It has been known for awhile now that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 hasn’t exactly measured up to the best of hardware quality standards. Throughout its lifespan there have been a number of well known issues such as disc scratching, power supply failures, and the infamous Red Ring of Death. I always scoffed at people whining about these issues because both my friends’ and my own 360s had been working perfectly since launch, I stayed committed to this stance even after my first 360 died after nearly two years and I had it replaced under Best Buy’s optional ($40 at the time) Product Replacement Plan

Well today, after I hadn’t played it in almost a week my 360 starts up to a “E74″ error and a single red light which indicates a general GPU fault or something like that. The good thing is that I took out another replacement plan when my last one died so at least I can get it replaced under warranty, otherwise I would have been out of luck because this issue isn’t covered by the three year RROD warranty extension that Microsoft began offering last year.

Let this serve as a warning (as if there aren’t enough of these already) to any potential Xbox 360 owners, don’t scoff at those optional product replacement plans when offered on a 360, it’s saved my bacon once and paid for itself 10 times over. I’d recommend Best Buy’s PRP, they actually give you store credit for the dead unit so you may come out ahead depending on which system you chose as a replacement. My first 360 had cost me $400 initially, by the time I had to replace it the cost had dropped to $300 so I walked away with a gift card for $100. Not a bad deal in the end.

Update – Best Buy’s new replacement plans work a little differently. This time around I was given store credit because it was covered under an older plan, with the new plan Best Buy has to ship the 360 to Microsoft who will then ship a refurbished unit to your home. Not as good of a deal as the old plans but it will still get you a new Xbox after your 360 dies.