The solution to Microsoft’s Red Ring of Death is here. As promised by Microsoft, the new Xbox 360 Slim that is now available in retail stores nationwide accomplishes two things: a sleek design and a good ventilation system that eliminates all of the issues that cause the Red Ring of Death. Debuted during the Microsoft Media Briefing in Los Angeles, the Xbox 360 Slim is an improved system that has a lot of features for the low price of $299.99. For gamers who already have an Xbox 360, is buying an Xbox 360 S “Slim” a worthy purchase? Does it completely eliminate the RRoD? The facts are now revealed here.
At the low price of $299.99, will the price tag be enough for Microsoft to ensure its consumers that the Xbox 360 Slim will not die on them after a few months? Let’s take a look at the HOTs and NOTs of the new Xbox 360 Slim:
HOT
Big Internal 250GB Hard Drive and Wifi
As a standalone hard drive for the older models of the Xbox 360, the 250GB stands at $129.99 while the Network Adapter N is at $99.99. In the new Xbox 360 Slim, a 250GB replaceable internal hard drive and Wireless Network N adapter are included already in the $299.99 price. For a gamer that doesn’t have a hard drive of 250GB and a Wireless Network N adapter, and is looking to purchase one, the best way they can do this is to trade that older model of the Xbox 360 for the Xbox 360 Slim.
New Ventilation System
On the older models of the Xbox 360, the ventilation system of the console can be found at the back and the heat sink transfers heat via the long heat pipe. In the new Xbox 360 Slim, it is now moved towards the top. By having just one fan that directly sucks out all of the heat without any use of a heat pipe, gamers are guaranteed to get all the heat out from the heat sink, which reduces the chances of the Xbox 360 Slim overheating.
Runs Quietly
Whenever the older models of the Xbox 360 are running a game or idle, consumers often complain at the loudness of the system. For consumers who will purchase the new Xbox 360 Slim, that issue will be completely eliminated as the new system has a quieter fan. While the older model of the Xbox 360 has two fans, the Slim version has one large fan instead. This means that gamers will no longer have to worry about excessive noise when the system runs a game or idles.
Touch Sensor
Opening the disc tray and the console will no longer require pressure. All that requires is for the consumer to touch the console and the disc tray will open. When the system recognizes the touch, the consumer will hear a beeping sound indicating that the tray will open.
More USB Ports
The New Xbox 360 has five USB ports: two in the front and three in the back. The original Xbox 360 only has three: two in front and one in the back. For consumers who have a lot of USB devices, such as an external hard drive or an iPod, there is no need to worry about running out of ports, as the Xbox 360 Slim provides more places to connect your external devices to the console.
Kinect Ready
The Kinect will be released this Fall and it will be ready on the new Xbox 360 Slim. There is no need to buy an extra peripheral.
NOT
Fingerprint Magnet
When the consumer receives the new Xbox 360 Slim, expect the system to leave fingerprints as you touch it. Similar to the older model of the PlayStation 3 Phat, the finish of the Xbox 360 is a glossy one. Aside from being a fingerprint magnet, it’s also a dust magnet, so beware of excessive dust.
No HDMI / Component Cable Included
The New Xbox 360 Slim does not include an HD cable. What it includes is an AV cable instead of a Component or HDMI cable. Unfortunately, when the consumer buys the console, it is not HD-ready.
VERDICT
For a consumer who does not have an Xbox 360 yet, the new Xbox 360 Slim is a worthy purchase for anyone who wants an entertainment system. For gamers who want to upgrade, weigh how much you would have to pay and consider whether the 250GB Hard Drive and a Wireless Network N adapter are really necessary. If none of the new features catch the consumer’s interest, just buy the arcade for $149.99 while it supplies last.
When you say ‘ready for kinect’ the slim simply powers it. With the older xbox’s, you’ll need an external power supply.
I have an Original first off the line edition Xbox 360. It is a piece of junk, the tray barely opens, the extended 3-year warranty is expired, it frequently has the RROD, and it takes about 7 – 10 minutes for it to read a BRAND NEW disc. Therefore I will definitely buy this brand new 360. One other thing that was not mentioned here is that in order to transfer content easily you need a transfer kit which is an additional $10 – $15 shop smart.
