SilentHunter7:

Indigo_Dingo:
So you're saying he has a preset action that was made without justification?

I'm not saying anything like that, don't put words in my mouth. And I cant speak for him, because I'm sure he's more than capable of explaining himself, and I have no idea what he thinks.

I'm just saying that he shouldn't have to explain his buying decisions. It's his money, afterall, and though it'd probably be a bit weird if he did, he has the right to blow it all on pork chops and applesauce if he wants.

Sorry if I'm coming off as an ass; it's late and I'm getting a little cranky. :)

Well, its all well and good to tell us that he's not going to do so and so, but considering this is an advice thread, it just seems like he'd give us the whole story.

To buy into the foodstuffs analogy, its like hes announcing he's gonna buy $300 worth of food at KFC, if he's already got a lifetime supply of their chicken, and is asking which KFC to spend it all at. I'm just asking why he wouldn't try some Nandos if thats the case.

Aries_Split:

Indigo_Dingo:

scoobyduped:

Indigo_Dingo:
that thing they're including in the Fall update that means the 360 can copy the games entire contents onto the Hard Drive in order to run slightly faster.

Ok, didn't know about that. But again, I'd bet 60 gigs would be enough to do it.

Not really. Thats only about 6 games.

Dual Layer DVD's hold 9 gigs. So

9 Gb*6=54. Hence it would fit 6 games.

Indigo_Dingo:
To buy into the foodstuffs analogy, its like hes announcing he's gonna buy $300 worth of food at KFC, if he's already got a lifetime supply of their chicken, and is asking which KFC to spend it all at. I'm just asking why he wouldn't try some Nandos if thats the case.

Actually, I think it might be more like him asking if McDonalds or Burger King is the best, and you asking if he'd rather go to one of the steak houses down town :)

SilentHunter7:

Indigo_Dingo:
To buy into the foodstuffs analogy, its like hes announcing he's gonna buy $300 worth of food at KFC, if he's already got a lifetime supply of their chicken, and is asking which KFC to spend it all at. I'm just asking why he wouldn't try some Nandos if thats the case.

Actually, I think it might be more like him asking if McDonalds or Burger King is the best, and you asking if he'd rather go to one of the steak houses down town :)

Not really. That analogy would apply more to "Should I get a Ps3 or a 360?" and someone says get a punching bag. He's already said he's likely to get the capacity to play this game at a later date by default, and that at said time his 360 will become effectively useless.

Indigo_Dingo:

SilentHunter7:

Indigo_Dingo:
To buy into the foodstuffs analogy, its like hes announcing he's gonna buy $300 worth of food at KFC, if he's already got a lifetime supply of their chicken, and is asking which KFC to spend it all at. I'm just asking why he wouldn't try some Nandos if thats the case.

Actually, I think it might be more like him asking if McDonalds or Burger King is the best, and you asking if he'd rather go to one of the steak houses down town :)

Not really. That analogy would apply more to "Should I get a Ps3 or a 360?" and someone says get a punching bag. He's already said he's likely to get the capacity to play this game at a later date by default, and that at said time his 360 will become effectively useless.

Therefor it's better to simply wait and get the new PC. Your essentially getting to play EVERY 360 game, better.

Aries_Split:

Indigo_Dingo:

SilentHunter7:

Indigo_Dingo:
To buy into the foodstuffs analogy, its like hes announcing he's gonna buy $300 worth of food at KFC, if he's already got a lifetime supply of their chicken, and is asking which KFC to spend it all at. I'm just asking why he wouldn't try some Nandos if thats the case.

Actually, I think it might be more like him asking if McDonalds or Burger King is the best, and you asking if he'd rather go to one of the steak houses down town :)

Not really. That analogy would apply more to "Should I get a Ps3 or a 360?" and someone says get a punching bag. He's already said he's likely to get the capacity to play this game at a later date by default, and that at said time his 360 will become effectively useless.

Therefor it's better to simply wait and get the new PC. Your essentially getting to play EVERY 360 game, better.

