Second hand 360s and PS3s

RoyceSraphim

So money is tight and I have to be cautions of how I spend it. So I am thinking that I should get a unit second hand.

What I know:
360:
Hard drive removable so I can buy the arcade unit and get the hard-drive later
I can use said hard drive to get a Live account and move forward with my glory.
Getting it second hand would deprive me of glorious Microsoft tech support (I have never used it, I just assume all tech support is bad)

PS3
Not much

Both:
Any sane service would have all the things you bought tied to your account so you should be able to download them again.

Please help me clear up any ignorance I may have or alert me to things I should really know to avoid getting my ass handed to me.

Daedalus

It tends to suck when expensive shit breaks and you can't get it fixed for free because you don't have a warranty.

Malechai

Ps3's harddrive is removeable and can be replaced with any laptop sized sata harddrive. Online is free but isn't fire and forget like trueskill on live for most games. If you want PS2 BC you have to try and find a 60 20 or early modle 80 gig modle. All but the 20 gig modle have built in wireless intenet.

While the ps3 tends to be more stable it's not immune to fault. So if you decide to go that route make sure that whoever your getting it from has a fair return policy. Put it through its a decent trial by fire for a few hours to check for any lock ups overheats or redering errors. MGS4 would be a good bet to check for any issues.

360 you will probly want to get some good rechargable double a's for the controller, the charge and play pack tends to run out of recharge life preaty quickly. Either that or a wired controller or extra long charging cable.

Mr_Grinch

I dunno about over there but here in the UK a pre-owned 360 goes for not much less than a brand new 360. I'd definitely try to save up cash and get a new one. Reliability on the new models is fine but the old ones are infamous for failure, you never know what you'll end up with.

RainbowDespair

RoyceSraphim wrote: »

Getting it second hand would deprive me of glorious Microsoft tech support (I have never used it, I just assume all tech support is bad)

Actually, Microsoft tech support is really good aside from having to talk to people with hard to understand accents. When my 360 broke, they fixed it free of charge, got it back to me quickly, and threw in a free month of Live Gold.

I wouldn't recommend buying a used 360. 360s aren't the most reliable systems out there, especially the older ones. If you buy a new one, you're usually fine though (and as mentioned above, Microsoft is good about fixing problematic ones). Tons of fun games on the system; I highly recommend buying one, just make sure it's new.

On the other hand, I've heard PS3s are pretty reliable so you're probably okay with buying a used one. In fact, given the lack of backwards compatibility with current models and the ease of replacing the hard drive, you might even be better off buying used. Last time I checked, you could get a used 20 gig backwards compatible PS3 off of eBay + a good sized hard drive to upgrade it for about $300.

Skexis

If you're looking at 360s secondhand, you'll want to find out if they have falcon chips in them, as those are apparently the updated boards that don't simply melt away once the thing gets running. A good indicator for falcon chips would be a nonelite (white) 360 that has an HDMI port. Even better indicator is if you can get the manufacturing date for the system you're trying to buy. However, if you plan on playing your system for any great length of time, (as in- regularly or for extended periods) I would definitely buy one new instead. There's just no denying the mass amounts of failures on the market, and having some tech support would be greatly preferable to none.


PS3s are made to be closer to a PC or customizable rig, so that it can be as expansive or as simple as you want it to be. As someone else mentioned, you can use any laptop size harddrive in it, but PS2 backwards compatibility is going to be the biggest difference between systems. If you want 99% BC, then go with the 60 gig or 20gig model, as it basically has a PS2 inside of it. The 80 gig has software BC, which isn't as good, but I've heard varying amounts on exactly how many of the games work or don't work. None of the ones I mentioned are in production and haven't been for a while, so you might not be able to find them as easily as the other models.

Here's a chart, if it helps.


Edit: Hm, it appears my 360 info's outdated. The latest chipset is Jasper, so the best indication is either manufacturing date (post Oct. 2008) or to find the amp rating on the back of the console (which for a Jasper is 12.1 amps)