Operation: 360 (I need your help!)

And not in that televangelist kind of way.

Here's the deal. By now, you guys and gals know that when Michael Barnes wants something, he gets it. And not by spending an assload of money, but by bartering his way into whatever it is. Operation: DS and Operation: Space Hulk were smash successes, so now I'm in process with Operation: 360.

Right now, I've got my RISK: BLACK OPS up on eBay and BGG for sale. I listed it for $275 at BGG and I have a similar reserve at eBay. I'm _trying_ to clear enough to cover the new $299 Elite package (and there's a $50 rebate that ends October 4th, so there is urgency). I'm actually probably undercutting what the game is worth, but that's OK. I'm not trying to turn a profit, I really just want to trade out. If any of you guys are interested in it, PM and we'll talk. I will be much more accomodating to a F:ATtie than Joe Boardgamer. I really don't even want to exchange money- I'd really like the buyer to just purchase the console and have it sent or pay for an Amazon e-gift certificate in the purchase price and I can get the console shipped free thanks to Prime.

But that's not my purpose here, I do have a couple of questions for you 360 folks...I know the answers are out there elsewhere, but I want the F:AT opinion. And I am a total 360 newbie, playing a little catchup here. I _do_ know that I need to get a Jasper console, and that will happen buying one of the Fall '09 consoles.

1) Is it really worth $100 for the Elite over the Arcade? I know the HDD is the issue, but why exactly do I need a HDD other than Live downloads (which I will be doing, considering that SotN and IKARUGA up there)? Can I use any external HDD with the system?

2) I know wireless isn't built in. The Microsoft 360 wireless adapter is $80. That sucks. Can I use another wireless adapter or bridge? I am _not_ running 30 feet of Cat-5 through the house.

3) Is it true that you can actually install the games to the hard drive (if you have one) and then the disc is no longer necessary? That sounds crazy. I can't believe they'd allow that.

4) Xbox Live- is the Gold membership worth $50 a year, or can you do most everything at Silver level?

5) Is there anything else I should be mindful of in terms of choosing one level of hardware over the other?

That's it...thanks for any insight you can offer!

Just throw a whole lot of money at it. Its easier.

I'd love to... But my 360 budget is zero dollars. I don't really have fun buying stuff like this out of pocket anymore, like I did when I wasn't married and didn't own a home or have a car payment. These days a $300 purchase better be something we need. But bartering, trading up...that's what works for me.

1. You need a hard drive. Occasionally, you can find a refurb 20G for $20 or $30. But then, you are approaching the $249 price you are looking at. The drive is a standard SATA, but in a custom enclosure with a freaky-weird port.

2. You can use a USB->Wireless adapter. Poke around for ones that people have gotten working. I wire everything I can, but then half of the stuff in our house is networked.

3. You can install games, but you need the disc for each initial game start. After the check, the game runs entirely off the HD. So, they weren't that crazy.

4. The two things you get from Gold are: online play, Netflix. (And 1 vs 100).

5. The disk and wireless controller, and an HDMI port are the only functional differences. Do get a NEW unit. Earlier units had more heat hardware problems. That way, you'll also get the HDMI port.

....although Gold was worth it when I was playing Crackdown with a friend in the UK. It is classic stupid co-op fun.

Gold is totally worth it if you have any interest in online play (which you should). Silver is basically nothing. Buy a three month card now, and it's very very likely that in time for the holiday you'll find 12+1 month cards for $25-30 or even less (buy.com is usually a good spot). They've done those the last 2 or 3 years. They also stack, so if you find a really good deal you can buy a couple and just pop em both on there for a few years of subscription. That said, I'd still pay $50 a year for it if need be.

Get the HDD, you'll be pissed if you didn't when you want it. And you'll want it.

For the chipset issue, I dunno about Jasper but when they went up to Falcon you could check the power consumption on the back of the box and tell which chipset was in there. I went through a bunch of stores and looking at boxes till I found someplace with a shipment of the new ones. Poke around online and maybe it's the same with Jasper and thus easy to tell which one you're getting.

