Is a $159 Arcade a viable option?

natureboy46

natureboy46

CAGiversary!
I've been thinking of getting a 360 lately (have a ps3 and Wii) and noticed the Arcade at Dell for $159. Given the ability to use a thumb drive etc. is this model something that I could actually use?

Keep in mind that the ps3 will remain my primary console and I now use netflix on my Wii.

Can I get by without a hdd? Will I be missing out on anything by not having a hdd? I don't really want to spend $300 on an Elite.


Cheers.
 
You should be able to get a used 20GB HDD for $30 or less these days, but honestly you might be better off getting a 120, or at least a 60GB so you can do hard drive installs. This will make the system much less noisy, and since the only time you'll be using the disc drive is when you install the games, the system should last longer too. By the way I heard Netflix on Wii kinda sucks.
 
If you aren't going to use it for much more than game save files, a USB drive would be more than sufficient, even at a few gigs.

If you want to download a lot of DLC (Rock Band especially), or buy movies/tv shows from the video marketplace, or will download full games (either Xbox originals or 360 Digital versions), or if you want to install a lot of games for faster loading, then you'll want to get a hard drive.

Ignoring the video stuff, it comes down to A) DLC, B) digital games, and C) faster loading. Depending on whether or not you ignore those things determines if you need an HDD. Even faster loading isn't that big of a deal, so you can somewhat lessen it as significant.

You could always get the Arcade now and use a thumb drive with it, and then if you feel you need an HDD, you could always grab it later. Chances are they will only fall in price as time goes on.

I'd say you could be fine with an Arcade, and then pick up an HDD later if the need arises.

Hope this helps.
 
The new arcades have enough internal memory to be able to save games and play online. So if thats all you need it for you will be good. If you are interested in downloading demos and arcade games and what not, you will need a hard drive.
 
In short: Yes.

As you stated, it won't be your main system, so even a 8 gb thumbdrive should be good to go. You don't need to do hard drive installs, unless you think shaving a few seconds on some load times is worth $150 or so. As for multiplayer gaming, cheap headsets can be found for around $10. Using monoprice, you should also be able to get a cheap hdmi cable (or component), as well.
 
If you can grab some cheap flash drives or a cheap 20 gig off eBay I would highly recommend getting a Arcade at that price.

Your drive won't fill much unless you go gung-ho with DLC or install games to it. If I were to remove all my installed games I think I could just manage to squeeze in all my stuff on a 20 gig HD. So either get a cheap 20 gig HD off eBay or a 16 gig flash drive (or two).

Don't forget you can also delete all your XBLA Arcade titles and DLC if you desire, then re-download them in the future. This may prove to be not true when the 720 is out/and or difficult to do (I don't know what the future holds for the 720. Wheres Gary Spivey when you need him?) but It's pretty simple to re-download files, just time consuming.

So yeah a Arcade is easily worth $160. I think the worst two things that could happen since you won't wait till E3 are

1) Slim model is released
and/or
2) It's bundled with Natal come the Fall
and/or
3) They price drop to $150. You lose out on a whopping $9.
 
Thanks for the quick replies.

You've convinced to me to go ahead and grab one. I'm really looking to play the Mass Effect games, the Valve games and a few XBLA games so I should do fine with a 16 gig thumb drive until I find a super cheap hdd.

I've not used the PSN to download movies (other than Dexter) so I don't imagine I'll use that feature on the 360 and I'm not too fussed about installs as I won't know the difference anyways.

Oh, and netflix on the Wii works really well. Things take about 5 seconds to load and I haven't noticed any stuttering or anything like that.
 
My rule of thumb is there has to be 10 games either coming out or already out that are exclusive and/or better on the console to warrant purchasing it if you have multiple consoles.

If you like JRPG's, I would recommend Tales of Vesperia and Lost Odyssey as 360 exclusives. Blue Dragon is ok, but not worth getting unless it's cheap. You may like Fable 2 as well.

The original Crackdown can be found for $10 and is an awesome open world game. If you like Splinter Cell, that's coming out this week. Only other 360 exclusive disc games I can think of would be Gears 1/2, Halo games, and Forza 3.

For storage, I agree with everyone else's sentiment. Just get a 16GB thumb drive for now unless you want to install every game.
 
