I need some advice on purchasing a 360

C

CHIVANATOR

CAG Veteran
Hi guys im new to this web site and I see that you guys are all very helpfull:applause: . I have saved up to purchase myself a 360 but I dont know if I should wait for the new one with the 120gb HD since I do have a High Def tv. do you guys think its worth the $480 for the HDMI cable and bigger HD? Thanks guys :D
 
The stand alone 120GB HD is $179.99.

The Elite is only $79 more than the Premium, and includes an HDMI cable, too. A non-360 specific HDMI cable would run you at least $20 (if the other 360 models could even use an HDMI cable)

So basically you're paying $59 for a $179 hard drive.

If I didn't already have my Premium, I'd get the Elite.
 
I agree with Haggar. If you want to optimize your experience, you might as well go with the Elite. It's a great value for your dollar.
 
For the xtra $79.99 it's definitely worth waiting till the end of the month for the Elite. If I didn't already have a 360, I'd get the Elite!
 
On the down side, the Elite doesnt have the new chips in it, so its really the same 360 as the earlier ones plus HDMI and a bigger HDD. I'd wait till there is a 360 price drop and all 360s have the new chips in them. Ive read later this year this will happen.
 
[quote name='portland485']On the down side, the Elite doesnt have the new chips in it, so its really the same 360 as the earlier ones plus HDMI and a bigger HDD. I'd wait till there is a 360 price drop and all 360s have the new chips in them. Ive read later this year this will happen.[/quote]

That does sound like a good idea of waiting for the new chip and all. If you guys dont mind me asking what the new chip is going to do to make it different or benefit the 360?
 
[quote name='CHIVANATOR']That does sound like a good idea of waiting for the new chip and all. If you guys dont mind me asking what the new chip is going to do to make it different or benefit the 360?[/quote]

no need for towels.
 
[quote name='CHIVANATOR']That does sound like a good idea of waiting for the new chip and all. If you guys dont mind me asking what the new chip is going to do to make it different or benefit the 360?[/QUOTE]

Make it so the 360 is a stable system and doesn't break for no reason at all.
 
wait for the 65nm chips...that's what i am doing. the hdd size is irrelevant IMO considering you can redownload any previously purchased content.
 
I'd wait if you need the HDMI and the bigger HD. MSFT seems to have the quality issues ironed out. I've had one since last May with no issues and we play it all the time. Wish I could have a black one, but I don't regret it from the year of playing I've had.
 
I would wait until the end of the month for the Elite. As far as the new chips go, I got my 360 when they first came out and I have not had any problems.
 
I got mine at launch and have had zero problems. You can always wait, but then once that time comes, they'll be another rumour right on the horizon.
 
Totally worth getting an Elite. If I didn't have a Premium I would go for it simply for the 120 GB HD since the standard HD that comes with the Premium fills up fast with XBL content. My CoD3 map pack took about a 1 GB by itself.
 
smaller chip = quieter, cooler and longer lasting

alternative is to just get a replacement plan type warranty now with the machine of your choice and make the appropriate warranty "claim" when the time is right. given the 360's failure rate, i'd get that type of plan regardless if you plan on making a "claim" or not.
 
I'm waiting for the Elite... Because mine is broken... I'm almost there! Anyway, yea, you DO get a 1 year waranty on the system when you buy it. So you know you will be good for atleast that long.
 
I'm sort of having this same debate with myself about how long to wait. I've been scared off a bit by all the stories about the red rings of death and all the fun with trying to get broken systems fixed or replaced. A new, more reliable chip is a much bigger deal to me personally than the bigger HD or the HDMI. I don't have an HDTV at the moment, and I don't think I'll fill the basic HD very quickly with what I'd download.

I've also been concerned with how loud the 360s supposedly run, but after finally getting to try out my buddies 360, I'm not too worried about that anymore. His is at least 6 months old and I couldn't hear it at all while we were playing. So now I think I'm just waiting on a price drop and then hoping to see stores eventually offering something along with the drop, like a second controller, or a store gift card or a game I'm at least somewhat interested in bundled with the system.
 
The Elite is a bargain if you do not have a 360 yet. You get a larger hard drive for a decent price. I don't see the smaller chip size as a major issue. The systems run hot but just make sure you do not keep it in an enclosed space. If you are worried about it dieing get an extended warranty.
 
