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Xbox 360 Elite Console (120 GB Hard Drive) | 
| From: Microsoft
Category: Video Games
List Price: £199.99
Buy Used: £90.00
as of 10/9/2010 08:26 CDT details
You Save: £109.99 (55%)
New (15) Used (45) from £90.00
Seller: ccconsett
Rating:  reviews
Sales Rank: 1372
Platform: Xbox 360
Media: Video Game
Edition: Elite (120 GB)
Discs: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Operating System: Xbox 360
Shipping Weight (lbs): 13.8
Dimensions (in): 12.5 x 11.4 x 7.6
MPN: B4J-00125
Model: Xbox 360 Elite
UPC: 718122515486
EAN: 0718122515486
ASIN: B000PD0HQE
Release Date: August 24, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 xBox 360 or xBox 360 Elite August 25, 2007
Frankie (England - UK)
524 out of 559 found this review helpful
Well, I've had a few hours with our Xbox 360 Elite wherein we've done nothing but test it against the most rigorous (unscientific) means at our disposal. But finally we are able to answer the question: is an HDMI-enabled Xbox 360 capable of outputting noticeably higher quality game play and movies? We compared our classic Xbox 360 (manufactured 2005) with our spanking' new 360 Elite (manufactured 2007). Ready for the face-off? Check out the gallery, and read on for our conclusions.
I tested the consoles with a Sharp (46-inch) 1080p LCD and a 5.1 surround system -- we went HDMI vs. component, since it's safe to assume the majority of people don't have VGA inputs on their HDTV's (including us). We played the first stage of Gears of War (on casual, so what?), and then plugged in our HD DVD drive and watched a few scenes from Batman Begins.
Console noise
I know how much you all wanted your Xbox 360 Elite to quiet down a bit, but we have some bad news for you. As we heard from our sources who supplied us with much of our info about the Elite, unfortunately the noise level is about the same as before. It doesn't use the new 65nm chips, so it seems to require the same number of case fans.
The same is true of the disc drive. Our Elite and classic drives do sound different, and it's obvious they're not the same make or model. However, unfortunately, they're equally loud. Sorry guys, you're still going to have to put up with the same level of noise as before -- don't come looking to the Elite for something that sounds less like a shop-vac.
Heat
As we said before, these are using the old round of 90nm chips, not the 65nm variety. So it goes without saying that using the same chips as before, these things are going to produce the same amount of heat. We didn't run an 18 hour stress test or anything (obviously), but both units did feel about the same after an hour of playing games and movies, and they both felt like they were outputting about the same amount of heat.
HDMI 1080p vs. component 1080p/i
we're going to be totally honest here, we hardly noticed a damn difference at all. We figured the best visual test would be playing in 1080p on both HDMI and component video, and we were right. What little difference we did notice, we noticed it with that test. In a couple of darker scenes in Gears there seemed to be a little more depth to the blacks (and a bit more distance detail because of it). But to tell you how subtle it was, we didn't even notice it until we literally started flipping back and forth as fast as we could. Fast motion, spinning, action, all the rest -- it looks almost identical on both consoles.
When watching an HD DVD in 1080p on HDMI and 1080i on component, we definitely didn't really notice anything different. The age old question though, right? Is 1080p actually noticeably different? Not to us, and probably not even if you have a 720p set -- assuming you're viewing on anything less than a massive, massive display. By the way, before you make any judgments about perceived visual quality based on our screen caps, please remember that those were taken with a regular camera, not pro screen capturing tools. In other words, what you may think is a big difference in quality may actually just be a small change in light metering or exposure. In other words, you'll kind of have to take our word for it when we say it looks almost identical.
Audio
I can now definitely confirm that despite its HDMI output, the Xbox 360 Elite still doesn't enable advanced codec support (like Dolby TrueHD). You still have the same three options as you had before: digital stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DD with WMA Pro. When we played back an HD DVD with TrueHD audio (Batman Begins), it just stayed on DD5.1, nothing else happened. Bummer. But again, that's what we were expecting.
Other minor bits
I did notice that the front power button on the Elite console is much quicker than the squishy power button on our classic 360. Probably not enough clikiness to actually justify the purchase in and of itself, we'd imagine.
Also, the black controller is entirely matte, whereas the white controller is matte everywhere except the slick silver strip on the bottom. Since that bottom strip is where a couple of your fingers rest when holding the controller we found the entirely matte black controller slightly preferable.
I haven't yet checked out DVD upscaling, but that's on our list of thing to do.
Final thoughts
Basically, unless you are seriously eagle-eyed, have a massive screen, or for whatever reason need to use HDMI because you're all out of component inputs, your investment in the first-gen Xbox 360 is probably safe. Do yourself a favour, just buy that 120GB drive if you need the space, the HDMI really just doesn't justify replacing your whole console for a new £300 unit. Then again, if you're truly "elite" then all the stuff we just said really doesn't matter, and you're probably going to buy this thing anyway. Cheers enjoy!
Very Good Console! March 5, 2008
NAR (UK)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I was always put off buying a Xbox 360 because of its rubbish reliabilty, but finally ordered one after hours and hours of deciding as there are some really fantastic exclusives for the Xbox 360. The console is really good, I was very impressed with it but i can't help but think of its high risk of breaking down but until then (if so, some people get lucky and don't get the RROD) i will enjoy many amazing hours on my Xbox 360 Elite. I have all 3 consoles PS3,Wii and now the Xbox 360 my favourite use to be PS3 now i don't have a favourite cos all consoles are really fantastic, in there own unique way!
