To Xbox, or not to Xbox: that is my question

QuarterMaster

So, I've been wanting an Xbox 360 for quite some time now (over a year, at least), but have never committed the funds to actually purchasing one. Now that the time for tax returns has come around, I've decided to either spend some of mine on an Xbox or save it away. If I decide to go ahead and buy one, I'm debating between a used Pro system on eBay for $200 and a new system from Dell for $225-240. The used system is the Falcon chipset, has not been registered on Live (or so they say), and is still under manufacture warranty.

So I guess I have three questions, really. First, does this seem like a good idea? Or should I just save it away and keep waiting? And second, to all you Xbox owners, do you like it? Are you glad you spent the money to buy one? How's the multiplayer experience? Finally, is it unwise to go with a used system, or is the saved money worth it?

Thanks for any input!

mugginns

Don't buy one on ebay. Get a new one, the pro model, with the hard drive.

I use my 360 almost every day for 2-3 hours. I'm involved in an NCAA dynasty at 360arcadians.net that has been ongoing since September 2008, 10 of us just playing together all the time. MP is the best out there.

What games are you interested in? There are tons of great ones.

Casual

Its a great system with a great bunch of games for it but the reliability sucks. I've been a 360 owner for about 4 years now and I'm on my 3'rd box (first one lasted one night! ). But if you're willing to accept that at some point it WILL break which isnt so bad thanks to the 3 years warranty it's a pretty good console.

EDIT: For the love of god just buy a new one and get the full three year warranty. The small amount of extra cash is worth it for the extra security and peace of mind.

Element Brian

If you buy it used wont the warranty be void?

Also, you really want to get a new Jasper, to avoid the RROD as much as possible.

QuarterMaster

I've been leaning toward the new one, for the reasons you've listed so far: Jasper, full warranty, etc. Although I was under the impression that MS would honor the warranty as long as you had proof that the system now belonged to you? I'm one of those people who has a hard time spending a large chunk of cash (especially now), but as you've said, it would probably be worth the extra money for the peace of mind.

As far as games go, I'm mostly into FPS and racing (NFS, etc.), as well as a few RPG's. Not so much the sport games. A bunch of my friends have the system as well, which is why multiplayer is so important to me. The multimedia features sound pretty cool too, though I mostly use my computer for that kind of thing.

e: It seems like some of the systems coming from Dell are the Falcon's. Seems to be hit-or-miss. Going off of the SlickDeals forums, BTW.

RUNN1NGMAN

Element Brian wrote: »

If you buy it used wont the warranty be void?

Also, you really want to get a new Jasper, to avoid the RROD as much as possible.

Not unless it was modded. Warranties transfer.

Sharp101

Yes, just to clarify what was said: most 360's now in stores are much much much less likely to die on you.

mugginns

As far as games go, I'm mostly into FPS and racing (NFS, etc.), as well as a few RPG's. Not so much the sport games. A bunch of my friends have the system as well, which is why multiplayer is so important to me. The multimedia features sound pretty cool too, though I mostly use my computer for that kind of thing.

Yeah, no-brainer, pick it up and pick up Forza 2 as your first game, CoD4 or Halo 3 as your second.

Also, I wouldn't really worry too much about the failure, honestly. I've had mine since August 06, it failed once in August 07, I got a new one, it has been fine since (knock on wood). If it does fail, it is likely only a 2 week downtime.

MoSiAc

The 360 has probably become one of the best gaming investments I have ever made. Multiplayer is great, the xbox live arcade has tons of titles, and I have bought many of them. The ability to watch movies and tv series (netflix) on it keeps me entertained for hours. I haven't found many big titles that keep me really interested but for some reason I can sit and play castle crashers for 3 or 4 hours at a time. It's freaking wonderful.

QuarterMaster

The reason I'm tempted to get the used system is because I might end up getting a Falcon from Dell anyway, so I might as well save $40 and put that toward a Live Gold membership. And it still has about 2 years of warranty left on it.

Or am I still being too miserly? :P

JHunz

QuarterMaster wrote: »

The reason I'm tempted to get the used system is because I might end up getting a Falcon from Dell anyway, so I might as well save $40 and put that toward a Live Gold membership. And it still has about 2 years of warranty left on it.

Or am I still being too miserly? :P

You'd be saving $40 by running a much higher risk of spending $120 (for a repair) or full price for a new console when that one craps out.
Also, that "two years of warranty left"? The full warranty only covers one year unless you purchase an extended warranty, the three-year guarantee is only for the RROD. That can be translated to "just out of warranty".

tsmvengy

QuarterMaster wrote: »

The reason I'm tempted to get the used system is because I might end up getting a Falcon from Dell anyway, so I might as well save $40 and put that toward a Live Gold membership. And it still has about 2 years of warranty left on it.

Or am I still being too miserly? :P

Yeah do not go for the ebay one - considering how much the 360s break (or broke in the past) I wouldn't trust it.