I agree with most of the above posters; if I didn't already have a 360, I'd wait for the Elite. that said, I've had my 360 since August and I have no regrets (and haven't even gone under 10gb left on my hdd, though I do delete stuff every now and then like game saves from stuff I've traded, demos and game videos, etc.).

I haven't had this much fun gaming since my Genesis days, and the future looks extremely bright with the games in the pipeline.
 
[quote name='CHIVANATOR']Hi guys im new to this web site and I see that you guys are all very helpfull:applause: . I have saved up to purchase myself a 360 but I dont know if I should wait for the new one with the 120gb HD since I do have a High Def tv. do you guys think its worth the $480 for the HDMI cable and bigger HD? Thanks guys :D[/quote]

This is a tough call. Here's my thoughts.

The advantages the Elite has are obvious- HD size and HDMI (plus the black case). But the HD isn't really necessary at all, and HDMI isn't all that important either. Neither enhances game play. If you have a 1080p set that doesn't support 1080p over component or VGA, the elite would probably be a better idea. Otherwise you're not getting much added utility in the $80 you spend (unless the single cable, bigger HD or black case are really that important to you).

For the $80, you can add at least 1 game title, if not 2 "classics" titles to your collection... or get a vision camera with 1 year Gold xbox live & maybe a 1600 pt card depending on the deal you find. If you are interested mostly in games and not so much in watching movies or other such content, I'd get the premium and spend the $80 on other stuff. You still have the ability to get the HD later, and perhaps you can find deals on it so it won't cost $100 more going this route.

If you know you will want to play bluray (if it comes out) or HDDVD content on the 360, or download HD movies/etc., then get the Elite. IPTV may interest you but that's ~6 months away and its not really worth holding off on a decision based on IPTV right now. (6 months of gaming > IPTV, heh).
 
i've been saving money for a while for a 360, and i decided to get it fairly soon, and i'm leaning toward the elite myself...
 
when is the new chip supposed to go into units produced? i thought it was around the end of summer or so. the more i look at the calendar the more it looks like my 360 purchase will be around christmas or the release of halo3...whichever comes first.

my buddy's 360 bought in fall 06 just got the 3 red lights sunday. are they sending refurb units now or repairing the one you send them?
 
[quote name='gaelan']when is the new chip supposed to go into units produced? i thought it was around the end of summer or so. the more i look at the calendar the more it looks like my 360 purchase will be around christmas or the release of halo3...whichever comes first.

my buddy's 360 bought in fall 06 just got the 3 red lights sunday. are they sending refurb units now or repairing the one you send them?[/quote]

4th quarter is when the 65nm cpus are to come out.
 
[quote name='h0mi']4th quarter is when the 65nm cpus are to come out.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, so definitely after Halo 3. They want to have people buy up the current stock of normal 360's (and Elites) when Halo 3 hits THEN come out with the new and improved model ;).

That said, I'm probably getting an Elite. Though I don't really buy the argument of "missing out on gaming" if you wait. Presumably, OP, you have other systems? I could just play nothing but my PS2 or DS backlogs until Christmas and get the newer chip model then. So that has been my dilemma. The only issue for me is that I already have bought 15 or so 360 games (all the cheap-ass way :lol:). So in that sense it would be "missing out" in that they are sitting here taunting me. Of course, if I play those then other games like Valkyrie Profile 2, Final Fantasy XII, and dozens of others will go unplayed.

I've heard various bits and pieces of info on the web about the Elites supposedly being more reliable despite having the same components. Some MS rep has said they fixed those issues for the Elite. The problem is they don't want to make a big deal about that because they haven't fully come clean on the current models having so many problems!

Here's two tidbits I dug up last night: the defect problems may be caused by cheap solder, which is cracking under the heat of the systems. If this is the case, a simple change in manufacturing procedure could fix that without any change in components. The second is that although the Elites seem to have the older Hitatchi DVD drive (and not the newer quieter BenQ drive that has shown up in some regular units), someone else is reporting that the newer Hitatchi drives are much better and in some ways even better than the BenQ (quieter, faster loading). So who knows... Until a hardware site gets a hold of one and rips it apart we won't really know what, if any, subtle changes have been made to help with reliability.
 
