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

66 Comments by Vladimir Cole Dec 6th 2005 9:58PM
Filed under: Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Xbox 360

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:

Fill a small trash bin with water
Take note of the water level (indicated by a millimeter rule taped to the inside of the bin)
Put electronic object into waterproof plastic bag, submerge in water
Take new reading of water level
Remove object from water, replenish water to pre-submersion level
Measure how much water is required to bring water to post-submersion level
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.

Tags: 360annoy

Source

(Page 1) Reader Comments

Imp: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

So... technicly... you can mod a 360 PSU into a Gamecube?

Dan: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

keep beating that dead horse :P

Rob: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Enough with the power brick already. Noone really cares, honestly. Just stop.

Jason: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

How many of these annoyances do you plan on posting? It's really making my lack of HD gaming much more tolerable!

Greg O.: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

My annoyance with Joystiq's reporting #001..

Jeramy: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

hahaha

the iPod is 69 cm�. you know they did that on purpose. they had to have.

and were the bags around the objects airtight? because the air in the bag would get recorded, too. and i'm sure this will be met with a "duh. man you're stupid" kind of an answer. but, whatever.

J B Cougar: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

I invite the fanboys to do some homework before they complain about this one. Out of every recent hardware launch, how many had 5% or more defective systems? I've followed game systems since NES, and I really can't recall this many problems with systems in the past. I guess I could attribute it to the Internet and the better communication, but even then so far this eems like a rush job.

Adam: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Jesus Christ, just stop.. I am beginning to think this is pointless gaming website that is running these articles just to ignore its REGULAR visitors

Doug teh H-Nut: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

I want a 360. I'm not about to claw my eyes out, but I want one. And as far as I'm concerned, I'm all for equal opportunity ribbing.

The Xbox 360 has a fricken' brick for a power supply. The Revolution's controller will cause your arm to fall off. The PS3 doesn't need a button on the controller to turn on the system - just toss the boomerang controller at the system's On button!

Console fanboys are missing out on something. Microsoft has Halo and DOA (which I missed out on last generation), Sony has Ratchet and Clank and Sly Cooper, and Nintendo has Pikmin and Metroid, among other things.

That's why I'm going to save up and buy all the systems. Maybe I'll be lacking actual games for a little while, but it'll be totally worth it in the end. :P

Efren: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Fanboy feathers?

Look, I can roll with the punches but jeez guys, enough is enough.. the power supply is comically big.. we get it.

But like anything else that's funny, it's only funny for the first couple times at best.

(Except for making a fart sound when someone bends over.. that one NEVER gets old.)

Greg O.: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Sorry not to put this in my previous comment, but

why does Joystiq have to have an opinion? Why can't Joystiq just be the great news-aggregator it once was, and let us form the opinions on our own? It's like I'm reading these "stories" and I'm just hearing the complaining of an individual instead of a publication.

Rody: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Man talk about a waste of time -- much like my response to this stupid blog.

Matt: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

If im not mistaken, the 360's power supply is 600w (5A x 120v=600w) I have one, and thats what the power supply says. I may not no too much about PSU's but i know that a computer one (reg comp) is around 300-350. Thats a lot of power!

Chaos: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

You forgot to plug it in before you put it in the water.

yjs: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Some people need to calm down.

J: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

You guys really, really need to calm down. They're fuckni blog posts about annoyances!! Scroll down, ignore them, or don't read them!

I have a 360 myself. It doesn't bother me. I don't feel emasculated when I read these things.

GamerZero: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

That gives me an idea on how to keep the bath water warm.

Vinnk: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Or keep the power brick cold...

Nicholas Puleo: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

It's unfortuante but with all the processing juice and power required to run it I don't expect to see the PS3 PSU any smaller. In fact, I don't know the exact power requirements of the PPUs in the PS3 but it may end up being bigger depending on the consumption.

I'd much rather have an external brick than an internal PSU. It's much easier to cool.

