understanding it's rumored that the arcade model will be dropping to $99.00 with 2 games, I'd wait till then if you want a 360.

http://galaxynextdoor.com/post/480055610/rumor-99-xbox-360-arcade-bundle-with-banjo-viva

 

[Mistral]

There are people on Craigslist who will fix for about $100. There are others selling (working)systems for about $150.

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

It costs 20-30 bucks worth of parts depending on if you already own some of the tools. The two that I've fixed have been problem free ever since they were fixed. That's my launch xbox which has been fixed for 3 years, and a friends xbox that's been fixed for about 2 years. In contrast, most of the people I know that have sent theirs in to MS for repair have had to send in their xbox again at least one more time, with most sending it at least once a year. People don't seem to think it's a big deal, but being without your xbox for a month isn't that great a bargain to me. Fixing it once on your own feels like a better solution.

The repair involves re-mounting the motherboard to the case so that motherboard is no longer bowed in the middle. You also have to remove the heat sinks and clean off the thermal paste, drill holes in the motherboard tray, then remount the heat sinks fastening them to the tray rather than directly to the motherboard.

I think the parts are something along the lines of 8 bolts, 8 nuts, thermal paste, roughly 60-70 washers, electrical tape, and a napkin or foam if you have it. The tools you'll need are a drill that can drill metal, tin snips or a hacksaw, sand paper, an old credit card or similar plastic material, scissors/razor blade, and a screw driver.

Here's a video of the method I used.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3qAO7Eqbdg

If you've ever build your own computer and have ever handled a drill, then it's actually not that difficult. The last fix I did only took 2 hours. $40 is a bit much for a broken system though, I wouldn't pay more than 20 for one.

 

[Yoda]

If you're decent at this kind of electronic mod stuff, I doubt it's a big deal. I sent mine to Microsoft since it was free, including the shipping, for both my RROD and my DVD-ROM failures.

The one thing I'd worry about is that there are a lot of banned consoles out there. I don't think I'd take a RROD Xbox off of a random person on Craigslist, as the RROD might just be the tip of the iceberg.

 

[Base_Delta_Zero]

Don't waste your time. Save up the cash and buy an Elite system for 300.00. It will be worth the wait.

40.00 for endless headaches and anxiety over when it's going to RROD again (and it will) isn't worth it.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

thanks for the advice, everyone

 

[FrankR]

The ad says it has had the RROD problem; but has the Xbox modded? Was it perma-banned?
if you're looking to save money; buy the xbox360 arcade sku and pick up a USB 16gig USB memory stick; in a few weeks the 360 is getting up upgrade to support those for storage:
http://www.majornelson.com/archive/...upport-for-the-Xbox-360-coming-April-6th.aspx

otherwise buy one of the special edition bundles that comes with the 250 gig hdd.

-frank

 

[Lookingglassman]

Dont waste your money. I know guys who had the 3RROD and got it fixed and it still screwed up a few months later. XBOX 360 is pure crap.

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

Depends on what fix it is. If it's just the towel trick, or adding heat sinks (actually just washers or coins) to the graphics ram, then that usually doesn't hold up.