xbox 360 consoles

[Christophe von Carstein]

My 1st post in a while so firstly merry christmas and happy new year everyone

Right down to business, basically i've been considering buying an xbox 360 for about a month now as my PS2 just doesnt really cut it anymore but when I looked on the net I never realised there was so many types as you have like the arcade version, the elite version and im sure there was another one, and basically what i want to know is what is the difference between them? as all i want one for, is to play Assassins Creed 1 & 2, Fifa 10 and C.O.D Modern Warfare, im not bothered about downloading movies and all the other clever things you can do etc etc

So which one is best and simplest to go for? because i am far from a computer geek, in all honesty im useless with them so can someone please advise.

Thanks I'll be back in 2010

 

[The Dark Sheep]

The difference is how much space there will be on the hard disk. I remember the old days when my friends had a handful of memory cards each that they used to store their game saves on, and still there was barely any space left on them, so whenever I got around to their place to play, I could never store my progress. A 60GB hard disk (that's what I have on my 360) would eliminate the need of memory cards (I don't even know if they make such cards for the 360) for just a slight increase in cost. So I'd go for something like that if I were you.

 

[Grish]

There's three versions: Arcade ($200), Pro($250) and Elite($300). Pro is discontinued but you can still buy them.

Biggest differences are:
1) Harddrive. Arcade has a 512 Mb memory chip, no hard drive. I recommend getting a hard drive as there's probably going to be downloadable content you'll want to grab as well as
Pro: 20 or 60 GB harddrives
Elite: 120 GB harddrive (250 on special editions costing $400)
2) Chipset
Elites and pros have the Falcon 65 nm chipset, better GPU heatsinks.

As Xbox 360s have a well known overheating problem (red ring of death), I recommend getting a newer Pro with the falcon chipset or an elite. They're cooler, quieter, and have hard drives. How big a harddrive you need is up to you, but if you want to download the occasional movie, or watch demos, or save a lot of content, you'll probably want a 60 GB so you're not fiddling with it all the time trying to make room. Also, XBoxs can copy their games to their hard drives. You still need the DVD in the drive, but it doesn't spin further reducing heat and noise. The games you most use you'll want to copy. Ensure if you get an XBox you keep it well ventilated.

I believe all have HDMI and optical outputs, support for 1080p, but only the elite actually comes with an HDMI 1.2 cable. I wouldn't worry about this because you can get cheap cables online.

The last things you want to consider are how many controllers and what games it comes with.

Have you considered a PS3? Their hardware is very good.

 

[Disciple of Nagash]

I don't know about 360's but I do have a PS3 has Grish said, and it is frankly superb. Never had any issues with it, and hooked up to my HD TV and surround sound it is mind blowing I highly recommend them.

 

[Canada Steve]

Buy the Elite in the UK not the Arcade. You need hard disk space ! And its not expensive to get the Elite with some games now.

 

[Sephiroth Von Carstein]

Buy the Elite in the UK not the Arcade. You need hard disk space ! And its not expensive to get the Elite with some games now.

Yeah, you can barely buy some Blood Knights for the price of an Xbox nowadays!

 

[Canada Steve]

Yeah, you can barely buy some Blood Knights for the price of an Xbox nowadays!

:lol::lol::lol: Too true.

 

[Marcus Von Drac]

I would personnaly reccomend the Elite. Sure it's more expensive but the Hard drave is worth it. The games you want to play will need space and the Arcade really can't handle it without overheating. My friend had an Arcade and it got the RRoD 3 times in 2 months, whereas my elite hasn't had any problems (well OK it died once, but that was my fault for dropping it!).

 

[Wolf Fang]

I just bought the Elite and couldn't be happier. Make sure you lay it down horizontally though. Ruined my 5 hour old Assassin's Creed 2 CD as it tipped over when my GF tripped over the internet wire.
Other than that, no problems and much cheaper than a PS3.

Cheers, Wolfie

 

[Get of W'soran]

I have both the 360 and PS3 and I must say I prefer the latter.

I don't know if it's just mind but my 360 seems to make far to much noise and the quality doesn't seem as nice as my Playstation.
Also my stupid machine red-rings sometimes >.<

 

[The Dark Lord Mr Fluffy]

Just wait until you anger its machine spirit, mine actually chewed up my gears of war 2 disc

I say elite! I have 2 pros myself, got one ages ago, then won the other in a lotto where I had a free ticket

 

[Grish]

PS3 definitely has better hardware.

