Best Xbox 360 Console Review
Product Features
Edition: 4GB
- Sleek New Design, Xbox LIVE
- 4GB internal memory, Kinect Ready
- Built-in Wi-Fi, Xbox 360 wireless controller (black)
- Whisper Quiet, More Ports
New features at a great price!
The xbox 360 slim with 4 GB. is what the original arcade version should have been, and is worth its $200 price tag.
10 new features of this model are:
1. New Valhalla chip - hopefully improved design to prevent RRoD issue, but tech. reviews noted that the Jasper chip in the older Elite model runs cooler
2. WiFi N - this is the newest wifi standard that is 12X faster (up to 600 Mbits/ sec) than wifi G; you'll need a Wifi N router to get the max. speed
3. digital optical audio port (if your sound system is separate from your TV, then you'll need this to get full 5.1 surround sound)
4. 4 GB of flash memory (although 1.1 GB is used by the game system, but 0.3 GB can be reclaimed by deleting 4 game demos)
5. 5 USB ports (2 in front & 3 in back)
6. slimmer design with side vents (to prevent overheating)
7. dedicated Kinect port (just a convenience feature)
8. only 1 year of warranty (the only negative; older Elite models had 3 yrs.)
9. USB flash drive support (this was a xbox software update released in April 2010)
10. ESPN video streaming (will be included if you are a Gold member, $50/ yr)
Slim 4 GB memory vs. 250 GB hard drive:
I bought the 4 GB system over the model with 250 GB hard drive because the xbox now supports game saves/ installs/ downloads and pic/ audio/ video downloads to USB flash drives. It supports 1-2 USB flash drives with 1-16 GB memory (using a 16 GB drive, 1.6 GB is used for formatting). 2 advantages of USB drives: loading games and media is 3x faster with USB drives than disc reading and more reliable (flash memory rarely fails, while discs can get scratched). 2 disadvantages of USB drives: you can not install old xbox 1 games on USB drives and certain games, like Halo Reach and Halo ODST, will not support online coop without a hard drive (having a USB drive will not help).
10 new features of this model are:
1. New Valhalla chip - hopefully improved design to prevent RRoD issue, but tech. reviews noted that the Jasper chip in the older Elite model runs cooler
2. WiFi N - this is the newest wifi standard that is 12X faster (up to 600 Mbits/ sec) than wifi G; you'll need a Wifi N router to get the max. speed
3. digital optical audio port (if your sound system is separate from your TV, then you'll need this to get full 5.1 surround sound)
4. 4 GB of flash memory (although 1.1 GB is used by the game system, but 0.3 GB can be reclaimed by deleting 4 game demos)
5. 5 USB ports (2 in front & 3 in back)
6. slimmer design with side vents (to prevent overheating)
7. dedicated Kinect port (just a convenience feature)
8. only 1 year of warranty (the only negative; older Elite models had 3 yrs.)
9. USB flash drive support (this was a xbox software update released in April 2010)
10. ESPN video streaming (will be included if you are a Gold member, $50/ yr)
Slim 4 GB memory vs. 250 GB hard drive:
I bought the 4 GB system over the model with 250 GB hard drive because the xbox now supports game saves/ installs/ downloads and pic/ audio/ video downloads to USB flash drives. It supports 1-2 USB flash drives with 1-16 GB memory (using a 16 GB drive, 1.6 GB is used for formatting). 2 advantages of USB drives: loading games and media is 3x faster with USB drives than disc reading and more reliable (flash memory rarely fails, while discs can get scratched). 2 disadvantages of USB drives: you can not install old xbox 1 games on USB drives and certain games, like Halo Reach and Halo ODST, will not support online coop without a hard drive (having a USB drive will not help).
If you have
such a huge appetite for video downloads and game demos that 32 GB can
not accommodate, then you can always upgrade later with a 360 GB hard
drive. The original model's hard drive is not compatible with the slim
model without modification - you would need to remove the original hard
drive and insert it into a slim hard-drive case (non-Microsoft, sold
separately). You can find a non-Microsoft 120 GB drive for 1/2 the price
of the Microsoft drive, but you would need to manually install the
"partition 2" xbox emulator (search google) to play old xbox 1 games.
XBOX vs. PS3:
I am originally a PS3 and Wii gamer, but finally bought the xbox when the slim 4 GB model was released. To be competitive with the PS3, the xbox had to have the built-in wifi, optical audio port, and USB flash drive support. I was deciding whether to buy another PS3 for $300 since many games require 2 consoles for coop and multiplayer gaming, regardless of what system you choose. With this xbox priced at $200, I decided to choose the xbox since it has better coop games, more online gaming, and their video library blows away the PS3 online videos.
XBOX vs. PS3:
I am originally a PS3 and Wii gamer, but finally bought the xbox when the slim 4 GB model was released. To be competitive with the PS3, the xbox had to have the built-in wifi, optical audio port, and USB flash drive support. I was deciding whether to buy another PS3 for $300 since many games require 2 consoles for coop and multiplayer gaming, regardless of what system you choose. With this xbox priced at $200, I decided to choose the xbox since it has better coop games, more online gaming, and their video library blows away the PS3 online videos.
However, Netflix
on xbox requires gold membership and starting a movie is a lot slower
than the PS3 eventhough the xbox has faster wifi. Xbox music and music
videos library needs to expand to the size of their TV and movies
selection to be comparable with iTunes. The PS3 has better graphics
though not significantly better (expected since PS3 has a better
processor), but the XBOX has better coop and multiplayer games. The PS3
controller is better designed, better constructed, and has a
rechargeable battery; the D-pad on the included xbox controller creaked
without even playing a single game.
Also, the PS3 has a Blu-Ray player,
but is $100 more than the xbox slim 4 GB model. The button to open the
disc tray on the xbox is too sensitive and not recessed, so slightly
brushing it with your clothes will activate it. The xbox Kinect has more
features and better specs. than the PS3 Move. With my Wii collecting
dust, I decided to wait to see if games for the Kinect are a flop,
similar to how many games for the Wii flopped. Anyways by June 2011,
Kinect games should be 1/2 price with better selection.
Speed Comparison Update:
The Witcher 2 game, which is highly recommended, inspired me to write this update. The Slim model should be updated with at least 12 GB memory since a game DVD holds up to 8.5 GB of data, 1 GB is needed for system files, and 2.5 GB should be reserved for game saves and updates. For the Slim 4 GB model, most game discs can not be installed to the internal memory due to insufficient space.
Speed Comparison Update:
The Witcher 2 game, which is highly recommended, inspired me to write this update. The Slim model should be updated with at least 12 GB memory since a game DVD holds up to 8.5 GB of data, 1 GB is needed for system files, and 2.5 GB should be reserved for game saves and updates. For the Slim 4 GB model, most game discs can not be installed to the internal memory due to insufficient space.
The internal memory is 3x faster than
hard drives, which is 3x faster than USB drives, which is 3x faster than
disc reading. The approximate speeds are: 270 MB/s internal memory >
90 MB/s hard drive > 30 MB/s USB drives > 10 MB/s disc reading.
NOTE: USB drives vary a lot in speed; check the speed and cost before
buying - you get what you pay for. So loading a game installed on a USB
drive is faster than loading it from the disc, but can be potentially 9x
faster if installed to internal memory. With flash memory so cheap
these days, Microsoft has no excuse not to increase the internal memory
to at least 12 GB.