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| Xbox 360 Console Includes 20GB Hard Drive | 
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| From: Microsoft
Category: Video Games
List Price: $259.99
Buy New: $167.99
You Save: $92.00 (35%)
Buy New from $259.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (279 reviews)
Sales Rank: 259
Platform: Xbox 360
ESRB: Everyone
Media: Video Game
Edition: Pro 20 GB
Batteries Included: No
Age: 5 - 20 years
Graphics RAM: 10
Shipping Weight (lbs): 13.3
Dimensions (in): 10.2 x 12.2 x 3.3
MPN: B4J-00107
Model: 360
UPC: 882224380751
EAN: 0882224380751
ASIN: B000UQAUWW
Release Date: August 8, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 The most unreliable piece of equipment I have ever owned. November 5, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
My initial review of the XBOX 360 Pro was a few days after I purchased it in November of 2006. Since that time I have gone through four or five XBOX Pro consoles with problems ranging from no video on the screen to the games freezing for no reason at all. In addition to the XBOX Pro's failing, I have also had to have two XBOX Elites replaced or repaired since purchasing my first one in January of 2008. The problem with the Elite consoles was that the shoddy DVD drives could fail to read Game CD's until after 30 - 40 tries of opening/closing the drives. In fact I have just boxed up my 2nd Elite console to send back to Microsoft. None of my XBOX Pro's have lasted more than seven months, and in terms of my XBOX Elite, it will be my THIRD in less than a year.
I can go into every single reason why my XBOX's have failed but why bother when you can just as easily go to the multitudes of message boards and read the horror stories of this extremely unreliable console. When I purchased my XBOX Elite in December of 2008, it started having problems of not always reading game discs two weeks after purchase, the only reason I didn't return it to Microsoft then was because I knew all they would do is just send me a POS refurb. I dealt the with the problem for several months until finally it started freezing and RROD'ing on me; giving me no choice but to return it. Now my most recent Elite is doing the exact same thing in less than three months!
What makes things even worse is Microsoft's customer support is absolutely useless. As with many companies that don't care about customer service, their XBOX support is somewhere in India and the customer service reps are hard to understand, clueless, unhelpful, and sometimes even downright rude. When I was returning my 4th or 5th XBOX Pro console earlier this year, the rep didn't even want to process the return because he claimed that my warranty expired. This was despite the fact that I had purchased an extended warranty plan THROUGH MICROSOFT and had the actual print out of the warranty certificate that Microsoft sent me. This idiot even tried to tell me that the warranty I purchased for my XBOX Pro console in November of 2006 was for my XBOX Elite console which was purchased in January of 2008. Not only does it make ZERO sense that I could even purchase a warranty for an Elite console I did not even own at the time, the XBOX Elite console was not even out in 2006! I had to fight with him for over an half hour before I got the supervisor on the phone who agreed to let me send it back provided I included a copy of the warranty certificate. Yet even after all of that the geniuses at Microsoft STILL did not apply my warranty to my console so I had to spend another week straightening that out. With me finally sending a letter to the main corporate office stating that I have an extended warranty and I expect them to honor it.
I will admit when working I think the Microsoft XBOX 360 console oflffers the best in terms of overall game play and features, but what good is all of that if the console breaks all the time? I am nearing 32 years old and I have bought tens of thousands of dollars (maybe even more) worth of electronic equipment and only ONCE have I had to return something to the manufacturer due to a malfunction. Yet in under two years of owning the XBOX 360, I am on my eighth one. This is absolutely unacceptable and Microsoft has proven that not only can they NOT make a reliable console, they have also proven that they don't care. Even after Microsoft spends over $1 billion to "correct" the numerous problems with the XBOX 360 console, failure rates are still off the charts. Heck, I can't even get one that lasts a year. I have taken every precaution to ensure I am doing all that I can to help the extremely fragile console function properly but NOTHING helps. I don't plug it in to a power strip, I always lay it horizontal. I ensure it has adequate ventilation, but guess what? it still fails. I know for sure that if I dusted off my old 8 bit Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, or Sony PlayStation (The VERY first one that came out), they would STILL work flawlessly. Yet in two years time, the amount of XBOX 360 consoles I have gone through is MORE than the total amount of gaming consoles I have owned in my entire life!
As much as I love playing the multitude of fun games on the XBOX 360, once my warranties have expired and they will no longer "fix" the console free of charge, I am done with Microsoft based consoles. If I am unable to fix it myself (which I had to do with the first gen XBOX) then all of my games will be sold or donated. I am not really interested in the PS3 or GameCube, so once my 360 bites the dust for the last time, then its back to PC gaming for me.
