Why 360s fail?

[VIAN]

According to this website, the 360 fails because of the GPU heatsink. It gets so hot that it heats the motherboard section under it, thus becoming weaker. Then the pressure from clamps that hold the heatsink onto the motherboard starts to bend the motherboard. Eventually, the connection breaks and then you get a hardware failure. This is why Microsoft has the heatsink upgrade for the GPU in the 360.

http://www.gwn.com/news/story....ailures_Explained.html


Unfortunately for me, MS has just increased the warranty to 3 years. Why is that unfortunate? Because I had sent it to an independent repair shop, which would void my, now, 3 year warranty. Just bad timing...

 

[hdeck]

the post in the other thread says they will reimburse retroactive repair fees

 

[tatteredpotato]

But not independent, third party ones. Someone other than MS opened his case.

 

[Kadarin]

The problem is bad enough that it made the front page of CNN.com...

http://money.cnn.com/2007/07/0...reut/index.htm?cnn=yes

 

[Thraxen]

This has been known for quite a while, at least in the scene community... the X clamps are the issue. There are a couple of guides on Xbox-Scene that describe how to replace the X clamps.

 

[Hadsus]

I wonder if the Elites are built better.

 

[draggoon01]

someone please clarify:

people say the xclamp causes flexing. from pics i've seen the xclamp causes the forces holding the heatsink on to be directly behind the chip, aligned up exactly with the downward force from the heatsink.

when people mod the xclamp they use screws along the corners of the chip to hold the heatsink down. the forces behind the motherboard would no longer be directly aligned with the force from the heatsink but along the corners on the backside.

wouldn't the mod more likely cause flexing?

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: draggoon01
someone please clarify:

people say the xclamp causes flexing. from pics i've seen the xclamp causes the forces holding the heatsink on to be directly behind the chip, aligned up exactly with the downward force from the heatsink.

when people mod the xclamp they use screws along the corners of the chip to hold the heatsink down. the forces behind the motherboard would no longer be directly aligned with the force from the heatsink but along the corners on the backside.

wouldn't the mod more likely cause flexing?

It forces the solder joints/connections to retain contact.

 

[draggoon01]

Originally posted by: Oyeve

Originally posted by: draggoon01
someone please clarify:

people say the xclamp causes flexing. from pics i've seen the xclamp causes the forces holding the heatsink on to be directly behind the chip, aligned up exactly with the downward force from the heatsink.

when people mod the xclamp they use screws along the corners of the chip to hold the heatsink down. the forces behind the motherboard would no longer be directly aligned with the force from the heatsink but along the corners on the backside.

wouldn't the mod more likely cause flexing?

It forces the solder joints/connections to retain contact.

that happens either way

 

[Modelworks]

It happens because you have a product that goes through temperature extremes.
You play the 360 , the chip heats up to high temps, the solder expands.
You shut off the 360 , its cools, the solder contracts.
The newer rohs solder is not as flexible as the older lead solder it replaced.
Cracks develop.

Even lead solder has its limits.
google ctc177 tuner
When I was with RCA we had to do a huge recall/warranty repair on these sets.
Our solution was to use a special solder that remained very flexible in temperature extremes.

I often wondered if you put a 360 on a heat pad and kept the board at about 100 degrees if that would eliminate the thermal problem with the solder joints.

 

[draggoon01]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
It happens because you have a product that goes through temperature extremes.
You play the 360 , the chip heats up to high temps, the solder expands.
You shut off the 360 , its cools, the solder contracts.
The newer rohs solder is not as flexible as the older lead solder it replaced.
Cracks develop.

Even lead solder has its limits.
google ctc177 tuner
When I was with RCA we had to do a huge recall/warranty repair on these sets.
Our solution was to use a special solder that remained very flexible in temperature extremes.

I often wondered if you put a 360 on a heat pad and kept the board at about 100 degrees if that would eliminate the thermal problem with the solder joints.

so do you believe xclamp mod would do anything to fix the solder problem?

many people claim the mod fixes the xbox

 

[PremiumG]

would using an aftermarket 360 cooler help??