Bought an XBox 360...

KiTA

Dear lord, I'm weak.

Just walked away from the store with the following package:

1x XBox 360 Premium
1x XBox 360 black controller + Play and Charge Kit
1x Play and Charge Kit
1x Armored Core 4
1x Viva Pinata
1x Crackdown
1x Gears of War

They did not have Dead Rising, nor any other Mech games.

So, um, Vertical or Horizontal? How much airflow is enough airflow? What should be my first downloads on Live? Was AC4 really a bad decision?

Bizarre

You need a lot of Airflow. It gets pretty heated pretty fast, unless you have the Intercooler, which is kinda loud but wrth it for 20 bucks. I've mine horizontal, but I'm sure it's fine both ways.

AC4, in my opinion, was garbage. But im not a mech fan, so I'm biased like that. GoW, however, is the fuckin shit.

And I'm sure I sound like a nub, this being my first post and all. Yes. I'm a nub.

KiTA

Bizarre wrote: »

You need a lot of Airflow. It gets pretty heated pretty fast, unless you have the Intercooler, which is kinda loud but wrth it for 20 bucks. I've mine horizontal, but I'm sure it's fine both ways.

AC4, in my opinion, was garbage. But im not a mech fan, so I'm biased like that. GoW, however, is the fuckin shit.

And I'm sure I sound like a nub, this being my first post and all. Yes. I'm a nub.

Welcome, Nub! I'm a professional noob. Don't let the others scare you, but then again, don't get too close, some of them bite.

ShimSham

I always set my horizontal, but different people swear by each.

Either way, set the console AND power brick on a hard surface and give it a little room, you'll be fine. Either way MS has extended the warranty on all of them to something crazy like 3 years.

Edit: And download Geometry Wars.

Pharezon

KiTA wrote: »

Dear lord, I'm weak.

Just walked away from the store with the following package:

1x XBox 360 Premium
1x XBox 360 black controller + Play and Charge Kit
1x Play and Charge Kit
1x Armored Core 4
1x Viva Pinata
1x Crackdown
1x Gears of War

They did not have Dead Rising, nor any other Mech games.

So, um, Vertical or Horizontal? How much airflow is enough airflow? What should be my first downloads on Live? Was AC4 really a bad decision?

I did not like Armored Core 4, it was really average. I suggest you return it and save your money for this holiday season because of all the great games coming out then :P
For Gears of War you should get all the Maps if you want to jump into the multiplayer. For crackdown there is dlc as well that adds more weapons, vehicles, and mini games. I have mine Horizontal and exposed with no problems.

Karf

Also, don't buy the intercooler. It's known to cause problems. Just make sure the console has some airflow, and you'll be fine.

Nimble Cat

Download the Armored Core demo off of Live before you open it if you're not sure about it yet.

Namel3ss

I kinda liked AC4. . . but the interface is extremely counter intuitive and the missions feel kind of stale, but I loved the gameplay and controls.

My 360 is horizontal with no extra coolers or anything, worked fine for a year and couple months. Gears of war is a real treat, get a HiDef TV though

Enjoy.

Omeks

Karf wrote: »

Also, don't buy the intercooler. It's known to cause problems. Just make sure the console has some airflow, and you'll be fine.

We're talking about the Pelican Intercooler, right? The one that has reportedly welded the plastic onto the 360?

Although didn't they come out with another one with metal instead of plastic to fix that issue?

Shujin Katana

just make it so the brick isn't being suffocated and you're fine

at first i did the whole, punching holes in the sides of a shoe box and threading ribbon to suspend the brick but when i moved to my new house i just left it in the open and it's never had overheating problems

FreddyD

So, um, Vertical or Horizontal?

Horizontal. The system is more stable.

How much airflow is enough airflow?

I suggest you don't put it in any space you wouldn't put a gaming computer in. I bought a laptop cooler, and I also put a dust filter on my house fan and sat it near the XBox 360. It never even gets warm to the touch. If it dies I will know for sure that the red ring problem is unavoidable.

What should be my first downloads on Live?

I would get Geometry Wars and Carcassonne. I am on the fence about Lumines but you should at least try the demo. There were rumors that Bomberman Live would release this weekend.

Was AC4 really a bad decision?

You might be better off with Chromehounds or Mechassault 2.

Shadowfire

I'm with everyone else on returning AC4... I'd jump on either Rainbow Six: Vegas, or Dead Rising immediately.

Live stuff needs to be Geometry Wars, Prince of Persia Classic, Settlers of Catan, and maybe Carcassonne. Check out the Boom Boom Rocket demo if you're into music rythym... I've gotten my $10 out of it easy.

Also, download the motherfucking Ace Combat 6 demo. Now.

Sam

You need to get Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, 1 and 2. That's the best game on 360, period, or at least the most advanced, in an evolutionary, next-gen sense.

I didn't care much for Dead Rising. Caveat Emptor.

seabass

I've been thinking about getting a 360 for a few weeks now, but I haven't been able to settle on which flavor of the machine to get. I see the cores, premiums, and elites on the shelves at most of the stores around here, so any of them are available to me. I couldn't honestly care less about the wireless controllers, but for those of you who can make the comparison, is the extra 100 gigs of space worth the price jump?

