How elite is the xbox elite?

Toft

So It's like this I've an 360 pro that's eating up disks and cos I'm past my 3 years it's cost me 60e to get it fixed till the next time it ****s up so I'm thinking I could trade it in for the elite; I've been reading on some places the net that the elite is just a bigger drive and a black finish with a hd out put and in other places it suggests that it's a far superer machine with great heat sinks better processing and won't breakdown all the time.
So any body really know?
is it just that microsoft are only introducing the improvments in a few places?
Is it worth it?






oh yeah and when the hell is res evil ever coming out!!!!!

any thoughts on any of that?

The tax man

Most 360s(unless a shop has really old stock) you'll buy now will have a HDMI output and the better then old,less power consuming chips. Bought an arcade a few weeks ago,while my original was with M$ for the RROD, and it has both the above. Only thing the Elite has going for it now is the larger HD...worth the price?? I don't think so IMHO.

Captain Chaos

Your going to need that space on the hard drive for all the game installs. My 60gb PS3 has filled up very fast and I only have a few games for it.

The best value for money right now is the 60Gb pro, if you need more space get the 120gb hard drive when it drops in price in a year or so.

More 20gb pro is nearly 3 yrs old and on its last legs. Just keeps freezing for no reason, no RRODs or anything yet but I'm going to replace it with an Elite seeing as they are so cheap now for what you get.

Toft

pity I had hoped that it would have super chips and a processer that would kill. then again my pro is old enongh not to have the HDMI port so perhaps the rest of it's innards are old and crappy enough to warrent replaceing. or I should wait for the next revision of the elite.

Captain Chaos

The CPU is already revised in all current models, they use 175W instead of 203W power requirement. The new CPU needs less power and runs cooller because they have reduced the size from 90nm to 65nm. These CPUs are the Falcon chips.

The next revision will deal with the GPU, dropping it from 90nm to 65nm like the CPU, these will be the Jasper chip sets. Same deal again, less power needed and less heat produced. Should be out towards the end of the year/early next.

I'd feel happy getting the current Falcon models, they seem sturdy enough, the Jaspers are ment to make the 360s 100% rock solid. Can't see that happening IMO.:)

Toft

Captain Chaos wrote: »

The CPU is already revised in all current models, they use 175W instead of 203W power requirement. The new CPU needs less power and runs cooller because they have reduced the size from 90nm to 65nm. These CPUs are the Falcon chips.

The next revision will deal with the GPU, dropping it from 90nm to 65nm like the CPU, these will be the Jasper chip sets. Same deal again, less power needed and less heat produced. Should be out towards the end of the year/early next.

I'd feel happy getting the current Falcon models, they seem sturdy enough, the Jaspers are ment to make the 360s 100% rock solid. Can't see that happening IMO.:)

Now I'm more confused jasper, falcon? sounds like I should wait for a while before making the jump.

Captain Chaos

They are just code names on the chips, thats all. If you went into a shop and asked for a Falcon 360 they wouldn't have a clue.

Every 360 now has the new Falcon CPUs and HDMI, these were once features unique to the Elite but now all 360s have them.

all you will be waiting for is the Jasper ''reliability upgrade pack'' if you will. And even when they come out you will have to wait months later till the market is flooded with them so you don't end up with a Falcon 360.

The main thing about the Jasper GPUs is that it will cost MS less to make each console as there is less waste and a higher yeild from 65nm production then the 90nm process, and will help with more price drops like the Falcon did.

mickyt

I recently traded in my xbox in Game stop after I had bought mine re conditioned off a guy in work. it didn't cause me any trouble but decided to trade up for an elite with the whole installing to hard drive thing in mind.

I paid 179 with my old xbox, which I thought was not bad considering you would pay 120 or more for 120gb hard drive.

seemed worth it to have a new warrinty, a nice black finish. and a bigger hard drive.

smooch71

Hi Mickyt

Can you tell me where you got that deal?

