Xbox 360 buying advice
 

Hey everyone,

Im looking to purchase a 360 in the near future and would like some advice

- Im strapped for cash. Is it a waste to buy the core bundle instead of the premium? I cant see myself in using 20gb of hard drive space, and i dont really have an interest in playing regular xbox games. I would like to play online however.

- How are your experiences with your 360 (if applicable) in terms of reliability and generally not breaking?

- I have heard rumors that the 360 is due for a price drop. Any thoughts on this? Maybe I should wait a bit?

Thanks for your help

1.- Go for the premium, more soon than later you fill find out that the 20GB are far from enough, especially with the video distribution and the game demo options.

2.- Most of the problmes associated with the first batches of the 360 have been solved already, the dvd drive is noisy as hell, but MS just announce a change in the dvd to make it quieter.

3.- There are no prices drops in the near future, though, there's a new 360 comming out, that will include hdmi out and a 120GB HDD among other things for the same price of the premium.

My advice would be to wait untill this year's christmas so you will get the best bang for your buck, either by buying a new console with lots of extras or buying a cheaper second hand console. Now, if you're into modding the xbox, the best option wold be to buy a second hand consle right now, having special care on which dvd drive it has in order to take full advantage of the exploits, or you can do what i did, get a Wii and have fun with the whole family, i gotta say that i had never had such a blast with a game console as i have now with the Wii.

Thanks for your reply Iron. I do have a Wii, got one at launch and am very happy with it. I figure a 360 would complement the Wii nicely. Im in no real rush to get the 360 so I might take your advice and wait a bit. I really want the 360 for Gears of War, something you will never see on the Wii :D

My $.02? Don't waste your money on a game console if you are "strapped for cash". If you wanna play games, and obviously you have a computer already, check out MAME. I probably dumped thousands of dollars worth of quarters into machines to play the games you can now play on your computer for free...

I have a 360 and love it. The games are unbelievable, especially on my 55" HDTV :)
I agree that 20GB is not nearly enough, there are game demos, movies, etc. that will easily fill that space. As far as reliability, the only issue I've had is my NBA 2K7 game had a disc read error in the middle of a game yesterday and crashed the game. I don't think it's a big deal as I played for 3-4 hours tonight with no issues, just a fluky thing.

The government has mandated that all consumers who purchase an XBox 360 must also purchase Gears of War. Do so and enjoy and do not question the purchase. Go, kill, weep tears of joy at the amazing experience.

Is it going to be possible to buy the 120GB HDD by itself for those of us that bought the premium with the removable hard drive?

That has been confirmed?? I know a week ago, the rumor was all over the gaming sites, but it was all speculation.

All the rumors I've read put the release date somewhere in the March/April window presumably to fuck with the PS3 launch in Europe--so, I'd at least wait and see before committing serious spending money in case the new model stuff is true.

Either way,Microsoft is going to eventually switch to the 65nm--assuming I remember that right--processor and that should solve some of the heat and noise issues the first go round of 360s has if that's what you're worried about, but there doesn't seem to be a date set for the switch, as far as I know.

As for the different SKUs, I bought the premium package. The addition of the hard drive was worth it to me because I download a shitload of demos and game videos. In the end, if I had bought a core package plus the hard drive plus the headset plus the component cables--all included in the premium package--it would have ended up costing me a lot more.

JustDisGuy, maybe I should clarify. I can afford to buy a 360, but I would prefer not to spend more than I need to. Im not rich by any means, so I would like to get the best deal possible for my needs.

What if one doesn't give two shits about game demos and videos? Is there still a reason to get the bigger harddrive?

You need it for Xbox Live and for many other things, including mandatory game patches.

Getting the premium package is the only way to go. It includes the headset, component cables, wireless controller, HD. There is no question about it, get the premium. The HD will just make your life a lot easier, and as others have said, you need it for XBL. I never thought I would need one either, but once you have it, it's totally worth it.

Go grab a premium 360, and Gears of War. Attach to an HDTV with Surround Sound, and enjoy the experience. You won't regret it!!

You certainally want to spend the extra and get the premium. If you want to any of the XBOX LIVE arcade and free demo's, the hard drive is a must.

Directions:

Click this link. Gives you 10% off entire first order at www.overstock.com

http://www.techbargains.com/cjump.cfm?afsrc=1&id=233

Add Xbox 360 Premium System and Gears of War to the order. Add one more "non-gaming" item to make the discount work (add something that's like 5 bucks).

Enjoy 360 Premium and Gears of War for $410.

Or, enjoy 360 Core and GoW for $315



That's what I did. I did it way back when it was 15% off first order, and got my Xbox 360 Premium with Gears of War for $390