x-box 360 question....

[pat fan]

Do you really need to purchase the extended warrenty on it? And how about the Arcade version compared to the more expensive ones? DS won't be playing it online as we have dial-up , so can we get away with the $199 version? Any other tips would be appreciated.

He has wanted one ever since Halo 3 came out and now that they've dropped the price, maybe Santa will bring it

Thanks!

 

[yeartolate]

From what I understand from my son, the main thing that happens a three blinking lights thing (I think he calls it the blinking lights of death). This blinking lights thing is fully covered for 3 years. They send you a postage paid label and you send it in. So no cost whatsoever.

When this happened it took 2 weeks to come back. Although somehow my son did know it had arrived until 4 weeks after that.


Overall I think the extended policy is a waste.

By the time you needed it Xbox 720 will be out at a refurbished 360 will be dirt cheap.

 

[mirmartinez]

Our second one, red ringed it as well...
I was quite miffed.
I suggest if possible an xbox elite

 

[ICF]

I agree it is probably not needed unless you can find it at a place like Costco or Sams for really cheap.

Does the $199 version come with a hard - drive to save games? I don't have that version, so I'm not sure. If not, you'ld have to buy memory cards to save games.

If you buy one, be on the look out for the "holiday bundle"....it comes with Lego Indiana Jones and Kung Fu panda for the same price. Even if you don't want the games, you can give them as gifts or sell on Ebay.

 

[Mom2Satan&Daisy]

It's called the 'red ring of death' (you can google that)

And yes, yes, yes. I recommend the warranty.(I don't think all Xbox 360s are eligible for the 3 year extender warranty~ I could be wrong though)

Between my brother, a friend and ours, we we have gone through 6- 360s.

In the last year. The first one we sent to Microsoft. That was a pain.



Places like Best buy will exchange the Xbox without question, on the spot. (with warranty)
It was worth it in our case.

My brother's brand new Xbox(3 weeks old) ended up getting the ring of death. Best Buy exchanged it without a problem.

 

[DrCavin]

Buy the recharable battery pack for the controller, you will probably need another controller as well.

Yes the Ring-Of-Death has happened twice to ours, both times fixed in about 2 weeks. From what I have read it is usually caused by heat.

 

[java]

Dial up???? WHAT??

I would suggest the extended warranty as we too have been victim of the red ring of death. 3 times. So much so that I ended up buying a new elite. But really the fun of the xbox is the online play. Perhaps a cable hook up would make a nice holiday gift as well!!

 

[Anewman]

1. Buy the $199 version(arcade)
2. Buy a 20gb hard drive on EBAY, they are in the $30 range.
3. Skip extended warranty, only real concern is ring of death which is already covered longer than any extended plan will.
4. Consoles on shelves now, have the newer design which has addressed failure issues.

 

[Aisling]

1. Buy the $199 version(arcade)
2. Buy a 20gb hard drive on EBAY, they are in the $30 range.
3. Skip extended warranty, only real concern is ring of death which is already covered longer than any extended plan will.
4. Consoles on shelves now, have the newer design which has addressed failure issues.

My 16 year old xbox fanatic son gives this advice triple !

 

[Angrypenguin]

Save yourself a couple bucks right now....

Buy it from Dell:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...5&cs=19&c=us&l=en&dgc=CJ&cid=24471&lid=566643

and use the 15% off coupon: PWXNZVNDRWWX1P

 

[pat fan]

Perhaps a cable hook up would make a nice holiday gift as well!!

Ummm...if we could get cable, we'd have DSL or some form of high speed. Dial up is not by choice, but by location.

Buy the rechargable battery pack for the controller, you will probably need another controller as well.

Right. I talked to Best Buy today and the guy said the controller with the charger thing would be about all I'd need, besides the actual x-box and whatever game I wanted. It does not come with a hard drive, but since he won't be going online, it didn't matter. He said the memory card it comes with would be fine for just saving games on.

I'm still on the fence as to the warranty. Maybe they'll have a special or something on it

Thanks!

 

[Belle Amy]

Just another comment about the "Red Ring of Death", we've had it happen twice to ours, I believe it came with a two year warranty originally, but it you had the RROD, they extended the warranty for another three years, but only for RROD problems. The first time we sent it, it took almost two months to get it back...they lost it, couldn't tell us where it was. The second time, my husband INSISTED we get a new unit. It arrived on our doorstep within 10 days along with one of their "platinum" games for free.

As previous posters said, the units that are on the shelves now are not as inclined to the problems that the 1st generation units had. Doesn't mean it can't happen though. If you simply can't get high speed in your area, the arcade version and buying the hard drive for additional memory is the best way to go.

Good luck, I love my 360!