Xbox 360 power supply dunked in water to prove it's damned big (Xbox 360 annoyance #006)

Tonight we conducted an experiment. Inspired by the picture of an Xbox 360 power brick displayed next to a GameCube, we submersed both an Xbox 360 power brick and a GameCube in water to conduct a volume test. Don't worry. Each was safely wrapped in plastic.

Method:

1. Fill a small trash bin with water

2. Take note of the water level (indicated by a millimeter rule taped to the inside of the bin)

3. Put electronic object into waterproof plastic bag, submerge in water

4. Take new reading of water level

5. Remove object from water, replenish water to pre-submersion level

6. Measure how much water is required to bring water to post-submersion level

7. Convert liters to cubic meters (using this tool)

Results:

• Xbox 360 power supply: 1300 cubic cm (43% of a GameCube�s volume)

• GameCube: 3050 cubic cm (235% larger than an Xbox 360 power supply)

• iPod Shuffle: 17.5 cubic cm (using measurments on Apple site)

• iPod Nano: 24.8 cubic cm

• iPod: 69.3 cubic cm

Or, to put it another way, that�s a big honkin� power supply. It�s not as large as the photo indicates it is, but it�s still way larger than we want it to be. And that�s annoying.

We�ve heard all of the defenses, and still we say that the power supply is annoying.

�Would you rather the Xbox 360 itself be larger??!� No. We�d rather the power supply be smaller.

�STFU! It�s hidden behind your TV set anyways!� True, but in some installations, there�s really not that much room for such large items.

�What�s the big deal?� It�s not a big deal. It�s an annoyance that we�d prefer didn�t exist, all else equal.

�Stop beating this dead horse.� If you�re sick of this issue now, you�ll be real sick of it five years from now, when people are going to continue to mention the power supply as a flaw of the system.

We understand that no product is perfect, but we challenge ourselves here at Joystiq to make sure that we don�t lose our ability to think critically about the products that we review. To fall in love with any product would be an unforgivable sin that would undermine the quality of the writing that we bring to you every day.

As much fun as we�re having with it right now, the Xbox 360 has some flaws and some issues that annoy us that we�re cataloging through a series of posts, one by one. Because the first five posts in the series really ruffled some fanboy feathers, we need to remind readers that Sony and Nintendo will each get the same treatment once we get our hands on their next-gen consoles.

Previously catalogued Xbox 360 annoyances: 001, 002, 003, 004, 005.