Xbox 360 questions

[fbrdphreak]

1) If I buy a Core version, can I add my own #GB hard drive?
2) Is the hard drive the only benefit to the Premium version?
3) How many games are actually setup for 1080p?
4) Any other pearls of wisdom on 360 ownership?

 

[mlm]

1) No, you're stuck with the MS 20 or 120.
2) Comes with extra peripherals, IIRC.
3) Very few. Virtua Tennis was one of the first.
4) If you're going to buy within the next week, buy it today. You'll be able to pricematch the difference starting tomorrow.

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
1) If I buy a Core version, can I add my own #GB hard drive?

You can only add MS sold HD drives which are considerably more expensive than similarly sized 2.5" HD's. Last I checked $99 for 20GB and $179 for $120GB.

2) Is the hard drive the only benefit to the Premium version?

No, it also comes with Component Cables needed for HD, wireless instead of wired controller (biggest difference to me), and a headset for online gaming. You really need the HD to get the full benefit from the 360 since Live is so freak'n awesome.

3) How many games are actually setup for 1080p?

I don't know the whole list of games that are rendered internally at 1080P (Virtual Tennis is definitely one of them). That being said, my understanding is that if you have it set at 1080P, all of your games will be upconverted to that resolution before being sent to the TV...so that is certainly nice right there.

4) Any other pearls of wisdom on 360 ownership?

Sign up for Xbox Live immediately upon setting up the your system. Buy the Premium system for $349 tomorrow as this is the best deal by FAR. Immediately buy Geometry Wars upon signing up for Xbox Live.

 

[fbrdphreak]

I didn't realize it was a 2.5" drive - too bad I ahve plenty of those lying around...

Thanks guys, just what I needed to know. I doubt I'll buy new, plenty on Craig's List around here.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
I didn't realize it was a 2.5" drive - too bad I ahve plenty of those lying around...

Thanks guys, just what I needed to know. I doubt I'll buy new, plenty on Craig's List around here.

Also the HD is SATA, not PATA. MS really stuck it to us as far as simple HD upgrading.

 

[fbrdphreak]

I've got 2.5" SATA drives too. Is it firmware locked? I've got a frickin' 160GB SATA I can drop in there anytime...

 

[blurredvision]

Originally posted by: Oyeve

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
I didn't realize it was a 2.5" drive - too bad I ahve plenty of those lying around...

Thanks guys, just what I needed to know. I doubt I'll buy new, plenty on Craig's List around here.

Also the HD is SATA, not PATA. MS really stuck it to us as far as simple HD upgrading.

Compared to the PS3, very much so.

Back to the OP's questions.

1) If I buy a Core version, can I add my own #GB hard drive?

PricklyPete has you covered on this one.

2) Is the hard drive the only benefit to the Premium version?

PricklyPete also has you completely covered on this one.

3) How many games are actually setup for 1080p?

The following is a list of 1080p games for the 360 that I found:

http://www.makeyougohmm.com/xbox360-1080p-games/

I have no idea how accurate that is, though, just a random a google search found it. However, the 360 should upscale anything to 1080p.

4) Any other pearls of wisdom on 360 ownership?

XBOX Live is well worth the money if you enjoy playing online. The Live Arcade is a very nice diversion with over 70 games currently available. There will be something in there you like, guaranteed, with 90-95% of the games costing $10 and under. Every Arcade game has a demo so you can try before you buy.

If you have a media center PC, check out the media center extender functionality of the console, it's fantastic. For some people, that alone is worth the cost of the unit.

Also remember you have the option to add the HD-DVD player if you have an HDTV. It works/looks great, and you still get the notifications during movie playback (friend signed online, new messages).

 

[A5]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
I've got 2.5" SATA drives too. Is it firmware locked? I've got a frickin' 160GB SATA I can drop in there anytime...

If you swap the drives, you'll get banned from Live (if they check) and void your warranty. Compared to the PS3's openness, it really sucks (you also can't use the USB ports to transfer game saves and stuff...have to use their $30 memory cards).

If you're buying the system, the Premium is really the only way to go.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Thanks guys

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Mod for using WD HDD

mod for using a particular WD HDD as 120gb

I don't know if either of these mods is detected by XBL as being such, and gets the console banned though.EDIT: I see A5 confirmed it'll get ya booted.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: A5

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
I've got 2.5" SATA drives too. Is it firmware locked? I've got a frickin' 160GB SATA I can drop in there anytime...