In any case, I will never spend another DIME on Microsoft's extremely unreliable pieces of junk that they call the XBOX 360 or any future consoles they plan to make. I urge potential buyers to think long and hard before spending this kind of money on the XBOX 360, if you still insist then I suggest a replacement plan AT THE PLACE OF PURCHASE, I don't even recommend getting Microsoft's service contract as the reps don't even know how to handle that correctly.
 This system needs to be made easier to "play together" and a new user interface! October 31, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
For a slogan like, "Its good to play together" I have not seen microsoft taking any steps towards making their user interface any easier or faster for that matter. From signing on to xbox live and then signing into a separate user profile its just simply a pain in the butt. To join a friend thats playing the same game is probably the single most frustrating thing ive ever had to deal with. SIMPLY PUT XBOX 360 NEEDS A WHOLE NEW USER INTERFACE.
It takes 5-10 seconds just to click the button to join a friends game then another 35 seconds to actually get into the same room as them. With a saying like, "its good to play together" they sure dont make it any easier. Even with two xbox live accounts the only game that i own that allows me to play on the same tv as my friend (who is in the same room) is halo three and thats over 2 years old now! Even with two xbox live accounts we arent able to play rainbow six vegas, OR VEGAS 2 (OR CALL OF DUTY 4), together on the same screen, it requires 2 xboxes, 2 tvs and two games! First you need to click on your controller , wait 3 seconds for a menu to pop up (and if you are in the middle of the game, the menu will cover half the screen and will temp. freeze your movement in the game) then you need to go to your friends menu, find which friend is online, click his name, then click join his game. Mind you there is always that 3 second delay between each menu. UGH! Dont get me wrong I love my xbox, but somebody out there working for microsoft is retarded, and they are getting a lot of money to be retarded. I dont own a PS3 but ive sampled their interface and its LIGHT YEARS ahead of this one! When you go from one menu to another menu it actually does it when you tell it to! No lag, no waiting! Its instant and seamless (opposite xbox) brilliant!
My two cents October 24, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I've had my one and only 360, never serviced, since about February 2006 because my local GameStop was out of stock, backordered. My hope was to turn it around online at a profit but by February it appeared the best I could do was break even. Wasn't really interested in a product by a company known for software, not much trust, but looked forward to the multimedia content, music videos, TV shows, movies, and games. The first year my 360 received little use because the multimedia content was almost non-existent. Only games specific to the 360 I have are the two DOA series the remainder are original Xbox titles of which about 2/3 are compatible.
Casual gamer probably best fits my gaming experience even though I currently still have a Nintendo NES, SNES, GameBoy color, Xbox, and Sony PSP. All are still working fine with the exception of the original GameBoy, the LCD display went bad even with light/moderate use. Back then toward the earlier years of LCD displays, they failed frequently. I had Fluke DMM's (Digital Multi Meters) toward the early 80's, the LCD displays would always fail in about a years time.
Last time I checked folks rated the 360 a 3.5/5.0 here. My rating is a 1.0/5.0 because I'm not a hardcore gamer and find the failures unacceptable. The market focus of the 360 appears to be for the mass consumers because of the multimedia content.
I will try to explain why IMO the 360's are dying and depending on perspective it's normal. MS (Microsoft) is a PC focused business similar to that of others, the politics are the same. Probably by the time the Pentium III came about the die size used on the processors shrunk to the point the voltage regulator on the mobo (motherboard) changed from a linear to a switcher for efficiency. Unlike previous mobo designs part of the PS (power supply) is now built onto the mobo, more heat. Toward the end of the Pentium III and beyond heat of the processors became more of an issue; a Pentium III has been said is 50% faster for a given speed than a Pentium IV. Multi-core came about because of heat, a method of working around the issue of heat. In years past it was said processor speed would double about every two years, that came to an end with the Pentium III. Processor speeds are no longer stated clearly upfront.
While makers of PC's, particularly notebooks, don't state not to play video games on a PC, it's common for such items to fail because of games or heavy graphics applications. Nvida recently took a hit of $ millions because of video related failures.
My setup of the 360 consists of a Sony 27" XBR square TV connected via composite video, NTSC, with the audio connected to the same TV. The 360 and original Xbox are connected directly to the TV while other components like DVD, LD, and video tape player/recorder are connected to the TV via a RS (Radio Shack) switch box. Both Xbox's are connected directly because they tend to pull the audio volume down on the other components when connected to a switch box. TV stand is a one piece welded square tubular steel frame with 3 shelves. No side/back panels or doors. Both Xbox's are on the lower shelf with the 360 placed on top of the original Xbox. They are separated by a bracket made of four chop sticks. Xbox's have always been in a horizontal position. Surge suppressors made by APC are used and sometimes an APC 1400 UPS is used for all the components on the TV stand.