Good test to determine ACTUAL volume and compare it to some common products.

mrdelayer: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

VC: Now do the old and new PS2s. And the Xbox 360 itself.

Caleb: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

I, for one, appreciate these blog posts. While it probably won't affect my decision to purchase, it's still good to know what to expect.

Battousai8728: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Or you could just measure each side using a ruler, and using LWH (Length times width times height), find the volume of each object...

vc: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Mr. Delayer: I'll do that when I get some better measuring equipment and a larger trash can. Definitely a fun test.

Greg O: We are not an aggregator. Go to news.google.com if you want that. Aggregation is for programs to perform. We're a group of writers, and as such we write about games in ways that surprise, delight (and sometimes) enrage you. The only way for 100% of our readers to be happy with 100% of our posts is for us to drop our audience size to 1. ;) You can't please everyone.

zeqounx: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

how much does the power brick actually weigh?

Greg O.: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

There wasn't a need to defend yourself vc, just voicing my comment.

vc: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

PS: I've been asked why not just measure the entire thing with a ruler: It's very hard to measure the volume of a power cord or other irregularly-shaped objects.

Toast: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Wait, so I'm confused. Is the Xbox 360 Power Supply abnormally/comically big??

....not funny toast :- darn

GamerZero: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

If I strained my back through lifting the power supply,could I sue Microsoft for millions?Or if I dropped it onto my shitzu and it keeled over,would there be compensation?If some burglar broke into my house and I knocked him out dead with said power supply,would that be justifiable homicide?Just wondering...

vc: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Jeramy: The bags were not closed at the top -- as the power supply and game cube were pushed down into the water, air was forced out of the bags pretty effectively.

Lone Starr: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Honestly, why get all pissed? By whining and complaining, that makes it all the more enticing to make fun of the 360. Seriously though, it doesn't matter. If you have a 360 and like it, that's all that matters. Not what someone else says. Geez...

Martez: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

The power supply thing IS getting old- yeah, it's totally huge, and an annoyance; this one was pretty good only because it was so ridiculous. Hopefully this is the last time Joystiq will rip on the power supply, because besides getting old, you aren't really going to top this, and listing it as an 'annoyance' should mean it won't require any more posts dedicated to it. I mean, you guys aren't going to have a bunch more stories comparing the 360 to other forms of chocolate, right? You've pretty much posted every joke relating to the PSU anyway, although you never posted the Shadow of the Colossus image with Wander fighting the PSU, arguably the best one. But don't bother.

I enjoy reading Joystiq, and this was the first time I let out a heavy sigh at the sight of another 360 PSU post. There's plenty of other stuff about the 360 to make fun of, anyway.

todd: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Dunking it would keep it cool as well :)

Greg O.: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

"Seriously though, it doesn't matter. If you have a 360 and like it, that's all that matters. Not what someone else says. Geez..."

That's a good point Lone Starr, which brings up an interesting point. What is the motivation for this "annoyance" series of articles? One could assume it's to bring small but important errors to the attention of readers or potential buyers. However we're getting to the point where most of the complaints are arguably trivial. It hasn't gotten there yet, but I haven't seen where they're going with this.

And this isn't anything against vc, or any of the writers for that matter. This is sort of a larger issue than just insulting what each writer is contributing.

vc: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

The motivation: I'm going to do the same for the PS3 and Revolution. By the time I've compiled 100 of these things (or 1000 of them), users will have an accurate idea of all of the little problems with the system.

R: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Get over it! The power supply is big. Woop de doo! I have a surge protector and damn that thing is huge, but I'm dunking it in water to measure it's volume and comparing it to other things.

Hardly news worthy.

cudthecrud: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

I wonder if you didn't use a bag if the overall displacement of the gamecube would be the same as the power brick. I mean, the gamecube is packed fairly tight but there's a bit of space left in there, the 360 brick might be almost solid heatsink.

vc: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

The GameCube is quite literally a cube with a handle on it. The dead space between handle and body is not very consequential for purposes of this rough calculation.