Network infrastructure and porting games is a whole different matter.

The short of it is this: It's easier to develop for the PC and Xbox market than PS3. Easier development = cheaper costs = more incentive for developers to create games for the Xbox (plus rolling in the PC market makes the overall market larger). This was true 2 years ago, I am unsure how the PS3 libraries hold up now and if they've streamlined it enough. Here's an article on it: http://news.cnet.com/sony-ps3-is-hard-to-develop-for-on-purpose/

On paper it should have better games. The hardware is better, and theoretically has the ability to do more. In practice, it doesn't. Whether this will change in the future is unknown.

PS3 network is free. From what I've seen, it's also poor. If you want to game online, Xbox may be a better choice. PS3 has made great strides in the last year to update its infrastructure, but it's still weak IMO.

Media wise, PS3 wins hands down. Way better interface, more support for codecs. This is the only reason I sometimes wish I bought a PS3. If you're going to watch a lot of movies, this may be a good reason to go with the PS3.

 

[Master Vampire]

Just wait until you anger its machine spirit, mine actually chewed up my gears of war 2 disc

I see you haven't lost your humour

My bro has an elite Xbox. I can't say it doesn't do it's job, but my 1.5 year old pc creates better graphics.

Don't want to say much but my pc certainly ain't the best around...

 

[Grish]

You'll never beat a PCs graphics on a console. But you will get to play lying down on your couch and not be tied to a keyboard and mouse. Before someone corrects me, I know you can get controllers for your PC. But until it gets to be as casual a setup as a console, I'll take a console thanks. Plus I can't use my PC and game at the same time.

 

[Wolf Fang]

I admit that a PC creates better graphics, but Grish has a point. That and a high end gaming PC costs +€1300 and will get outdated in 8 to 12 months, forcing you to make the toughest of all decisions: Do I play a laggy game with maxed out video settings or do I crank it down to play it decently all the while knowing it's not what it should have been.
Other than that a pc has a 23 inch screen at best, while the sky is the limit with consoles.

That and I've managed to port crisis to the xbox with the help of some friends from school. Currently working on some other PC only games as well. Obviously for personal use only.

Shooters are still better on the pc though.

Cheers, Wolfie

 

[Master Vampire]

I spent 700 euro on the pc, which had older hardware at that time. Nothing overclocked, still gives better graphics than xbox.

I have to admit though that a xbox is cheaper and relies on the screen you set up too.

 

[Zephyr]

PS3 definitely has better hardware.

Network infrastructure and porting games is a whole different matter.

Very true and it also depends on the type of games you like to play as the 360 has all those nice RPG's that also appear on the PC. I don't want to cram my poor PC full with games as I already (ab)use it for my work and also seeing the enormous price tag for the PS3 I went for the 360.

What I find annoying is that the PS3 has the best hardware on the market but hardly uses it. I haven't seen any game on the market so far that literally lets it rip which is a crying shame.

My 360 is still on vacation, ie. being repaired for its 2nd ring of death:devil: That's the most annoying aspect of the 360, it's a death-trap waiting to happen. It's going to die sooner or later and yes it gets repaired without you actually having to pay even one euro but it's still annoying as it takes about three weeks.

 

[The Dark Lord Mr Fluffy]

I don't see why everyone else's xboxes keep red ringing! I have 2, and in the 4 ish years I've had them I've seen one red ring, because I dropped one from about a metre high (it fell off the tv...) It had a single red ring, ate a disc, then went back to happily playing good old second hand games. Trying to halo your way through gears of war is always a fun challenge

 

[Grish]

Red ring of death is extremely common in the old xbox's (20% of owners in the beginning); that's the stat you gotta go by. That's why its important to have a good chip set and a good motherboard. There's a new one I wasn't even aware of; Jasper. Released in late 2008. Uses less power than the Falcon chipset.

 

[Wolf Fang]

@Fluffman: What the hell do you do with that thing? It's not something you use for shotput practice.

Cheers, Wolfie

 

[Zephyr]

Red ring of death is extremely common in the old xbox's (20% of owners in the beginning); that's the stat you gotta go by.

Yup I have an oldie alright; first one in stores over here.