Nikkei Electronics had a "thermal design expert" conduct an analysis of the Xbox 360's heat radiation system. They did an analysis on two Xbox 360 consoles, one which was purchased in 2005, and another which was recently received from a repair center in May 2007.

By analyzing the room temperature in comparison to the Xbox 360 exhaust temperature, the cooling fan speed, and the graphics LSI heat sink, the thought was that "if the malfunction stemmed from insufficient heat radiation, the graphics LSI and components around it are highly likely to be the failure parts."

Upon opening the 2005 and the May 2007 consoles, here's how it went down:

"Huh? The heat sinks and fans are completely identical, aren't they?"

To our surprise, the composition of the repaired Xbox 360 looked completely the same as that of the Xbox 360 purchased in late 2005. It turned out that Microsoft provided repair without changing the Xbox 360's thermo design at least until May 2007."

So what is Microsoft doing to Xbox 360 consoles at the repair center? Are consoles being patched up or being swapped around? With reports of several returns per Xbox 360 gamer, its clear something isn't being solved. When I spoke to a Xbox 360 representative at a repair center, I asked if they could please send a more recently manufactured Xbox 360, since every Xbox 360 console returned to me which failed (3 total) had a manufacture date of 2005. The rep replied "the number or date on the back will not match the hardware on the inside of the console."

If what the analysis of the Xbox 360 is true, it is alarming to think that Xbox 360 gamers are stuck in a perpetual cycle of prolonged returns, with the turnaround time taking anywhere from two to ten weeks for returns to Microsoft.

From N4G via Nikkei Business Publications

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