Also, friend me when you get live. Captain Teishu

Let's donate!

You still need the discs even if you install games on the drive. The potential benefits are 1) the load times of some games may be shorter (i.e., Ninja Gaiden II), 2) the disc drive may be quieter because it's utilized less, and 3) your disc drive should be less likely to break down if you're not utilizing it as much.

I install all my games and delete them once I no longer play them. A bigger hard drive is also useful if you do a lot of downloading through LIVE.

Michael Barnes wrote:

I'd love to... But my 360 budget is zero dollars. I don't really have fun buying stuff like this out of pocket anymore, like I did when I wasn't married and didn't own a home or have a car payment. These days a $300 purchase better be something we need. But bartering, trading up...that's what works for me.

Well, I hope you get it, then. Nobody as dedicated to gaming as much as you are should have to be without one... although I have the PS3 myself.

With our first child on the way, we have decided to focus on necessities too and go on a budget ourselves. So Batman: Arkham Asylum will have to wait until my birthday next month.

I think I read a story about a person who spent two years and kept bartering up (starting with something like a pen) until he traded in for a house.

I have situational budget reasons as well...stay tuned.

The auction on eBay shot up to $200 and it lasts until friday...I'm wondering if this might top $500 since it's been a while since one has sold. I'm just hoping I can get the buyer to pay through Amazon or something so I don't miss the October 4th deadline. It does look like I'll be able to the Elite route. I've also got SCRIBBLENAUTS with that stupid rooster hat up there, I anticipate that will top $50. I'll take $50 over smashing the DS to bits over that game any day.

Bartering is the way to go, man. I mean, I've got a valuable board game sitting on my shelf that I'll never play. If we're going to play RISK, it ain't gonna be the $500 one, it'll be the one I bought at Target for $22. So why the hell not barter it for something I want? It's really sweet to get something expensive that you want for zero dollars...like that DS, I got a terrific deal and traded away a board game that wasn't getting played. SPACE HULK helped me weed my collection and the complete purchase- including Battlefoam- was bankrolled soley through bartering out games that I didn't need or want for the money to buy it.

Thanks for the input guys- I think the Arcade model is out and Gold membership is in.

That copy of Warriors of God I got from you as part of Operation: Hulkamania hit the table last night, in fact.

Good luck with the Black Ops auction.

Here is a fairly up to date list of HDD install sizes and what it does to load times for Xbox 360 games:

www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5064959&postcount=1

I can tell you right now that you're going to want to get a 120 gig hard drive. The actual usable space after formatting and the front end installation of the 20 gig is about 13 gigs, and demos clock in between 500 megs and 1.5 gigs. XBLA games are several hundred megs, and rock band tracks (if you're so inclined) are 50-60 megs each. Games like Fallout and Oblivion have expansions that push a gig, and map packs for FPS games can push 500 megs. It's awful nice to be able to go into the list of demos, queue up a half dozen and walk away from the system for a few hours and not have to worry about deleting things.

There's also an (admittedly ass ugly) elite version coming out in November that includes Modern Warfare 2 and an extra controller, plus a 250 gig drive.

www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Pro-60GB-Console...id=1254114669&sr=8-1

If you're at all interested in MW2, it's a pretty good deal, seeing as how I'd assume you'd get at least one extra controller anyway, it's a wash in price and you get double the HDD space.

OH and, for some inexplicably retarded reason they don't come with HDMI cables, just component. So be sure to hit up monoprice if your TV is so equipped.

Also, as much as I love Amazon (and I really, really love Amazon) you might want to go to a B&M to pick up the system. I can't prove it, but I'd bet good money the reason why they're offering $50 off on the elite is because they still have Falcon chipset elites floating around and they're trying to clear stock.

When I bought my system back in 2007 it was right after the price drop from 399 to 349. This was right around the time that the Falcon chipset came out. Amazon was selling the systems for 319, but the one I bought ended up being a Xenon board, even though Falcons had been out in the wild for a few months.

