Lurikrunch

With the recent price drop, I am debating as to whether or not I should purchase a 360. I am looking at the Arcade model in particular; considering that I won't be playing online/downloading content, or have any need for backwards compatability, I don't see the need for a hard drive. Are there any other hardware difference between the 360 with the 60gb hard drive and the Arcade edition; any reason why I should spend the extra $100 for a Pro model?

I have also heard rumors of a 45nm 360 coming out around Christmas, is there any validity to this? From what I have read, the switch to 65nm has eliminated a fair amount of the "Red Ring of Death" issues; is it worth waiting for the (supposed) 45nm 360, or is the 65nm good enough?

Lastly, what markings on the box should I look for to determine the CPU/GPU die size? I know that during the last price drop, looking at the boxes for the one with the smallest wattage power adapter was the key to getting a 65nm 360, does that still hold true now? Which wattage should I look for?

tsn_

The only differences with the arcade and the 60gb version is that the arcade will not have an hdmi port.

And yes there is a 45nm coming late in 08. I bought a 65nm back in February and have not seen a single problem.
I leave it on 24/7 also.

The wattage you want to look for is 175w.

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Lurikrunch

Are you sure? The Arcade version I'm looking at on the Best Buy website advertises an HDMI output.



Taken from http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...79&catid=23383

tsn_

yeah my bad the new arcades do have the port.

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waylo88

I'd consider the HD necessary, regardless if you download stuff or not. On Best Buys website, the 20GB model is only $60 more than the Arcade model. Plus, buying the Arcade model and a memory card would wind up being pretty damn close in price. It'd actually be a pretty dumb move to pick up the Arcade and a memory card, when for $10 more, you can get the 20GB model.

I very rarely download content aside from the random Rock Band song and have used up around 9-10GB's. I also have two CD's on my HD, but still. If you plan on playing games, an HD is pretty handy. You'll probably wind up saving more in the long run anyways with the HD rather than buying memory cards.

identitycrisis

Waylo hit it, to save your games you need a memory card which i believe cost $40, get the hdd, so its a complete system, the way thinkgs are going the hdd might become necessary (it already is for some games) cheaping out on the acrade version is only saving your $20-$30 in the long run...

just my $.02

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Lurikrunch

The Arcade version does come with a memory card (256mb, I believe); what games does the hard drive affect? I know GTA4 had an option to install part of the game to the hard drive to improve load times, but I also heard it was an endless source of problems...

Additionally, the 20gb version isn't on the list for Best Buy Canada (that I can see, anyway). The smallest jump is from the Arcade to the Pro; there is no in between option.

waylo88

I wouldn't really say the HD affects anything other than saving your games. If you plan to actually play a decent chunk of games, the HD is really essential. Even if, as you say, you have to spend the $100 more to get the 60GB model, it's worth it. You will fill up the memory card that comes with the Arcade very fast. Save yourself some cash in the future and go for a model with a hard drive.

oregonducks45

i have an arcade
and it does have an hdmi port
and comes with wireless controllers
and does come with a memory card (not at home but 256mb sounds right)
i have also bought a hd (20gb) and before even saving anything to it i had used up almost half ?
but i would say the way to go if you are not going to be downloading anything to it would be to get the arcade for now and upgrade the hd later if you decide to download stuff to it.
yeah you might have "lost" $40 in the end but that could be spread out over a year or so and you would save $60 right now

rockband360

The arcade version has an HDMI port.

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My X-Box 360 games list: Rockband, Medal of Honor:Airborne, Cars, Cabela's big game hunter, on the arcade disc: Pac-man, boom boom rocket, luxor 2, Uno
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