Anyway i have the Elite and the 120GB storage is really a massive help as i love having lots of memory as i seem to take up memory very fast e.g on the PS3
Also people make a fuss about the noise it makes but for me i don't see it as a problem, yes its not as quiet as the PS3 or Wii but its still quiet...
Pro's:
Online is fantastic!
Nice looking console
Comfortable control pad
Great selection of games
Get all accessories included when buy it (HDMI,Component,Headset etc)
Fantastic 120GB storage!
Con's:
Not very good reliabilty (Hence the 3 year warranty)
Have to buy the wireless add on
Have to buy the HD DVD player add on (although i do not need it as i have the PS3, but it can be a con for people who don't have a Xbox 360 and a PS3 and its kind of not a con because its an accessory and not really needed but still can be a con for some people)
Massive brick power cable!
Can't charge controllers unless buy charger add on (this is not a big con but its still a con : ) )
Except all that, its a very good console and im very happy owning all Next Gen consoles as i can buy any game on the market! : )
If your looking to buy a Xbox 360 i would reccommend the Elite but if you already have an Xbox 360 there is no need to upgrade as your not really missing much
Chipset issue January 2, 2008
L. Britton (UK)
30 out of 35 found this review helpful
The chipset issue has been raised here so I thought I'd provide my account. I sent two emails to Amazon. They were unable to confirm what they are selling. I visited my local Game store on New Years Day, they were aware of the issue and confirmed the Elite they are selling is the new version. So I paid £20 more than Amazon but at least I know I've bought the cooler, quieter model. I have experienced my friends old premium 360 and in my view the sound and vented air temperature are noticeably different. I'm glad I took the trouble to get the newer model. I just find it sad that Amazon couldn't go the extra mile and just look at the product and confirm a simple question.
**Update**
3 weeks after purchase and fairly light use, I received 3 red ring errors within about 30 mins. Despite being the new model it seems the hardware still needs further work. Thankfully Game have agreed to swap it at the weekend.
Excellent Upgrade to the Premium October 12, 2007
SteveOll (South Yorkshire)
18 out of 21 found this review helpful
Despite what some people might say regarding the Elite being a waste of money if you already have the premium, i.e. being a Premium with larger HDD and HDMI port, it is worth the money because:-
1. If you are using component video cables, although your games (including original Xbox backward compatible games meant for 50Hz) still work with the console, the 360 DOES NOT upscale your DVD's to HD resolutions - instead you get 480p.
2. If you use VGA cable, although you get the DVD upscaled to whatever resolution your display can handle (up to 1080p) the majority of old Xbox 50Hz screen games do not work, necessitating reverting to component/composite or Advanced Scart cable to use these games (plus the colours appear more 'washed-out' than on component cables.
3. HDMI upscales your DVD's to whatever HD output your screen can handle (up to 1080p) plus old Xbox games work too without having to swap cables over - I was switching between component and VGA cables before I got my Elite)
4. The large HDD is perfect for ripping your CD onto (each CD takes about 4-5 mins to rip) plus Xbox Live will be updated this autumn so that HD Movies can be downloaded straight to your HDD - so who needs Blue-Ray? Afterall, remember what happened to BetaMax, Minidisc and UMD (all Sony proprietary formats)
The Best Games Console There Is September 21, 2007
CJ (UK)
34 out of 40 found this review helpful
It's a black Xbox 360. It costs more than the machine it supersedes, the 360 `Premium' as it has a whopping 120 GB hard drive and HDMI output. But otherwise it's the same console in a different coloured shell.
It's just as noisy as the older machine, just as big, and quite probably just as likely to breakdown as the original Xbox 360 too (oh, the joy of the famous "red ring of death").
But don't let all of that put you off! The bigger hard disk is very useful, what with downloadable content for games getting bigger and the imminent introduction of downloadable high definition movies and TV from Xbox Live, you'll need the space.
And HDMI support is very welcome. Now the Elite's video output is proper digital high definition all the way through, as opposed to the original 360's nasty analogue-digital conversion process. Image-wise it looks better, but I think proper comparison between the two machines would be required to fully ascertain any clear advantage HDMI gives.
I previously had a 360 Premium and bought an Elite as I wanted the bigger hard disk and also HDMI. Naturally my older console has been sold to soften the blow of the Elite's £300 cost. If you are looking to perform a similar upgrade process, be warned. Although you can obtain a free cable in order to transfer your data from your old 360 hard disk to the new one, these are in scarce supply and are taking around a month to be delivered by Microsoft, once you've ordered it.
You can alternatively buy a memory unit and copy data over manually, which is easy enough if a bit time consuming.
If you don't own an Xbox 360 and are looking to buy one, get this. It's worth the extra money and despite the well-documented problems the 360 has had it's a fantastic machine with a brilliant online service and a good community. Plus it has loads of excellent games.
The Elite is a good machine and just about a worthy upgrade to the 360 Premium. I'm not too sure about the new black colour, it's a bit dull and I miss the clean white lines of the old one. The black controller is nice though.
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