13 replies to this topic

[Hyp]

Hi, I am thinking about buying a 360, it is the only next gen console I do not currently own, nor have I ever. I have a few concerns about them though so I will shoot off a few questions I can think of right now, may run across more later.

First, the overheating issue. Everyone I know who has or had a 360 has burnt up atleast 1 system. From my uncle who plays maybe 4 times a month for no more then 2 hour sessions, to my best buddy who plays 6 hours a day, 7 days a week. What do I look for when buying a 360 to prevent this issue. Any particular model lasting longer then the rest? Any tips on how to prevent the system from overheating if you are a semi hardcore gamer? I don't play 24/7 but in spurts as my work sometimes takes me away for 1-2 weeks at a time and my gameboy keeps me company then. So when I am home, after my kid goes to bed I like to sit down and sometimes I wont quit for 6-12 hours. Any accessories available to help with this issue?

Is the gold service for online worth it?

Is there a huge difference in FPS' on the 360 compared to ps3 as I hear so often, or is that hype?

How much money am I looking to spend to have a fully wireless Xbox with a keyboard?

Thanks for your time!

[bennybingo]

Get the new xbox slim (black console) and you shouldn't have an overheating problem. Just don't leave it on for days at a clip. They fixed the heat sink issue on the newer consoles, so you are good to go there.

Gold service is a must if you like online multiplayer games. It also comes packed in with a ton of features. IMHO, it's worth the money. Some may disagree, but I feel I get my money's worth out of it.

I find that the FPS thing is fairly similar, but I prefer the online gameplay much more on the xbox live set up. Again, others would disagree, but it is a personal preference thing as far as I am concerned.

I couldn't tell you about the keyboard. I haven't had the need for one, but someone here could shed some light on the subject I am sure.

[HuckleCat]

As for the keyboard -

http://www.amazon.co...ASIN=B003Q9RGRW

[Metal Ghost]

The brand new models (the 'slim' model) is going to be the best version regarding heat and drive/fan noise. I personally haven't heard anyone having an issue with the new model. I'm sure people have, but based on my own anticedotal info I'd have to conjecture no where near the rate as the original model.

If you're buying brand new, then any of the current model's will be 'fully wireless' (i.e. wireless controller and 802.11....N I believe). If you just need enough storage for game saves and do not expect to want to download any appreciable game content, then the $199 4GB box will serve you well. If you want a hard drive, I believe the current 240GB model is $299. But we're coming up on the holiday's....I have no doubt there will be store deals coming out (like buy console, get gift card types of deals) as well as probably an MS bundle. Plus, I think I've heard that the standard 240GB model (the only current one other than the 4GB) is being raised to something like 320.

As an alternative, you could get the $199 4 GB and I think the older standalone model 240GB slim HDD are on sale at places like Amazon for $80 or $90 now (or maybe it's the 120GB). I'd check though if you're going that route, because I believe that supplies are limited as the model HDD gets raised to

When you say keyboard, do you mean a QWERTY? If so, then about another $20 I think for a chatpad.

If you want to multiplayer, then get gold. Amazon has deals sometimes. Either way I love mine. I multiplayer all the time, but I also use it for services for which it is required (i.e. ESPN3, Netflix, Hulu+), though I realize that if you have a PS3 this may not be an issue.

[HammR25]

You can use any USB keyboard with your 360. It uses the Windows key as the guide button. A,B,X,Y work as A,B,X,Y. I don't have a streaming netflix plan so I don't know if you can use it for the search function. The keyboard doesn't do anything in the ESPN portion. It works like a chat pad if you need to send a message though. Since the 360 has no web browser you wouldn't be able to use the keyboard for anything more than a chatpad.

[Hyp]

Awesome, thanks for the detailed info! I was planning on waiting until closer to the holidays so hopefully they bring the price down a bit, or give a great deal. I would need a HD as I'm a big fan of independent games. Good to hear they fixed the overheating issue, I don't know anyone with a slim 360 so I couldn't get honest user opinion, thanks for covering that.

I also wasn't aware that the 360 has no browser, would of never thought that considering they are Microsoft. I don't have cable, I stick with Netflix and Hulu Plus for better then cable, at a fraction of the price and I am also wanting another machine to run those programs, so my PS3 isn't burning up all day while my son watches his shows.