I completely agree with this article. I got the new Xbox 360 Slim on Friday and its great. I know that the price is $300 but you really only pay like $100 when you trade all your old stuff in.
My current 60GB Pro (bought it JUST before they changed its price from $300… curse my luck) is getting to the point where the disc drive is performing poorly, even after being properly cleaned. As mentioned above, brand new discs often present the most problems; the disc reader just isn’t up to snuff anymore. Sometimes I get disc read error messages during mid-game with perfect discs, requiring me to make multiple attempts to install it to my hard drive (each attempt a gamble on whether or not it will say its unreadable or go to the end). I’d been interested in trading it in to get credit towards a new Elite, but after seeing the 360S I was allured by its price and specs.
Plus, I’m at the point where I have a good amount of games that I want/need installed on my hard drive, but can’t fit them all at once. A 250 GB hard drive would be spectacular to have. The wireless is nice, but definitely not the selling point for me. Already have HDMI cables, but I do agree that they should have included one with such a regal model.
I probably won’t bother with the Transfer Kit, convenient as it is, since I want to use the trade in credit from my old 360 to pay off some of the 360S. I’ll just transfer important data like save files with an 8GB USB and just re-download stuff like arcade titles later.
do have to buy the new xbox 360 slim to use the kinect?
I just bought a Special Edition 360XBOX with two w/controllers,headset and two games two days before they announced their new release, it’s still in the box, thinking about trading for the new one, what do you think.
If you have the receipt and you haven’t opened it, return it and buy the Slim
No need to be concerned about the lack of an HDMI cable, they’re cheap (as long as you don’t buy at a brick-and-mortar). Check out Monoprice, a top quality 6′ cable runs about $4 (with a choice of colors).
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024008&p_id=3953&seq=1&format=2
I have an original release date 360 and it is CRAP! I have had 3 replacements of the original model, which have always still been the original model. My current replacement is scratching my disks and I am not paying the £80, in English pounds which is how much, it will cost to repair! I am getting a slim instead which is only £199 or about, $299 in American dollars.
I bought the new 360 s and having trouble transfering my data from 20 gb hard drive. it is not reading my old hard drive. Please let me know if anyone else has this problem and figured it out.
Did you bought the Xbox 360 Migration Kit to connect your 20GB hard drive? If so, just connect it to the Slim, go to Memory, and transfer it
Got the new 360 s and I thought it would run quiet. When I first turned it on it didn’t make a sound at all. Popped in halo 3 and it is really loud. I tried other games and they weren’t as loud but the system is definitely not whisper quiet.
The DVD drive runs quiet if the system is on horizontal
The new Xbox didnt upgrade anything as far as gaming. I was at least hoping for a integrated wireless wifi, but no just a new case smaller. overheating isnt fixed eather infact compacting a game console would make it worse. they do warn you but i would like to see a xbox that doesnt have an overheating problem.
the New Xbox 360 Slim already have a Wifi installed… also the 360 slim doesn’t overheat as long as it’s in a well ventilated area. The smaller case doesn’t mean it’s going to overheat. In fact, the new design allows the fan to suck out directly the heat from the heatsink. No need for heatpipes to pass through the heat.
The new system is getting slammed and yelled at an praised. Honestly, its like every other console launch.
My real question is does the new system come with the option to buy the 3 year extended warranty like the older fatter models.
It really confuses me how people put up with all the poor quality hardware that Microsoft provide and don’t learn from it…
“Original first off the line edition Xbox 360. It is a piece of junk”
“the disc reader just isn’t up to snuff anymore”
“original release date 360 and it is CRAP”
“I have had 3 replacements of the original model”
Then they think the new product will be any better, have people not learnt from Windows? No matter what version there’s bugs all over the place – it’s designed that way to make the next version seem like a step forward (bugs reported in the current version are fixed for the next but bugs previously fixed from older versions are re-instated)
Even now there’s issues with the so called upgrades
“The DVD drive runs quiet if the system is on horizontal” – so they design a console that can be stood up or lay down and tell you to lay it down – this also prevents disk scratching.
