Help - trying to buy an Xbox - v.confused

SRFC90

Cool, thanks for all the help guys. What the major diff between silver and gold membership?

rg2007

silver membership is free and lets you talk to your friends, and download stuff like demos and from the marketplace, as well as get updates for games and the console. while the gold is all this but its the only way to play games on multiplayer. you can pick them up on 3 month memberships which are about €20 and 12 month memberships which are about €60. its not that much when you think about it (a euro a week), and is totally worth it.

heres a list of the differences:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/memberships101.htm

ShoulderChip

u can also sign up for unlimited 1 month free trials if your willing to register each month and have a new gamertag and find your friends and lose your stats each month.

mcgovern

You can get Gold Membership online for ~€35.

Edit: Thats for 13 months subscription.

tippog

murpho999 wrote: »

Also, if I were you I would not go for one with a 20gb hard drive.
Because of the New Xbox Experience menu system you now have the option to copy games from the disc to the hard drive. You will still need to have disc in machine to play game for licensing purposes but the disc will not be spinning.

This will lead to much quicker load times and a lot quieter xbox.

It really is the way to go and would go for the 60gb disc at minimum but the 120gb with the Xbox Elite machine would be ideal if your budget can stretch that far.

As for wireless network adaptor I would definitely recommend it. €100 in shops is a rip off. Have a look at e-bay, I got a second hand genuine adaptor for about €40. You can also get new ones there cheaper but just watch out for fake chinese ones.

Hope you make a decision soon and have great fun with your xbox!


Each game is around 6.7gb so a 20gb is really not enough.

How can you copy the games to the hard drive, cant work it out.

keane2097

Im going to the states this weekend and was thinking about picking up a 360 over there.

Does anyone know if it's region free like the ps3 or would I be goosed trying to buy games back here?

ROC1977

keane2097 wrote: »

Im going to the states this weekend and was thinking about picking up a 360 over there.

Does anyone know if it's region free like the ps3 or would I be goosed trying to buy games back here?

Xbox isn't region locked. But alot of the games are, all EA game are. Then you'll need a UK/EIRE power brick. If I was you I'd just by one here. Much less hassle. And trying to get onto a plane in the US with a 360 in your suit case might not be the easiest thing. Plus the extra weight in your baggage.
And its not like your going to save much money buying one in the US. Then there's the warranty side of things. All in all I thinks it not a good move. But its up to you.

keane2097

ROC1977 wrote: »

Xbox isn't region locked. But alot of the games are, all EA game are. Then you'll need a UK/EIRE power brick. If I was you I'd just by one here. Much less hassle. And trying to get onto a plane in the US with a 360 in your suit case might not be the easiest thing. Plus the extra weight in your baggage.
And its not like your going to save much money buying one in the US. Then there's the warranty side of things. All in all I thinks it not a good move. But its up to you.

Yeah I'm just trying to weigh up my options... I'll probably end up just getting one at home...

Turnip2000

ShoulderChip wrote: »

u can also sign up for unlimited 1 month free trials if your willing to register each month and have a new gamertag and find your friends and lose your stats each month.

There's a limit of three of these per xbox im afraid. Handy for that rough patch when your gold membership runs out and u need your fix before you have a chance to update it.

griffdaddy

Gonna pick up an Xbox tomorrow i think, can anyone tell me where the best place to get an Xbox, any except the arcade version, an extra wireless controller, and maybe pro ev 2009, gta4 and one of the newest fps's would be? looking to spend around 200 £/€. Thanks for your help

theteal

griffdaddy wrote: »

Gonna pick up an Xbox tomorrow i think, can anyone tell me where the best place to get an Xbox, any except the arcade version, an extra wireless controller, and maybe pro ev 2009, gta4 and one of the newest fps's would be? looking to spend around 200 £/€. Thanks for your help

i saw a deal in Game the other day: 60gig grears 2 pack with second controller and another game (cant rememver which but fallout 3 is springing to mind) for in and around 260 - 270. i know thats a bit over budget but it seemed to me like a really goog deal

griffdaddy

theteal wrote: »

i saw a deal in Game the other day: 60gig grears 2 pack with second controller and another game (cant rememver which but fallout 3 is springing to mind) for in and around 260 - 270. i know thats a bit over budget but it seemed to me like a really goog deal

http://www.game.co.uk/Xbox360/Hardware/HardwareBundle/~r338806/Xbox-360-60GB-Premium-Pack-with-Gears-of-War-1-and-2-Far-Cry-2-and-an-Extra-Wireless-Controller/
That must be the one, was thinking of that package myself, i can buy pro ev 2009 and gta4 for 45 pounds for the both of them in argos so gonna get that, hopefully i get a good rate on the sterling now!

Turnip2000

Any idea on what that deal is going for in irish stores?

EDIT: Just saw previous post. 60 quid extra seems a bit much? O well no sign of me getting up north anytime soon.

TheMooseInNam

My advice, as an xbox 360 nut, is if you are going to buy an xbox 360, you really need to have a hard drive to reap the benefits of it but it's a "must" should you wish to experience xbox live! You'll require around 120 megabytes of harddrive space for the downloadable upgrade to the new xbox dashboard, called NXE. You can get memory cards that will take this but you'll fill it very quickly. Then you won't be able to download many new maps, demos or expansion packs as these are often upwards of half a gig of memory each... sometimes well over a gig.
There's also other small advantages. You can now upload your game disks (aprox 4-7 gigs each) on to your harddrive, which marginally improves game load times but dramatically reduces noise from the disk drive. I guessing that this should also increase the lifespan of your disks too, as it only needs to be present in the drive and not constantly spinning. This should also help reduce the operating temperature of the console on those long gaming sessions. I'm not sure but this could help reduce the possibilities of suffering those "Rings Of Death" that are known to happen occassionally from over heating. (I'd like to point out that I'm only speculating on this and have no real ground to back this up!)
As for the size of harddrive that you require, well, that's really personal choice and will depend on how serious a gamer and download buff you are. 60gigs should prove plenty for almost all but the most hardcore enthusiasts.
However, in saying all that, if you have no interest in online gaming an acrade model with a decent sized memory card is all you need to play any game. Just be aware that buying after market harddrives, should you change your mind later, is quite expensive.
Happy christmas and happy gaming

duffmagic

Thanks to all for tips re FPS games etc.