Casual

QuarterMaster wrote: »

The reason I'm tempted to get the used system is because I might end up getting a Falcon from Dell anyway, so I might as well save $40 and put that toward a Live Gold membership. And it still has about 2 years of warranty left on it.

Or am I still being too miserly? :P

As others have said man for the $40 it saves you it really isnt worth the extra hassle if it does break.

Topia

JHunz wrote: »

QuarterMaster wrote: »

The reason I'm tempted to get the used system is because I might end up getting a Falcon from Dell anyway, so I might as well save $40 and put that toward a Live Gold membership. And it still has about 2 years of warranty left on it.

Or am I still being too miserly? :P

You'd be saving $40 by running a much higher risk of spending $120 (for a repair) or full price for a new console when that one craps out.
Also, that "two years of warranty left"? The full warranty only covers one year unless you purchase an extended warranty, the three-year guarantee is only for the RROD. That can be translated to "just out of warranty".

If you're buying the extended warranty from a big box store they pretty much will only cover RROD errors, as well. I would suggest against the extended warranty from a store, and stick with the Microsoft 3 year.

Kevdog

The other risk you run buying used off ebay is getting a console that's been banned from Live. It really is worth the extra $40 to buy new.

GreasyKidsStuff

Not like you need another person telling you to get one, but I was in the same boat a while ago. Really wanted to get on the wagon cuz the Wii was gathering dust, but never really wanted to commit the funds. Luckily my little brother did himself, and so we have one now. Really, I wish I got on it sooner. It's sooooo worth it. And I only have two games. Seriously, do it. Get a new one though, just for the security.

Crashtard

You'll definitely want to get a new one, for reasons that have already been specified. As far as the console goes, I've had one for about 3 years now, and I love it. My first one died after about a year and a half, and I've had my current one since then. It's annoying to have to send them in to get fixed, but the turnaround time from MS is so fast that it's hardly noticeable unless you LIVE on your xbox.

AnteCantelope

I'm a Nintendo fanboy, and I bought a Wii at launch. I bought an XBox last year, and I've played it more than the Wii. I own about 10 or 15 more games for the XBox than the Wii. Random deaths aside, it is a great console, and worth buying.

Ganluan

Buying a 360 was a great choice for me. I have been using GameFly and renting only 360 games with it, and as of my 7th month of membership I still haven't run out of games I want to try. This goes along with 15 or so I've bought, and I have another 10-15 in my queue that come out over the next few months. I'm not even including genres I'm not into, like sports and sims!

cloudeagle

Let me put it to you this way: if your Falcon dies, you will NOT get a Jasper from Microsoft as a replacement. Ever. When I upgraded, I discovered the power cords are different and incompatible with each other. And since you only send in the system and not the cord, they have to send you a system that fits the cord. So essentially, you'll be stuck on the hamster wheel of repairs forever.

I can tell you that the Jasper is totally worth it. It's much, much quieter than my old model and runs cooler to boot.

Pvt Jones

Buy a new one for sure. From a fanboy-agnostic viewpoint, they are awesome. Software catalogue beats all.

Dangerous

I never pictured myself buying a microsoft console, but after some time spent playing a friend's and an opportunity to pick up a Pro console for $150 I finally caved. I've got to say that I love my 360 more than I ever thought I would.

It finally broke down not too long ago and I had to undergo the process of sending it back. After getting some things sorted out it was actually surprisingly painless. They sent me a label, and turnaround time was about a week all together.

Elimination

Do it, all the cool kids are.

In reality though i used to be a huge Sony fanboy, and i never would have thought i'd buy an Xbox after the giant pile of fail the original one was comapared to the PS3. But i went Xbox this gen, and i havn't looked back. I find now i have no desire to own any Sony console other than PS2.

Willeth

For what it's worth, I bought my 360 from eBay, it was already registered to some dude in Ireland (I'm in England) and I bought it from a guy in Scotland. The original receipt was included and I had no problem with MS support re-registering it to me and replacing it both times it broke down (within a week both times), as well as refunding all my MS points due to the old DRM issue and getting a code for Hexic HD because the previous owner had formatted the HDD.

It was manufactured in Feb 05, and I bought it in August 05.

QuarterMaster

Alright, I'm convinced. I was teetering on the edge, but I just found out that I get severance pay on Monday, and that pushed me over. I'll probably order one tonight or tomorrow from Dell, since a new one seems like a better idea. So does $240 for a Pro sound reasonable?

e: Well, I ended up just ordering one. Should get it in the next few days! I'm super excited. Thanks everyone!

Synthesis

I own both an Xbox 360 and an PS3 now, though I've had my Xbox 360 for more than three years now and have been immensely satisfied with it (never had to send it in, but I'm generally very cautious). It gets a lot more use than my recently-purchased PS3.

I'm sure you'll be happy with your decision.