The Xbox One doesn’t suffer from the same “red ring of death” problem that heavy-use Xbox 360 users have dealt with on a regular basis.
If you are unfamiliar with this problem, you probably aren’t a hardcore Xbox 360 gamer. Essentially, when the game console overheats and becomes broken, a red ring replaces the green glow of the consoles front-side hardware.
With Microsoft’s Xbox One, the company says it can now detect abnormalities in internal temperature and then takes the necessary steps to cool down the console.
In an interview with Gizmodo, Leo del Castillo, Xbox’s general manager of console development, explains the new process:
“ Xbox One can actually dial it back to a lower power state, so low in fact that it can in a mode that uses virtually no air flow. The way we designed the box, we don’t actually intend it to ever have to go to maximum speed under normal environmental conditions. But there is overhead. So we’ll allow the fan to go all the way up to its maximum speed and if that solves the condition without the user having to do anything.”
The $499 gaming console debuts in November, and there are still questions to be answers. For example, what happens to game quality when the system “dials back to a lower power state” and how long will it take to cool the console when a state of gaming emergency is called into action.
According to del Castillo:
“I don’t know the exact details of how it’ll show up to the user. But we try to be as transparent to the user as possible. We’ll allow the fan to go all the way up to maximum speed. They might notice the extra noise, and that will help to self-correct the condition.”
Are you happy to see that the Xbox One is getting rid of the red ring of death?