Well, well, well....I guess sometimes you need to learn to be patient and examine all the facts before making a decision. On November 22nd, 2005, Bill Gates released his next-gen gaming console to the world. The Xbox 360, and many people waited in line all night just to purchase one(or more) of the very hyped up system.

This morning I went on the Xbox web site and low and behold, in the forums, people complaining about crashes, system errors, etc..... It also made the news here in Chicago. I was thinking about getting one of these systems almost a month ago. Not anymore. There are people that, in my opinion, just purchased a $600 paperweight. Now before anyone starts on me for hating on me for my views of the 360, listen up. I have the original Xbox, and it rocked. This new system shows that the video game manufacturers are trying to bring their units on par with modern PC's in terms of performance. Not possible, and it more than likely will never happen.

A few technical details about the new Xbox, if you will(and my problems with those technical marvels)

1. Triple CPU architecture. Are they nuts? Do they have any idea the heat that that kind of power will generate? All three of them are running at 3.2 Ghz each. Anyone who has a Pentium 4 HT 3.2 knows what im talking about with just one of those processors. And the thinness of the case indicates a lack of heatsinks for those processors. Today's CPU heatsinks are too large for that system to hold.

2. Custom GPU Architecture. Again, pushing the limits of this thing way too far. An ATI custom interface clocked at 500 mhz. Too much stress on a system that cant handle it and will have FPS issues and the like.

3. Case choice and airflow. From the looks of the console, I think its time to issue a recall and refund the money to these people. Youre going to put a GPU and 3 CPU's inside a system that small with no heatsinks and no fans(or really small fans) and expect it to run without shutdown. Hello..... sufficient airflow is necessary to maintain system operation. Does Microsoft think that the public is still that computer illiterate? Ok, maybe most of them are. I cant speak for everyone. But this is a major issue, larger than most of the issues out there. People are already complaining about the heat and premature shutdowns in the middle of downloads.

Sounds like people are going to end up with melted silicone unless things change over at Microsoft. XBox 360? Yeah 360 degrees fahrenheit when you turn the system on.