My Xbox 360: Dead again

The third time's usually the charm, but not in this case.

First, a little background: I'm currently on my second Xbox 360. My first console got the dreaded "Red Ring of Death" back in May 2007 and was replaced; the second got a Red Ring in February 2008—less than a year later—and was repaired. After that, I didn't have any more trouble, besides a DVD drive that sounded like a jet engine ...

... until yesterday, that is. I was busy cranking out some laps on the just-released "Forza 3 Motorsport" (I'd be planning on writing a review, now scotched) when, without warning, the screen froze. Never a good sign.

I turned the Xbox off and back on, and everything seemed back to normal--well, until the screen froze again, this time with an odd, jerky lattice pattern that's all too familiar for those of us who'd suffered Red Rings in the past.

I booted my 360 one more time with a different game, and within a few minutes, the screen went completely dark. When I hit the Xbox power button yet again, instead of the Dashboard I got a single red light (not the customary three lights), along with an ugly gray "E 79" error message on the screen.

At this point, Microsoft advises disconnecting all the power and A/V cables and any accessories and trying the power again, which I did ... and got nothing to show for it save a blank screen. Pretty soon, the single red light became three, and that means a mandatory trip for my console back to Microsoft for repairs. Again.

Of course, there's hardly anyone with an Xbox 360 who needs reminding of the console's miserable track record for reliability. Estimates of the 360's overall failure rate range anywhere from about 16 to 50 percent, and just about everyone I know with an Xbox has had to send it in for repairs at least one. (Microsoft issued an apology and extended the warranty period for the Xbox 360 to a full three years back in 2007.)

Now, from what I've heard, newer Xbox 360 consoles are much more reliable thanks to the smaller, cooler "Jasper" graphics chipset, with Microsoft execs saying earlier this year that they've "put the worst behind us" when it comes to faulty hardware. Indeed, Microsoft no longer sees fit to send cardboard "coffins" to gamers with busted 360s that need to be packed up for shipping to a support center.

Personally, I'd be happy to stop writing stories about "ringed" Xbox 360 consoles and devote more time to other posts—like, I dunno, a review of "Forza 3 Motorsport," perhaps (which I was enjoying quite a bit until my console went "phhhht").

Instead, I'm sitting here looking at yet another dead Xbox 360, and wondering: Do I bother buying some bubble wrap and a cardboard box to send this thing back? Should I just cough up $200 and start over with a new Xbox? Or should I call it quits and go all-in with my PlayStation 3, which hasn't skipped a beat since I bought it more than a year ago?

So, any suggestions? Anyone else want to vent about a recent Red Ring of Death? Fire away below.