Squirminator2k

Omeks wrote: »

Karf wrote: »

Also, don't buy the intercooler. It's known to cause problems. Just make sure the console has some airflow, and you'll be fine.

We're talking about the Pelican Intercooler, right? The one that has reportedly welded the plastic onto the 360?

Although didn't they come out with another one with metal instead of plastic to fix that issue?

I'd love to hear more about this.

Daybreak

seabass wrote: »

I've been thinking about getting a 360 for a few weeks now, but I haven't been able to settle on which flavor of the machine to get. I see the cores, premiums, and elites on the shelves at most of the stores around here, so any of them are available to me. I couldn't honestly care less about the wireless controllers, but for those of you who can make the comparison, is the extra 100 gigs of space worth the price jump?

Unless you want to hang on to every demo you find, and you also want to download a bunch of tv shows and movies, you'll be fine with the Premium's 20GB. The extra space is nice, but since you can re-download anything you want, you can get by easily with 20.

Pharezon

Daybreak wrote: »

seabass wrote: »

I've been thinking about getting a 360 for a few weeks now, but I haven't been able to settle on which flavor of the machine to get. I see the cores, premiums, and elites on the shelves at most of the stores around here, so any of them are available to me. I couldn't honestly care less about the wireless controllers, but for those of you who can make the comparison, is the extra 100 gigs of space worth the price jump?

Unless you want to hang on to every demo you find, and you also want to download a bunch of tv shows and movies, you'll be fine with the Premium's 20GB. The extra space is nice, but since you can re-download anything you want, you can get by easily with 20.

If you like Halo then you can wait for the Halo 3 themed 360 console. It looks like it's going to retail for the price of a regular premium.

The_Scarab

I only have the 20gb HDD and have been gorging myself on e3 stuff and never worried about space.

Always set aside 3 or 4 gig for demos. You will delete them after a week or two of playing so think of that as a kind of demo RAM.

Zek

Keep it horizontal. It's way too easy to knock down otherwise, which is a very bad thing.

Also, keep your receipt just in case.

mspencer

Squirminator2k wrote: »

Omeks wrote: »

Karf wrote: »

Also, don't buy the intercooler. It's known to cause problems. Just make sure the console has some airflow, and you'll be fine.

We're talking about the Pelican Intercooler, right? The one that has reportedly welded the plastic onto the 360?

Although didn't they come out with another one with metal instead of plastic to fix that issue?

I'd love to hear more about this.

The cooler we're talking about is one that hooks onto the back of the 360, plugs into the 360's power socket, and into which you plug the 360's power supply cable.

The problem there is that this cooler does not firmly attach to either the power supply cable or the 360's power socket. While everything is plugged in firmly there are no problems and nothing will die. If either the power cable or power socket connection becomes loose -- so it's still in contact but just barely -- then you could have problems.

Unless they have changed the design in the past two months, the Pelican cooler of this design that's sold at Wal Mart does not actually hook onto the power socket or power supply cable. If you see one in the store that promises to be of a newer design, be sure it actually does clamp onto the back of the 360, such that you must push or squeeze something to unlatch it; and that the power supply cable actually does clip into the back of the cooler, such that you must squeeze the buttons on the side of the connector to remove it.

I'm pretty sure that is the ONLY flaw with this cooler. In my experience my 360 was cooler all around with this cooler installed, so it's a good thing to have. I measured my 360's temperature on the top and sides, and found the top and sides were 5 to 10 degrees (F) cooler. But if someone were to apply ANY tension to the power cord, even tension that's not enough to even move the 360 under normal circumstances, the power cord will come out like it's on a quick release.

The nightmare scenario then is: if the power cable SLOWLY works itself out over time due to vibration (subwoofer?) then eventually the power cable will be still connected, but only just barely connected. There will be a small contact patch of metal connecting the power supply to the cooler, or connecting the cooler to the 360. Remember that the 360 uses a LOT of wattage. When you force that much current (many amps) through a much smaller patch of metal, that metal gets hot. In the unlikely photos you've seen on the web, the metal gets hot enough that it scorches plastic and ruins connectors.

Squirminator2k

Well I intend to buy a 360 Elite in the near future. That has an extra doodah socket in the back, doesn't it? So wouldn't it need a cooling fan of alternate design?

mspencer

The_Scarab wrote: »

I only have the 20gb HDD and have been gorging myself on e3 stuff and never worried about space.

Always set aside 3 or 4 gig for demos. You will delete them after a week or two of playing so think of that as a kind of demo RAM.

Indeed. I have the 120 GB hard disk. I have EVERY demo for which I don't already own the retail game, and I've tried to keep all of the old downloaded content that's not still available (e3 2006, etc.). My 120 GB drive was full within a week of purchase, and I've been deleting things ever since.

BigRed: So when is the 500 GB hard disk coming out? :-P

Blake T

Keep it flat. Not only is there less chance of it falling over there will be less chance of you scratching discs.

While it stands vertical while walking around the vibrations of your feet will be amplified and you will have a greater chance of disc scratching while it is vertical.

