|  | | | Used and New: | | |
| All | |
| $189.99+ $11.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | |
| $190.61+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | |
| $300.00+ $11.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | |
| Used | |
| $189.99+ $11.49 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | |
| $190.61+ $4.49 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | |
| $300.00+ $11.49 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | |
| | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review: ( 229 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
192 of 213 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent Fun! Horrible Support! BEWARE! Nov 09, 2007
By TommyReview
I loved this product! My wife, son (four) and myself played a couple hours a night for three months. Xbox Live is phenomenal. We purchased the unit brand new and bought the extended warranty contract. Three months later RED RINGS OF DEATH. I have two friends with the Elite 360. One is fine the other just received three red rings of death. I thought the Elite's were somewhat impervious to this! Again, the games, graphics, etc. are just excellent. My family and I have never had more fun with a game console, or even our PC for that matter.
Here's my story below, however! BEWARE! I'm going to Amex to reverse this three-month old purchase. My recommendation? Buy something else. I'm scared off of this console. Worst support I have ever dealt with. They literally tell you that you have no options and they won't help or escalate. Oh, you're a month without your product? Tough. We'll get to you when we feel like it. A month without Xbox Live that you PAID for? Tough. Deal with it.
I've never encountered such complete disregard for the customer.
BEWARE!
Bought an Elite 360 in June. Loved it. Three months later three red rings of death. Now is where I start getting upset:
Oct 12 - Call into Xbox Support for Repair
Oct 17 - Receive Box to Ship Console from Microsoft
Oct 17 - Ship out Xbox
Oct 20 - Dallas Repair Center Receives my Xbox
Oct 26 - Call for Status - Told "Being Repaired"
Oct 30 - Call for Status - Told "Being Repaired"
Nov 2 - Call for Status - Told "We have 12 business days to repair"
Nov 6 - Call for status - Told "Escalated to Mgmt - will call you within 48 hours"
Nov 8 - Been 48 hours - No Call. Called again. Stayed on the line until received Senior Tech Support Manager. Told "We have Four Business Weeks from time we receive your console to repair it" Will receive call back in 24 hours.
Nov 9 - No Call Back. Been Four Business Weeks. No Xbox. No status. Not even repaired, shipped, tracked. NOTHING! It's lost. No call back
I wrote a letter to Microsoft today documenting everything with names and times.
This is a three month old Elite. I don't mind that it died. I knew that going in. What I do mind is that I've been without my console for FOUR WEEKS with no status and no hope of status.
By contract, they have 12 business days to repair it. Nobody will tell me what the next step is once they breach that.
They have four business weeks to get you a console from the time you first call in. That date has officially passed as of today.
I have been without Xbox Live for a month, my son's birthday is tomorrow and he can't play his Lego Star Wars Complete Saga that he will receive for a present (he's four years old and will be sick about it).
I can't get anything from Microsoft support. It's all outsourced to India and they are extremely protective about any kind of escalation.
My next step is calling American Express and getting a refund for the console. They breached their contract and are unwilling to work with me. I dread doing it but I know that Amex will come through. I've used them once before and they were great about researching everything and negating a large purchase.
My wife's brand new MacBook lost it's motherboard after one month. She called Apple support. Box fed-ex overnight, went in that night, they received it next day - repaired it on the spot - sent it out that day - we received it next day. Total down time from first call? FOUR DAYS!
This is four weeks now and unacceptable. I feel I have no recourse other than venting on every forum and review site possible so that others are aware of this.
Looks like I'll call Amex.
Sorry for the rant but these guys are unreasonable and don't care.
93 of 106 found the following review helpful:
 An amazing machine (from an actual owner of an elite) Sep 07, 2007
By bixodoido
The XBox 360 elite finally pushed me over the edge. I've been resisting buying a 360 for a while (mostly because of hardware reliability concerns) but recently purchased the elite console. Now that I've done it I can't believe I waited this long--I'm enjoying gaming immensely, have barely scratched the surface of Xbox live, and have linked the console to my Windows Media Center PC and am messing around with the many capabilities there as well. I own (and love) a Wii and have nothing against Sony, but I'm very impressed with the XBox 360.
FIRST, THE CONSOLE: The XBox 360 features amazing graphics and an enormous library of games that, as of the time of this writing, dwarfs those of the PS3 and Wii. Initially I was concerned that the PS3 would perform better, but from what I've read and seen it seems the framerate and graphical capability of the XBox is at least equal to the PS3, though I have no desire to argue the point because I think they're both great machines. My reason for choosing the XBox had more to do with game selection, really, and in that the XBox excels.
GAMES: The XBox's library of games is unparalleled right now. There are many incredible XBox exclusive titles, from the obvious Halo 3 to games like Bioshock, Forza 2, and Gears of War (and this is a very small sampling of what's actually out there). I'm not impressed with the PS3's game library, and while I couldn't live without my Nintendo franchises like Zelda, Mario, and Metroid I'm finding myself craving more games beyond the party type games (which the Wii is great for) and Nintendo's own titles.