Also didn't know they made the new ones fully wireless. Whenever we played my uncles 360 it became a hassle with the wires hanging and his kids playing in the same area. lol. Good to hear.

Thanks for the feedback! Can't wait to get into Gears of War!

[onlysublime]

Hyp, on Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:11 PM, said:

Hi, I am thinking about buying a 360, it is the only next gen console I do not currently own, nor have I ever. I have a few concerns about them though so I will shoot off a few questions I can think of right now, may run across more later.

First, the overheating issue. Everyone I know who has or had a 360 has burnt up atleast 1 system. From my uncle who plays maybe 4 times a month for no more then 2 hour sessions, to my best buddy who plays 6 hours a day, 7 days a week. What do I look for when buying a 360 to prevent this issue. Any particular model lasting longer then the rest? Any tips on how to prevent the system from overheating if you are a semi hardcore gamer? I don't play 24/7 but in spurts as my work sometimes takes me away for 1-2 weeks at a time and my gameboy keeps me company then. So when I am home, after my kid goes to bed I like to sit down and sometimes I wont quit for 6-12 hours. Any accessories available to help with this issue?

Is the gold service for online worth it?

Is there a huge difference in FPS' on the 360 compared to ps3 as I hear so often, or is that hype?

How much money am I looking to spend to have a fully wireless Xbox with a keyboard?

Thanks for your time!

The new 360S systems are pretty darn reliable so far. They run on very little electricity compared to the old systems. The system itself is a lot smaller now with a lot of new features.

I have the older 360 system with the Jasper motherboard revision and it's generally acknowledged that from Jasper onward, the 360 has been rock solid. The Jasper system was released toward the end of 2008. I picked two of them in 2009. I've run my 360 hard for many continuous hours without a problem. I even accidentally left it running over the weekend when I didn't realize it was still on.

The gold online is definitely worth it if you have friends to talk to. The party chat mode alone is worth it to me. In party chat, you can be talking to friends no matter where they are on their 360 or what they are doing. You can be playing different games, be at the menus of the game, doing Netflix, etc. and still be talking to each other. Some traditional systems only allow you to talk within the same game session. On other systems, you can't even talk while at the menu selection screen. So you can't even talk to each other about what map to choose with other systems. Some nights, I'll get online just to talk to friends, either with pure voice chatting, or with Video Kinect (the webcam part), or with Avatar Kinect (using avatars in a webchat so you don't have to worry about being in your underwear or having bed hair), and never actually game that night. Pop in some TV show on Netflix and just have fun with your friends.

You have full control over the chat function. If you don't want to hear anybody, you can mute them. If you only want to hear your friends, you can do that. If you only want your friends to hear you, you can do that. If there are particular gamers who are annoying, you can mute them on an individual basis.

If you have Netflix, you can watch movies with each other and talk to each other. Now that my friends and I are scattered across the US since moving away from college, we can re-live movie night no matter where we are in the world.

Gold also gets you some perks such as early access to demos, game discounts, etc. there are other reasons why Gold is worth it, but these were the key ones for me. the actual multiplayer gaming was the least of them.

if you want to meet new friends, it's pretty easy. You have a gaming history that shows all the people you've played with. So if some guy keeps saving you in Gears of War and seems nice, send him a friend request.

for FPS games, there seems to be more 360 gamers consistently. Even if you load up a 5 year old game, you can still find people to play against. On other systems, good luck with old games. Also, regardless of the reason (360 as the primary SKU, difficulty programming with other systems, etc.), 80% of multiplatform games run better on the 360. check out sites like lens of truth or Eurogamer and this will bear out.

the new 360S has built-in wireless. but really, if you're a hardcore gamer, wireless is terrible because of the latency and inconsistency.

I use both a USB keyboard (for when I need to type a lot) and the 360 chatpad. The chatpad snaps onto your 360 controller and works like a cell phone keyboard. I just type so much faster with a real keyboard since I can type over 100 wpm consistently. I actually use the Logitech keyboard for Playstation 2 on the 360 since the USB cable is extremely long and can reach my couch. The chatpad annoys me because my U key is flaky and I didn't realize how much the U is used in real life. I should've exchanged it because it was flaky from the beginning but I don't use it much and as long as I look at the screen when I type the U, I can just pause long enough for the U to register. Otherwise, if my U was like the other keys, I would have zero issue with it. It's even illuminated for nighttime typing.