I ended up getting the new Bond pack from Tesco on New Year's Day with the 30% off offer. Also picked up Halo3 to get me started and attempted (but failed) to trade in Bond. Anyone bored of COD4 and want a straight swap?

Was pretty happy till 3 days in when my vertical XBox got a tiny nudge while the disk was spinning. This results in an irreparable disc (as I'm sure most of you know). TheMooseInNam hinted this too:

TheMooseInNam wrote: »

I guessing that this should also increase the lifespan of your disks too, as it only needs to be present in the drive and not constantly spinning.

Think I'll be leaving it horizontal and safely tucked away from now on. I don't want to go off topic but I can't believe Microsoft's attitude towards this known issue.

keane2097

TheMooseInNam wrote: »

My advice, as an xbox 360 nut, is if you are going to buy an xbox 360, you really need to have a hard drive to reap the benefits of it but it's a "must" should you wish to experience xbox live! You'll require around 120 megabytes of harddrive space for the downloadable upgrade to the new xbox dashboard, called NXE. You can get memory cards that will take this but you'll fill it very quickly. Then you won't be able to download many new maps, demos or expansion packs as these are often upwards of half a gig of memory each... sometimes well over a gig.
There's also other small advantages. You can now upload your game disks (aprox 4-7 gigs each) on to your harddrive, which marginally improves game load times but dramatically reduces noise from the disk drive. I guessing that this should also increase the lifespan of your disks too, as it only needs to be present in the drive and not constantly spinning. This should also help reduce the operating temperature of the console on those long gaming sessions. I'm not sure but this could help reduce the possibilities of suffering those "Rings Of Death" that are known to happen occassionally from over heating. (I'd like to point out that I'm only speculating on this and have no real ground to back this up!)
As for the size of harddrive that you require, well, that's really personal choice and will depend on how serious a gamer and download buff you are. 60gigs should prove plenty for almost all but the most hardcore enthusiasts.
However, in saying all that, if you have no interest in online gaming an acrade model with a decent sized memory card is all you need to play any game. Just be aware that buying after market harddrives, should you change your mind later, is quite expensive.
Happy christmas and happy gaming

Good post dude...

Just on a sidenote - separating your paragraphs with a line would make it waaay more readable. I find it kinda hard on the eyes when all the writing is stuck together

TheMooseInNam

keane2097 wrote: »

Good post dude...

Just on a sidenote - separating your paragraphs with a line would make it waaay more readable. I find it kinda hard on the eyes when all the writing is stuck together

Thanks,

Good point on spacing the paragraphs, I'll do that in future, cheers

sodric

I had a walk around Dublin today checking out deals - want a 60gig hard drive, extra controller and pro-evo 09 (which is €38 in Game on Dawson St vs. €50something in hmv).....most bundles on offer are c.250-270 but come with kung-fu panda , indiana jones which I'lll probably never play....anyone know of any good packages that are worth it ?? thanks

dunie001

That's one of the major balls-up with buying bundles, you usually end up with none of the games you actually want...:(

Personally, I have an old/new xbox 360 Pro 20GB (my xbox got replaced, but i still have the 20gb hard-drive)

I play a lot of online games, and therefore save an awful lot of custom maps and downloadable content. My 20gb hard-drive still has about 9GB free. Halo 3 is the worst for eating up harddrive space...two map packs to download and tons of custom maps to make.

I'd go with an xbox 360 Pro with a 60GB hard-drive...as for bundles just keep shopping around.

Curry's have a reserve & collect choice on their website...just checked it and you could get a Pro console for £189 with three games (two are rubbish) and a wireless controller & headset.

dunie001

mind you...if you don't want to travel to Northern Ireland, zavvi dropped their prices lately (in Sligo anyway)

guil

dunie001 wrote: »

mind you...if you don't want to travel to Northern Ireland, zavvi dropped their prices lately (in Sligo anyway)

was plannin on gettin a 360 in zavvi in newbridge but they dont have any left, 30% off the pricee, had to settlt for gamestop

Bender's Game

I had an old xbox and loved halo2. I moved two years ago and how im back in this jobless country i would like to get a 360 and halo3 to entertain me instead of watching sky sports.com all day.

Where's the best value for Halo3, I checked the local shops and they dont have it. I've played COD and was very impressed but for mow i just want to get back on the halo wagon.

I'm going to want the 60g version,and going to buy it new, I have to use wireless but I had no problems with the original xbox so i imagine that'll be ok again! Do i have to go newry for these on the cheap or are there going out of business sales that i can jump on in the N.dublin area?

Nedved85

Lat week i bought the 60gb version with one wireless controller, PGR4, Sega Superstars Tennis and any game of my choice in Argos, Liffey Valley for €245

Dont know if this offer is still there though

brian plank

if the games in a bundle are rubbish just ask them to change them. it makes no difference to the shop if your swapping one €30 game for another. I'v done this before for a ps3 bundle.