Is buying an XBOX still a good idea

rammster

Hey guys

Despite the publicity for XBOX 360, I find it a bit too expensive. One of my mates has offered me his XBOX with 2 controllers and DVD Kit and 10 games for just 100 pounds. Should I go for it at that price, or should I go for an XBOX at all, or wait for XBOX 360 to become cheaper.

martyfarty69

Not sure about the price he's offered it to you for ( although it is alot of kit for 100 quid ) but as with the Gamecube and PS2 , the Xbox is still a fantastic games machine and has quite some life in it yet, its not like when PS2 came out and the leap in Graphics and stuff was Huge compared to PS1 and other machines that were out at the time, machines like the Xbox and PS2 etc are still such competent machines against a machine like the 360 that unless you ABSOLUTELY have to have the latest thing the Xbox will fulfill all your needs and will continue to be supported for quite some time yet, and then when the day comes when it isnt, then the price for a 360 will have come down enough for you to buy one at a resonable price.
But thats just my opinion.

wolfman

That's an ok price, maybe try and bargain him down £10.

The Xbox is great. I've got both the Xbox and 360, and yes the 360 is a premium. I've (stupidly thinking back) spent £500 on mine.

Get an Xbox, mod it (there are software mods I believe). You'll still be able to play games on it and use Xbox Live. But you can also put some form of media center software on there. I use mine to play mp3's, dvd's, DivX's etc... and it's all networked. It also runs it's own ftp and web server. I've installed a 200gb hard drive in mine so there's plenty of space for music etc...

And then once it does become out of date, I'm going to use mine as a file server on my network and media center for the tv. I'll basically hide it away near the tv, and use the remote (i bought for it) to control it.

But until then there are plenty of games, and cheap too. Ninja Gaiden, Chronicles Of Riddick, Fable, Halo 1 and 2, Pro Evo etc... plenty to keep you occupied.

MercilessKiller

Wolfman.. if you're thinking of selling the xbox pm me with a reaonable price After all, I am a student with my own house soon :P

Cheers

billy_the_kid_2

Do watch for worn DVD drives on secondhand units. Have just had to replace my sons for 35 quid.

heatherw_01

£100 seems a lot. You can get them for less than that on eBay

rammster

I know the deal is that you can get an Xbox for 65-70 pounds from Ebay or a local GAME store, but even the ones on EBay with 10 Games and DVD Kit sell for 100 quid or so. The DVD Kit sells for another 15-20 pounds, and this one has two controllers. I think I should put an offer less than a 100 pounds . But what are the other functions apart from games that an Xbox be put to. I like the idea of another hard drive, but then would it become something like a PVR, also the live Xbox thing, do I need broadband for that. How do you install new software apps on an Xbox. Forgive me for this guys but the last time I had a games console was in early 90s, when I played with my Nintendo.

wolfman

Best thing is to install a mod chip. Touchy subject though, http://www.teamxecuter.com would be a better place to ask due to restrictions here. It will involve dismantling your Xbox, but no soldering (if you get a solderless chip). It's not tricky, you'll need to check out a few sites and read up.

Once you do have it done though, you can put Linux on. Or something like Xbox Media Center (http://www.allxboxskins.com/skins/preview.php?app=xbmc&pvf=Media%20Center%20Edition%202005%20v.1).

Toms Hardware do a guide on how to turn your Xbox into a Network Attachable Storage device.
http://www.tomsnetworking.com/2005/12/13/how_to/

With regards to the hard drive, you can just swap out the tiny 10gb one that it comes with. There are tutorials on how to do this at https://www.xbox-scene.com. Again it's not too tricky, you just have to be patient, careful and follow the instructions.

I've personally ripped mine apart many times, put thermal paste on the heatsinks, installed a quieter fan, added a power button to one of my controllers etc... It's great if you enjoy customizing things. Also, very versatile and there are some great homebrew apps out there for it.

For Xbox Live you'll need an adsl connection.

MercilessKiller

*cough* you didnt answer about possible selling your xbox wolfy :P

wolfman

No, not for quite some time, or at least not until I'm able to do something with the 360

MercilessKiller

Lol fair enough Worth a try anyway