My conclusion. I've probably read hundreds of reports and blogs but unfortunately folks generally don't state their setup or software (games) used. IMO the best way to help keep the 360 up and running is to not have the HD (high definition) video connected and limit the 360 game titles used. Also placement of the 360 in a vertical position is a no no, most of the air intake appears to be on that side of the console.
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Updated added info:
I got my lazy self to actually take some line input power measurements of my 360. Comparing my measurements with those from hardware.net yields differences. My TV/display setup is the same as above, standard video (NTSC) composite. I presume those from hardware.net are HDTV.
Objective is to estimate the power consumption of the GPU (graphical processing unit) of the 360 under various functions. The commonly known GPU overheating is the main cause of 360's becoming bricked, RRoD (red ring of death), display distortions, freeze ups, and shutdowns. My estimate of GPU power consumption is based on some fixed parameters (console and its modes/functions) and variable (display device). Maximum power consumption of the GPU is assumed to be 35W, info from the web.
Below, first number/reading, are my measurements using a Sencore PR57. Second numbers/reading are from hardware.net, they are separated by a / (slash). Example: myreading/hardware.net W= watts, NA= not available. Numbers are rounded to 3 digits or less because of resolution error.
1.)Standby (video output is off, power brick has yellow light indicator illuminated, no illumination at console) NA/2.5W
2.)Standby w/active background downloading (video output is off, power brick has green indicator illuminated, console has momentary center green light indicator flash at power switch) 110W/NA
3.)Idle (dashboard, specific area Xbox Live, usual power-up default screen), 141W/158W
4.)DVD (video playback from DVD disc) 120-123W/126-127W
5.)Xbox video (playback of downloaded video on HDD (hard drive)) 136W/139-149W
6.)Game Play (low and high average or just average, low and high peaks omitted) 165W, 172W/185W
7.)Background Download (additional power draw when active) 2W/NA
8.)Fan, high speed (additional power draw when active) 4W/NA
Measurement comments:
1.)Standby, the Sencore PR57 has a low scale of 175W, anything below 20% of this scale would be meaningless or with high error. This is the reason for omission.
2.)Standby w/active background downloading, usually its 110W but with the fan kicking up to higher speed will be 114W. This measurement should be the same regardless of display device. As high as 138W when downloading a demo game. Unknown whether the latter is normal because of no momentary green flash of the center light of the power switch on the console.
3.) Idle, a differential of 17W between standard video and HDTV. Fairly consistent see #6 Game Play.
4.)DVD, output would probably be 480p to a HDTV may explain why power is higher than standard video.
5.)Xbox video, output display device appears to determine processing of video file regardless of format, standard/HD. In other words while an HD file can be used with a standard display, a standard video file would be desirable if available. HD video file is about 4 times the size of that of standard video.
6.)Game Play, unlike most measurements these readings are highly subjective. I've eliminated peak high readings because they are generally of short duration. Should peak high readings be considered than it would be proper to include peak low readings. Peak low readings would bring the average reading down substantially because during game loads (accessing the optical disc) power consumption would drop substantially toward Idle. Demo games on the HDD (hard drive) would average higher because game load times would be shorter. Games I've monitored from disc are DOA Extreme, DOA 4, DOA 3, DOA 2. Demo games on HDD are Portal, Bioshock, Wall E, Doom, and many others. My readings where 165W and 172W, average of these would be 168.5W. Average is needed for comparison with hardware.net's reading of 185W. Differential is 16.5W or 17W. This differential is the same/similar to #3 Idle of 17W.
Conclusion, 17W is about half of the 35W maximum rating of the GPU or the remaining 18W is the power at the GPU with standard video. Sounds like a GPU saver to me.
Previously I mentioned 360 games should be limited but I have a change of mind. Very little difference noticed during measurements. Insignificant compared to the display device used.
Should be clear to most if not all the 360 wasn't designed and executed properly. Eventually I hope to rework/remount the heat sinks on the GPU and CPU.
 So much fun! October 20, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
The xbox 360 is the best! THE BEST! I have owned 2 units. Sold my frist one to get the elite. The games are awsome the unit is awsome!
Best Gen Consloe yet! October 19, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
I have owned an Xbox 360 for more than a year now and it still works excellent! The main reason I got it was because of Halo. But there are other fun games too. I like the wireless controllers, which can be up to 30 feet away! And they work very good. You can also play original Xbox games on your 360! But you need to have a hard drive and special software to do it. Go to www.xbox.com for more information. The games for it are very fun and up to four people can play on most of them! Xbox 360 is just a fun console and I would really recommend it! It is worth every penny!
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