Just wondering if anyone might have any knowledge on the manufacturing process of an dev/test/demo vs. that of a retail console? My experience has been that XDKs seem a lot tougher and last longer then your average retail console. I know that for the retail consoles MS used cheap lead-free solder which causes the loss of connection under the gpu/cpu giving rrod. Any idea if MS used leaded solder in the devs since it isn't a consumer product, might explain why they last a bit longer?
Yup. XDK are just as susceptible to RROD/E74 and similar issues. Only difference is that with the retail, it has the standard/extended warranty. XDK have warranties until the contract is nullified by Microsoft for whatever the reason may be unless the warranty seal is tampered with.
my XDK zephyr 0110'ed 3 months ago, they have no difference in scrutiny and nit-picking when being made by MS employees, they run through the same exact process, conveyor belt, solder machine, etc. HOWEVER. when an XDK is being made, it goes through much more rigorous testing to make sure sidecar ports/emulation is working, all done via computers, so literally, no extra human care is put into them. that's really the only difference, bruh you would think a devkit would be equipped with NASA grade solder, NASA grade power REG. caps, fucking titanium solder traces, but nope. M$ is cheaper then cheap
That^ I mean come on MS! You charge a kidney for one of these things but you can't go top tier with the materials?
