Xbox One Console wear and tear
Been seeing a few posts lately on people asking whether or not it would be bad for the life of the console to use the TV pass-through or if that is simply accelerating the wear on their device. And I actually have a fairly decent handle on this topic (I think). So, I thought I would add my 2 cents to the discussion.
Firstly, at a fairly high level there are 2 things which will determine how long your console lasts. The first is specific manufacturing differences from one console to another and the second being how the console is used.
That first point is extremely important. No two Xbox Ones (or anything else manufactured for that matter) are absolutely identical. Which component is the "weakest link" can differ in individual units. This is part of why, while Microsoft built (and tested) it to last for 10 years, that they don't offer a 10 year warranty. 10 years is a lot of time, and depending on usage, differences even as low as at the molecular level can express themselves in ways which ultimately mean premature death of the unit.
While we cannot control, and possible cannot even evaluate that first portion of the longevity of your brand new console, you can control the second factor; how it is used.
Again, at a high level, the 2 most common causes of faults occur because of moving parts that degrade over time, and thermal fatigue. I'll also add a companion to the moving parts portion that most moving parts experience the most wear during start-up.
From this we can start to see, we can have an effect on how long our individual consoles last. And a large part of that boils down to how we tend to use our consoles. This isn't to say that if you choose the setup that best matches your usage that your particular console will last X years. Again, differences in manufacturing might lead to a unit you can't keep running for more than a year despite treating it with care, while your friend down the road may abuse the hell out of his and see it last 10+ years. Life is terrible that way some times.
On the topic of wear and tear, I'm going to start with thermal fatigue as it is probably the more complicated notion of the two. Your Xbox One, just like almost every piece of modern electronics is a series of circuit boards with a bunch resistors, capacitors and series of other components each containing very small, very thin leads made of various conductive metals. Metals don't just conduct electricity very well, they also tend to conduct heat very well.
Those with a basic foundation in physics or chemistry may be aware that the bulk of earthly substances expand when heated and contract when cooled. Metals, when they undergo this process over and over again begin to break down and will over time even physically break apart. And that point they stop being such good conductors since the electrons require a continuous surface to flow reliably across for your electronic devices to continue working.
I also remember reading, that the more rapidly the temperature changes the greater the impact on thermal fatigue of the components. But I don't have any articles/evidence on hand, so take that with a grain of salt.
For these reasons, if you regularly switch between the TV and console, it might make sense to use the pass-through. By not turning off the console when switching to watching TV, the components won't cool as much, or as quickly when compared to just turning the device off. And, if you switch back to gaming, the console will already be warmer, and so the difference in temperatures won't be as high when gaming kicks the temps back up.
That being said, moving parts tend to be the culprit in a faulty system more often than thermal fatigue. I have yet to see a system, regardless of use, succumb to thermal fatigue in anything less than 5 years, and more typically, 10+ years (unless it was exacerbated by some other fault). Fans regularly go more often than this. I've seen fans die in less than a year.
So, does that mean you should ignore everything I said above? No. I also alluded to something that is true of most moving parts. That they experience the most wear when starting up, rather than under normal operating conditions.
When a fan sits idle it more readily accumulates dust and other particulates which can interfere with normal operation, and more force is required to move a fan from a stationary position into motion and up to regular operating speeds than is required to simply switch between operating speeds.
So, while it may seem contradictory, it is even possible that leaving a device on or leaving it on more often could lead to greater life even in certain moving parts. In fact, for the most part, as long as the device is in a well ventilated area, powering up and down as infrequently as possible is the ideal way to preserve any frequently used device.
But, at the end of the day. Turning on a device that was already off when you aren't really getting any use out of it is always worse for the life of the product. So, if you don't care about the voice control and other features of the Xbox One and you're going to be frequently using the cable without switching to or from the Xbox One for gaming, then perhaps you should consider not using the console with the pass-through.
You may have noticed a trend. Even when I'm concerned about moving parts... that focus is on fans which is part of the greater thermal discussion. Yes, hard drives and optical drives also contain moving parts, but when one of these goes, just that component goes, and they are much more replaceable. When a fan goes, it tends to mean you have also fried other components and are generally more likely to need to simple replace the unit.
