The right XBox for You!

[Kyon]

Some of you may be thinking about buying a XBox 360. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is a great source of entertainment (the wii is cool too) but there are different ways that some people may enjoy the XBox 360. As some of you may already know there are 3 different types of XBox 360s. Each of them not only look a bit different but they also provide you with different things that change your way of gaming.

Any Questions concerning the Xbox 360 please ask me or a Microsoft Sage

Notes about the Xbox 360 consoles itself...

• The Xbox 360, unlike the wii and PS3) cannot search for wireless networks without connecting a ethernet cable to a modem. Either that or you can buy a Wireless Adapter that is a official Microsoft product. There are other third party devices you can use that work fine but not all work as well.
  More info on Wireless Adapter
  
• Some of you may know that the xbox sometimes have problems and gives out the Red Ring Error or some may call it the Red Ring of Death. It is a pretty lame problem and happens a lot to some people but Microsoft has a 3 year warrenty on it. Confirmed from Microsoft they also said they cover the E74 error code as well.
  
• All the Xboxs support a minimum of 720p and a maximum of 1080p high definition resolution or 480p standard definition resolution. in 16:9 widescreen, with anti-aliasing so you enjoy smooth, movie-like graphics and multi-channel surround sound. Older systems of the Xbox 360 supported only 1080i but was updated a couple of years after.
  Data above was taken from the XBox 360 website.

XBox 360 Arcade
Most Retail Price : $199.99
Includes
Xbox 360 Composite AV Cable
XBox Live Arcade Game Disc
1 Wireless Controller
1 Month of XBox Live Gold
Power Plugs
256 MB Memory Card

Pros
The Xbox 360 Arcade is the cheapest out of the 3 Xboxs. For people who don't plan on playing online then this is the best XBox for you. Coming with only 256 MB of space isn't a problem since you won't be downloading anything online. Saving games only take up a few KB.

It comes with a XBox Live Arcade Game Disc. Games include Luxor 2, Feeding Frenzy, Boom Boom rocket, Uno, and Pac-Man Championship edition. Great games for when those FPS games or RPGs get boring.

Cons
Most parents think this one is better because they see no major difference from the other XBox consoles. But there are some features that the Arcade doesn't have that the others do. First of all the Arcade does not have the ability to play your regular XBox games. So if you had a XBox and a lot of games you wouldn't be able to play them.

The Arcade is compatable with HDMI that allows awesome definition to 1080p. But I said it was compatable not that it came with it. It only comes with the regular AV cords and if you want HI- Def then it's sold seperately.

Since the Arcade doesn't come with the Hard Drive and only a 256 MB memory card, a lot of online features cannot be added. For example, thereis a cool game you see and oh boy it's free. You want to download it but oh no... it's going to take up over 300 MB. Well what do you know? You only have 256 MB to use. Either you go out and purchase a hard drive for over $50-$100 then I guess you'll just have to stick with the stuff you got.

XBox 360 Pro
Most Retail Price : $299.99
Includes
60 GB Hard Drive
Ethernet Cable
Wired Headset
Wireless Controller
Standard/ HD AV Cords
Power Brick and Cord
1 Month of XBox Live Gold
Kung-Fu Panda Game
Lego Indiana Jones Game

Pros
The Pro has more items that include with it. A 60 GB hard drive takes away the problem with downloading stuff online. With 60 GB of space you can download all the games you probably need. It'll probably be a few years before you worry about if you have enough space.

Having the ethernet cable you can plug one end to your xbox and the other to your Modem and you can then connect to XBox Live. With that 1 Month of Xbox Live Gold it'll help you decide if you'll get a longer membership and a longer ethernet cord. Also comes with a headset so you can talk to all your friends.

Yay, everyone loves free games... ok so what if they are for little kids. If your achievement whores like me you wouldn't care. These are good games that can start you off until you get more. Plus even better these are the full games.

With the Standard/HD AV cords. You can have that Hi-Def 1080p all wrapped together with you Xbox. This can save you $50 dollars you don't need to spend! With Hi-Def it makes you feel like your actually in the game.... well not really.

Can play up to 300+ Xbox games.

Cons
Having a Hard Drive it'll be a struggle trying to bring your memory over to your friend's house when your coming over. Even worse since the bottom of the hard drive is so vulnerable it can easily damage the bottom and even corrupt your saves and games.

There isn't a HDMI Output cable sold with this one either. But even though it doesn't I think it isn't too much of a big deal since of the HD AV cords.

Xbox 360 Elite
Most Retail Price : $399.99
Includes
120 GB Hard Drive
Ethernet Cable
Black Wired Headset
Black Wireless Controller
Standard/ HD AV Cords
Power Brick and Cord
1 Month of XBox Live Gold
Fable II Game
Halo 3 Game
HDMI Cables
Black XBox 360

Pros
Man these free games get better and better as they go. Both free games are very good games that will probably get you entertained as long as any other game! Fable II is a great adventure RPG that still has many downloads coming in the Future. Halo 3 has been a popular for a whole year now and again new downloads are still foundin the marketplace.

It comes with all the cables and will allow you to have all you need to make your room the perfect gaming heaven. No more worries on buying this or that.

It even shows how better it is by making it look different. A very nice touch with the black coating. Comes with even a Black Headset which can only be obtained from buying a Elite.

