Thinking of buying an Xbox 360?

Q:> I want to buy a 360, Whats the deal with all these different versions?
A:> There are currently 4 different versions of the Xbox 360 console,
Core – This comes bare bones, standard scart cable, USB controller and no storage device
Premium – This has a switchable Scart/HD Component lead with optical out, 20 HDD, Silver bezel on the dvd drive and a wireless controller.
Elite – This has a black case, HDMI port and cable, black wireless controllers and a 120gb hard drive.
Arcade – This will be the replacement for the core console. This will have a HDMI port, no cable.
Wireless controller and 256mb memory card. This will also come with 5 Live arcade games on DVD.

Q:> Whats the deal with Xbox live?
A:> There are two models for XBL. Silver and Gold. The silver membership is free, and allows you to chat with your friends, get access to the arcade, downloads and uploads to leaderboards etc. The gold is a subscription based service allowing you to play against each other.
You can get XBL Gold month by month, Quarterly or every 12months.
If you buy the subscription to xbox live, not using a pre-paid card they will continue to take money from your account, until you cancel. you cannot cancel on the website, you need to ring this number: 0800 587 1102

Q:> Is it true you its kids screaming in your ears and geeks being gay?
A:> Depends on the games you play, Games like Gears of War have occasionally got small children screaming at you and each other and whinging when they get shot, many driving games have Asians jabbering at each other, and GTA style games have wannabe gangsters “BRAP”

Q:> Is there any way of filtering it? I don't want gayness and screaming kids in my living room really. Can you turn it off so you only get the game sounds when you play online?
A:> Yes you can, you can also block individuals so you can’t hear them.

Q:>Is it the DVD that's noisy or the fans? Can you swap stuff out?
A:> The DVD drive tends to make the most noise, especially at full tilt. Some drives are noisy, some aren’t. Benq drives are currently the quietest.

Q:> Will it just plug straight into my tft or will I need a cable?
A:>Microsoft sell a VGA cable for the 360, which comes with a gender changer and an adapter to convert the RCA leads to a standard 3.5mm jack.

Q:> Does the Xbox 360 Upscale DVD’s?
A:> Yes, but only through the VGA/HDMI cable.

VGA:

* HD DVD - 1080p resolution and all others
* DVD - Upscaled as high as 1080p resolution and all others
* Games - 720p games upscaled to 1080p, also supports native-1080p games in the future

Component:

* HD DVD - 1080i resolution maximum, limited by AACS
* DVD - Upscaled to 480p maximum, limited by CSS
* Games - 720p games upscaled to 1080p, also supports native-1080p games in the future

elite FTW

I'd recommend the PS3 version, For the Custard

great,buy it now before the trim down the features even more

Funny you should say that....
Another PS3 SKU in the works

You forgot halo 3 (supposedly) limited edition.
Same spec as Premium except Halo 3 branding, Play and charge kit, Overall green colour with orange bezel, also is the new spec, more reliable machine they introduced with the elite so has an HDMI out.

I need a HD cable kit as my HD TV won't accept HD input through the components .

Also you haven't mentioned you can flash the firmware on the drives to play 'backed up games' so you never have to worry about scratched disks again *cough* .

I'm not going into the intricacies of flashing, as its not a how to guide.
Its also not "safe" Currently you can play live with the latest firmware, but who's to say thats still going to be the case after the next update. Not for the buyers guide.

The Halo 3 is a limited edition Premium console, so doesn't really count.

Yeah, but its the new hdmi model which is unavailable as a standard premium until next year, so just thought i'd add it.

no,no.HDMI is being introduced now from core well arcade model up.just depends how soon they clear 'old' stock.
any HDMI equipped 360 will have the HDMI logo on the box so you can check for sure