“slim doesn’t overheat as long as it’s in a well ventilated area” – well that means it’s not being kept in the kids bedroom, also expect it to run much hotter when Kinect becomes available and it’s used as a power source…
No real improvements, people are just blind in their loyalty and can’t see the truth. I have a 360 with a wifi adapter got RRoD once, now keep it in an elevated position, lying down, about a foot away from anything else – also use it less often, it’s currently still running. I can’t see any validation in the $299 asking price of the slim.
have had the arcade version for 3 years and roughly a week after the warranty expired it started loading the games as a dvd rather then a game.
Turns out the cause of this was placing it vertical like it says you can do on the box but it was an epic fail on there behalf as the laser gets damaged by doing this.
its gonna cost me more to get this fixed then the $400 as i have to send it to the service place and pay for the replacement drive plus you can buy an arcade for $200 with 4 games but payin the extra $200 to get the upgraded version of it will be worth it.
But regardless of what anyone says about putting them vertical i will never stick a console that way again even the ps3 has bugs when it is placed like that have had friends that scratch discs and have a similar issue
Reading this review and this one http://www.homeserverland.com/blogs/b/hslblog/archive/2010/07/06/hands-on-the-new-xbox-360-s-slim.aspx make me just want to trash my old xbox 360 to get the 3 red lights to get the new one
I used to be a diehard xbox fan. But my xbox has failed 13 times. I’ve had a few error messages, freezing, unable to read disks, it even jizzed on my disk. But I have only had the RRoD once. Can anyone tell me if any of these problems are fixed on the new xbox 360 S?
this is interesting i like how u all are having a go at it
its been out almost a month and look at all u ps3 lovers
this drives me mad
im not dissing either console as they are both ok
and both have problems
as for the new one as far as im aware it cant get the RROD like the older model
and it also does have built in wifi infact it has wireless N unlike any other console
anyway im not going to debate it as ive not got this model yet
as we had to wait till the 16th of july in the uk to get it
but i am 2 wondering if it will get the RROD!!!
my current xbox 360 had the red ring once in its lifetime and its now almost 2 years old so that aint bad in my opinion and ive never had it scratch a disc or anything
it is a second gen console tho it has the HDMI port
but anyway enough about that i am looking forward to getting my hands on this version
so bring it on thats what i say :D
Chris I had the same problem Saturday, what I did was create an offline profile to get onto the dashboard on the new 360 s. Turned the console off and plugged in the data transfer kit and turned it back on. The drive was then recognised and allowed me to transfer my data. Hope this helps
I had a 360 pro and it died of the RRoD then igot a Ps3 and it died six months later of the yellow light death, but i had warranty on it and I was given a 360 s for it, i had always prefered the 360 beacause it has a bigger library of great titles…i hope this one lasts longer than the other two!
The xbox 360 had many many problems and it’s because microsoft threw a new console out there as fast as they could. They have finally fixed the MAJOR problems and it leaves us consumers satisfied but with a bad taste in our mouths. I’m happy they’ve released a new console- it’s been in need for a long time, and i think that should be the end of the overheating and RRoD problems.
I was about to trade my o.g. 360 in for the new slim, until i did a bit of searching. The 1 year warranty is, well, a turn off. I’d rather go out and buy a brand new o.g. 360 with a massive hard drive and a 3 year RRoD warranty than the new one that is ALREADY proving to over heat. I suggest, until they fix the over heating, or add a better warranty, go out and try to find a discounted o.g. 360, because, hey, it’s Micro$oft, you’re going to need that warranty.
uh i got a slim that came with a kinect and it says it doesnt have a hard drive but a storige divicce.so all my games that say hard drive required cant save or do anything.has this happened to anyone else?
so let me get this straight… you bought the console without a hard drive in it and then bought games that require a hard drive and now youre angry? if you were complaining about microsoft and their shortcomings then you have failed to gain any sympathy from me.
Ive had my xbox since release (the OG version) after many years now being 2013 my xbxo FINALLY RRoD on me, I called up Mircosoft they told me it be 140$ to repair it and 4-6 weeks for return. In doing so I refused and fixed it myself for 12 $ by replacing the thermal paste on the micro processors. Worked…. for a while… Im now on my god who knows RoRD by over heating the system and getting lucky when it even wants to work. im in the process of moving all my data to Icloud and buying a new slim seeing how I have some Preorders to pick up this September. Take care of your console and it will take care of you.