The cheapest price I've been getting is €199.00 with my old Premium

Kernel

I still think it's scandalous that M$ released the 360 in such a sh1te state that it takes until the Jasper chipset to have a reliable product that is fit for the purpose it is intended for.

It sets a dangerous precendent that a company can sell a high end product like this and we should be expecting it to crap out and buy a new one that works as intended. :mad::mad::mad:

yoyo

Well if this new chip is going to be relyable and your current box breaks down, likely microsoft will whip out the mobo and replace it with a good chip, the 3red lights means the gpu/cpu overheat near to the point of broken basicly so most times the mainboards replaced

Nick

smooch71

I agree with Kernel, it's a disgrace that Microsoft could have let such an unreliable machine onto the market. Haven't had any problems yet myself but practically everyone else I know has so it seems to be only a matter of time.

I guess production for the xbox 360 was rushed to get it on the market well in advance of the PS3 and it appears to have worked for them. They also know too well that people will accept this.

I think in time the PS3 will start to prove itself to be a better machine as the xbox ages (just my opinion, I have both and don't want to start any juvenile fanboy ranting) and history will repeat itself. Microsoft will rush to produce another outstanding console. Outstanding for the month or so before it breaks down. And people will buy it.

yoyo

smooch71 wrote: »

I agree with Kernel, it's a disgrace that Microsoft could have let such an unreliable machine onto the market. Haven't had any problems yet myself but practically everyone else I know has so it seems to be only a matter of time.

I guess production for the xbox 360 was rushed to get it on the market well in advance of the PS3 and it appears to have worked for them. They also know too well that people will accept this.

I think in time the PS3 will start to prove itself to be a better machine as the xbox ages (just my opinion, I have both and don't want to start any juvenile fanboy ranting) and history will repeat itself. Microsoft will rush to produce another outstanding console. Outstanding for the month or so before it breaks down. And people will buy it.

Not neccisarily, quite a number of people are on their third or 4th console with laser failure problems, but yes on average it is less prone to breaking down, but it couldn't be classed as "perfect" either

Nick

smooch71

I agree, my first PS3 broke down two days after I got it! I wasn't suggesting that it was perfect. I just believe it's technically superior console that hasn't really been tapped into properly yet.

But like the thread subject says, how Elite is the Elite? If anyone can tell me where to get a better deal than €199 + Premium trade in can they let me know?

Oafley Jones

smooch71 wrote: »

I agree, my first PS3 broke down two days after I got it! I wasn't suggesting that it was perfect. I just believe it's technically superior console that hasn't really been tapped into properly yet.

But like the thread subject says, how Elite is the Elite? If anyone can tell me where to get a better deal than €199 + Premium trade in can they let me know?

Engadget reported that a price cut is penciled in for the 7th of September in the States. We tend to get price cuts soon after, so it may be worth waiting.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/26/best-buy-ad-offers-yet-more-evidence-of-xbox-360-price-cuts/
Do you really need the 120gb though, if it were me I'd go for the new 60gb pro.

mcgovern

smooch71 wrote: »

I agree, my first PS3 broke down two days after I got it! I wasn't suggesting that it was perfect. I just believe it's technically superior console that hasn't really been tapped into properly yet.

But like the thread subject says, how Elite is the Elite? If anyone can tell me where to get a better deal than €199 + Premium trade in can they let me know?

Apart from 1st party games, its likely no one will ever tap into its full potential because it is a pain in the ass to code for.
Add to that, the fact that hardware bottlenecks (in the first released consoles anyway) stop it reaching its max, and its not likely to majorly outshine the 360, in the 360s lifetime.

smooch71

Thanks Oaflley. You could be right, 60gb should be plenty and it's a lot of extra money to pay for black plastic!

DeVore

I swear I think some people either attempt to eat their consoles or play football with them or something!

We have all three next gens here and one (or more often, two!) of them are on at any one time. The place is smokey and it runs 24/7 and not one of our consoles has had any problems. We have the Elite and my gut feeling is that its more solid then the others but the fan does make a fncking racket!

