Why Buying an Xbox 360 Elite May Be a Better Idea Than Buying a Refurbished Xbox 360

Before even owning an XBOX 360 I would come across numerous forums online, or magazine articles, that would mention the most hated term in the Xbox 360 gaming world. Red Ring Of Death!

Not being an owner of the console yet myself, I figured this horrid term would never effect me. Like a rare disease, I never would think it would happen to me. Granted I felt bad for all the poor folks who had it happen to them, I never thought it would effect anyone I knew, or me.

A year after owning an Xbox 360, my brother was finally plagued with the 'RROD'. Granted he could indulge in 12 hour gaming sessions on the console with his Halo game, it in my opinion, should never have happened. 12 hours, 20 hours, the Red Ring Of Death is a term that should not happen. Sadly, it does. Microsoft has yet to wipe the plague clean from their consoles, which is also very frustrating.

I understood that the Red Ring Of Death had numerous meanings. A red ring around your consoles power button did not alway mean the console was dead. There are a few different symptoms one may want to note for if it were to happen to them.

The first is that 3 flashing red lights may not indicate that the console is dead. It could be a simple issue that you can resolve by unplugging and plugging back in your cables.

The issue could also be the power supply, so try and fix the issue yourself before having a tantrum. If all that fails, then the the tantrum is understandable. The only step left from there is to pray to the Gods above that your console is still in warranty, and to contact Microsoft, if not, you're pretty much out of luck.

Sadly this has been this misconception for quite some time. The fact of the matter is that the Elite is still capable of suffering from the 'RROD', but it is far less likely on newer systems.

Older Xbox 360 consoles however are much more prone to choking up and turning red.

Microsoft will fix the issue for you for free if your console is still in warranty, but in many cases I have heard that they don't necessarily fix 'your' system, instead they ship you out a refurbished console. More than likely this refurbished console they are sending to you, was only refurbished because the console was sent in for the same exact reason yours was. The Red Ring Of Death!

So, you are angry, but at least happy that they are replacing it with a console that works.

The downside with this though is that in many instances, no less than a week later, the refurbished console they sent you will also choke up, and display the horrid Red Ring Of Death!

I know of some who have actually repeated this exact time consuming, and frustrating pattern up to 4 times. Usually when they have had enough, they will give up returning the console and just buy another one...or none at all.

The answer to this is simple. Buying a newer Xbox Elite won't necessarily guarantee a Red Ring of Death free console, but it will certainly be much more efficient than a refurbished console. Not only that, it will have a full warranty. Buying a refurbished console at a game shop usually comes as is, with no warranty. If the system fails in a week, its tough luck kid.

In all reality, most refurbished consoles, are consoles that were refurbished due to the Red Ring Of Death. Buying a refurbished console in most cases will result in the same issue that caused the console to be considered a refurbished in the first place. Dead, and useless in the long run. Most are lucky to even get a months use in refurbished Xbox 360's.

I have had my Xbox 360 Elite for nearly 2 years now, and the console has never once brought an issue to me. I have played for hours and hours on end, and still have never been plagued with the Red Ring Of Death.