What's the major cause of the RRoD? MS made the GPU themselves.

[kn]

Um, No.

http://interviews.teamxbox.com/xbox/1458/The-Power-of-the-Xbox-360-GPU/p1/

"Did Microsoft know exactly what it wanted for its GPU or did they just set the goals and you proposed the architecture and technology?

Bob Feldstein: Microsoft set broad goals for the GPU. They were especially concerned with memory bandwidth and overall system performance. They wanted a machine that could take advantage of CPU multi-processing through multi-threading, plus a machine that would be conceptually simple to program while providing head room for developers to stay competitive over the console’s lifetime. Microsoft and ATI did the GPU architectural design, with MS determining the overall performance targets and ATI turning those targets into reality. The Unified Shaders and Intelligent Memory, for example, are direct results of our remarkable collaboration."

 

One of the primary reasons Microsoft went this route is so they would own the Intellectual Property and wouldn't be at Nvidia's mercy like they were with the original Xbox.  Apparantly the writer of this article is unaware of the legal battles that erupted between MS and Nvidia...