DeV.

MiCr0

SORRY WHAT WAS THAT????- i can't hear you over the helicopter that is my 360

brian plank

i have the elite just over a month and it hasn't broken but it does freeze at least once every time you play it online. have to agree with person who said people must be playing football with them though. look after things and they wont break. simple.:D

not expensive either, 410 with 3 games and extra controller.

noodler

http://www.gamegrep.com/news/7439-new_reports_on_the_3_console_failure_rates/

Whatever about the crappy which console is better argument there is a big difference in the failure rates of the 360 and ps3 (even if you know some guy who is on his 3rd ps3)

I thought only the Elite had the HDMI? Maybe the 60gb is the way to go.

DeVore

I love my XBox though, I play more games on it then anything else. But its not as technically powerful as the PS3, its just not. I have both here and a 42", 1080p High Def Bravia from Sony. The PS3 seems to really enjoy drawing stuff like Paradise City (and moving it around at high speed!) and Prologue looks all kinds of awesome. the PS3 is the better technical platform imho. But I'm still much more likely to be found playing the XBox... currently.

DeV.

projectmayhem

mcgovern wrote: »

its likely no one will ever tap into its full potential because it is a pain in the ass to code for.

To quote Ikagari (or however the hell you spell his name... the former dude of Temco/Team Ninja), "It's easier then the famicon".

Yeah it's harder to code for, but that's purely down to the architecture, in the same way writing programming language for a massive server rack is different to writing code for XP running on your machine at home.

As for the full potential stuff, I recall hearing that when the PS2 was up against the Xbox and the PS2 had far superior technical achievements then the technically superior Xbox. MGS3 looked stunning at ran at 60fps (iirc)!

mcgovern wrote: »

Add to that, the fact that hardware bottlenecks (in the first released consoles anyway) stop it reaching its max, and its not likely to majorly outshine the 360, in the 360s lifetime.

I wish I was there for the design meeting for the PS3 when putting such a low amount of RAM in such a high-end device was approved. I'm sure it was a financial decision, but the machine would do so much more if they doubled the memory. I know there's more memory available directly on Cell and on RSX (to a lesser extent), but that means coding black magic to get games to make use of that, which is what happened with the PS2.

DeVore wrote: »

We have all three next gens here and one (or more often, two!) of them are on at any one time. The place is smokey and it runs 24/7 and not one of our consoles has had any problems. We have the Elite and my gut feeling is that its more solid then the others but the fan does make a fncking racket!

DeV.

From the 360's launch I went through four machines before getting my money (I was lucky in that sense) and not bothering. Then the elite came and it's running beautifully. It is extremely loud, but at least it works.

DeVore wrote: »

I have both here and a 42", 1080p High Def Bravia from Sony.

Which Bravia did you get? I was looking at the W series and decided to get the Samsung 6-series (40") instead because the specs suited gaming a bit better, plus it has a "wine" colour to it.

GrumPy

projectmayhem wrote: »

Which Bravia did you get? I was looking at the W series and decided to get the Samsung 6-series (40") instead because the specs suited gaming a bit better, plus it has a "wine" colour to it.

Reminds me of a customer in work who was trying to pick between a 40w4000 and a 6 series samsung. He was taking ages and ages, but leaning more towards the sami because of the colour. :rolleyes: Do you know what eventually swung him?

The picture slide show on the W :pac:

(I have the W btw)

Back on topic folks, or out comes the banstick!!

DeVore

I think its the W I have and I hug it EVERY day. The Samsung is also extremely good too from what I have seen.

Back on topic, I think the Elite is definitely worth it. My experience (a single point of data but take it for what its worth) is that its loud (more so with some games then others and its fairly quiet playing XBLA titles from HDD). Mine has out-performed expectations (which, admittedly, were low!).

DeV.

projectmayhem

DeVore wrote: »

I think its the W I have and I hug it EVERY day. The Samsung is also extremely good too from what I have seen.

