The hugely scientific console reliability poll

[BoardBonobo]

As far as I can see it's yet another (of many) threads on a forum discussing failed units. And, oh my gosh, there's not one person posted saying, 'mine's still working... just thought I'd rub it in...!'. It's not rocket science why they haven't.

And who cares about the stats? 9 out of 10 are made up on the spot anyway.

Here's another site to moan about

 

[Mr. Domino]

Peter moore on the subject:

I can't comment on failure rates, because it's just not something - it's a moving target. What this consumer should worry about is the way that we've treated him. Y'know, things break, and if we've treated him well and fixed his problem, that's something that we're focused on right now. I'm not going to comment on individual failure rates because I'm shipping in 36 countries and it's a complex business.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3159284

 

[Tap In]

again.... the system has been out for 18 months and in production for nearly 2 years.

Obviously the launch units were suspect and that has been admitted and dealt with. There is NO way to know current failure rate when the initial failure rate was so high and then most likely has come down significantly.

for some to suggest that buying a 360 today gives you a 3 in 10 chance of failure is ridiculous IMO.

 

[Todd33]

for some to suggest that buying a 360 today gives you a 3 in 10 chance of failure is ridiculous IMO.

Why? If the MTBF is one year we simply have no data on units sold now. Did you ever dig up sources for why launch units are different from current ones?

More non-scientific data for people to poo-poo. BTW I voted "0" here.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10500450#post10500450

 

[Bigus Dickus]

As far as I can see it's yet another (of many) threads on a forum discussing failed units. And, oh my gosh, there's not one person posted saying, 'mine's still working... just thought I'd rub it in...!'. It's not rocket science why they haven't.

That actually means something to you? Fine. I have an early launch unit. My wife pre-ordered it for me, and had it well before Christmas as my gift. I've used it extensively for gaming, my wife views our PC stored photo-albumn on it often, I use it nearly daily as an easy way to stream music from my PC collection to my audio system, we use it as the primary DVD player in that room for movies, it plays Baby Einstein at length each day for my son, and my wife forgets to turn it off so it stays on overnight quite often.

It has never scratched a disc, it has never had a disc read error, it has never had a problem with a remote connecting, it has never glitched during a game. Apart from the same drive noise it has made from day one, it is perfect.

Is that rubbing it in enough?

Does one unit and a personal anecdote mean anything? Of course not. Maybe I've got the only launch console that hasn't glitched at least once on the whole planet. Who knows.

 

[Bigus Dickus]

Well that's one theory. B3D breaks 360s at a higher rate than all other consoles.

It isn't a "theory" it is just illustrating that anyone can form an argument for any viewpoint in the absence of real data. B3D members might have launch units in disproportionate numbers. There might be a hundred variables we know nothing about... but that doesn't stop some people from assuming this sample is good enough to make sweeping generalizations from.

You might want to head to the AVSforums next and make sure they understand they are at fault too

I've been a member of AVS for years... about as long as I have here. I'm familiar with that and many other bitch threads. What don't you understand about that phenomenon?

Edit: B3D age poll

http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=38917

I do find it a bit humorous that you use one forum poll to prove the vailidity of another.

So why anyone would think the typical B3D poster plays more or is harder on a console is pure fantasy IMO.

Again, I'm just highlighting that there are numerous variables you and others have no way to account for. And until that is done, you can't begin to rectify this sample with the whole population (if that is even possible, given the self-selective nature of the poll).

 

[infinity4]

regardless of what failure rates are, microsoft better fix it

its the only barrier stopping me to jump back . everything else is fantastic, unreliability itself shots itself in the foot.

 

[Bigus Dickus]

I agree... MS needs to understand exactly what is responsible for the failures and implement a hardware or software fix as necessary. Perhaps they already have... I'm not sure we have good data either way on that so time will probably tell.

 

[Todd33]

I do find it a bit humorous that you use one forum poll to prove the vailidity of another.

I find it humorous that you insist the B3D community lies on all polls. Can you insult us all anymore while protecting a mega coporation?

 

[Bigus Dickus]

I find it humorous that you insist the B3D community lies on all polls. Can you insult us all anymore while protecting a mega coporation?

I'm not accusing anyone of lying, and I'm not protecting anyone.

Did you read anything we posted previously about self-selection?

 

[acaeus]

again.... the system has been out for 18 months and in production for nearly 2 years.

