XBOX 360: Arcade vs. Pro

pejsaboy · Dec 13, 2008

I'm strongly considering getting my wife a 360 for Christmas, especially with the release of the Jasper line and the potential end of the RRoD. Anyhow, I'm curious about just how important having a hard drive is for this thing. I know that installing games to it will reduce load times, but is that the primary perk for having the drive? I also read somewhere that GTA4 has a mandatory 3 gig install, would that prevent it being played on the Arcade system?

Also, does the Arcade system still have all the connections for a hard drive? It appears to be fairly easy to upgrade the drives in the other models for a fairly computer literate person [which I feel I am], so I could probably install one fairly cheap later on if necessary. The wife might not like me opening the console, but I like tinkering

FudgeNuggets · Dec 13, 2008

no game REQUIRES the hard drive, but there are some that will play like TOTAL crap without it, Oblivion is the worst.

You can always add a hard drive later on but honestly, just get one with the system as it's not a requirement but it's just not the same without it.

I'm not sure if the 20GB model is still on the market but if it is I'd say to even skip that and go with AT LEAST the 60GB because now you can fully install your games on the 360 hard drive.

You cannot just install any old hard drive either. It has a special connector and only a specific few hard drives will work if you were to through all the trouble of getting an empty HDD shell, buying the 2.5" HDD and modifying the MBR to be 360 compatible. The Microsoft HDDs for the 360 are pricey by HDD standards $150 for 120G

pejsaboy · Dec 13, 2008

Alright, I was afraid of that. I'll go ahead and buck up for the 60gb model then. Oblivion is one of the games she wants

redrumy3 · Dec 13, 2008

hmm i would try and grab* a jasper and get a harddrive like Fudge said

knight_of_knee · Dec 13, 2008

Yeah I dunno, I have an arcade and I haven't had a hard drive for it and there's nothing too much your missing I mean if you have the extra cash of course get the hard drive but it's not that big of a deal one way or another.

Twigglish · Dec 14, 2008

You cant even get a head set with the damn Arcade model. How ridiculous.

AngelfireUk83 · Dec 14, 2008

Twigglish said:
You cant even get a head set with the damn Arcade model. How ridiculous.

I thought MS where going to release a 60GB bumper pack where you get the HDD, etheret cable, headset 3 month gold membership all for a certain price.

FudgeNuggets · Dec 14, 2008

AngelfireUk83 said:
I thought MS where going to release a 60GB bumper pack where you get the HDD, etheret cable, headset 3 month gold membership all for a certain price.

They did, but geez you'll pay more than if you just went ahead and got the PRO to begin with. it's $100. Plus you won't have the wireless controller like you would if you had just got the PRO. Bad advice being given out here.....

Ebola · Dec 15, 2008

Pro version is good. I think it would be less likely that you will get a RROD with a new Pro even if it's not the Jasper now that we can do HD installs.

FudgeNuggets · Dec 15, 2008

If you can spring for the Elite, keep this in mind. Pro=roughly 7 game installs, Elite= 15. They've been averaging about 8GB.

pejsaboy · Dec 15, 2008

I went ahead and got the Pro since I had to pick up a few games as well. Mirror's Edge and Army of Two both rock

Anyway, how do you install a game to the hard drive? There's probably an option in the lobby somewhere, right?

Mortis03 · Dec 15, 2008

Even though you went ahead and got the pro (good thing), I thought I would throw this in as well as I didn't see it mentioned.

I read somewhere that you can't play original xbox games without a hdd.

FudgeNuggets · Dec 16, 2008

pejsaboy said:
I went ahead and got the Pro since I had to pick up a few games as well. Mirror's Edge and Army of Two both rock

Anyway, how do you install a game to the hard drive? There's probably an option in the lobby somewhere, right?

There is an install option in the new dashboard.

pejsaboy · Dec 16, 2008

ok cool. I guess I'll have to try to get this thing updated then... no long ethernet cables around the house

DBZ · Dec 16, 2008

Just remember, you can get the pro version at dell for 250.00

Mine already shipped with tracking # wohoo and yeah Pro >>> than Arcade because of hdd and wireless controller.

deathman20 · Dec 16, 2008

Yes pro is better due to the HDD and Wireless controller. If you need a wired one buy it seperately its cheap compared to an HDD upgrade.

FudgeNuggets · Dec 16, 2008

deathman20 said:
Yes pro is better due to the HDD and Wireless controller. If you need a wired one buy it seperately its cheap compared to an HDD upgrade.

Who would WANT a wired controller?

deathman20 · Dec 16, 2008

FudgeNuggets said:
Who would WANT a wired controller?

Its a cheap controller for when friends come over

zPacKRat · Dec 16, 2008

FudgeNuggets said:
Who would WANT a wired controller?

the tree huggers of course would like to keep batteries out of the landfills.

pejsaboy · Dec 16, 2008

Yeah, I'm totally sold on wireless accessories. Controllers, headsets, keyboards, mice, all good stuff. It's a shame they want $100 for the wireless internet adapter, now I'm going to have to buy a 50' ethernet cable and go crawling under my house... I guess I could run two and ditch the wireless on my pc

As for keeping batteries out of the landfills, I'm planning on buying some rechargeables and a charger. Saves money on batteries, and puts fewer in the trash over the long term. Good for the digital camera too.

XBOX 360: Arcade vs. Pro

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