Lian Li's Xbox 360 RRoD-relief chassis now shipping
It'll take some DIY muscle, but if you're tired of sending your Xbox 360 back to Microsoft after suffering yet another Red Ring o' Death seizure then this custom case is for you. Designed specifically for the Xbox 360, the $150 PC-XB01 chassis from Lian Li is now shipping globally with the promise of a silent, vibration-free, and cooler running gaming experience. And really, besides a bag of chips and 100mg of Guarana, what more could you ask for? Oh right, a warranty extension.























MacPro rip off
Oh noes! The mesh on the front! The rounded edges! It's an Apple rip off!
Move along, idiot.
You probably have no clue Lian Li has been doing this way before Apple ever thought about round edges. But hey, IT LOOKS LIKE A MAC PRO
Exactly. This is definitely Lian Li's style.
It just so happens that Apple design is so generic and simple that it's incredibly easy for a new product to look 'Apple'.
ironic, the g5 case style, bringing the xbox 360 full circle to the G5 development machines microsoft were initially using.
@bob
That's because the G5 and XBOX use PowerPC processors and are compatable, this has nothing to do with MAC operating systems.
@ILTCLK
No kidding. We know. No one said it had anything to do with OSX.
damn this looks lika a mac pro :P
No it doesn't.
well it is one solution, but i have to say that i dont think i would.
Looks twice as big as a regular 360.
pffffffff...RRoD is M$'s fault, I am not paying a fxxking penny to make the problem go away.
Lian Li is not gonna get my hard earn money.
That's because they moved the power supply into the case, from the looks of it. And that is genuinely a great improvement.
I'd still rather just buy a PS3, though.
Oops, I take it back, it doesn't replace the power brick... not even tempted, any more.
This is so stupid. If you are going to make a replacement case, at least have an internal PSU.
Looks ugly as hell, why would anyone want to ruin thier 3yr extended warranty on taking the risk for /that/?
I don't know how do you lay out your gear, but I have all my AV gear (except for the display, obviously) hidden away. There's just the display, speakers and IR repeater on sight, so I don't care how the whole deal looks... I only care about how it works
If a fugly case will make my 360 work better (I've only had RRoD once, two years ago... It's been a fairly good experience for me), then I will put it in a fugly case. (That I'd rather make myself, of course... $150 is quite a bit too much for what you get)
So you have to dig all of your gear out just to put in a disc?
"I've only had RRoD once"
You should know things are just totally wrong with the 360 when having just the one RRod is considered a positive thing, and downright lucky.
my 360 is one of the first iterations - i got it right after new year's after lanch, about 1.5 months late. i've never had a single problem with it.
even if you do get a couple RRoD's, i'd say it's worth it for the great games and Xbox Live.
my shit is moded, i would.
For my English friends.
http://www.xcase.co.uk/p/552632/lianli-pc-xb01---xbox-case-for-recasing-your-xbox-console---free-delivery.html
£59, cheaper than the US! For once...
Plus VAT & delivery.
VAT and delivery for £10 isn't okay with me.
*is okay with me
would make the x-brick look a little more bricky....but better
> little more bricky....but better
Bigger != better.
"Bricky" is actually an advantage to me. I do not understand in first place how the idiotic designers of PS3 and Xbox360 came up with something so unfit to sit under TV. To be fit to sit under TV, the box has to be more rack-like, so it would stack with rest of equipment (a/v-receiver, cd/dvd-player, amp, dvr, etc) which usually sit under TV.
This is when you know a console sucks, that is when 3rd party companies make custom cases for it.
It is a Modding Case. You know how you know you have a great console, when everyone wants to make products for it.
@Dick
This product is trying to FIX the 360, not make it a better product. You know you have a BAD product when 3rd party companies have to fix it in order to make it work reliably.
That may be what the article above states but the website details an aftermarket product well beyond the specs needed to "cool" a console.
If someone's console severely overheats and wants to break the warranty – then this seems great.
"This product is trying to FIX the 360, not make it a better product"
If the only aim was to fix it, then this case wouldn't be worth it. Why void an awesome three year warranty and spend 150 bucks just to prevent something that may happen and will be fixed for free if it does? This improves the 360 in two ways: Firstly it gives it a new and stylish appearance that will likely fit in with entertainment centers better. Secondly, and what I consider the most important part of the two, is that it's supposed to make the 360 SILENT. Now that's pretty sweet. The 360 already has enormous media potential and this really just finishes the loop.
So if what you want is a stylish Media Extender/center that can play games and other media quietly, than it may be worth $150 to you. Otherwise, I'd suggest sticking with the warranty.
My god! It's full of stars!
i can't do that, dave.
cool as hell, *but* given the failure rate on the xbox 360, you'll definitely have blown any warranty (real or goodwill extended or otherwise) by recasing. I'd do it regardless just because I think it looks so damn nice, though.