Which is kinda what I said already.

Do it for Fable 2. You must be able to play Fable 2.

PAGEToap44:
Do it for Fable 2. You must be able to play Fable 2.

PC+Fable 2=Better Experience.

The Elite is your best choice. I want quite badly to get a certain Xbox original but haven't the space for it >.<

I have a 360 Elite, I'm not unhappy, but it's clearly overpriced, except if you like having a large HDD, then it's cost effective (yet I'd like MS to add SCART cables instead of RCA).
Both Elite and Premium have strong fans, so the cooling is not a big problem (I heard the new core systems have a more effective cooling system as well). I have no idea if you can fiddle with the hard drive yourself (like you can on a PS3), but if it's possible, do it, apart from the black plastic and HDMI stuff I didn't care bout either, the Elite is not a must have in itself.*

I'd have is that the first time you run a 360 Elite -heard it can happen with Premium models as well, the lens can overheat while calibrating and melt some tracks on the very first DVD inserted, I have had to get back to the store to get one of my games changed since the console burned a circular mark near the outside and the game just wouldn't boot. They saw the mark, asked my, I explained, they acknowledged and got me a new one. But then, it'll never happen again, since the lens is now calibrated.

*http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/mods/USB%20Hard%20Drive%20Mod.htm (this one is a gadget, but hey)
http://www.techpowerup.com/index.php?29970 (read the warning after the article, it's risky)

CameronU2fan:
lol he's just a nerd who wants Fable 2? You better save up for more than just one console, save up for the 60 dollars worth of postage fees you're going to have to spend shipping your inevitably bricked console to Microsoft to have it fixed, and then wait 6-8 weeks to get it back. Now multiply that by 11 consoles and you'll have an idea of what M$ fanboy sheep are willing to so for their xenophobic xbox.

Shipping is free both ways and the total time of the process takes 1-2 weeks. Shutup.

On the subject at hand, I dunno why everyone has such a hardon for installing all their console games but, whatever. To me, I wouldn't even bother getting one without a HD since memory cards are so expensive and don't hold nearly as much. If you've got HDMI then definitely go for the Elite. On that note, just go ahead and plan for the future. If you intend to get a TV which will use HDMI, then get it anyhow since there's really no way to upgrade short of trading up (and likely having to pay a considerable difference) to an Elite later.

You know, Fred, installed games usually run much faster (well to be fair it's essentially that the loading times are drastically cut), and people are often afraid of damaging the game discs to the point it's unplayable. That's why I think people obsess with installing games for the 360.

Once I modded my xbox I have installed games and I have noticed that loading times on Conker Live & Reloaded were almost 4 times faster than when loading from a DVD. Now I was already sure I did not care about XBL when I modded it, and there were already "free" xbox live alternatives, such as Xbox Live Connect, which allows you to get to VPNs to play with other xbox owners (no content downloading anyways, since this stuff is signed to death).

I'm not really afraid of damaging discs and the load times really aren't that annoying to me. Either way, I wasn't so much condemning the idea, I just find it a bit silly myself.

I think u should get an elite. I have one and I haven't had any problems with it.

I'd reckon, if you had the cash go for the elite straight up because it simply does perform better. That being said, you'd have to be all kinds of crazy to trade in a 'normal' 360 for an elite. Either crazy or loaded.

Thanks for most of the advice so far guys...

To Indigo, I've read pleanty of your posts and, no offence intended, found you to be quite the sony fanboy.

Now, you have every right to question my decision, I just didn't include it because I type it a lot :P. The reason I don't want a PS3 is that it doesn't have enough exclusives that I want for me to go banana's over it. The only exclusive is might have that makes me drool is Kingdom Hearts 3. Not to mention that the Six-Axis is overall unappealing to me. Don't get me wrong, the PS3 is getting a lot better than when it launched, I'm just not interested enough. Also, I am not buying the 360 for just one game. There are pleanty of games that I want for the 360, but i intend to get my 360 around the Fable 2 launch, and will thus be my first purchase.

