Running a higher resolution should cause the GPU to work harder and generate more heat? Logic tells me yes, but not sure.

Asking this becasue I've been running my 360 at 720p for 8 months - no problems. Upgraded to a 1080p tv, set the 360 to display 1080p. Within 2 weeks, I've had 3 freeze-ups, then the Rrod.

Does running 1080p put that much more stress on the GPU to cause Rrod faster vs. running lower resolutions?

You probably just got unlucky.

Xbox 360 games aren't currently rendered at 1080p (at least none that I know of). Many of them aren't even rendered at 720p. The Xbox simply scales these games to those resolutions for output (IE: halo3 is actually drawn at 640p and then upscaled from there IIRC). It's much easier for the system to scale an image than it is to actually render it at the higher resolution. By switching to 1080p output from 720p output, you put very little extra stress on the system (if that makes any sense).

Correct. The scaler may work a bit harder but it shouldn't really cause any failures. A good example is that an original Xbox, modded of course, will scale videos to 720p or 1080i but will not play a native 720p video. It simply doesn't have enough processing power.

I used to play my 360 on an old tv not even capable of hd and when I bought my new 1080p lcd this year I noticed no freezing or such from the console. I think it was just unlucky timing.

Thanks to all, now thinking I was just unlucky and got hte rrod.

I use the 360 as a media extender most of the time, and play lots of 1080p movies, TV shows. I've been monitoring the output temp of the 360 in 1080p and will run a few days at 720p and see of the temps stay the same or drop.

unless you're playing a lot of NBA Street Homecourt and Virtua Tennis 3....

those are the only 2 games that render in 1080p everything else is 720p or less

I actually just wrote an article on this: http://thoughthead.com/89