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is xbox (not 360) durable/reliable enough to safely purchase as refurbished

post #1 of 4
4/7/09 at 9:57pm
Thread Starter 
I was weighing whether it'd be a mistake to buy a refurbished xbox system. Gamestop appears to be selling them for around $ 50, and Hollywood Video's Game Crazy has a special right now where for $ 60 you get a refurbished system and three used games.

I'm aware that a large percentage of the library of xbox games will run on an xbox 360. But after spending a considerable amount of time on various xbox 360 forums, I'm feeling increasingly uncomfortable spending $ 299 for a 360 system (even a jasper model) that has a shockingly huge and long-standing problem with RROD failure and hard drive failure. This weekend on numerous forums I read so many reports of people on their 3rd, 4th, and 5th 360 ... and each one seemed to die after about a year or year and a half.

My only hesitation with getting a refurbished xbox system is whether I'd wind up with a system that was treated like garbage by its previous owner. So I was wondering if this system was built well enough that even an abused refurbished xbox will still work well enough to last me for a few years.
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post #2 of 4
4/8/09 at 11:01am

Re: is xbox (not 360) durable/reliable enough to safely purchase as refurbished

Quote:
Originally Posted by Matthew_V
My only hesitation with getting a refurbished xbox system is whether I'd wind up with a system that was treated like garbage by its previous owner. So I was wondering if this system was built well enough that even an abused refurbished xbox will still work well enough to last me for a few years.

You always run the risk of getting a bum system when you buy refurbished, so your mileage may vary when purchasing any used system. But in my personal experience, and the experience of my friends, the original XBox is a tank: a solid, dependable piece of hardware - much unlike its replacement, the XBox 360. The sad reports of failure rates for the 360 have been endlessly discussed and documented elsewhere, so I won't get into it again here.

Again, your mileage may vary, and always be sure to check out the system first: try out a few games on it before purchasing. But the original Xbox was WAY more dependable than the 360. Your chances of having a hardware failure are lower. We still have our original console, purchased many years ago, and it still runs like a champ. The "failure rate" for the original XBox is practically nil among people I know, whereas with the 360 I know people who are on their fourth and fifth consoles in so many years. Many accept it because the games and online services are so great, but why put yourself through that with a used system?
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post #3 of 4
4/8/09 at 11:29am

Re: is xbox (not 360) durable/reliable enough to safely purchase as refurbished

Plus, no media client solution for the 360 works as well, or is as versatile, as XBMC on an Xbox modified to play homebrew software. My old Xbox is still going strong as a media client and sits happily in the same cabinet with my 360.
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post #4 of 4
4/9/09 at 8:21pm

Re: is xbox (not 360) durable/reliable enough to safely purchase as refurbished

It is my understanding that electronics usually have a <12% failure rate, whereas refurbs have <2%. This could be wrong but I remember reading it somewhere.

In terms of buying an X-Box, it will probably work fine. The errors in the 360 were due solely to design flaws as a result of trying to make it much smaller than it should have been and be released quicker. The original X-Box might be big and ugly but it should work well.
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