Also, I have previously stated that I am a PC Fanboy at heart, and I would love a new PC to run all of these games, but thats costs more, and a lot of my friends have 360's, and many have encouraged me to get XBL immediately for some CoD4, and Fable 2 co-op when it comes out.

I'd be glad to answer any more questions about my decision

So with that, lets keep the flaming down, I've decided not to get a new PC or a PS3, and im set on a 360. That's what this topic is about.

Good news, now you can get PS3s with Dual Shock 3, or buy them separately.

XBL can be subscribed for shorter periods than 1 year if I'm correct, so you can find the subscription that suits you, but I still think it's really expensive unless you play very regularly...

Whichever one you buy, KEEP THE RECEIPT! When it breaks, returning it will be a heck of a lot easier than getting it repaired, believe me.

anNIALLator:
Whichever one you buy, KEEP THE RECEIPT! When it breaks, returning it will be a heck of a lot easier than getting it repaired, believe me.

I think i'd rather wait the 1-2 weeks for repair and still have all my save data. As for keeping the receipt though, that's just common sense on my end :P I always throw the receipt into the box after I unpack everything, and I never throw away the box.

Dont consider getting the arcade or basic versions. Get pro if you only want to play games.
Get elite if you want to download many multimedia items or arcade/Xbox original games from the marketplace. You will need to extra HDD space.

Tenamor:
So, opinions?

Based on the information you've given, you're better off getting the Xbox 360 Premium with the 60g drive. The 60gb drive will hold plenty of stuff, and if you want the HDMI later you can get a cable for under $10 online. Save the cash and use it to get a game, Live Gold, or a Play & Charge kit.

The only thing the larger drive will give you is the ability to copy more games to the drive. But unless you really need to have all your games ripped at once, you're better off just keeping the few you're playing actively and deleting them once you're done. I still have 80gb free on my 120gb drive, and I download a lot of content - every XBLA game/trial, a dozen demos, and half the Rock Band DLC tracks are on there.

And if you're running out of space a year or two from now, you can always pick up a larger drive then and transfer your stuff to it.

I would suggest getting the Elite model. I purchased a 360 Elite last August, and have nothing but good things to say about the system. I went for it just after the $50 price drop, and felt that I'd rather have extra Hard Drive space than scrounging saves and deleting arcade titles and previous downloads.

I've used about 20gbs of space already, and that's before the Fall update that'll allow me to load whole games to the system for better load times. Good luck making your choice.

anNIALLator:
Whichever one you buy, KEEP THE RECEIPT! When it breaks, returning it will be a heck of a lot easier than getting it repaired, believe me.

I don't believe you, sorry. A receipt isn't going to do you much good if it happens a year or so after the fact, anyhow; in-store warranties/return policies are typically very short. My 360 service turnaround was less than 2 weeks from me calling them to me hooking the console back up.

The arcade and elite are false economies: arcade will require a hard drive and other accessories putting the price over the premium, while the elite is too expensive for the meager extras.

If you see yourself eventually getting the 120GB hard drive, for content or ripped custom soundtracks or multiple Xbox Classics (or preinstalling game discs), then I'd recommend getting the Elite right at the start. It'll save you money in the long run, especially if you're going to get an HDMI-compatible TV too.

If you don't ever see yourself ripping a lot of stuff to the drive, renting movies from XBL, or preloading tons of game disks, then the 60GB model (with HDMI port but not the cable) is the better bet.

-- Steve

PS: the 20GB model was too small for me, because I do rent movies from XBL and download game video and a lot of DLC, though I wonder if I'll fully use the 120GB model. It's possible, I guess, depending upon how many more Classics I buy; those are the biggest space-eaters on the Xbox 360.

Virgil:
Based on the information you've given, you're better off getting the Xbox 360 Premium with the 60g drive. The 60gb drive will hold plenty of stuff, and if you want the HDMI later you can get a cable for under $10 online. Save the cash and use it to get a game, Live Gold, or a Play & Charge kit.

