Of course, as you more than likely already know, the Xbox 360 is an expensive bit of kit, and that’s even before you take all the games and accessories into account. Having said that; the vast majority of people seem to forget all about the cost of their Xbox, particularly once they start becoming involved with their favorite games. At least this is the case until such time that their Xbox packs up. Of course, providing your system is still under warranty, most breakdowns can be resolved, although the time it takes for repairs to be carried out may well cost you a considerable amount of quality gaming time. As you can imagine this problem becomes even worse when you’re forced to hand over money for the repairs, or even for a new system.

One fundamental difference between the Xbox 360 and regular gaming desktops is that the Xbox 360 doesn’t have as many cooling systems. In fact, with regards to the Xbox 360, heat is probably enemy number one, and believe it or not, but heat is produced relatively quickly when you play games for hours on end. However, by following the tips provided in this article you certainly can prolong the life of your Xbox 360.

First and foremost, you should make it a habit to regulate your gaming hours. If you are fond of playing Xbox Live Arcade games you probably don’t need to worry about heating issues because those games do not take full advantage of the Xbox 360’s power. But those intense 3-D high definition games can really heat up your system so it is important to take breaks. Even a 30 minute break is okay so you can still enjoy lots of gaming hours per day.[youtube:OgScgOHe9jI;[link:XBOX 360 Mod Chip?];http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgScgOHe9jI&feature=related]

Those who simply cannot stomach taking breaks should enjoy their gaming in a cooler environment to prevent the system from overheating. Ideally, one should play in a room that has air conditioning or at the very least, make sure that you have a fan pointed towards the system.

Even if your system is turned off and resting, you should make sure that your Xbox 360 is stored safely away from direct sunlight and dusty areas so that the next time you play, you are less likely to be nagged with red ring errors and decreased gaming performance. It is no good to turn on an Xbox 360 that is already warm due to the heat around the room.

As you may well already know there are numerous third party accessories which are said to have the ability of fixing heating problems. The downside to these accessories is that they draw all their power directly from the Xbox 360 system. As a result excessive use of these accessories can also result in further red ring errors. Unless an accessory is licensed by Microsoft, or it uses an independent power supply, it should be avoided.

While you may be skeptical taking your Xbox 360 with you when you travel, you can do so providing you take suitable care of it. For example, you should always avoid carrying the Xbox 360 in an upright position unless of course you’re using a dedicated Xbox 360 carry case. While these cases are certainly a safer, better option, you should still take the necessary precautions to make sure that the case is properly secured.

While the latest Xbox 360 gaming consoles are far less likely to experience red ring errors thanks to the use of upgraded motherboards, it’s still imperative that gamers take adequate care of their consoles if they want their gaming sessions to be free of red ring errors.