My brother had his Xbox 360 suffer the red ring of death syndrome, and he was lucky enough to get it replaced under the extended warranty coverage he opted for when he originally bought it. The fight with the store over getting the warranty serviced is another matter all together.

But the have been some conflicting reports as to what's killing all of those Microsoft consoles out there.

Wait, Microsoft has the answer! It's surge protectors! Of course, why didn't I think of that!

The Xbox 360 is highly sensitive to reductions in power, and even the slightest cut in power can cause things like the fans and even the DVD laser to malfunction. Surge protectors can cause this, and probably 90% of the consoles they see have all failed in 6-12 months of being plugged into a surge protector.

So I guess that according to Microsoft, the Xbox 360 is a sensitive piece of hardware, subject to damage and or destruction when incurring power dips, momentary cuts, and surges in electrical feed. My computer is even more sensitive, and despite having to run Windows on it, it's been running perfectly for several years now.

Shocking, isn't it?

Tech support at Microsoft (New Delhi, India) have been saying that poor surge protectors are killing the consoles. Never mind the warrantied Xbox's being returned with new fan-dangled heat-sinks on the chips, it's that surge protector. They're starting to recommend that users run their consoles straight from the wall outlet, sans surge protection. Oddly enough, a quick phone call to my local power company brought about the discover that they don't have a surge protector on their power grid. They still suffer from power surges and spikes, brown outs, and haven't yet been able to control lightning strikes (or so they say).

There is one simple technical brief from Microsoft, but it's essentially an on-line user manual. Thus far, they have provided no creditable evidence to support this claim of bad surge protectors killing consoles.

Now comes the fun part.

I have some measure of experience in physics and electronics, and this sounds of complete rubbish to me. Here's why . . .

First, surge protectors will only prevent power surges while doing nothing for power spikes. A surge protector uses a current limiting diode to limit the amount of current being routed through the power bar. Typically, it's 110 Volts at 15 Amps of current. If the current flow should exceed the current limit of the 17 AMP diode in the surge protector, then the diode will pop and will not allow for anymore electricity to pass through.

Secondly, it's not the responsibility of the outlet or the power bar to regulate the current, but that of the power adapter for the Xbox (the power cube on the cord and or the power supply inside the system). If the power supply for the Xbox can't handle a momentary dip or surge in  current flow, then there's something horribly wrong with its design. This can be substantiated by the fact that the original Xbox console had a recall of its power cords due to faulty construction causing fires. 

Third, and this ones a doosy, shouldn't the companies that make the surge protector power bars be held responsible for these damages? All of the companies that make surge protectors offer a warranty on any attached device, whether it be a PC, an Xbox, or a lamp, it doesn't matter. But if these power bars are really to blame, should we be seeing a rash of dead PC's and Home Theater equipment going up in flames due to one faulty brand of surge protector? We haven't seen that yet.

Fourth, and this would make Microsoft look pretty foolish, could not an experiment be preformed to determine the exact cause of Xbox 360 failures? There is an electrical device call Constant Voltage Transformer (CVT). It's a type of transformer (like the big metal boxes in you neighborhood) that will deliver a constant voltage and current flow at its specified rating. It takes some experience, but one could always get a CVT rated for 110 Volts at 15 Amp's of current (or whatever the 360 is rated for) and run a 360 in this controlled state. Furthermore, by using a small bit of climate control (namely Air Conditioning and Humidity control) an Xbox could be run flat out until point of failure. Was it the hot chips, or the perfect electrical source that killed it.

Fifth, and this is something few ever consider, is the electrical infrastructure at Microsoft. Many large corporations will have their own power substations installed, and these will provide near perfect electricity. Furthermore, the hardware development labs where the 360 was designed and tested are bathed in cool AC air to keep them at a delightful 21 or 22 Degrees Celsius. A Home Entertainment center is not. Microsoft most likely never tested the 360 in real world conditions, just under laboratory control.

And for my sixth and final point, could Microsoft please tell us what brands of surge protector power bars to avoid? If they're certain of the cause, then it is their obligation to inform their customers as to the roots of that cause. Or would saying which brand of power bar is responsible get Microsoft sued?