Obviously the launch units were suspect and that has been admitted and dealt with. There is NO way to know current failure rate when the initial failure rate was so high and then most likely has come down significantly.

for some to suggest that buying a 360 today gives you a 3 in 10 chance of failure is ridiculous IMO.

That is is no more than an assumption.

We've seen no revision of the xbox 360 HW. There have been no obvious change in the hardware of newer models (other than a quieter DVD drive on occasion) comparing to launch units.

To me, the misinformation suggests the problems were NOT dealt with, and are a little more difficult to address and certainly cannot be fixed by releasing a FW upgrade.

Unreliability of the xbox 360 is the reason I didn't buy it, no other.

 

[BoardBonobo]

...
Is that rubbing it in enough?

Does one unit and a personal anecdote mean anything? Of course not. Maybe I've got the only launch console that hasn't glitched at least once on the whole planet. Who knows.

Not quite, could do with a bit more between the shoulders. Try posting the same thing in the threads in which a large number of upset people are consoling(sic) each other over the fact that their foray into the next generation has turned into an expensive and dissapointing experience.

I have two 360's both launch day units, one works fine and the other is a paper weight. I understand how gutted those people must have felt when theirs died. I'm just lucky enough to be able to go out and buy a new one should I have to. Which I shouldn't, and won't again should the same thing happen.

One unit and one anecdote mean anything? Probably not, but at least it's a start.

 

[BoardBonobo]

That is is no more than an assumption.

We've seen no revision of the xbox 360 HW. There have been no obvious change in the hardware of newer models (other than a quieter DVD drive on occasion) comparing to launch units.

Apart from what looks like glue holding the cpu and gpu down.

 

[Tap In]

Unreliability of the xbox 360 is the reason I didn't buy it, no other.

well I buy the store warranties for my CE products so I really don't worry about such things. I expect some flaws with cutting edge technology being first brought to the marketplace.

If needed, I just walk in with a defective unit and walk out with new.

pretty simple as well as MS has a 1year warranty in the states now too.

 

[infinity4]

Nonsense, if you wanted to "Jump in." you would have by now, no one will EVER be able to guarantee that your particular unit won't fail, especially considering your "...everything else is fantastic" remark. It seems as if you are using the failure rates (I have gone through 2) as a red herring.

not really, i know that it is best console out there for me as of now (with GeOW + R6:V + FM2 etc), the reliability really puts me off. i am not making stupid assumptions, when i had one it often had slowdowns (but no rings of death) even when i was browsing in dashboard. it really puts me off as i am on really tight budget.

 

[warb]

If only this poll were a little more hugely scientific.

Separate options for launch 360s that have died or not would give us a much better idea of the over-all failure rate.

 

[fastasleep]

I've had two 360s go on me. My launch unit actually lasted longer than its replacement which was a brand new unit. Manufacture dates of september 2005 and may 2006. Currently have a 360 with a manufacture date of nov 2006.

In my experience, defects usually arise within the first 30 days of use. If a console is breaking down 6 months to a year down the road, its not a defect issue. Its a made of junk, assembled like crap issue. The units are folding because daily useage is stressing out whatever componentry is the weakest link in the chain. My two units fried, something went inside, I could smell something bad was going on in there.

The 360's durability is the worst I've seen of any consumer electronics device I've bought. On top of that, its mechanically unrefined and that huge external power brick is a glowing testament to MS's lack of hardware expertise. That sucker is ridiculous. I can only imagine how an internal power supply would have added to the 360's noise factor and reliability issues. No game library is worth it to put up with second rate, er make that third rate, er make that bottom of the barrell hardware design. MS should be thoroughly embaressed and look to correct the situation instead of looking to sweep complaints under the carpet and hope that people won't notice their systems going down on them.

 

[infinity4]

i don't mind power bricks, wii has huge one and ps3 is bigger than 360 anyway. disc scratches are another question. scratch issues are actually microsoft deliberately not putting rubber pads around lenses, according to this kassa.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=STwlMKiSP2c

 

[djskribbles]

wow, i've never actually looked at the 360's power brick; its nearly 1/3 of the actual 360 itself. the ps3 is a little larger than the 360, but factor in the power brick and it may even be larger.

i myself wouldn't mind a power brick in my particular setup, but i can see how some would find it cumbersome to have, especially those who have nice and clean home theatre setups.

 

[archangelmorph]

It's really not that big of a problem having the power brick..

I just wish the cable would have been longer then at least it could be discretely dumped behind my setup on the floor and out of the way..