If you swap the drives, you'll get banned from Live (if they check) and void your warranty. Compared to the PS3's openness, it really sucks (you also can't use the USB ports to transfer game saves and stuff...have to use their $30 memory cards).

heh this is false.

if you swap the drives it just flatout won't work at all, simple as that.

there is some very VERY specific hard drives you CAN upgrade with, however you can only get 20Gb out of them, and I believe once the official 120Gb drive came out by MS, they had a way to make it so you could get a 120Gb drive to work as well (but don't quote me on that one). It was not some simple process either and is definitely not worth it.

But regardless, you cannot just use any old huge HDD and put it in and most likely won't be able to any time soon.

 

[CKDragon]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
I didn't realize it was a 2.5" drive - too bad I ahve plenty of those lying around...

Thanks guys, just what I needed to know. I doubt I'll buy new, plenty on Craig's List around here.

Be careful buying used Xbox 360s. The large-scale banning from Xbox Live (for system modding) is still recent history and a lot of unscrupulous people are selling their perma-banned 360s without telling the unsuspecting buyer.

If I were to buy a used 360 right now, I'd take extra measures to make sure I wasn't getting someone else's problem.

 

[Netscorer]

Originally posted by: CKDragon

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
I didn't realize it was a 2.5" drive - too bad I ahve plenty of those lying around...

Thanks guys, just what I needed to know. I doubt I'll buy new, plenty on Craig's List around here.

Be careful buying used Xbox 360s. The large-scale banning from Xbox Live (for system modding) is still recent history and a lot of unscrupulous people are selling their perma-banned 360s without telling the unsuspecting buyer.

If I were to buy a used 360 right now, I'd take extra measures to make sure I wasn't getting someone else's problem.

I would also caution against buying used system. If it was ever registered, you will not get any warranty coverage with MS, even the extended 3-year for red rings of death problem.
MS explicitely states in their warranty statement that only original buyers of the system are covered by the warranty.

Buy a new Premium system - best bang for the buck now!

 

[Red Storm]

Alright, I know this is going to sound like a dumb question, but I need to ask someone. I took a quick look at my friend's 360 Elite the other day, and I could only find 2 ports for wired controllers. Can you hook up 4 wired controllers to the 360?

 

[nycxandy]

Originally posted by: Red Storm
Alright, I know this is going to sound like a dumb question, but I need to ask someone. I took a quick look at my friend's 360 Elite the other day, and I could only find 2 ports for wired controllers. Can you hook up 4 wired controllers to the 360?

Nope, it's a maximum of 2 wired ones. Who uses wired controllers nowadays anyway?

 

[Red Storm]

Yeah I know wireless is the way to go nowadays, but I don't know if it was my mind playing tricks on me or what, but I could swear the wireless controllers are a bit less responsive than their wired counterparts.

 

[blurredvision]

Originally posted by: nycxandy

Originally posted by: Red Storm
Alright, I know this is going to sound like a dumb question, but I need to ask someone. I took a quick look at my friend's 360 Elite the other day, and I could only find 2 ports for wired controllers. Can you hook up 4 wired controllers to the 360?

Nope, it's a maximum of 2 wired ones. Who uses wired controllers nowadays anyway?

You can do 3 wired controllers.....there's a USB port in the back if you aren't using the wireless adapter . You can also use 4 wireless at the same time for a total of 7 controllers I think, but I'm not 100% on that. I'm not sure how the lights around the middle jewel would work with more than 4 controllers.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: Netscorer

I would also caution against buying used system. If it was ever registered, you will not get any warranty coverage with MS, even the extended 3-year for red rings of death problem.
MS explicitely states in their warranty statement that only original buyers of the system are covered by the warranty.

Buy a new Premium system - best bang for the buck now!

Wow, that sucks. Good thing I had my 360 re-registered to me when I bought it used and got the RROD. I had done this before the new 3 yr warranty thing happened. Phew!

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: blurredvision

Originally posted by: nycxandy

Originally posted by: Red Storm
Alright, I know this is going to sound like a dumb question, but I need to ask someone. I took a quick look at my friend's 360 Elite the other day, and I could only find 2 ports for wired controllers. Can you hook up 4 wired controllers to the 360?

Nope, it's a maximum of 2 wired ones. Who uses wired controllers nowadays anyway?

You can do 3 wired controllers.....there's a USB port in the back if you aren't using the wireless adapter . You can also use 4 wireless at the same time for a total of 7 controllers I think, but I'm not 100% on that. I'm not sure how the lights around the middle jewel would work with more than 4 controllers.

Can't you also use a USB hub to use 4 wired controllers?

 

[ColdFusion718]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
I've got 2.5" SATA drives too. Is it firmware locked? I've got a frickin' 160GB SATA I can drop in there anytime...

Yes it's locked down.

 

[randay]

wow i didnt know about the hd thing, thats horrible.