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Xbox 360 - What Causes The Red Ring Of Death? Can You Avoid It?

by DanStrong

For almost five years, the red ring of death has been a problem all over the globe. If this has just happened to you, then you've got a lot of company. You're just one of thousands and thousands that must deal with this problem.

This article will answer two FAQ's concerning the cause and prevention of the red ring of death.

1.) What brings about the red ring of death?

The red ring of death is primarily caused by overheating of the console. The console motherboard uses a CPU and GPU chip that puts out excessive waste heat.

This heat builds up quickly when playing video games with high def 3 D graphics for lengthy time periods. The console also houses it electronics within a small compact space which make the cooling process extremely hard.

Excessive heat exposure can result in a damaged mother board. The mother board soldering will occasionally develop small cracks.

Another common occurrence is that the thermal compound or thermal paste inside the Xbox will get broken down by high heat levels. Degraded thermal paste means that the heat sinks can't draw away heat from the GPU and CPU.

2.) Is it possible to avoid the red ring of death?

There are several things that a person can do to reduce the risk. Avoid nonstop Xbox gaming.

Turn the console off after a couple of hours so that it can cool down.

Your Xbox ought to be used in a cool ventilated area. It's all to easy for a person to make a quick decision that places their Xbox in a bad environment.

Don't use your Xbox in a an enclosed cabinet with no ventilation or above other electronics which generate heat.

Keep the fan intakes clear of dust and grit so that cooling air can be drawn into the Xbox. Never put objects of any kind up against the fan intakes.

If the air in your room is dusty, then this dust will eventually contaminate the console. With time, the mother board can get covered in dust. This dust traps in the heat produced by the mother board making cooling impossible.

In conclusion, two questions were answered that dealt with cause and prevention of the red ring of death. Although there are plenty of other questions not answered here, cause and prevention questions are among the most important.

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Problems with an overheating Xbox? Get Xbox troubleshooting information about repairing the Red Ring of Death.