NailbunnyPD

I'm pretty sure the only coolers that have been suggested (I wouldn't say recommended) by anyone at MS has been the USB powered ones.

Personally, I wouldn't mess with a cooler unless you find cooling is a problem, such as your system is crashing from overheating.

Keep the system horizontal, since with the HDD, the majority of air is being pulled into the console from the opposite end of the HDD.

Dr_Keenbean

You should take back a play and charge kit and pick up the charging station. I haven't touched my play and charge cable since I picked one up.

And if your system's gonna die it's gonna die. Enjoy your 3 year warranty.

Vashin

how come no one ever suggests d/ling "Small Arms" its a Super Smash Bros rip but its a hell of alot of fun with some friends.

Ive had my console Horizontal since ive had it and have had no probs. so i vouche for the Horizontal.

KiTA

Ha ha ha... man, I'm glad I went for this. Crackdown is a blast, and I'm finally used to the 360 controller. I might even crack open Gears of War tomorrow.

I was almost tempted to buy a PS3 as well in a month or so, but apparently Sony's giving the community the collective FUCK YOU again, so, fuck'm. I have my Wii60 combo right now, and outside of MGS4 / FF13, I'm content.

Doodmann

Hey guys so I just bought a 360 and was wondering if you can have four people play on two networked xboxes on rainbow six three las vegas. The manual makes it sound like you can but we a stumped. Also I realize this is only half way on topic. sorry.

seabass

I also recently got a 360 (well... today, to be honest). Perhaps we ought to play some crackdown. Two questions though: Which games out there offer same system co-op that are essentially must have titles?

Secondly, how hot do your disks get? I'm pretty sure I could fry an egg on my Dead Rising disk after an hour of playing. My console is sitting vertically, about 6 inches away from the flat screen TV. Am I doing something blatantly wrong, or do the things just happen to get hot?

Deadshot

I liked AC4 a lot actually >_O

variant

Make sure to give sufficient air flow to the console AND the power brick.

Balefuego

seabass wrote: »

I also recently got a 360 (well... today, to be honest). Perhaps we ought to play some crackdown. Two questions though: Which games out there offer same system co-op that are essentially must have titles?

Secondly, how hot do your disks get? I'm pretty sure I could fry an egg on my Dead Rising disk after an hour of playing. My console is sitting vertically, about 6 inches away from the flat screen TV. Am I doing something blatantly wrong, or do the things just happen to get hot?

My discs have been getting superhot ever since I got it back from the repair center, it didnt use to do that, but maybe it's a byproduct of the new heatsinks? I dunno.

As for must have titles that offer same-system co-op. Well, thats an obvious answer.

Gears of War

Edit: also I would reccomend not putting it vertical, as one bump of the tv stand while you are playing and you will scratch the fuck out of whatever disc is in there.

FreddyD

seabass wrote: »

I also recently got a 360 (well... today, to be honest). Perhaps we ought to play some crackdown. Two questions though: Which games out there offer same system co-op that are essentially must have titles?

Secondly, how hot do your disks get? I'm pretty sure I could fry an egg on my Dead Rising disk after an hour of playing. My console is sitting vertically, about 6 inches away from the flat screen TV. Am I doing something blatantly wrong, or do the things just happen to get hot?

Earth Defense Force 2017 has an awesome split screen co-op mode.

Violynt

EDF rocks, I really didn't like dead rising much. I'm glad I only payed $40.

KiTA

Balefuego wrote: »

Edit: also I would reccomend not putting it vertical, as one bump of the tv stand while you are playing and you will scratch the fuck out of whatever disc is in there.

They still haven't fixed that design flaw? What the fuck.

Ok, question then... I have it laying down so the HDD is on the left hand side. Is that kosher?

Balefuego

Uh, it's not a design flaw because its not designed to be setup vertically. You have it the right way yes. You can bump the table if its horizontal like that and it wont do anything.

The reason it happens if you put it vertical is moving the machine while the disc is spinning will cause it to slip out of the tray.

Ant000

I wonder if they did any sort of recall on the older systems to weed out failures, or if they're just leaving them and sorting out the failures as they come.

BaronVonSnakPak

kita, do you like racing games? if so, you NEED DiRT, seeing as how its fun as hell, and the prettiest racing game made yet. forza 2 is awesome, the need for speeds are good fun and can be cheap depending on where you look. theres also burnout, flatout, test drive unlimited, and pgr3.

oh, and Sega Rally Revo coming out later this year. fuck. yeah.

Tw4win

So, wait... having the unit vertical is bad? I didn't know that. I thought you got better airflow in the vertical position?

Balefuego

It dosen't hurt the system, but if the 360 gets bumped while it's on it will probably scratch up your disc. So it depends on where you have it vertical I guess.

Sanders

Doodmann wrote: »

Hey guys so I just bought a 360 and was wondering if you can have four people play on two networked xboxes on rainbow six three las vegas. The manual makes it sound like you can but we a stumped. Also I realize this is only half way on topic. sorry.

Sadly Rainbow Six is filled with incorrect information, even worse then the bad Kameo prints.
I am pretty sure you can do split screen co-op, but I do not believe you can do multiple on one system with system link.