And, if thermal concerns ultimately reign supreme, then perhaps, more important even than HOW you choose to use your console is WHERE you put your console.
If you want it to last as long as possible regardless of how you choose to use it, put it somewhere with good circulation. The more unobstructed space around the console, the better the circulation. Better circulation means more stable, lower temperatures with less fan usage. Means both the fans last longer and thermal fatigue is less of a factor.
The "where" for most people will be an entertainment unit. Some entertainment units favour form over function, which may lead to stifling conditions, in which case, keeping it somewhere outside the unit is probably ideal. And the ones which take function into consideration likely anticipated devices like DVD players and cable boxes which are often only passively cooled and have very low thermal footprints and requirements when compared to something like gaming consoles which are actively cooled and need to force a lot of air both into and out of the console to maintain the best possible temperatures for the console. So, in those cases, you may need to try and find the best place to put it, or again, consider finding somewhere outside of the entertainment unit for it.
Honestly, I've yet to see, in a store, an entertainment unit that provides a space that would actually seems like the designers considered gaming consoles. Thins to consider are; Closed sides are bad, no ventilation at the top is bad, closed in entirely is downright suicidal.
Even my entertainment unit which I would give a passing grade to isn't really meant for a gaming device, but I kind of lucked out in that it was very "open concept". It has a top for the TV or miscellaneous stuff, two shelves on either side of the bottom portion with no outer walls. A narrow center unit, with the walls between the center and main shelving space being perforated with decent sized holes, and no front doors. Lastly of note is an under-hang between the top and bottom shelves.
In this setup, my Xbox One is on the bottom right shelf (PS3 on bottom left in similar setup), with the Xbox itself as far forward and to the right as possible. This puts it as far away from the center wall as possible (which is a good wall for ventilation anyway thanks to the holes, but further from any wall is always better). There is no right side, so wide open ventilation there. The under-hang, and open space to the right mean there is at least somewhere above the unit for hot air to go. And because it is all the way forward and the entertainment unit itself is a has a solid space for ventilation out the back.
I don't think my setup is exciting by any means. But if you really want to get the most life out of your $500 investment, it will hopefully give you some tips or things to think on to make the most of the circulation you can get out of where you choose to put your Xbox (or any other heat producing device for that matter).
Firstly, at a fairly high level there are 2 things which will determine how long your console lasts. The first is specific manufacturing differences from one console to another and the second being how the console is used.
That first point is extremely important. No two Xbox Ones (or anything else manufactured for that matter) are absolutely identical. Which component is the "weakest link" can differ in individual units. This is part of why, while Microsoft built (and tested) it to last for 10 years, that they don't offer a 10 year warranty. 10 years is a lot of time, and depending on usage, differences even as low as at the molecular level can express themselves in ways which ultimately mean premature death of the unit.
While we cannot control, and possible cannot even evaluate that first portion of the longevity of your brand new console, you can control the second factor; how it is used.
Again, at a high level, the 2 most common causes of faults occur because of moving parts that degrade over time, and thermal fatigue. I'll also add a companion to the moving parts portion that most moving parts experience the most wear during start-up.
From this we can start to see, we can have an effect on how long our individual consoles last. And a large part of that boils down to how we tend to use our consoles. This isn't to say that if you choose the setup that best matches your usage that your particular console will last X years. Again, differences in manufacturing might lead to a unit you can't keep running for more than a year despite treating it with care, while your friend down the road may abuse the hell out of his and see it last 10+ years. Life is terrible that way some times.
On the topic of wear and tear, I'm going to start with thermal fatigue as it is probably the more complicated notion of the two. Your Xbox One, just like almost every piece of modern electronics is a series of circuit boards with a bunch resistors, capacitors and series of other components each containing very small, very thin leads made of various conductive metals. Metals don't just conduct electricity very well, they also tend to conduct heat very well.
Those with a basic foundation in physics or chemistry may be aware that the bulk of earthly substances expand when heated and contract when cooled. Metals, when they undergo this process over and over again begin to break down and will over time even physically break apart. And that point they stop being such good conductors since the electrons require a continuous surface to flow reliably across for your electronic devices to continue working.