XBOX LIVE: The Xbox's online community is second to none right now, and while I can see promise for both Sony and Nintendo in this area neither system offers as much as the XBox does at the time of this writing. Aside from the enormous and well-established community, the XBox live marketplace offers classic games, TV shows, and movies for download, as well as game trailers and demos and a whole lotta other stuff. I love being able to download so many demos of games I might like to try--it saves on some rental fees for sure--and I'm looking forward to picking up some classic games like Contra and the incredible Castlevania: Symphony of the Night soon. I wouldn't say the classic game library rivals Nintendo's Virtual Console yet (not even close, really), but there are some great games nonetheless.
THE HARDWARE: The XBox elite is black, which I personally prefer to the white. It has an HDMI port and comes with a cord, so it's capable of full 1080p HD. I also love the 120 GB hard drive--though I've never been one to fill a game console's hard drive it's nice to know I have the space, and with all the game demos and other things I've been downloading it may become a possibility. The Elite also functions as a DVD player with upconverting capability, and the quality I get from playing a DVD on my XBox is incredible, so much so that I'm not using my old DVD player anymore for regular DVDs.
Hardware reliability has been a concern, and was something that really held me back for a while. Following were a couple of my major concerns and this is how the Xbox 360 has handled them:
-Noise. My 360 is much quieter than many reviews led me to believe. My wife doesn't know its on unless she's in the same room.
-Heat. This was a big one for me. I don't have space to keep the console upright--it has to be on its side--and I've heard horror stories of overheating after very little play. The console has about 18 inches behind it for ventilation and seems to run just fine, though I haven't had it on for more than about 3 hours at a time. There's a lot of heat coming out the back of it but the console itself doesn't seem to heat up much. When it's really hot outside I keep an upright fan blowing the general direction of my TV (where the Xbox is) and plan on getting a cooling system just to be safe, but so far heat has not really been an issue for me.
-Ruining discs - I've heard of the console scratching discs beyond playability and also of cracking. My console lays on its side and I don't move it while a disc is playing, and so far I've had no issues, though I haven't used it enough to say it will never happen.
-Red Ring of Death - Again, no problems yet. The 3 year warranty helps, though the prospect of not having the thing for a couple months while they fix it brings my blood almost to a boil just thinking about it.
Overall I'm tremendously happy with my XBox 360, and my only real concern with it is the potential for hardware failure. Still, this is a great machine, and definitely worth the price tag for me. I'm disappointed that wireless capability was not included in the console (it's a pretty expensive add-on), since both the Wii and the PS3 have that built in. Since I have an HD TV I'd love to have a built in HD-DVD player, but I think it was a wise choice not to force it upon people who don't want it by building it into the machine.
251 of 294 found the following review helpful:
An honest review from an actual owner. May 04, 2007
By W. Chang
"Steven Chang"
First of all, when you purchase ANY xbox360 system, you should already know that it does NOT come with the HD-DVD drive. It is available separately for ~$200 USD. I think it's wrong for other reviewers to bash the Elite system for not including the HD-DVD drive when you should know its a separate accessory.
This is my first xbox system purchase, however I have played many other 360 systems which belong to friends. I can say that the ELITE system is somewhat quieter and runs a little smoother due to the extra cache in the included 120gb hard-drive. "Smoother" meaning the dashboard is very fast with no hang-ups or pauses, even during gaming. My 360 Elite unit sits out in the open and the only noise emitted is the DVD drive spinning, which you can barely hear.
I highly recommend buying the ELITE version if you do not currently own a xbox 360 console. For the extra $80 dollars, you get a much much larger hard-drive, HDMI, and black color scheme. However, I can't recommend it as an "upgrade" to a working xbox360 system. Don't go selling your current working system to trade up to an Elite system unless you just plain want it.
I own a 32" LG HDTV, and the images look amazing! I am running HDMI for the video, and the audio dongle to my Denon receiver for the audio.
Xbox live GOLD is fantastic and well worth the $49/yr fee. I am only a casual gamer, but purchased the xbox 360 for all its other capabilities. Mine has ran flawlessly so far (4 days now). I have rented online movies, downloaded TONS of demos and Xbox Live Arcade games.
This is a 5 star system all-around! Remember to buy the Microsoft extended warranty for $49 dollars. The form is included in the box and must be mailed out within 10 days of purchase. Peace of mind for 2 years is worth the 50 bucks.
Best wishes,
Steven
18 of 19 found the following review helpful:
Smart choice. Oct 02, 2007
By John Goeller
"tech junky"
I picked up the Xbox360 Elite system 4 months ago after my first one bit the dust with the infamous red ring. I had modified the case of my original 360, so returning it was not an option.
So far, I have yet to have a single hiccup with this system. It DOES NOT run as hot as older 360 models. The heatsink/cooling setup is different/improved over older 360 models. Obviously this was the #1 problem that needed to be fixed, considering Microsoft spent millions fixing fried 360's.
