there is a HUGE Improvement when you put it on your Hard drive

Mr.Pandah:
Do any of you actually install your games to the harddrive? If so, do you see a drastic improvement? Or only a minimal difference? I'm just finally trying out the Mirror's Edge installation because I've heard it works wonders with the loading times. Just wondering if it has taken anyone else as long as me to finally get around to installing one of their games.

Short answer...no

Frankly, my HDD doesn'y have enough space on it because I still have the old crusty 10 GIG HDD that came with my 360. It's still got half the space left so I ain't upgrading anytime soon.

Plus, I haven't heard of too much improvment...

Fallout 3 stopped overheating the machine once I downloaded it but don't download mirror's edge you can complete it in an afternoon.

I can't seem to install them to mine...

W/ most games right now it's an improvement w/ the amount of noise your 360 makes. Maybe in the near future developers will make more use of the harddrive installation option.

EDIT: Don't install Halo 3, though.

I didn't even know you could install them on the hard drive.

I installed 1 game (that's all i had space for) and I noticed no improvements whatsoever...

It was a new feature included in the most recent dashboard update, along with avatars.

If you like a quiet XBox, then I suggest you do it.
However, saying that, I only do it with the games I play online frequently (Call of Duty's, SC, L4D etc.)

im probably going to install fallout 3, orange box, or Far Cry 2 since i play them so much

and yes it does make a big difference

All I noticed was a lack of noise, I know there's also supposed to be less heating involved in that but aside from that it's kind of useless.

the hard rive download is good for off line games like fallout 3 and assassins creed. for online game it causes lag.

xitel:
I can't seem to install them to mine...

You need to have NXE. Make sure auto play is turned off. Put yr game in, then on the game screen, hit the Y button (I think) and you'll get the option to install to harddrive.

I have installed many games, there is an improvement on loading times but the best thing is that you don't get the noise of the DVD constantly spinning in the drive. Most noticable on Fallout 3. I have used up about half of my 120gig Elite hard drive on game installations.

Gameinformer had an article on this on its website that documented the loading times once installed on the hard drive compared to not installed. Sorry I don't have the link but it greatly improved speed and reliability I heard.

JamminOz07:

xitel:
I can't seem to install them to mine...

You need to have NXE.

There's the problem. Yeah, I refuse to get the NXE until I can go back to using my blades. I've tried it on my brother's 360 and hated it.

sometimes. I'm a 20 gb-er so i don't hve to much room but i have noticed increased speed on several titles and not noticeable improvement otherwise.

If I had more than 2gb of space left, I might try it. But theres always external hard drives.

I never have. frankly most of the games I own have fairly short loading times and i really dont mind waiting the occasional few second now and again.

I enjoy 10 second blerbs of TV between load times so not to waste space

(with my method you just keep your mic up for online play and when you hear voices it's go time!)

Because I have he launch hdd I can only have one on at a time, but I'm switching them out, there is a major difference.

I'd only think of it as worth it if I owned two hard drives, whatever the rewards are.

-Zen-:
I didn't even know you could install them on the hard drive.

Yeah press Y on the disk option and a menu should come up that has the hard drive installation on there.
I tried it on GHWT, no noticeable difference so I removed it

xitel:

JamminOz07:

xitel:
I can't seem to install them to mine...

You need to have NXE.

There's the problem. Yeah, I refuse to get the NXE until I can go back to using my blades. I've tried it on my brother's 360 and hated it.

Press the guide button (the large one in the middle of the controller) and you'll have your gorramn blades. Most people hate change and I think that's your problem, not the actual new layout but the change to it.

jewmaniac:
the hard rive download is good for off line games like fallout 3 and assassins creed. for online game it causes lag.

I cannot see how this could possibly be. HDD access rates are (generally) superior to DVD access rates - the only thing you'll get is decreased load times when the disc is accessed. The side effect of reduced CD access rates can (potentially) be decreased power draw and maybe a (slight) decrease in operating temperature.

I've tried it on a few games and there are only a handful where I see any notable improvement. The key seems to be if the game has either frequent moderate duration load times or long duration load times I see an improvement in load times. Left 4 Dead for example loads new stages substantially faster but this means little really - if my team isn't there there isn't much reason to leave the safe house. Most online games seem to have this same trait - I might get in the game a few seconds quicker but that doesn't really mean anything.

In short - yes there is an improvement but thus far I have not found a game that the improvement offers anything meaningful. Perhaps the Orange Box if you are partaking in the single player offerings or Fallout 3 (which has regular though short duration loads)

I don't as I find load times much faster compared to my old xbox or ps2 games. It's interesting to think about the idea of it quieting the system, but I like the others also only have a 20gb 360 so space is important (especially since I download a lot of movies). This was a pretty cool thing though I think for Microsoft to add to the system. If I had a 60gb I think I would do this much more...so possibly in the future if I upgrade. As for the NXE I didn't like it at first, but the more you use it the easier it gets.

I've noticed a pretty good improvement in load times across the board, and it definitely makes the system runs much more quietly. I've got an Elite, so I've basically loaded all of my games except for Halo 3. Makes my gaming more convenient, and no complaints as of yet.

I'm still using one of the old-school HDDs, 12GB. I don't plan on upgrading because it doesn't seem like that big of a difference to me. Unless you can forgo the dsic and not need it in there at all, wich I don't think you can.

What is this NXE and/or Blades that you silly people are talking about? This conversation is basically indecipherable, and I HAVE a 360 so I should know, right?

it does work WAY better when it is on the hard drive

I don't really notice an improvement in loading times, but the Xbox is quieter and should also wear down slower, I assume. If you have plenty of HD space anyway (I have 120 GB), I think those advantages, although small, still make an install to HD worthwhile.