But yeah, the more gaming systems you own, the better. There's just great gaming out there on any system.

[Hyper_Eye]

I have had 4 360's. I got an original at midnight on release day. It failed in 2007 which was actually a pretty good run compared to most day 1 360's. I then replaced it with a core unit. That unit failed about a year later and MS replaced it with another core 360. I never had an issue with that console and my brother owns it today. When the S came out I jumped on it because I was interested in upgrading my hdd and I liked the look of the new console. I have had no issues with the S. It is so much quieter than the old system. Most of the time I can't tell it is on by the sound. When a game was inside my day 1 unit it sounded like a jet taking off which is a sound I am familiar with since I live near an airport. The new console is great.

Also, I think Live is worth the money. You will need it if you want to use Netflix and Hulu on 360 anyway. Most people here would tell you not to pay full price though. Deals can often be found on prepaid cards and you should keep your eyes open for them.

[onlysublime]

I couldn't get a 360 around launch because it was so friggin expensive. Little did I know that the PS3 would debut at $599!

though I did buy the Jaguar at $200 or $250 (though most of it was free from an unexpected gift) but I was a diehard Atarian.

[raskar42]

Hey - Sorry to zombie bump, but am i right in reading that you need xbox live gold to watch netflix on the 360?

so you would basically have to pay twice for netflix?

Edited by raskar42, Wed Jan 11, 2012 1:21 PM.

[Starscream]

raskar42, on Wed Jan 11, 2012 1:21 PM, said:

Hey - Sorry to zombie bump, but am i right in reading that you need xbox live gold to watch netflix on the 360?

so you would basically have to pay twice for netflix?

Yup, too bad too, Netflix isn't worth paying for once.

Think you can swing $4 a month? About 14 cents a day. You can't even feed a starving kid overseas on that kinda bank.

Edited by Starscream, Wed Jan 11, 2012 1:45 PM.

[moycon]

raskar42 said:

so you would basically have to pay twice for netflix?

I wouldn't think so. If Netflix were the only feature of Xbox Live Gold, and the Xbox 360 was the only way you could watch your Netflix intant view queue, and as such you were buying it specifically for that reason, and only that reason, I'd say you'd be paying twice for Netflix, but you certainly wouldn't HAVE to. As it stands you can watch your Netflix instant view queue in many different ways for free already.

PC
Internet enabled TV
Wii
PS3

In addition, if you already have a streaming media box (AppleTV, Roku Player, etc...) or software (PlayOn) you can also set up a Netflix on that for free and stream it to your TV.
I wouldn't buy Xbox Live Gold for Netflix if that is what you are asking. Many people on this site seem to think that streaming Netflix is the only feature of Xbox Live Gold.
Think of streaming Netflix an incentive, not the main reason to get Live Gold. To me the main reason would be online vs and co-op play of many games on a fast stable network and also maybe movie and game discounts, if you are interested in DLC. But yes there are alot of other features, some of them can indeed be utilized on other devices for free (LastFM, YouTube etc...)
Here is a link that lists all the current features...

http://en.wikipedia...._Silver_or_Gold

I usually pay around $40 for my year subscription, and I don't pay for cable, or a smart phone data plan, or satellite radio or anything like that, which those three things alone can easily add up to around $150 or more a month. I say for online play, discounts on games and all these other features in one place, The $3.33 a month is well spent.

[cimerians]

You have to have Gold it if your heavily invested in the 360, with playing online, friends and its your ONLY option at home.

My personal opinion:
The small things they give you on GOLD should normally be free. Chat. Facebook. Netflix. Even playing online to some degree. I totally realize what I'm paying for and its completely not worth it. I have an Internet ready TV (with Hulu, Netflix options), BDVD player (with Hulu, Netflix options) a PC a PS3 and a KINDLE Fire (that does some droid and Netflix) which give me way better options. I've moved on from Xbox Live.

Lets see how they restructure things with the next system cause with Apple, Droid devices, TV's etc.....they will have to.

Edited by cimerians, Wed Jan 11, 2012 1:50 PM.

[raskar42]

Thanks for the answers. My in-laws recently bought an xbox 360. They use it to play some kinect dancing game and watch netflix. I've never owned either version of the xbox, so naturally they come to me with all their questions.