Yeah the Samsung is delicious. The only issue with it is that every 2 weeks Samsung announce something newer and slightly better, like the Series 7, 8 and 9, as well as the new ultra-slim models due next year. Though thankfully the specs aren't much higher then my 6.

I like the 120hz thing, and 50,000:1 contrast looks absolutely beautiful, even with PS2 games.

DeVore wrote: »

Back on topic, I think the Elite is definitely worth it. My experience (a single point of data but take it for what its worth) is that its loud (more so with some games then others and its fairly quiet playing XBLA titles from HDD). Mine has out-performed expectations (which, admittedly, were low!).

DeV.

My brother still has the normal xbox 360 and it's as loud as a dying mule (actually sounds like our shower, except louder) while mine is a bit nicer to the ears, though it makes an odd noise when loading things on occasion. I haven't experienced anything from the HDD yet but I plan on buying some XBL points tomorrow to get the Soulwax DVD and Castle Crashers so I'll find out then

GrumPy wrote: »

Reminds me of a customer in work who was trying to pick between a 40w4000 and a 6 series samsung. He was taking ages and ages, but leaning more towards the sami because of the colour. :rolleyes: Do you know what eventually swung him?

The picture slide show on the W :pac:

(I have the W btw)

That's the most redundant feature on the W. If you turn your W-series Sony sideways the logo turns off ZOMG!!!1one

Not surprising that a customer would buy one for that reason though

GrumPy wrote: »

out comes the banstick!!

Keep it for sex&sexuality tbh.

Captain Chaos

It seems that you are still not able to get a Falcon 360 without checking the box first. I just got a new Elite today. Checked the box and the production date was 25/9/07, but seeing as it was an Elite I still went with it. Got it home and checked the PSU brick and it says 203 Watts.

I'll see how long before I get a RROD, it took my last 360 2yrs before a RROD.

DanGerMus

I thought the elite didn't come with the falcon at all? Only the newer versions of the pro have it. Maybe the arcade too not sure though.

Captain Chaos

The Elites and the Halo Limited Edition Pros were the first with the Falcons, I just got unlucky and got an older Elite.

DeVore

Oh the irony..... our Elite RROD'ed last night. I cursed myself, didn't I!?

Anyway, we bought a pro as a second backup (and because we are addicts!). I'll check its power later when I am home but its actually quieter then the old elite and its not even close!

DeV.

projectmayhem

DeVore wrote: »

Oh the irony..... our Elite RROD'ed last night. I cursed myself, didn't I!?

Anyway, we bought a pro as a second backup (and because we are addicts!). I'll check its power later when I am home but its actually quieter then the old elite and its not even close!

DeV.

Just reading that I went to check mine to make sure she's good.

...Still ticking Actually it's time for a bit of castle crashers

Kernel

DeVore wrote: »

I love my XBox though, I play more games on it then anything else. But its not as technically powerful as the PS3, its just not. I have both here and a 42", 1080p High Def Bravia from Sony. The PS3 seems to really enjoy drawing stuff like Paradise City (and moving it around at high speed!) and Prologue looks all kinds of awesome. the PS3 is the better technical platform imho. But I'm still much more likely to be found playing the XBox... currently.

Yeah weirdly I love the 360 too. The achievements, the games... I think Dead Rising sold the 360 to me originally tbh. I don't think that MS are up to scratch with their manufacturing process though, and it would put me off buying their hardware. They seem unable to fix the issues through hardware revisions - even simple issues like the xclamps.

DeVore wrote: »

Oh the irony..... our Elite RROD'ed last night. I cursed myself, didn't I!?

Anyway, we bought a pro as a second backup (and because we are addicts!). I'll check its power later when I am home but its actually quieter then the old elite and its not even close!

Sorry to hear that, but it seems to be a matter of when not if! This new fall update is supposed to help with the noise situation by allowing games to install onto the hard drive, so that's something of a bonus I guess! Gonna wait until the 65nm gfx chip before buying another 360 myself.