When I said it'll be a while until you will have to worry about when you run out of space for your 60 GB then with a 120 GB hard drive then space will never be a problem to you again! You can download all your games interally to your hard drive which will allow faster gameplay loading and less crashes. Downloading games into the hard drive takes a few Gigs but with all the gigs you have why worry? Hundreds of arcade games as well (Well I might be exagerating here).

Can play up to 300+ Xbox games.

Cons
Most expensive out of all of the 3 XBoxs. It comes with just a few features that the Pro doesn't have. But if your getting this beast then you'll probably know how to use it.

Same problem with the Hard Drive being vulnerable. (See first Con in the Xbox 360 Pro section.)

If you don't plan on getting xbox live then half of all these features it comes with will be useless to you. Most of the features are used to enhance your xbox live experience.

Advice from other People
I was thinking about buying a Refurbished Xbox 360... is that a good idea?

Originally Posted by FrankForce77 To me the best XBOX 360 for anybody to get is an Official Microsoft Refurbished Pro. It comes with everything that a new Pro comes with, and yes the headset, controller and other accessories are brand new. They also come with a two year warranty that is extendable to 3 years for $40. To me this is the best as that console has had it's first error and it has been fixed, this is not to say that you will not have another but getting a MS Refurb console reduces your chances.

I like playing online all the time but I've been thinking about buying a Arcade.

Originally Posted by Splodey The arcade is an amazing deal with a sufficient amount of memory to handle as many games as you want. Sadly it is not capable of playing online. You need a hard drive to play online so the arcade is out of the question if you intend on doing so. But if you don't the arcade comes with a 256 MB memory card I believe. It might even be a 512. Either way you will have enough memory to hold all your saved games. Sadly another drawback to the arcade is that you won't have enough space to download any content for any games. So if you don't need online, and you don't need to download anything, the arcade unit is amazing. Otherwise I recommend the Pro system. Remember that you can always purchase a hard drive later if you wish to play online. So that might be an option for the future.

What's wrong if I get a Elite and if I don't plan on downloading arcade games?

Originally Posted by Kyon Well by games it also means like XBox live arcade games which can take from a few megabytes to a gigabyte or 2. So unless you are 100% possitive you can get internet on your 360 then definately get the xbox elite. Remember the xbox can't find wireless networks like the wii without a ethernet cord connected to your computer/laptop or you get a $100 xbox wireless adapter. So if you don't have a way to get xbox live on your console (unless you buy that adapter) then a regular Xbox 360 (AKA Xbox 360 Pro) would be best because the few differences for a elite is that it holds more space (which you don't need if you don't plan on getting arcade games) and that it makes the picture a bit better if you have a HD tv. Save files don't take much space and most of the space is taken from stuff you download on xbox live which do cost money. Well it's your decision but just thought you should know this. Heck it may save you some money if you don't plan on getting some of these things.

[carlosjfer]

Wow nice guide

Only one mistake I spotted: the Xbox Pro comes with Silver for a month, not gold

Other than that, Im sure it'll help many people who are stuck on deciding which to get.

[Kyon]

Originally Posted by carlosjfer Wow nice guide Only one mistake I spotted: the Xbox Pro comes with Silver for a month, not gold Other than that, Im sure it'll help many people who are stuck on deciding which to get.

Actually they all say that but when you choose silver over gold when you first sign up through the xbox they will give you a whole month free of xbox live gold. This is something that microsoft tricks people. People use up their gold membership cards when they could of gotten a whole month for free without even knowing.

This option is available for all xboxs.

[LethalxSamurai]

i have elite so im happy

[carlosjfer]

Originally Posted by Kyon Actually they all say that but when you choose silver over gold when you first sign up through the xbox they will give you a whole month free of xbox live gold. This is something that microsoft tricks people. People use up their gold membership cards when they could of gotten a whole month for free without even knowing. This option is available for all xboxs.

Oh I see, thanks for the info! Very helpful

[Claus*]

The Elite.

It has less problems than the Pro.

[Kyon]

Originally Posted by Claus* The Elite. It has less problems than the Pro.

There is a difference between problems and negatives. If you can see one of the cons can be positive if you tend to get xbox live and one can be negative if you decide just to play offline because with all the cool stuff the Elite provides and if you don't have xbox live then most of those features would just be a waste of money.

If you have any further concerns or you have some sort of suggestion drop me a pm.

[Misterpwnage]

I think you should mention the fact that you can install games to your hard drive, at about 4-6 gigs of memory, for usually better results.
Other than that, great job, but you put Elite in a sentence in the Arcade section.

[FrankForce77]

To me the best XBOX 360 for anybody to get is an Official Microsoft Refurbished Pro. It comes with everything that a new Pro comes with, and yes the headset, controller and other accessories are brand new. They also come with a two year warranty that is extendable to 3 years for $40. To me this is the best as that console has had it's first error and it has been fixed, this is not to say that you will not have another but getting a MS Refurb console reduces your chances.

[Jake]

Thank you that is what I needed.

[Kyon]

Originally Posted by FrankForce77 To me the best XBOX 360 for anybody to get is an Official Microsoft Refurbished Pro. It comes with everything that a new Pro comes with, and yes the headset, controller and other accessories are brand new. They also come with a two year warranty that is extendable to 3 years for $40. To me this is the best as that console has had it's first error and it has been fixed, this is not to say that you will not have another but getting a MS Refurb console reduces your chances.

Good advice. I'll add that to the guide for everyone to see.

[Splodey]

Kyon, you are too good. This should be stickied, and it is an excellent resource when buying an Xbox. I'm impressed.