This is the kind of advice I'm looking for :). You make a terribly good point, and it's in that point where my indecision lies. I've thought of that as being the most reasonable decision before actually trying to decide like this. With that extra $100, I could buy another game, or maybe some accessories, or put it all towards a new TV or Monitor so I can play in HD. You may have just made up my mind for me, but let the advice continue, I'd like to hear all opinions on my dilemma.

Tenamor:
Also, I'm NOT buying a PS3, I have a Wii, and I'm not saving for a new computer YET, I can run TF2 and Guild Wars, so I'm set for now :P. So how about we keep flaming out of here, eh?

Rampage911:
ps3

CameronU2fan:
lol he's just a nerd who wants Fable 2? You better save up for more than just one console, save up for the 60 dollars worth of postage fees you're going to have to spend shipping your inevitably bricked console to Microsoft to have it fixed, and then wait 6-8 weeks to get it back. Now multiply that by 11 consoles and you'll have an idea of what M$ fanboy sheep are willing to so for their xenophobic xbox.

I'd just like to say we are idiots. Especially that last post quoted. I'd have loled, if I hadn't been so busy weeping for humanity. Some pointers to you:

1) Don't start your post with an uncapatilised lol. It just makes you look stupid.
2) Don't call someone a nerd on a gaming discussion forum. It's just hypocritical.
3) Someone who has waited about two years to buy a console is clearly not a fanboy. Especially when they already own a Wii and enjoy PC gaming.
4) When your Xbox bricks, Microsoft pays for delivery, it wouldn't cost 60 dollars anyway, you don't have to pay for a new console (certainly not 11 times... that would suggest you've gotten through 11 warranties and therefore had an xbox 360 for at least 11 years). While I really hate it when people say this, do your research first.

Indigo_Dingo:

scoobyduped:
Ok, didn't know about that. But again, I'd bet 60 gigs would be enough to do it.

Not really. Thats only about 6 games.

Do you really need to have more running slightly faster? Put six most played games on Hard Drive. Occassionally replace one with another. You will not need more than five saved.

Aries_Split:

PAGEToap44:
Do it for Fable 2. You must be able to play Fable 2.

PC+Fable 2=Better Experience.

Definition of a fanboy's reality: Where Fable 2 is not an Xbox 360 exclusive.

ElArabDeMagnifico:
I've been seeing nothing but headlines saying that the 360 is about to "reach it's limits" soon on both escapist news room and shacknews.com

Link?

Aries_Split:
PC+Fable 2=Better Experience.

Prove it,
EDIT: without talking about m&kb, that's a personal preference

Geo Da Sponge:

Indigo_Dingo:

scoobyduped:
Ok, didn't know about that. But again, I'd bet 60 gigs would be enough to do it.

Not really. Thats only about 6 games.

Do you really need to have more running slightly faster? Put six most played games on Hard Drive. Occassionally replace one with another. You will not need more than five saved.

I find that there is no such thing as the "6 most played games" - I will switch between games in my collection at random intervals cause I want to play them at the present time.

TheGhostOfSin:

Aries_Split:
PC+Fable 2=Better Experience.

Prove it,
EDIT: without talking about m&kb, that's a personal preference

Nah, don't encourage the platform bigots. You get lots of fantards like that on the Internets, "Oh, [platform they prefer] is way better than [some other platform], you should buy mine instead lol." Let them drink silence; maybe then they'd shut up and go back to playing with their precious toy instead of bothering people who don't invest their self-worth into a particularly-branded hunk of silicon and plastic.

-- Steve

Indigo_Dingo:
I find that there is no such thing as the "6 most played games" - I will switch between games in my collection at random intervals cause I want to play them at the present time.

Well yes, but we're managing with regular load times before the update, so it won't exactly cripple the experience to not have faster loads on all of your games.

Geo Da Sponge: