Looking to buy a 360

[coxmaster]

I have finally decided to sell my Wii. Got it a week after it came out, and I loved it. Sadly, havent played much in the last year so I'm looking to sell it and get a 360.

My question is, what do you recommend? I know im going to want atleast 20GB (ive heard this is plenty), HDMI isnt necessary. What im looking at right now is either getting a refurbish 20GB Pro from gamestop ($169 OR $249 for MS refurb). Of these, which is a better idea and why? Gamestop refurbished units dont have all the accessories, or even an HD.. MS does.

Or should i just buy a used one?

Thoughts/comments appreciated!

 

[Rage187]

just buy a new Arcade and pick up a cheap used 20 gig hdd. No way would I buy a used console from gamestop. Plus if you buy new you will get a Jasper.

 

[coxmaster]

Originally posted by: Rage187
just buy a new Arcade and pick up a cheap used 20 gig hdd. No way would I buy a used console from gamestop. Plus if you buy new you will get a Jasper.

If i buy used i was planning on buying from craigslist most likely.. But i hadnt thought about the arcade+ HD idea..

 

[Queasy]

Yes, get an Arcade from Dell. It will be about $180 after the discount. Get a 20GB or 60GB HDD and you're good to go.

As Rage mentions, don't buy used. You're playing Russian Roulette buying used 360s.

 

[coxmaster]

A harddrive on ebay is going to be around 30$-ish.. which is pretty good. I understand completely the reasoning behind not getting a used 360, a friend was just trying to tell me it was a good idea.

Microsoft Refurbished seems to be ruled out, since it is more expensive than an arcade. What is the discount you mentioned on Dell? And how long do they take to ship?

Thanks for the help guys.. im TOTALLY new to the 360

 

[Queasy]

Use coupon code 65G7RQ11J?M2LH at Dell.com to get 15% off the 360.

 

[VinylxScratches]

FYI, 20 GB is not enough.... Especially if you want to load games to make them faster and your Xbox quieter.

 

[DaveSimmons]

^ and make it less likely that it will scratch your disc to death.

Top 3 360 issues:
- RRoD / E74 - possibly gone with Jasper
- DVD-ROM dying - only covered by 1 year warranty, $99 to fix
- deep circular disc scratches making disc unusable

Playing from the HD can require installing 8+ GB of data, and the 20 GB HD only has 13 GB of free space.

You might want to consider spending $255 + shipping to get a new 60 GB Pro unit from Dell.

 

[SneakyStuff]

Get the 60GB Pro console from Dell. You'll want to install frequently played games because it's quieter and allows console to operate cooler. 20GB just isn't enough for that, along with other downloads available from the marketplace. Whatever you do just don't buy a used 360!!!

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
^ and make it less likely that it will scratch your disc to death.

Top 3 360 issues:
- RRoD / E74 - possibly gone with Jasper
- DVD-ROM dying - only covered by 1 year warranty, $99 to fix
- deep circular disc scratches making disc unusable

Playing from the HD can require installing 8+ GB of data, and the 20 GB HD only has 13 GB of free space.

You might want to consider spending $255 + shipping to get a new 60 GB Pro unit from Dell.

Has it been confirmed that the 60GBs from Dell are using the Jasper chipset? I thought they were still on Falcon which is why I suggested the Arcade version and then finding a 20GB or 60GB HDD separately.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Good point -- I haven't been following the Jasper Hunter threads but a lot of the 60GB Pro bundles seem to be older Falcon units, while the Arcades at Dell and Newegg are now Jaspers.

 

[nanobreath]

Last week I bought the arcade unit from dell and added a 60gb hard drive from ebay to it. Hard drive was $50 and the 360 was $180, so $230 for the equivalent of the pro, and it is basically garunteed to be a jasper. Still cheaper than buying the pro directly.

Dell ships very quickly and free! They use UPS. I ordered tuesday around noon and it arrived friday.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

I would recommend getting at least a 60 GB hard drive. My 360 has a "20 GB" hard drive, but in actuality, it is only 13 GB that is available for you to use. That's basically enough room for some saves, some DLC and one game install. I don't mind so much, since I typically only play one game at a time, but it is annoying, nonetheless.

 

[Pheran]

Save yourself trouble and get a 60G Pro from dell - Falcon vs Jasper is not that a big of deal, they are both much better than launch consoles.

Keep in mind that the hard drive is not the only difference between the arcade and pro - you also won't get a Live headset or an HD AV cable (may not matter if you are going to use HDMI) with the Arcade.

 

[Homer Simpson]

i just picked up a 360 arcade to add to my collection. wanted cheap and a jasper. added the 120gb hard drive cuz i plan to install games to the hdd to cut down on heat and noise. talk about a rip off though on storage, $120. for that price i can get a terabyte harddrive (well, a 3.5" desktop one atleast). i like my ps3's "any laptop hdd can be used" option. anyways, basically ended up with a 120gb jasper for a few bucks more than a 60gb pro that may or may not be jasper. and i get 256mb of flash memory

 

[coxmaster]

I picked up an arcade last night from Gamestop (im impatient) So now im just going to buy an HD on ebay. Its definitely a jasper, which is great.

Only problem im having now is lag on Halo 3. No idea why.. a friend of mine is the host so its not that (3 miles away, he has 12Mb/sec). My internet is 1.5Mb/sec.. which should be plenty. Any tips?

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: coxmaster
Only problem im having now is lag on Halo 3. No idea why.. a friend of mine is the host so its not that (3 miles away, he has 12Mb/sec). My internet is 1.5Mb/sec.. which should be plenty. Any tips?

Short of upgrading to 3MB/sec, go to PortForward.com and get the proper settings for your router and Xbox Live.

 

[coxmaster]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: coxmaster
Only problem im having now is lag on Halo 3. No idea why.. a friend of mine is the host so its not that (3 miles away, he has 12Mb/sec). My internet is 1.5Mb/sec.. which should be plenty. Any tips?

Short of upgrading to 3MB/sec, go to PortForward.com and get the proper settings for your router and Xbox Live.

Ok, i just tried that. I'll give it a test in a bit and hope that it works.

 

[RaiderJ]

I bought a 120GB WD hard drive and did the swap with a 20GB. Works great, haven't heard of any people being banned from XBL for the switch. Google HDDHACKR if you need info.

 

[Mavrick007]

I just bought a 360 from a guy who won it and already has one for a really sweet deal. It was never opened and it does seem to be a Jasper too (150watt 12.1A). We modded it and it plays everything well since it has the Liteon drive. It's the Pro 60gig version so they are fairly easy to find now I believe.. Manufacture date 11-26-2008.

 

[gorcorps]

Originally posted by: Mavrick007
I just bought a 360 from a guy who won it and already has one for a really sweet deal. It was never opened and it does seem to be a Jasper too (150watt 12.1A). We modded it and it plays everything well since it has the Liteon drive. It's the Pro 60gig version so they are fairly easy to find now I believe.. Manufacture date 11-26-2008.

Modded what? Flashed the DVD drive? Sounds like something that they ban you from live for.

 

[Mavrick007]

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Originally posted by: Mavrick007
I just bought a 360 from a guy who won it and already has one for a really sweet deal. It was never opened and it does seem to be a Jasper too (150watt 12.1A). We modded it and it plays everything well since it has the Liteon drive. It's the Pro 60gig version so they are fairly easy to find now I believe.. Manufacture date 11-26-2008.

Modded what? Flashed the DVD drive? Sounds like something that they ban you from live for.

Yes, but that's why you don't go on live with it. There are ways around it though.

 

[plvick]

Actually the modded Liteon has never been locked out of Live, to date, as far as I know. I play mine online all the time.

I wouldn't have gone the mod route myself, but I have actually paid multiple times for some arcade titles... and some still don't work! Thanks to Microsoft's DRM glitches I haven't been able to play Sonic1 since I bought it. I had to pay twice for Braid after hours with tech support got me nowhere. Thats just the surface of these problems (I could go on and on about this)... last week I couldn't even download the "optional media update" because of a DRM glitch, after 2hrs with tech support they told me to call back later. If I can't even play what I have paid for, I am gonna play friggin everything then. Bring on the mod.

M$'s tech support is the worst ever, and a total waste of time. I can't tell you how many hours I have spent with them to accomplish nothing. Anyway, now I have an awesome library of stuff, and can play anything I want whenever I want. They can sue me for all I care... I'll bet a jury would side with me and award me damages after I get through with them. hehe.

I held out for some time before I resorted to modding my unit. When my favorite game got scratched, by the unit itself through no fault of my own, and my only recourse was to buy another copy, I decided that was it. Best gaming decision I have made in some time, modding my 360.

 

[plvick]

About what to get... I would snag that Arcade Jasper unit from Dell and then upgrade it to the new dash BEFORE attaching an aftermarket 20gig purchased from eBay or Craigslist for $30 or so. Do that; you will be in good shape.

Of course, you can easily justify a larger HD, but they are expensive and not really worth the benefit. Installed games still require the original disk to play, and aren't much faster, or even quieter (just my humble opinion). Unless you really like to download demos, or pay for your tv shows, you hardly NEED any extra space.

Good luck on your purchase!

 

[biggestmuff]

Originally posted by: coxmaster
I picked up an arcade last night from Gamestop (im impatient) So now im just going to buy an HD on ebay. Its definitely a jasper, which is great.

Only problem im having now is lag on Halo 3. No idea why.. a friend of mine is the host so its not that (3 miles away, he has 12Mb/sec). My internet is 1.5Mb/sec.. which should be plenty. Any tips?

Did you install Halo3 to the harddrive? If so, remove it.