Hardware problem with XBOX 360?

I asked this question in the XBOX forum - probably the wrong place. My XBOX 360 began to freeze up while in the middle of a game. Then, it took no time at all - I could just put the DVD in, and it would freeze up. I first thought that it was a heat problem. I put the console in a more ventilated area - no good. I then took it apart, and washed the cheap thermal paste from the CPU and GPU and replace with higher grade paste - no good. I then starting reading more of how Microsoft used a few manufacturers of DVD ROMs, and that one company was not up to par. Has anyone heard of this? Has anyone had a similar problem? And yes, I am getting the red ring of death (3 of 4 lights - denoting a hardware problem).