If you could fit a cheap spec PC in it so you've got a gaming and cheap desktop PC, it'd be pretty interesting. Ala the old amstrad sega genesis / PC all in one. Sounds whacky but it's a space saver and I'm willing to bet a lot of x360 players dont need a monster gaming pc but a decent web browser / office PC.
How many of them have a PC sat next to their console? A fair few I'd imagine.
http://membres.lycos.fr/dreamandreality/images/MD_CONS_MegaPC.jpg
Damn, I remember that Amstrad. Presumably another one of Alan Sugar's genius ideas. It's a wonder, given the general crap that his companies have consistently produced, that no one has fired him...
Guilty. My web PC is right next to my sexbox.
by sexbox, do you mean VCR?
nice,black mac......
Is this the bastard child of Apple and Microsoft? An ugly, bigger than an Xbox, bastard
"...what more could you ask for? Oh right, a warranty extension."
how about a 360 with proper cooling so you don't have to shell out half the cost of a new one to fix it or even worry about warranty extensions?
Microsoft should get in on this and offer warrantied 360s pre-built into this case then.
Strictly for the hardcore, of course.
How about more cowbell?
"...now shipping globally with the promise of a silent..."
This will make my 360 SILENT!?!? I'd say that'd be almost worth $150! $50 and I'd bite without a doubt... it's not like I could use this for much else.
Only 1 media bay?? Where am I going to put my Blu-Ray 360 drive?
XBoxPro!
Soooooo... Where does the hard drive go?
Under the DVD drive on the inside
http://lian-li.com/v2/tw/product/upload/image/XB01/xb01q14.jpg
Good design, perfect if it had an applo logo, hopefully it comes with OSX, then steve will be happy, bill will be upset to see apple over his xbox 360s, PERFECT WORLD
this is so stupid. Not only does it look way bigger and kinda ugly, it costs way too much. Also later this year they are letting you install games to your hard drive. This will probably reduce the sound of the disc drive quite a lot. Also most people put there 360 under there TV and this looks way to big for most people.
It ain't for "most people"....
I would have considered this, if it is was 100, and came out a year into the consoles life time instead of the end of its lifecycle liek this, with new consoles on the hoizon in 2 years time.
Does anyone know where the hard drive goes in this case?
Wow, this gives all new meaning to "Xbox HUGE".
That's XBOX HUEG.
If you check out the website, and link through all the PR pages about the case, you *can* find a users manual that details how to tear down a 360 and go about putting the guts into the new case. Apparently, the optical drive sits perpendicular to the main board, unlike the standard 360 configuration. The HD sits directly beneath it, in a little cradle supplied for the purpose. However, this necessitates the removal of HD from M$'s plastic enclosure (which the folks over at Lian Li were kind enough to give instructions for, as well.)
Count me in. I've got 2 360s and 1 of them is definitely no longer under warranty. Anyone know where I can place an order for shipping to the US?
I'm in, once I get a little extra cash. I just..er.. "repaired" my "bought-used" 360 last weekend (RRoD no more!) but a better case would be warranted, I think. I certainly hope some major (internet or otherwise) retailers in the US will be getting these in the next couple of months..
I can't believe what I'm reading here. Lian Li is known for making quality and beautiful cases. The're simple, elegant and solid as a rock. They give attention to every detail right down to rounding the edges on the aluminum so you don't cut yourself installing components. If they didn't cost an arm and a leg, every PC I've ever built would have gone into a Lian Li case. They are the Porsche of PC cases.
I personally think this case looks amazing, right at home in a home theater setup.
i could probably mod a nice matx case for $50
ive always loved lian-li design and quality but $150 is to much
i like the idea so i will probably get a cm elite 340 and do this
I like it. If i had an already out of warranty 360 that was plagued by random lockups or RRoD's i'd fork out the money for it before buying a new 360. While it does look like a Mac Pro it's only because Apple used similar styling to some of the larger cases that Lian-Li already had in production. I was never a fan of the "cheese grater" look but it seems to be an ok piece of hardware. But I wouldnt put a 360 in there if it were still under warranty. Because, well, it wouldnt be anymore lol.
I had been hoping to find this on there...
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/microsite6/xb01user01.html
Yep. Handy info to have. Pretty much step-by-step the instructions I found online elsewhere when I "fixed" mine last weekend, but a little more detailed. Its not very hard to get the box apart, though.
I need something that looks look more integrated as a piece of home theatre equipment. Good concept and would purchase IF the DVD drive was horizontal and the case was in piano black.
Maybe next version...
I love how people rip the case when in fact its nice.
It enables easier access to the DVD rom firmware hacking.
Also more air moving through the case makes the console run smoother.
I would have taken a larger console over a slim overheating one.
