some questions about Xbox 360

xsoft7

Distinguished
Aug 25, 2007
7
0
18,510
hey guys.

1)friend of mine is going to purchase this console XBOX 360, which version should he buy? his usage is gaming only.
2) i know there is hard disc inside, is there any way to expend it externally? flash card (sd,external hd compact flesh and ect..)
3)also my friend wanna buy a monitor, he asked me wheater a cheap 32" from LG LG32LC43 will suffice?
his other option is cheaper Dell 2407WFP - yeah the screen is small but have full hd support, as well better spec.
if he buys the dell monitor, can he plug his cable TV there? [digital, and will the lack of HDMI will be ok?

tnx
 

3Ball

Distinguished
Mar 1, 2006
1,736
0
19,790


720p will be fine although obviously 1080p would be most desirable. I would atleast get a pro model with HDMI, but would also recommend the Elite if possible and no you cant expand the space other than buying a new hard drive for it, but the elite already comes with the 120gb installed.

Best,

3Ball
 

3Ball

Distinguished
Mar 1, 2006
1,736
0
19,790


Yes, the 24" dell monitors will support 1080p so you will be fine. I actually play @ 1280x768 on my 20" Samsung LCD Monitor and its great! lol

Best,

3Ball
 

infornography42

Distinguished
Mar 28, 2006
1,200
0
19,280
If he can afford it he should go elite. There is no way to upgrade the hard drive without voiding your warrantee, breaking the EULA, and losing your ability to use live. All of which are good reasons to not do it.

I'd say the size of the TV/Monitor only matters based on how far he is sitting from it. I wouldn't want anything smaller than about 27" if we are talking about your typical living room arrangement. If he is sitting real close to it though 19 or 20" should be fine. If at all possible, try to get 1080p. That is the standard that is coming out on top and within the next few years will become the defacto standard.

I did receive an insider scoop that LCD TVs were going to come WAY down in price by the end of this year though, so making due with and old or tiny screen now for cheap may be the way to go so he can save up for a good screen late this year or early next. Just a heads up.
 

3Ball

Distinguished
Mar 1, 2006
1,736
0
19,790


Buying the 120gb upgrade drive from Microsoft voids the warranty?

Best,

3Ball
 

jednx01

Distinguished
Mar 31, 2008
448
0
18,810
The type he should get depends on what hey uses it for. If he does a lot of DLC (downloadable content) the elite is probably a good bet. On the other hand, if he doesn't do much DLC, the standard version (the one with the 20gb harddrive) should do nicely. I'm pretty sure that the 360 now comes with a warranty, but you should DEFINITELY check. I love my 360, but have had alot of problems with it. (I'm on my 4th one... stupid ring of death!) Luckly, microsoft has always sent a free replacement. The downside is that it takes two to six weeks every time you have to send it to them. This is probably not the norm, though. I know a lot of people who have 360's and only a few of them have had problems. I just have REALLY bad luck. lol. good luck
 

infornography42

Distinguished
Mar 28, 2006
1,200
0
19,280
I would not recommend any version that does not have an HDMI port. This is largely because I would count on the 360 being around for quite a few years and the time will come when you will want to connect the graphics via HDMI.
 

3Ball

Distinguished
Mar 1, 2006
1,736
0
19,790


The pro, elite, and halo edition all have it so as long as he is gettin one with a hard drive im not sure that he really needs to worry about that. I am goin to sometime this summer be trading in my older one and getting an elite for the HDMI, the 120gb hard drive, and the thing just looks cooler! lol
 

Heyyou27

Splendid
Jan 4, 2006
5,164
0
25,780
I wouldn't recommend purchasing an Xbox360; I haven't heard from Microsoft on the status of my repair for weeks. Their customer service team is downright terrible, and any major account maintenance such as removing credit card information from the account requires a 45 minute phone call and an additional "30 days to process the request".
 

3Ball

Distinguished
Mar 1, 2006
1,736
0
19,790


Sry to hear about your troubles...my repair went very smoothly! It took 1 or 2 days for the box to arrive for me to ship in. 3 days to get to them, and another 3 days to get to me. So I believe it was around 7 or 8 days total and I had a new one in my possession. I suppose me and my friends have just gotten lucky with it.

Best,

3Ball
 

Heyyou27

Splendid
Jan 4, 2006
5,164
0
25,780
While that's reassuring, my case is not the only one like it; it seems like Microsoft often fails to meet its within 10 business day turn around. Glad to hear someone had luck though.

Edit: Good news, I just checked my status on xbox.com and it says that it's been shipped!