The HDMI connection is great for me because I run all my digital components through an HDMI switcher that automaticly senses the active HDMI port and switches accordingly. With component I had a few extra buttons to hit to change my A/V source. It will also provide 1080p for those of you that have a 1080p display. On the other hand, NOT ALL HDTVs (even those that are 1080p HDTVs) SUPPORT 1080p THROUGH A COMPONENT VIDEO CONNECTION. Consult your HDTV manual or manufacturer website to find out what your HDTV can accomodate via each type of connection. Honestly the difference in video quality between component and HDMI is neglegible. Most of you will not notice any increase in video quality. But some of you may see an improvement depending on what model HDTV you have. It's always a good idea, if you have a digital tv, to keep the signal digital. It does not carry Dolby Digital sound over HDMI, so plan on using a TOSlink cable for Dolby Digital 5.1. Bioshock, Rainbow6, Oblivion, Forza2, Nascar'08, Two Worlds, C&C all look and sound top notch on this baby!
I cannot confirm the reviews stating that the fan is loud in the 360 Elite. The fan in mine is nice and quiet. From 8 feet away I cannot hear it at all with the volume at a reasonable gaming level. Maybe a slight whisper at times. It may even be quieter than my old 360, but I can't be sure since my old one is now a bookend.
The 120gig drive is nice if you wanna fill it with music or movie downloads from Xbox Live. As for me, there's plenty of room for my custom soundtracks, Xbox Live Arcade Games, and game expansion packs. Some of the expansion packs are pretty big (Oblivion, Rainbow 6), so I was near filling my old 20gig drive. So far I have not even scratched the surface of this drive. I suspect that, in the future, there will be alot more HUGE downloads to help fill it up. Like downloading full games maybe? And 1080 video content. With 120 gigs you can be prepared for the future.
One reviewer asked about the hard drive coming pre-loaded with games and movies. The answer is no. You should buy a game or two if you're going to give it as a Christmas gift. And yes you want to have it connected to the internet to download content. You can download feature films at the same time they are released on DVD. Some games can be downloaded, but games like Bioshock, Rainbow6, Oblivion, PGR4, and the like must be purchased from a retailer. You cannot download DVD sized games from Xbox Live...yet. However you can download updates, patches, and expansion packs for retail games if they are available.
The 360 is the system you want if you like multiplayer over the net. Period! PS3 and Wii cannot touch the functionality or depth of Xbox Live. Don't get me wrong, those systems have their good points, but for online gaming nothing beats the 360.
Bottom Line: If you can afford the extra cash and you have an HDMI connection on your A/V system, get the 360 Elite. I'm 35 and I've gamed on every console system released since the Atari2600 and this is the best console gaming experience ever created. You will not be disappointed.
Notes: My 360 Elite is connected via HDMI and TOSlink optical to a Denon 3806 A/V Receiver and a Samsung HLS-5087W DLP 1080p HDTV.
24 of 27 found the following review helpful:
XBOX 360 Elite is a good buy if you want HDMI May 02, 2007
By D. Thorkelson
"dsoldit"
This review is to review the focuses differences that are not on a "standard" XBOX 360 and the Elite, and rate the system as a new purchase, not an upgrade or replacement to your current XBOX 360, but overall.
When the Elite was announced, the biggest thing that made this different than the other two versions: the HDMI output. When you play and use this, you will see it's not a new console. Almost everything about the Xbox 360 in white stands true for the Elite: It theoretically doesn't run cooler, or quieter, or faster, and you've already know that it is black.
Don't let the black paint job distract you; the only thing you need to ask is if it improves the video quality and after many reviews and hours using this machine, the XBox Elite's HDMI output is the pretty darn good, and the 120GB hard drive upgrade is nice for all that downloadable content that you have been picking up on th market place.
Should you buy it?
Gamers who have an Xbox 360? No!
Videophiles looking for an HD DVD player? No!
Videophiles looking to get into the Xbox Live video marketplace? Yes, but know that this thing is still loud.
Guys like me who are gamers and video geeks? Ya, this is for you. The fact that all that video and audio is being piped through a single HDMI cable is a bonus. I swear it's a touch cooler and quieter, and I could want it to be such, but reports say it is not.
When running the HD DVD player, using Tokyo Drift and the newly minted HQV Silicon Optics test disc--the rigorous test disc benchmarks showed the same flaws on both the HDMI and Component outputs. Jaggies That means the video processor between the older and newer Xbox is likely identical, or of identical quality. That's the processor, though. This isn't a high-end HD DVD player. As for the outputs and what I saw with my own eyes and confirmed with my camera. The HDMI's slightly better shadow detail showed itself. That detail might be lost on a lesser TV or the untrained eye. But remember that the component cables are limited to 1080i. So HDMI wins at full 1080p with no compromises, but with VGA cables you have a draw.
Playing games, Command and Conquer and Virtua Tennis yielded no differences between the 1080p signals of all three cables--except the strange washed out colors that the VGA cables sometimes show (GRAW and Gears of War, for starters). The HDMI again has that shadow detail boost that comes up over and over again. HDMI wins for a better picture, even though all cables do the 1080p dance with games.
Final Verdict:
It runs HDMI 1.2 (not 1.3 - the newest version), has the 90mm chip still, and only runs 5.1 Dolby still (no 7.1 yet), but with the larger hard drive, HDMI, and sleek styling, the 360 Elite is worth getting if you are just now entering the high definition video game market.
See all 229 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
| | |