Michael Barnes wrote:

I have situational budget reasons as well...stay tuned.

Heh heh - that's usually code talk for either one-or-both of us are about to loose our job or there's a small, noisey, poop-dispenser on its way :-P

Michael Barnes wrote:

And not in that televangelist kind of way.

Here's the deal. By now, you guys and gals know that when Michael Barnes wants something, he gets it. And not by spending an assload of money, but by bartering his way into whatever it is. Operation: DS and Operation: Space Hulk were smash successes, so now I'm in process with Operation: 360.

Right now, I've got my RISK: BLACK OPS up on eBay and BGG for sale. I listed it for $275 at BGG and I have a similar reserve at eBay. I'm _trying_ to clear enough to cover the new $299 Elite package (and there's a $50 rebate that ends October 4th, so there is urgency). I'm actually probably undercutting what the game is worth, but that's OK. I'm not trying to turn a profit, I really just want to trade out. If any of you guys are interested in it, PM and we'll talk. I will be much more accomodating to a F:ATtie than Joe Boardgamer. I really don't even want to exchange money- I'd really like the buyer to just purchase the console and have it sent or pay for an Amazon e-gift certificate in the purchase price and I can get the console shipped free thanks to Prime.

But that's not my purpose here, I do have a couple of questions for you 360 folks...I know the answers are out there elsewhere, but I want the F:AT opinion. And I am a total 360 newbie, playing a little catchup here. I _do_ know that I need to get a Jasper console, and that will happen buying one of the Fall '09 consoles.

1) Is it really worth $100 for the Elite over the Arcade? I know the HDD is the issue, but why exactly do I need a HDD other than Live downloads (which I will be doing, considering that SotN and IKARUGA up there)? Can I use any external HDD with the system?

2) I know wireless isn't built in. The Microsoft 360 wireless adapter is $80. That sucks. Can I use another wireless adapter or bridge? I am _not_ running 30 feet of Cat-5 through the house.

3) Is it true that you can actually install the games to the hard drive (if you have one) and then the disc is no longer necessary? That sounds crazy. I can't believe they'd allow that.

4) Xbox Live- is the Gold membership worth $50 a year, or can you do most everything at Silver level?

5) Is there anything else I should be mindful of in terms of choosing one level of hardware over the other?

That's it...thanks for any insight you can offer!

Hey Barnes, I haven't read thru this thread cuz I'm kinda busy but I'm happy you want to get a 360. I'll answer your first round of questions and if you had any other questions, lemme know...

1) yeah, you need the hard drive badly. I had no idea that Elite ONLY costs 100$ more. If that's the case, get the Elite. The package with the Elite is excellent as well. Don't forget there is an upcoming Modern Warfare 2 package that looks good too.

2) As far as I know, you have to use the wireless adapter. But I'm not sure. If you don't want cable, just get the wireless adapter. You might be able to find it in a good package deal.

3) Yes, you can install games but you still need the disc. You can also download entire games and will never need the disc.

4) You can do everything at the Silver level EXCEPT play multiplayer online. I almost never get Gold cuz I almost never play online multiplayer.

5) Yes, the defect rate is higher with certain hardwares because some were later generation than others. For instance, the Pro hardware deals that are still around in some places are all composed of the original faulty 360's. You'll get a great warranty with anything you get so it doesn't really matter but I would check the default rates of the Elite vs Arcade I guess.


Let me know when you get it and I'll tell you which games to get. GTAIV is top of my list. Orange Box, CoD4:MW and Bioshock would all be next.

After buying my lad his 360 package (the one with the 60GB hard drive but not the black console) I thought screw that when I saw it was another £60 for the wireless adapter so I just ran some cat-5 down the stairs - admittedly houses in the UK (mine especially) are only half the size of yours and most of the world.
He loves it and I make him buy his Gold membership out of his pocketmoney - gotta teach these yungstas the value of money.