Early streat date break at a local Walmart, they picked up two. Apparently there is extra epoxy on the bridge btwn CPU & GPU.

edit: llamma.com

2 m's
 
[quote name='vectorscalar']Early streat date break at a local Walmart, they picked up two. Apparently there is extra epoxy on the bridge btwn CPU & GPU.

edit: llamma.com

2 m's[/QUOTE]

Yes, there is another thread covering that - but this is exactly what I was looking for when I said I wanted a hardware site to rip one apart. They did just that ;). Unfortunately they completely ignored the noise/cooling issues. They like that it has the Hitatchi drive and not the BenQ, but only, I gather, from a modding/hacking standpoint, and not from an end-user quieter/faster standpoint, which I find highly annoying.
 
I think that it is a bit funny that almost everyone that is advising waiting already has a 360. If I didn't own a 360, I probably would not wait. The games available are worlds beyond anything offered on other platforms right now, especially in HD. I had a couple regular xbox games that I had not played much of, and I can't go back to them when I could be playing the 360. I am also not sure about the dependability (or lack thereof) claims floating around. I have one of the original units and I have never had a problem ; ) - Perhaps I am lucky, but I can't help but feel like there are a lot jealous Sony fans out there!

To really answer your "wait or buy" question, there are only really these considerations:
Do you have HS internet? If not, the hard drive size over premium is irrelevant-
The only positive aspect of HDMI is the simple cable (one plug on either end). My tv only displays a progressive (p) image, so when I feed 1080i I basically end up with 1080p anyway (not that anyone can tell the difference since the resolution is identical).
The color may or may not be important to you. Had I known the Elite was coming out, I still would have purchased my console when I did (although with less than a month left, the decision would have been tougher :)
The chip talk is pretty much rubbish. Yes the newer chips will be smaller and therefore cost MS less and produce less heat in the unit, but assuming you don't set the thing on carpet or in a blanket, I don't think that heat is really an issue. No one knows when the new chips are coming out and the value of the lost HD gaming is more than the cooler operating environment (which I don't need). For me it (at this point in time) would come down to internet connectivity (I could wait 30 days for the monumental Hard Drive). If you can wait a few days for the extra space and have the High Speed internet to take advantage, why not? I pity anyone who tries to brag about "new chips" in their system in 6 months, because I can't imagine going back to the relatively shoddy graphics of the last generation. One last tip: Don't count out some of the early games that are WAY cheap. They may be cheap, but they still are pretty amazing (ie Perfect Dark, Kameo, Kong, Tomb Raider and even Quake 4). Many may give me heat on these, but in HD I enjoyed them as much or more than most of last gen (save for may Halo (1&2), God of War, and Ninja Gaiden). Welcome to next Gen Gaming!
 
[quote name='io']That said, I'm probably getting an Elite. Though I don't really buy the argument of "missing out on gaming" if you wait.
[/quote]

Well it depends on how long you're going to wait, and what interests you about the 360. You could concievably wait 3 years for the 360 to be closer to $200, but would you want to wait that long? Why or why not? That's just a different way of phrasing the "missing out" argument.

I suggested the OP not wait for the elite unless he wanted HDMI for whatever reason. Now that the elite is out next week instead of a month from now, waiting for the elite isn't really such a big deal. The additional HD space is more for bragging size since unless you download everything on xblm, you won't need anything larger than 20 gigs. IPTV may change this though, but details on the 360 iptv is sketchy right now.

If the elite ends up being far far more reliable than the other 2 consoles, then yeah, it'd be worth the extra $80 (hell, the extra warranty on the premium drives the cost up to ~$450 for most people, so you'd be getting the elite sans extra warranty for only 30 bucks more!) I gambled and didnt get any additional warranty from toys r us when i got my 360. Luckily MS upped the warranty to 1 year, plus my credit card does something to the warranty as well anyway so it worked out for me.
 
[quote name='h0mi']Well it depends on how long you're going to wait, and what interests you about the 360. You could concievably wait 3 years for the 360 to be closer to $200, but would you want to wait that long? Why or why not? That's just a different way of phrasing the "missing out" argument.
[/QUOTE]

Well, I would say 3 years is "missing out" but waiting until Fall (or certainly until the Elite comes out) is not, if you have a big backlog of games to play. That is especially true if Halo is not a must-play game for you. I could care less about Halo, but I want to play some of the other games - none of them are much higher priority than my other backlog games though, so I can wait. I am probably going to get an Elite - now it's just a matter of finding one ;). If they become difficult to find, though, I could just as easily delay my purchase a few months - and if it starts to get into mid-summer then I may find myself waiting for the new chips at that point.
 
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