Upright or Lying down?

[Nik Barbour]

Managed to start a few rows with this question this week.

I should be getting my hands on an Xbox360 in the next few weeks and asked a few friends who have them, "Is it better for the machine if its stood up, or lying down?"

Several friends not speaking to one another later, I've had one friend who says lay it flat (because if the solder on the pcb melts or softens, it puddles and dries in its original position when it cools) but this guy has 2 xbox's both of which he has rebuilt several times due to RROD, he fixes them with a heat gun and fits custom heat sinks when they start to play up - he's also fitted extra tall feet for better circulation recently.

Or the other friend who swears by, stand it up - his argument being better circulation.

The other arguments that broke out over a few Guinness were, Bang it stood up = scratched discs (but I would have said - just don't bang it), and also discs falling out and getting chewed in the mechanism when on its side.

I'd prefer to stand it up as I want to place it on a conservatory window ledge but is this more likely to shorten its life?
My Spectrum 128K+2 still works 26 years later - why are these xbox 360's so frail?

Tried Googling to see if MS has ever released a statement saying which was best, but they appear to have conveniently stayed out of the argument.

Just wondered if you guys could answer this - or know of a MS statement on the subject?
Thanks.

 

[Sir_LANs-a-lot]

Had mine (Old and Slim) stood up for years... Only laid it down recently due to furniture re-layout.

 

[Crush3d_Turtle]

We have had 3 Xbox 360's all with far too many hours of playtime with no problems whatsoever. All of those units have been lying flat the entire time.

 

[xNiCeGuYx]

Lying down for me.

 

[Ark Malmeida]

I've always had mine lying down. I have had to replace it a few times (under warranty - it did cost me time but I've never paid a cent more for the system after I bought it at launch).

I would think that it would be a moot point unless you are getting an older system. The new slim models supposedly don't have any issues with heat as far as I've heard.

 

[Ozzpot]

Like Ark says, if it's a slim (and presumably if you bought new, not second-hand, it definitely is), this point is moot. The slims have no overheating issues, so there are no circulation or solder issues to speak of. Anyone still talking about melting solder in 360s being an issue is basing their opinions on sorely outdated information.

I mean, the thing still gets hot and needs room to breathe of course, but it's not so delicate that it's orientation is going to make much difference at all. Besides, 99% of the slim's cooling comes from one giant fan on it's side/top whatever. That's going to be clear no matter how you position it (unless you lie it down and put things on top of it of course, which would be stupid).

I have killed 3 xboxes with the ol' red ring in the past, all of them pre-slim. I bought a slim on day of release and relegated my current machine at the time (an Elite) to being a "spare" incase my slim were ever to break. But it never has. They say that when they get too hot, they turn off rather than get damaged. But I've never even seen that. And I've thrashed this thing. So I can say empirically that heat is not an issue.

So, what about the issue of being knocked? Well, all of my Xboxes have at some point or another been upright or laid down. But they have always been placed in a small, open alcove (which was at some point in history a fireplace) in my room. The alcove houses the 360 and the Kinect sensor (each with their own shelf) and little else. Because they are tucked into their little alcove, they cannot get knocked, kicked, or tripped over, so for me, the orientation is again no real issue. In any case a 360 is quite a heavy thing, and pretty stable when standing.

To be honest, I'm not sure knock scratching it's an issue anyway. People have been obsessing about this ever since the PS2 debacle, when vertically orientated PS2s (especially European ones I think), would be very sensitive to circle-scratching discs when knocked even slightly. It was a bit of a scandal actually, and for a long time Sony would replace any discs that had been damaged in this way. Is this really a problem for the 360 10 years on? I'm not so sure.

I sold games consoles for many years, through the PS2/Xbox era certainly, and I can tell you that by far the commonest way of "knocking" a PS2 and circle-scratching your disc used to be someone tripping over your trailing controller lead and yanking the console. Since you are probably using a wireless controller on your 360, that's a big liability that you needn't worry about.

To summarise, overheating is not a problem any more, so certainly do not worry about melting solder. That's ridiculous. Either way you stand it, the one giant fan it has will likely be clear. Make sure it is, and the orientation will matter not a jot. And if it is going to be out of the way of being knocked, away from toddlers and cats and their clumsy ways etc, then that is not an issue either. So ultimately it just comes down to preference.

I hope that helps.

 

[The Doctor]

for a second I thought you were talking about a pinball machine and I was like "wtf kind of question is this?" lol

 

[Nik Barbour]

Cheers guys.
It is a brand new 250gig.
Right - upright it goes then.
Thanks for the advice!

 

[infernogott]

lying down. just because i have to walk by the console sometimes and don't want to knock it over...

 

[Jeff Strong]

Lying down, because that's the only way it fits in my entertainment system......but as others have said, it really doesn't matter anymore as far as overheating is concerned.

 

[bavelb]

My 360 I replaced this weekend fried after 5?6? years of use. It was bought within the first months of it being out so was really first gen (and made noise like a jetengine). During it's lifetime it stood both upright and flat.

For what it's worth, it finally got fried after at least 1 year of laying flat.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

Our first 360 Slim died lying down (with a system error; I forget the number, but it had to do with graphics hardware failure).

But I have no evidence that there was any connection between the death and the position of the box. It wasn't sitting on a live, hot piece of equipment, or anything like that, and there was adequate clearance around all sides. It was probably just a factory dud, or damaged in shipment.

We've put the replacement console in the identical position and have had no problems.

 

[bavelb]

My 360 I replaced this weekend fried after 5?6? years of use. It was bought within the first months of it being out so was really first gen (and made noise like a jetengine). During it's lifetime it stood both upright and flat.

For what it's worth, it finally got fried after at least 1 year of laying flat.

Lol, this new 360 died within 10 days, after the 1st retail edition lasted 6 years.

Replacement is sitting (or should I say laying) on the shelf already thankfully. I have the worst luck with new electronics....

 

[Nik Barbour]

Lol, this new 360 died within 10 days, after the 1st retail edition lasted 6 years.

Replacement is sitting (or should I say laying) on the shelf already thankfully. I have the worst luck with new electronics....

I'm a jinx as well.
When I finally do decide to buy something, it's normally announced it's defunct or replaced the next week.
I think its hereditary - my dad chose Betamax.
Just watch, mid July - new xbox will be announced.

 

[bavelb]

Good thing I only recleared Harem multiball of the "harder to get goals" last week. Time to get to work tonight and get Harem again, plus attempt Frog Frenzy and Atlantis.

 

[mmmagnetic]

I'm a jinx as well.
When I finally do decide to buy something, it's normally announced it's defunct or replaced the next week.
I think its hereditary - my dad chose Betamax.
Just watch, mid July - new xbox will be announced.

That´s funny, I JUST come from Amazon where I ordered an xbox as well. This is my first console since literally a decade, since the SNES I´ve been fine with handhelds and emulators so far.

I love being late - dirt cheap hardware with all the flaws ironed out (especially important compared to the early red ring xbox models!), and a gigantic library of cheap games as well. Picked up a couple of games I´ve always wanted - Wiliams Collection (Whirlwind! No Good Gofers!), Forza 3, Akai Katana and of course TPA The long DLC delays are a bit of a bummer, but ToTAN, TOM and Ripleys are going to last me a long time, and I still have the iPad version too.