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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
718 of 767 found the following review helpful:
 Spring for a hard drive! Nov 20, 2010
By S. Hammack
Don't make the same mistake I did -- the 4 GB version may seem like a good deal if you don't think you'll need a lot of space, but what they don't tell you is that some features REQUIRE an actual hard drive. You might think that a gig is a gig and it shouldn't make any difference whether it's on a disk or flash memory, but to the Xbox, they are not equivalent.
This means that unless you buy a hard drive (and it has to be one of the new 250 GB hard drives because the old ones are not compatible), you get no backwards compatibility with Xbox games, and some 360 games will arbitrarily block you from some features such as playing online or even installing updates or DLC, regardless of how much free space you have available. Basically, you can only use the internal storage (or a flash drive) to store full games, saves, or other media, but it's not the same as having a 4 GB hard drive. I wish someone had told me this before I bought mine; I foolishly assumed that the features would be identical and the only difference would be the amount of space, but now I have to buy a hard drive separately, adding up to more than it would have cost if I'd just bought the 250 GB model in the first place. Caveat emptor, indeed.
551 of 595 found the following review helpful:
 New features at a great price! Aug 09, 2010
By FTP
"Tech. Enthusiast"
The xbox 360 slim with 4 GB. is what the original arcade version should have been, and is worth its $200 price tag.
10 new features of this model are:
1. New Valhalla chip - hopefully improved design to prevent RRoD issue, but tech. reviews noted that the Jasper chip in the older Elite model runs cooler
2. WiFi N - this is the newest wifi standard that is 12X faster (up to 600 Mbits/ sec) than wifi G; you'll need a Wifi N router to get the max. speed
3. digital optical audio port (if your sound system is separate from your TV, then you'll need this to get full 5.1 surround sound)
4. 4 GB of flash memory (although 1.1 GB is used by the game system, but 0.3 GB can be reclaimed by deleting 4 game demos)
5. 5 USB ports (2 in front & 3 in back)
6. slimmer design with side vents (to prevent overheating)
7. dedicated Kinect port (just a convenience feature)
8. only 1 year of warranty (the only negative; older Elite models had 3 yrs.)
9. USB flash drive support (this was a xbox software update released in April 2010)
10. ESPN video streaming (will be included if you are a Gold member, $50/ yr)
Slim 4 GB memory vs. 250 GB hard drive:
I bought the 4 GB system over the model with 250 GB hard drive because the xbox now supports game saves/ installs/ downloads and pic/ audio/ video downloads to USB flash drives. It supports 1-2 USB flash drives with 1-16 GB memory (using a 16 GB drive, 1.6 GB is used for formatting). 2 advantages of USB drives: loading games and media is 3x faster with USB drives than disc reading and more reliable (flash memory rarely fails, while discs can get scratched). 2 disadvantages of USB drives: you can not install old xbox 1 games on USB drives and certain games, like Halo Reach and Halo ODST, will not support online coop without a hard drive (having a USB drive will not help). If you have such a huge appetite for video downloads and game demos that 32 GB can not accommodate, then you can always upgrade later with a 360 GB hard drive. The original model's hard drive is not compatible with the slim model without modification - you would need to remove the original hard drive and insert it into a slim hard-drive case (non-Microsoft, sold separately). You can find a non-Microsoft 120 GB drive for 1/2 the price of the Microsoft drive, but you would need to manually install the "partition 2" xbox emulator (search google) to play old xbox 1 games.
XBOX vs. PS3:
I am originally a PS3 and Wii gamer, but finally bought the xbox when the slim 4 GB model was released. To be competitive with the PS3, the xbox had to have the built-in wifi, optical audio port, and USB flash drive support. I was deciding whether to buy another PS3 for $300 since many games require 2 consoles for coop and multiplayer gaming, regardless of what system you choose. With this xbox priced at $200, I decided to choose the xbox since it has better coop games, more online gaming, and their video library blows away the PS3 online videos. However, Netflix on xbox requires gold membership and starting a movie is a lot slower than the PS3 eventhough the xbox has faster wifi. Xbox music and music videos library needs to expand to the size of their TV and movies selection to be comparable with iTunes. The PS3 has better graphics though not significantly better (expected since PS3 has a better processor), but the XBOX has better coop and multiplayer games. The PS3 controller is better designed, better constructed, and has a rechargeable battery; the D-pad on the included xbox controller creaked without even playing a single game. Also, the PS3 has a Blu-Ray player, but is $100 more than the xbox slim 4 GB model. The button to open the disc tray on the xbox is too sensitive and not recessed, so slightly brushing it with your clothes will activate it. The xbox Kinect has more features and better specs. than the PS3 Move. With my Wii collecting dust, I decided to wait to see if games for the Kinect are a flop, similar to how many games for the Wii flopped. Anyways by June 2011, Kinect games should be 1/2 price with better selection.
