http://www.divineo.co.uk/cgi-bin/div-uk/xb-smart2.html smartx @ £39.95
http://www.divineo.co.uk/cgi-bin/div-uk/xb-xbit x bit @£34.95
http://www.divineo.co.uk/cgi-bin/div-uk/XB-X3Full X3 @ £39.95
http://www.divineo.co.uk/cgi-bin/div-uk/xb-x26l X ecuter lie @ £24.95
http://www.divineo.co.uk/cgi-bin/div-uk/xb-xenium xenium ice @ £32.95
or maybe no solder http://www.divineo.co.uk/cgi-bin/div-uk/xb-xbit.html

so any advice or recommendations on what to buy? i'll be fitting it myself, so ease of fitting is important( and price )
ideally i'd like to have it networked to my PC (right next to it) and obviously i,ll be playing my back ups but also divx media as well.
long term when funds allow, a bigger h/drive would be on the cards.

Admmittedly i have been out of the xbox scene for a long while now but, i do have a chipped xbox. Prob is mines a V1 with a now very dated chip in it (Generation3a).
The best place to do research is http://www.xbox-scene.com.
Damn good site giving all the lastest goings on in the xbox world, inc new 3rd party softwear etc.
I have an xecutor2 chip, and there is now a new one (Generation4) the xecutor3. I have to say mine has been no hassle ever and if the new ones are as good then i would definately reccomend them. Bought it from http://www.baldbouncer.co.uk, still seems a good place to get stuff from.
If arc sees this post he will no doubt have sommert useful to add too. I would highly reccomend getting a new HDD ASAP, makes the box 1000 times more useful.

how old is ur xbox? early versions are easier to chip. do not buy a no-solder chip, they've always been and always will be hassle - do the job properly.

chipwise, i have an X2.1lite. All an xbox chip is is a BIOS replacement. Its a flashrom, anything else is a gimmick. Do you want the chip to switch off when u hold the button for 3seconds or whatever? i dont, and if i want the chip off i have a switch at the back.

basically, the modern chips have no 'real' (read useful) new features of the generation 3b. GeX, your chip is a generation 3b (professionally installed i must say )

http://www.xbox-scene.com/modchips4_table.htm

http://www.xbox-scene.com/modchips3b_table.htm

Thats the 3b and 4th gen chips, like i said - its a BIOS replacement, so long as it works - stays installed (ie, its soldered!) and is flashable (all 3b+ are) then that'll do.

arc, would this professional installer be willing to chip another xbox? lol will probably be wanting mine done the second i either sell the spoiler off the yellow 'un or i get a job, whichever comes first

EDIT: oh and how easy is it to swap a Hard Drive? im guessing its just a take cover off teh box and from then on its just as easy as it is to swap one in a pc?

EDIT2: Oh and my xbox is pretty new, less than a year old (old one gave up the goose and i got it swapped for a brand new one )

yeah, il do another one.

hardrive is an easy swap yeah.

do you still have ur dead xbox alex? i could do with nicking a bit of it..

arc said:

how old is ur xbox?

Click to expand...

its a green x box, so i'm guessing V4/5. doubt its a V.6

well arc if the 2.1 lite does you then i dont see why the 2.6 wont do me at a tasty £24.95 .now since me funds aint so great at the mo i was considering just going for a smaller H/D upgrade, such as an 80Gb.is this worth it since ive got a DVD burner for burning me back ups.

arc, i was working at game at the time and got it swapped for a brand spanking new xbox

i never knew that the xbox was like a mini pc wow, does anyone know if i could use it with windows instead of linux, or could i take the bits like the grapics card out, and put it into my pc, so i can play some games

be careful got my 2003 box chipped will only play dvd not cdrs as well board was moddified by microsoft

you can run windows BUT you need a linux install to do it as the X Box doesnt comply to the IBM structure thats windows needs. um you dont want to be ripping bits out to fit to your PC :yuck:

brfcraver said:

be careful got my 2003 box chipped will only play dvd not cdrs as well board was moddified by microsoft

Click to expand...

the V6 boards had some revisions which going by the forums makes it a bit trickier. what chip did you get?

i wouldnt have a clue, how would i check??

brfcraver said:

be careful got my 2003 box chipped will only play dvd not cdrs as well board was moddified by microsoft

Click to expand...

This will be down to what brand of DVD drive the monkeys put in there for you.

There were last time i checked 3 brands of drive available.
Thompson: Only in very early xbox's. Only read what it needed to (ie no copied media) Was super slow at doin anthing.

Phillips: Also in early xboxs, maybe still in use now. Can read light coloured disks if it was tweaked slightly or if you were lucky. Decent transfer rates too.

Samsung: The best drive available. Will read anything with no fuss.

Its easy to swap the DVD drives over, they all use the same connectors. I have owned all three (started with a Thompson and now have a Samsung which might be on its way out )

serin said:

i wouldnt have a clue, how would i check??

Click to expand...

you would need to open it to check for sure

use this page to check

http://www.xbox-scene.com/versions.php

according to mine its a v1.1, but i only used the serial number.

there is one thing that might cahnge it?? i bought it in New Zealand, not the UK??!!

did u buy it a long time ago? then it could be 1.1

sptemeber 2003 is when i got it

Hey,

Thought i'd drag this thread up......

Basically i'm thinkin of geting an X-box, will probably be a 2nd hand one....

The questions i'm asking are basically..

1- When you chip it what is this to do play copied games, movies etc...?
2- If you upgrade HD can you save films, mp3's etc to it?

Think that's it...

Cheers!