Actually, a 16GB thumb drive should work just fine for some of the smaller games. You could easily download an XBLA game or two, in addition to a few game saves and not exceed space.

When you buy a 20GB HDD, it is actually like 13GB anyway when you put it in.
 
You've waited this long, I'd wait a little longer. Based on the rumors of a new slim 360 from all over the place, it seems very likely that a better Xbox 360 is coming soon.
 
Only big drawback of a USB drive is installing Demos(Dls and installs, very noticeable difference over HDD) will be slow as hell. same for installing games.


In the end a good 16gig Stick will atleast load faster than a HDD.
 
[quote name='freshzen']By the way I heard Netflix on Wii kinda sucks.[/QUOTE]

Said who? Netflix on the Wii is better then on the 360 *for me*. Why? Because the 360 keeps trying to push HD video to us and that works for about a minute or two, and then it hiccups and goes to a jarring, black screen saying that it is adjusting for changes in the network, then about 10 seconds later it switches to extremely poor quality video that is heavily compressed. Then maybe 20 to 30 minutes later it decides to try HD again, we get another jarring black screen hiccup, 10 seconds later it looks fabulous for 1 to 2 minutes, and then back again. Repeat. It's unwatchable on all accounts. On the Wii we get a consistent picture, which while not as good as DVD, is much better then the low quality mode on the 360 and there are no hiccups whatsoever.

So, if you don't see these issues with the 360, due to your available bandwidth being higher, then obviously the 360 is the way to go, but if you do, then the Wii's Netflix is superior. The 360 does not handle lower bandwidth well at all. In fact it does so horrendously.

Anyway, the 360 is great for games and, yeah, pick one up. Just remember to factor in a wireless adapter if you need that, and Xbox Live Gold. I think buying a used (or new if you can get a deal) 20 or 60 GB HDD is a better option then a 16 GB flash drive. Use a smaller, cheaper flash drive for game save backup, storing your profile to make it portable, etc.
 
So I ended up with the Arcade and just used a spare 16gb thumb drive i had. It works really well. thank god you can install games onto it - the drive spin while playing Fable 2 was driving me nuts.
I do hate that there's no wi-fi built into the 360 as I have to run a 75 foot cable to get online with it (which doesn't happen often) but other than that I'm happy with the whole 360 experience so far.
 
Netflix on the 360 offers HD Movies. I think on the Wii that is not possible, you are just watching standard Def. If you've never watched an HD Movie, you may want to consider using your 360 for Netflix instead. I was surprised how well it plays HD movies even over Wifi G. No studdering just a minor buffing at the beginning of the movies but plays flawlessly otherwise.

If you start liking Arcade Games - which there are some really great ones, you may want to get at least a 20 GB Hard drive. It's the only reason I have my original 360 - mostly just to play arcade games. The hard drive is small but great for that. My DVD drive is soo loud I don't even bother playing regular games on it anymore, that's what my PC is for.

s0undwav3

oh when you get your 360 add me as a friend. My XBL is s0uNdWaV3
 
if you want to play live, then you NEED a hard drive. If you dont, then just use a usb for saves. like others said, a hard drive would be nice, hell you could even get an arcade +60gb starter pack which is a 3 month+headset+ethernet cable, but that brings you to about $300.
 
[quote name='soonersfan60']What about backwards compatability? Do you need a hard drive for that (or can you use the flash drive now)?[/QUOTE]

The download is very, very small, I don't believe you need the HD. And, also, since backwards compatibility is virtually non-existent, you needn't worry in the first place.
 
[quote name='Survivalism']The download is very, very small, I don't believe you need the HD. And, also, since backwards compatibility is virtually non-existent, you needn't worry in the first place.[/QUOTE]
System stuff on 360 takes up 12 GB. I thought that included BC.
 
[quote name='Doomed']System stuff on 360 takes up 12 GB. I thought that included BC.[/QUOTE]

No. The other 8 gb is actually for BC.
 
If I didn't have a 360 yet and did it all over again I would get that 159$ arcade and then go buy the 250 gig hd for 129.99 or cheaper if you can find it. So 300 bucks or so for the system and the best hd you can get not bad. Couple of bucks extra for a cheap hdmi and you're good.
 
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