Also I laugh at people who say, Durrrr PS3 is better, uhh yeah uhmm
NO, PS3 HAS NO GAMES.
360 might double as a hot plate, but its got tons more games than PS3 has. Come on now how many more years till KillZone3 comes out.....
Warhawk came out, and didnt make much of a splash.
MGS4? awesome yes, but was should have been a console launcher at
the release time of the ps3.
Anyway, this case is cool, and when my 3 year warranty is up, I will get it.
I've had a variety of Xbox 360 models since launch. NOT ONE has ever given me the RROD. I sold the launch model after a year of ownership, and the new owner has had no problems. The second one is in my Nephews' possession, and it's working great. The third one is right here on my desk, and it works fine and runs cool.
I still contend that a LOT of the RROD horror stories are coming from people who:
* Had their 360 on a carpeted floor, blocking the vents.
* Kept their 360 in an enclosed entertainment center with no ventilation.
* Abused their system.
* Wanted a new model (Falcon, et al) and so faked RROD by wrapping their 360 in a towel for a day.
I'm not saying there wasn't a manufacturing problem. I'm just saying that I think a lot of people took advantage of that fact to get exchanges for their 360s that suffered customer-caused issues.
I still have problems with the 360, though. The worst is the noise from the DVD drive. It's horrendous, and if Sony could make the PS1, PS2, and PS3 drives quiet, I don't know why the Xbox 360 has to sound like a plane taking off. Even the original Xbox DVD drive didn't sound this bad.
Maybe it was part of MS's strategy all along, though? Make the DVD drive loud, and then when they implement installations on hard drive, they sell a lot of their price-jacked hard drives to customers who want a quieter gaming experience.
(And that is another issue that ticks me off with the 360... the cost of their hard drives is downright OFFENSIVE. I don't want to hear anyone complain about what Apple charges for a hard drive upgrade as long as Microsoft is charging $180 for a 120GB hard drive, and $100 for a 20GB hard drive.)
Hm... so the >50% of Xbox360 buyers are fakers? And replacement program by M$ (as well as extra investments into redesign) which set off Redmond by about $1Bln is just generous PR gesture?
My 360 was bought used, and I was *told* the original owner (one owner 'box) treated it very well, and had only had it a short time before needing to sell it. It gave me great service up until several months ago, when after a month or so of non-use, up and died. I never once treated it badly, always ensured it had plenty of airflow. It just died. But, its alive now. No More Xclamps FTW! :P
Personally I would like to use this as a "PC case" for a hackintosh. Does anyone know if that would be possible? Looks like the back port cutouts are xbox 360 specific (meaning to chincey mobo cutout plate).
Although this is pretty dang close:
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=209&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=62
But still not quite the same. Too many plates. Who needs THAT many optical drives?
Its a cave for the 360 to live in
Is there a place that has that will ship to canada?
If you're really worried about your 360 RROD'ing then wait for the price drop and grab a $200 360 arcade, then slap your harddrive on it. The newer 360's have better cooling and new motherboards, plus instead of ruining your warranty, you get a new 3 year in case it does RROD.
Can someone tell my how replacing the case resolves the 360 from getting a RRoD???
And the 360 gets even uglier.
This may not be the best option for video gamers but it is perfect for using the 360 as a media center extender. This biggest concern in that market was the noise it produced and concern over long-term quality. This solves both issues. This price is a bit steep though...
If you did this, would you still be able to play on xbox live? I thought any modificications to even the fans or power consumed is an instant ban?
Funny....I have an "inferior" PS3, but I don't need to swap it out just to keep it running...huh...maybe Sony should make a more shoddy rushed product so that way I can spend another $150 just to keep my console running. :-P *XBOX phails*
I'm so pissed at Microsoft for ruining the XBOX 360 for me that I find this product to be just plain ridiculous. I, at one time, owned two 360's (yes I liked it that much), but both boxes died multiple times and finally one of them died by destroying my game discs. That last problem wasn't covered by the 3yr RRoD warranty extension obviously, but even after all I went through (5 returns) and all the money I spent on their lousy products (over $5000) they said, "pay us $150 to fix the problem, or hang up". I sold all my XBOX 360 stuff (still have a busted Pro system gathering dust) and will never play or encourage anyone to play that system again. Total disaster. Why Microsoft couldn't have just admitted to releasing poorly designed hardware and recouped customer satisfaction by updating broken systems is beyond me. Now they have left it to 3rd party companies to deal with the overheating? Give me a break.
Yes old post, new flame...but
Please STFU with the whole it looks ugly talk....Since when do you queers need a good looking system?..Kids of today in the US are all turning fokin gay, the men too. " Eww its so ugly" Who f*kin cares...its how, and what it plays. Even PC's with the light up cases and all that crap...WTF is that worth? NOTHING..but wasted energy.
Gamers against fruitcakes!