Someone explain the hard drives on 360's, PS3's please

[bagobonez]

I'm looking at trying to buy a 360 or PS3, but I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at. I see some Xbox 360's on ebay for like $120 but it doesn't include a hard drive. What exactly does the hard drive do on the 360? What advantages are there to getting a bigger hard drive? Someone explain please.

[deluxe_247]

hard drives are for saving download content, videos, game saves, music, gamerpics, themes for your desktop, updates...pretty much everything you use a HD on your computer for. the big thing is DLC like game add-ons and extra levels that you get off xbox live. if you want to get game add ons (say shivering isles expansion for example or guitar hero tracks) if you didnt have a hard drive you wouldnt be able to, even with a memory card.

i wouldnt recommend getting an xbox without a drive. they fill up faster than you might think, which is one reason i got an elite for a bigger drive. but then again, i play A LOT of games.

ps3s all come with HDs i believe..the lowest one being a 40gig. keep in mind that the 40 gig ps3s wont play ps2 games and have 2 less usb slots and the lack of various media card slots that the 60 and 80 gig versions have.

[Free Bagel]

Do NOT get a 360 without a hard drive.

They were only released to prey on uninformed parents that see a lower price tag and think it's immediately a better deal. Your system will be extremely gimped without it. Although you could buy the console and the hard drive separately if you want, all the MS hard drives are hot swapable and can be put in and out of the 360 in literally less than 3 seconds.

All PS3's come with internal hard drives.

[Guru13]

I'm looking at trying to buy a 360 or PS3, but I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at. I see some Xbox 360's on ebay for like $120 but it doesn't include a hard drive. What exactly does the hard drive do on the 360? What advantages are there to getting a bigger hard drive? Someone explain please.

basically you should get a 360 because they're totally schway and you could play with some cafe guys.

[logan]

personally just as a fair warning i would be wary of buying a 360 in any way but new. the RROD or red ring of death problems may not be as frequent as they used to be on the newer versions but without the warranty you get when you buy it it could be a large paperweight in no time flat costing you the money you already put out.

[bagobonez]

Thanks for the input guys. THe red ring of death thing really doesn't scare me that much because I've studied up on what causes them and what you can do to fix them even if you don't have a warranty, and feel confident I could fix it if it broke.

A couple of things i don't like about Xbox 360's are the fact that Blu Ray won the media war and that Xbox Live costs monthly/annually. If I get a PS3 I'll already have a Blu Ray player and the online play is free. I'd have a hard time convincing my wife that I need so spend "x" amount of dollars every month just to play online.

I think I'm just going to sit on my money for a month or two and then re-evaluate things then.
Maybe prices will drop by then (doubt it) but I'm trying to get a job that comes with a $10,000 sign on bonus so if I get that I'll just buy a brand new 60GB PS3 and be done with it.

[deluxe_247]

well bago....you really get what you pay for with online between ps3s and xbox. having both i can testify that the free ps3 service pales in comparison to xbox live on almost every level. its enough of an extreme difference that i wont buy any multiplayer game on the ps3 unless its not an xbox title. the servers are terrible, and it only has a fraction of the content...and cool features. when i think about the xbox live experience, im actually suprised it doesnt cost more. it averages out to be about 5 bucks a month (if you dont buy it on sale)...so like 16 cents a day....for a service that is far superior to playstation. if i were you i wouldnt make your decision based on free network access.

if blu ray is important to you, it would be the only reason i would even remotely suggest one over a xbox....especially if money is an issue. also if money is an issue and blu ray is a deciding factor keep in mind the bluray movies will run you 30-35 bucks a piece most of the time.

overall IMO xbox>>ps3

[bagobonez]

well bago....you really get what you pay for with online between ps3s and xbox. having both i can testify that the free ps3 service pales in comparison to xbox live on almost every level. its enough of an extreme difference that i wont buy any multiplayer game on the ps3 unless its not an xbox title. the servers are terrible, and it only has a fraction of the content...and cool features. when i think about the xbox live experience, im actually suprised it doesnt cost more. it averages out to be about 5 bucks a month (if you dont buy it on sale)...so like 16 cents a day....for a service that is far superior to playstation. if i were you i wouldnt make your decision based on free network access.

if blu ray is important to you, it would be the only reason i would even remotely suggest one over a xbox....especially if money is an issue. also if money is an issue and blu ray is a deciding factor keep in mind the bluray movies will run you 30-35 bucks a piece most of the time.

overall IMO xbox>>ps3

Yeah I noticed blu ray movies are alot more expensive, plus I have a standard projection TV so I'm not sure how much more clear a blu ray movie would look anyway since i don't have a high def TV or plasma or anything.

But as far as online games go, there's nothing out right now that I would even want to play online. I'm not a fan of Halo, I think it is the most overrated series in the history of gaming. I have COD4 for PC and didn't like the multiplayer on it anyway. The only game really that I would be interested in doing online would be the new Madden leagues that will be featured in Madden 09.

I keep flip flopping back and forth between a 360 and a PS3.

Xbox Pros: Cheaper cost, LIVE is apparently better.
Xbox Cons: Red Rings of Death, no blu ray, LIVE costs monthly

PS3 Pros: Blu Ray, online service is free
PS3 Cons: Too expensive, online community is apparently not great

Right now I lean toward an Xbox 360 just because it's sooooo much cheaper than a PS3. I've done my research on ebay and i can get an Xbox 360 with the 20GB HDD and all the cables that come with it and a controller for about $195 plus $25 shipping.

Compare that to the $400 to $450 PS3's are going for and that's quite a stark contrast. But if Blu Ray movies eventually replace DVD's and the price comes down... I'll be wishing I had gotten a PS3.

If stupid EA Sports had just decided to release Madden 09/NFL Head coach 09 for PC I wouldn't even bother. The one year I don't have a console is the one year they stop making the damn game for PC. Go Figure.

[deluxe_247]

another thing to keep in mind is now that bluray is becoming the standard and hd-dvd is being weeded out, prices are inevitably going to drop. not only on the movies themselves but specifically the players. so i think if you did get a xbox now and waited a while and bought a standalone bluray player (which in all likelihood would have more features for movie playback than a ps3), you would still be spending about the same amount, but saving money in the short-term.

i wouldnt at all be surprised to see reasonable priced bluray players by christmas.

[bagobonez]

Yeah I've pretty much decided I'm going with an xbox 360 if I get anything at all... but now I'm actually kind of leaning towards not getting either. I have a top of the line PC and the only reason I really want a console is so I don't have to wait til October to play GTA4 and so that I can get Madden 09. But if I can just be a little patient, October will be here and I can play GTA4, and I could always get Madden 09 for my PS2 although I'd really rather not. In the mean time I could use that $200-$300 on getting other PC games like Mass Effect, Alone in the Dark, Borderlands, Fallout 3, Far Cry 2, Project Origins, Prototype, etc, etc, etc.

Plus there's always that chance that EA Sports will decide to go ahead and release Madden 09 and NFL Head Coach 09 later on for PC.