I also remember reading, that the more rapidly the temperature changes the greater the impact on thermal fatigue of the components. But I don't have any articles/evidence on hand, so take that with a grain of salt.
For these reasons, if you regularly switch between the TV and console, it might make sense to use the pass-through. By not turning off the console when switching to watching TV, the components won't cool as much, or as quickly when compared to just turning the device off. And, if you switch back to gaming, the console will already be warmer, and so the difference in temperatures won't be as high when gaming kicks the temps back up.
That being said, moving parts tend to be the culprit in a faulty system more often than thermal fatigue. I have yet to see a system, regardless of use, succumb to thermal fatigue in anything less than 5 years, and more typically, 10+ years (unless it was exacerbated by some other fault). Fans regularly go more often than this. I've seen fans die in less than a year.
So, does that mean you should ignore everything I said above? No. I also alluded to something that is true of most moving parts. That they experience the most wear when starting up, rather than under normal operating conditions.
When a fan sits idle it more readily accumulates dust and other particulates which can interfere with normal operation, and more force is required to move a fan from a stationary position into motion and up to regular operating speeds than is required to simply switch between operating speeds.
So, while it may seem contradictory, it is even possible that leaving a device on or leaving it on more often could lead to greater life even in certain moving parts. In fact, for the most part, as long as the device is in a well ventilated area, powering up and down as infrequently as possible is the ideal way to preserve any frequently used device.
But, at the end of the day. Turning on a device that was already off when you aren't really getting any use out of it is always worse for the life of the product. So, if you don't care about the voice control and other features of the Xbox One and you're going to be frequently using the cable without switching to or from the Xbox One for gaming, then perhaps you should consider not using the console with the pass-through.
You may have noticed a trend. Even when I'm concerned about moving parts... that focus is on fans which is part of the greater thermal discussion. Yes, hard drives and optical drives also contain moving parts, but when one of these goes, just that component goes, and they are much more replaceable. When a fan goes, it tends to mean you have also fried other components and are generally more likely to need to simple replace the unit.
And, if thermal concerns ultimately reign supreme, then perhaps, more important even than HOW you choose to use your console is WHERE you put your console.
If you want it to last as long as possible regardless of how you choose to use it, put it somewhere with good circulation. The more unobstructed space around the console, the better the circulation. Better circulation means more stable, lower temperatures with less fan usage. Means both the fans last longer and thermal fatigue is less of a factor.
The "where" for most people will be an entertainment unit. Some entertainment units favour form over function, which may lead to stifling conditions, in which case, keeping it somewhere outside the unit is probably ideal. And the ones which take function into consideration likely anticipated devices like DVD players and cable boxes which are often only passively cooled and have very low thermal footprints and requirements when compared to something like gaming consoles which are actively cooled and need to force a lot of air both into and out of the console to maintain the best possible temperatures for the console. So, in those cases, you may need to try and find the best place to put it, or again, consider finding somewhere outside of the entertainment unit for it.
Honestly, I've yet to see, in a store, an entertainment unit that provides a space that would actually seems like the designers considered gaming consoles. Thins to consider are; Closed sides are bad, no ventilation at the top is bad, closed in entirely is downright suicidal.
Even my entertainment unit which I would give a passing grade to isn't really meant for a gaming device, but I kind of lucked out in that it was very "open concept". It has a top for the TV or miscellaneous stuff, two shelves on either side of the bottom portion with no outer walls. A narrow center unit, with the walls between the center and main shelving space being perforated with decent sized holes, and no front doors. Lastly of note is an under-hang between the top and bottom shelves.
In this setup, my Xbox One is on the bottom right shelf (PS3 on bottom left in similar setup), with the Xbox itself as far forward and to the right as possible. This puts it as far away from the center wall as possible (which is a good wall for ventilation anyway thanks to the holes, but further from any wall is always better). There is no right side, so wide open ventilation there. The under-hang, and open space to the right mean there is at least somewhere above the unit for hot air to go. And because it is all the way forward and the entertainment unit itself is a has a solid space for ventilation out the back.
I don't think my setup is exciting by any means. But if you really want to get the most life out of your $500 investment, it will hopefully give you some tips or things to think on to make the most of the circulation you can get out of where you choose to put your Xbox (or any other heat producing device for that matter).
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