Xbox 360 Slim – Review – Hardware

Written By Mike Tolvaisa (Mikeyt85)

Xbox 360 Slim – Review

At E3 this past June, Microsoft unveiled the new Xbox 360 Slim. Me being the super Microsoft fanboy/lover of technology/someone with an unending desire to get new shiny gadgets immediately started to plan on how I would get this. Luckily GameStop came through with their trade-in promo towards the Xbox 360 Slim. In the end it was an even swap for me with all my original Xbox 360 accessories and worn out controllers to get the Xbox 360 Slim so I jumped right on to the bandwagon.

The first thing I noticed while at GameStop trading in my original Xbox 360 was that the Xbox 360 Slim only came with standard A/V cables. In my opinion this is a big mistake, HD TV’s are way more popular today then they where when the 360 first launched which it did with HD video cables included in the box. Microsoft should at least include component cables to ensure its users are getting an HD experience if they have the TV to take advantage of it.

After setting up my new Xbox 360 Slim I was blown away by the fact that it is whisper quiet like Microsoft advertises it to be. I am someone who plays with headphones and only a few feet from my tv. With the original Xbox 360 I could usually hear the disc drive going crazy over my headphone volume. That is no where near the case with the Slim, infact I can barely hear the disc going WITHOUT my headphones on.

One reason I was definitely excited to get the new Xbox 360 Slim was the 250GB hard drive. However in upgrading to the new console there was one issue which I resolved and one I still am pending with. The first was transferring my content which would result in an additional $20, but a friend of mine also upgraded so we split the cost. Or I could have transferred my saves manually….I think not. The other issue that we both are currently dealing with is that we had issues with our prior Xboxes and had to use the license transfer tool online. With the license transfer tool on xbox.com, you can only transfer your licenses one time per year. This means that any of my xbox live purchases will not work unless I am connected to xbox live or on the gamer tag they were originally purchased on. This could/will cause a problem for families.

The Xbox 360 slim does offer more connectivity options then the original xbox. Built-in WiFi was a feature that people have been screaming for since the Xbox 360 launched. We now have built in WiFi on the Xbox 360 Slim, and it supports the most powerful WiFi signal available with 802.11n support. Which Sony still doesn’t offer with the PS3. On my original Xbox 360 I didn’t have enough USB ports, the back had my wireless adapter, front two had my wired controller and USB stick with my profile. This left my vision camera always unplugged. With the Xbox 360 Slim I have the two on the front which are used for the same purposes, but since I now have built in wifi, I only need to use one of the three rear ports to hook up my vision camera. Also the Xbox 360 Slim features a Kinect port on the back which will power and operate the Kinect Camera. On an original Xbox 360 you will need an additional power cable to power Kinect, and we all know less wires is always
a plus. The one type of port that you will lose with the Xbox 360 Slim is the memory unit slot. Truthfully I do not believe this is something that will affect many users however I think that there should have been one included just incase you did need it.

Pros:
Ridiculously quiet
More power efficient
Kinect Port
250GB HDD
5 USB ports

Cons:
License transfer if have Done within the past 12 months
Current 360 owners have to buy $20 transfer kit or manually transfer with USB sticks
No old style 360 memory unit slots
Only comes with standard A/V cables

Overall:
Originally I was thinking about waiting till at least September to see if there was going to be a Reach LE of the console, but I don’t have the patience to wait. Overall I am very happy with my decision to buy (trade for) the Xbox 360 Slim. However at the end of the day the pluses and minuses of the two Xbox 360s even out for the most part. The main thing we need to find out is if they are going to suffer from the same or new issues that original Xbox 360 suffers from.

Recommended but not a must get/upgrade to

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