Want to purchase 360, need some advice!

[greenmedic88]

You bought a 3 year warranty?! Why?!!!

The chief problem with the console is the RRoD, due to faults in design that result in an overheated GPU, which can lead to a terminal hardware failure.

This specific design flaw is COVERED by MS' standard hardware warranty for 3 years from the date of purchase.

The only advantage of a shop warranty is that you can simply swap consoles on the spot rather than having to wait for the shipping and return process, but how much is that really worth?

My advice to any new 360 owner is play the hell out of it for the first month of ownership. Let it run hot over long gaming sessions, let it cool down, then run hot again with another lengthy session. Put as much mileage on the hardware as possible to see if you may have a problematic console.

It's the heating up and cooling down process that does many 360s in due to the lead free soldiering, expansion of the GPU clamp and misapplication of thermal paste on certain units.

I don't want you to feel bad about buying insurance on your console, but I hate to see consumers get hoodwinked by salesmen.