Mo Curious: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

How does the volume of the power supply compare to the volume XBox 360 itself?! Thats a comparison I would love to see!

vc: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Mo -- good Q. If I can get a larger container I'll run that test at some point.

Mazinkaiser: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

J B Cougar,
I suggest you reseach defective %s of the past as you are wrong. Oh wait, do you mean launch issues only or real issues? PS2s laser die more than anything in console history possibly only challenged by the lack of quality in the Atari 2600 controls which died from basic use after am unreasonably small amount of usage. Wait, I got more, the PS1... the laser slides as it reads and the peice holding the moving part degraded due to friction. Sure you wouldn't see the effects of it at launch but give it a year and people were buying relpacements! I worked at a video game store for a few years during highschool, do you know how many Jaguars we rma'ed in 4 months? How many PSPs were returned iin Japan alone with deffective buttons? How many PSPs and DSs were returned due to dead pixels? Xbox needed power cords replaced. Sony recalled the slim PS2s with a certain model range. I can't think of a system that had no issues, granted some of them showed up a few months into use but you make X360 sound like the worst thing that ever happened! Granted that when you spend money and get something faulty it pisses you off, but it happens with everything and at least MS is getting them replaced asap!

� PINION CORPORATION �: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

_____________________________________________________
��

Here's an interesting question:

If you were to measure the original xbox using the above method, then compared it to the xbox 360 PLUS power supply, which is larger?

The xbox 360 unit is smaller (I think, I live in Australia and we don't get it until March, ugh!), but if you add that grotesque power supply, would they be the same size?

_____________________________________________________
��

Brent: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Yes, "but it�s still way larger than we want it to be. And that�s annoying."

That's wonderful. The Xbox to me is also larger than "I want it to be". Know what? I "want it to be" the size of an ipod. and be able to fit CDs in it. I don't care if its not possible. I want it to be, and it's annoying that it isn't.

whatever

kc: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

a better question is can you use the heat generated by the power supply to cook things in an easy bake oven? thats something i would want to see

vc: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

"Maybe vc should find a dumpster filled with water and find out how much his fat ass volume is."

Ain't no dumpster large enough, darlin.

As for dog kickin', did you just volunteer?

suckerpunch5: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Um, you know you could have just measured the length, width, and height, the multiplied them together to get the volume. Right? So:

Volume = LxWxH

Hooray!

Nmaster: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Notice the grooves and everything? You'd only be measuring rectangular volume, not the exact volume.

This is MUCH more accurate.

gj VC. Keep up the good work (but be careful you zip up those bags nice and tight)!

MCSDhacker: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

I'm going to start a blog where everday we talking about how big the 360's PSU is...but in DIFFERENT ways everday. Like one day we will calculate its weight on jupiters atmosphere and compare that to the results of the slim ps2, better yet to the game boy micro. etc etc etc Don't be surprised if joystiq steals this idea and posts it as 360 Annoyances #7

MCSDhacker: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

MCSDhacker: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

XBOX 360 ANNOYANCES #69

The IR receiver on the front of the xbox is in the wrong spot (cry). When the system is placed vertically and the disc try is ejected with a disc inserted you can't use the remote control while the system is on you're left side because the disc blocks the line of sight to the IR sensor. And here's a picture of it pictured side by side with the gamecube, oh and its TOO BIG WHAAAA!!!!!

Ryo: Dec 18th 2005; 9:06PM

Need we remember the whole problem with original Xbox power supply? The recall that the PSU on the Xbox could short out and cause fires? Wasn't there a case that someone had to be rescued from a fire caused by an Xbox PSU shorting out?

I seriously wouldn't be surprised if the Xbox 360 PSU could combust in such a way as the Xbox ones. But because of its size, I fear that it'll be like a mini A-bomb explosion...Just kidding...about the A-bomb part. Calm down, Xbox fanboys.

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