Speed Comparison Update:
The Witcher 2 game, which is highly recommended, inspired me to write this update. The Slim model should be updated with at least 12 GB memory since a game DVD holds up to 8.5 GB of data, 1 GB is needed for system files, and 2.5 GB should be reserved for game saves and updates. For the Slim 4 GB model, most game discs can not be installed to the internal memory due to insufficient space. The internal memory is 3x faster than hard drives, which is 3x faster than USB drives, which is 3x faster than disc reading. The approximate speeds are: 270 MB/s internal memory > 90 MB/s hard drive > 30 MB/s USB drives > 10 MB/s disc reading. NOTE: USB drives vary a lot in speed; check the speed and cost before buying - you get what you pay for. So loading a game installed on a USB drive is faster than loading it from the disc, but can be potentially 9x faster if installed to internal memory. With flash memory so cheap these days, Microsoft has no excuse not to increase the internal memory to at least 12 GB.
98 of 113 found the following review helpful:
The best yet! Aug 06, 2010
By Mikey
The best Xbox so far. The matte finish, price, 4GB internal is plenty for game saves and some add-ons. If you want more memory, just add 1-2 16GB USB flash sticks. I use USB drives for game saves and full game installs. This way I never have to worry about IF the system breaks on me. I'll always have my personal saves on the flash sticks. I never trust hard drives as they are more prone to fail over a flash stick. Thats why I didn't keep the 250GB version. Plus I don't do demos so I don't need that kind of space. Matte finish does not collect dust and hair like the gloss version does which drove me crazy as I did own the 250GB version for a short time until this version came out. VERY HAPPY with the arcade.
50 of 58 found the following review helpful:
What the original should of been.... Sep 01, 2010
By Christopher Mattus
I am one of those guys who had an Xbox 360 when it first came out. I like everyone else sufffered from the Red Ring of Death and had to send my unit back in for repair. That was probaly a year and half to two years ago that it was repaired from the RROD. About 1 year ago, I started having problems where the disc player would not read the game correctly and I had to keep on opening the disc player and closing it over and over until it read the disc. Finally, the video card of the Xbox 360 seemed to just die out, i could no longer get a signal on any television, I even bought a new AV cable with no success. Alas, I called microsoft and they wanted $100 to repair it. I decided to say screw that, so I bought a new xbox 360 with HDMI support. I hooked it up to my reciever and I started having some problems with the screen. I was now fed up with microsoft. I returned the 360 and decided to go PS3 all the way.
Well it turns out that on the second 360 i had bought (the new one) the problem was with my home theater reciever and not the 360. So while all my friends had fun playing online together on 360, I was left out with no friends on PS3. ( I just dont know anyone online on the PS3). So my wife bought me this new slim model for my birthday and these are my thoughts.
WIFI - Found my network and connected with ease, wonderful feature.
HDMI Support - does not come with a HDMI cable, but you can get a cheap one on amazon.
4 GB Memory - not exactly alot, but you can buy a 16 GB flash drive to put in one of the many USB ports. BUT...the flash card I bought had a slightly thicker base and I could not plug it into the rear of the 360, so it is poking out of the front slot. So make sure you get a flash drive that is not too big.
Xbox Live - No card for free live for a month?
Headset - No headset
Xbox 360 - the new model is sleek and beautiful. The disc drive is like a touch sensor which is really neat. This is soooo much more quiet than my old 360. I havent put in a major time yet but I didnt feel much heat coming off it which is a definite plus of course.
All in all, 4/5 stars, just because I thought microsoft was a little cheap with no headset, the memory, and no free xbox live gold trial - especially since they are raising the price.
58 of 69 found the following review helpful:
WHOA WHOA WHOA CALMMMM DOWN HALO FREAKS Oct 24, 2010
By Craig M. Wayman
This XBOX 360 is perfect for me. But a lot of people are complaining because the Halo nerds can't play certain levels on Halo Reach because of there isn't enough room on the Hard Drive... take a deep breath, count to ten, and listen to me.
Alright This XBOX 360 only has 4 GB of space right???? Right, BUTTTTTTT YOU CAN USE FLASH DRIVES! I personnally have 2 16 GB Flash drives do the math that's 32GB + 4GB= 36GB of space plenty for me. Not to mention you can delete and reinstall all you want on these flash drives. Oh and by the way 16GB is the maximum amount of memory per flash drive and you are only allowed 2 flash drives plugged in at anytime. But again that's plenty for me.
For instance. I play Call of Duty. Now game saves take about couple hundred KB or so and even map packs take about 500 MB so that's not that much memory. The real chunk of memory get taken up by installing games which makes the XBOX perform smoother and better.
Now me being a Call of Duty player. I am playing with one 16GB Flash Drive. I have COD MW2 installed on it along with some games saves from it and other games, and my map packs and it has 6.9 GB of space left on it. When Black Ops comes out alls I am going to do is delete Modern Warfare 2 off the Flash Drive. Install Black Ops and go take a shower or something while I am waiting for it to install and when i get back Whaaaa Laaaa! and still plenty of room to boot. For those who like to buy games off of XBOX live you can get them just as cheap if not cheaper used from Game Stop or used from Amazon. So don't waste your money on the marketplace have the disk. But it's up to you.
Anyway just real quick you can't just plug your USB Flash drive in and go. You HAVE TO FORMAT IT! Which will render it dedicated to the XBOX 360 and it will erase what ever is on it. That's fine for me because I don't use my flash drives anymore I have an external hard drive.
So with that said you insert your flash drive, go to "System Settings" go to "Memory" you will see the flash drive go to it and format it. After that you are good to go to use it! Done end of story I am out!
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