Xbox price

[shmokes]

WTF?  I just went to pick up an Xbox and the plain vanilla, one-controller package costs $179.99.  When did this happen?  I could have sworn the Xbox was down to $150.  I was going to mod an xbox for my brother's kid for him, for Christmas and had him give me $160 to cover the Xbox plus tax.  Now I'm gonna have to tell him to fork over another $30.  That sucks.  Am I just crazy?  I could swear the thing used to be only $150.  Hell, my wife paid $180 for mine and that was two or three years ago.

[USSEnterprise]

Thats realistic. You could get a refurb one of cheaper

[joshbr7257]

they have been 150 where i live for over a year now

[Scott84]

Did you shop around?

[shmokes]

Walmart, Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, Costco, Gamestop, Electronics Boutique.  $180.

The only place that has it listed as $150 still that I've found is Comp-USA on their website, but it's for in-store pickup only.  Call the store on that product number and it's out of stock.  Lame.  I'm so bummed, and my brother will be too when I call him and tell him it's gonna cost him another $30.

[Scott84]

For that much, he should have saved his money and got a 360. IMO

[shmokes]

Kinda, except that 90% of the reason he's shelling out the money is that it comes with 60 or so Xbox games, 600ish NES games, a bunch of SNES games, 30-40 N64 games, a few hundred MAME games, 25 GB of MP3s and about 80 GB of DIVX movies.  All installed on the internal hard drive.

[pointdablame]

They are $150 near me in NJ, and you can get a refurb for like $100-125 IIRC

[Scott84]

They are $150 near me in NJ, and you can get a refurb for like $100-125 IIRC

WHats IIRC? 

[Goz]

They are $150 near me in NJ, and you can get a refurb for like $100-125 IIRC

WHats IIRC? 

If I Recall / Remember Correctly ??

[USSEnterprise]

Why not just shell out the $30 yourself and not even tell your bro?

[shmokes]

Because I'm not wealthy and I'm already shelling out the considerable time it will take, not to mention skills that I would charge other people for, to mod it for him for free.  Why don't I just pitch in on all my brothers' and sisters' gifts to their children?  I'm sure they wouldn't mind. 

[Samstag]

I'm sure if he had the $30 to spend he would consider purchasing one of those 60 or so xbox games.

[pointdablame]

They are $150 near me in NJ, and you can get a refurb for like $100-125 IIRC

WHats IIRC? 

If I Recall / Remember Correctly ??

* pointdablame nods in agreement

[versapak]

Because I'm not wealthy and I'm already shelling out the considerable time it will take, not to mention skills that I would charge other people for, to mod it for him for free. Why don't I just pitch in on all my brothers' and sisters' gifts to their children? I'm sure they wouldn't mind.

Considerable time?


I can certainly understand not wanting to shell out your own money for any of the project, but come on...

It takes more time to get an Xbox home from the store than it does to mod it.

[shmokes]

No...you're just not considering everything that goes into it.  I've got to take it apart, rebuild the LPC on the bottom which is like six solder points, plus the pinheader, which is like 10 or 12 more solders points.  Then I have to hook up the new hard drive and push all the software over to it (I don't have to stick around for this part, but it takes a good 5-6 hours to push 300+ GB over FTP (much of it consisting of hundreds of tiny files rather than a few very large files which would transfer much faster).  The I've got to download and configure a new BIOS for him (my Xbox is a 1.4 and his will be a 1.6 so I can't use the BIOS I've already got for mine) and flash it to his chip. 

Then there is the time reconfiguring the XBMC XML file to point to the correct directories on his internal Xbox HDD, rather than the shares on my network.  I'm not much with a soldering iron either, I've only soldered a few things in my whole life, so I'm not too quick there.    In the end I'll be out at least a couple of hours, probably twice that. 

I'd feel better about doing a solderless install (I didn't mind risking my own Xbox when I modded mine, but...), but since he lives in a different state than me it's better I do something that's less likely to require him to open up the Xbox down the road when the pogo-pins slip.

[Minwah]

I'd feel better about doing a solderless install (I didn't mind risking my own Xbox when I modded mine, but...), but since he lives in a different state than me it's better I do something that's less likely to require him to open up the Xbox down the road when the pogo-pins slip.

Xenium SPice - those legs won't slip

[versapak]

No...you're just not considering everything that goes into it. I've got to take it apart, rebuild the LPC on the bottom which is like six solder points, plus the pinheader, which is like 10 or 12 more solders points. Then I have to hook up the new hard drive and push all the software over to it (I don't have to stick around for this part, but it takes a good 5-6 hours to push 300+ GB over FTP (much of it consisting of hundreds of tiny files rather than a few very large files which would transfer much faster). The I've got to download and configure a new BIOS for him (my Xbox is a 1.4 and his will be a 1.6 so I can't use the BIOS I've already got for mine) and flash it to his chip.

Then there is the time reconfiguring the XBMC XML file to point to the correct directories on his internal Xbox HDD, rather than the shares on my network. I'm not much with a soldering iron either, I've only soldered a few things in my whole life, so I'm not too quick there. In the end I'll be out at least a couple of hours, probably twice that.

I'd feel better about doing a solderless install (I didn't mind risking my own Xbox when I modded mine, but...), but since he lives in a different state than me it's better I do something that's less likely to require him to open up the Xbox down the road when the pogo-pins slip.

Fair enough.





I guess my first couple of times were a bit lengthy as well. I am now well versed and prepared for such tasks though, and hadn't really considered the time needed were I not.

[shmokes]

That's what they say about the Spice, but I've modded five Xboxes with it and I've had to get back in to readjust three of them, all in under six months from when I modded them.  It's never the legs that slip, it's the pogo pins that become misaligned with the motherboard.  You open it up and it looks fine, and just the slightest adjustment will have it going again, but there's still no solderless solution that matches a solder install.  I've seen the video of the guy dragging his Xbox behind his car and tossing it down the stairs only to have the Xenium Spice stay in place.  Nevertheless, I've had three of five become misaligned over time, doing nothing but sitting in an entertainment center.

[pointdablame]

That's what they say about the Spice, but I've modded five Xboxes with it and I've had to get back in to readjust three of them, all in under six months from when I modded them.  It's never the legs that slip, it's the pogo pins that become misaligned with the motherboard.  You open it up and it looks fine, and just the slightest adjustment will have it going again, but there's still no solderless solution that matches a solder install.  I've seen the video of the guy dragging his Xbox behind his car and tossing it down the stairs only to have the Xenium Spice stay in place.  Nevertheless, I've had three of five become misaligned over time, doing nothing but sitting in an entertainment center.

Hot glue.

I've done a few solderless installs for people, as well as the one in my current modded xbox and never once had to realign anything.  And I take my Xbox to/from school prolly a dozen times a year, and it gets moved around quite a bit in the dorm room.

[arcadegamenut]

I believe that $180 is for a "bundle" that comes with some game.

You want just a plain ol' Xbox...like here:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Microsoft-Xbox-Video-Game-System/sem/rpsm/oid/87658/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

[shmokes]

Wow...I stand corrected.  I couldn't find that on their website.  However, most stores do not have that available.  Most have only the package that comes with Forza and it costs $180.

[SithMaster]

Have you tried toysrus or kbtoys?

[MYX]

Don't know if you are still looking for one or not but mine has been up on the buy sell trade section for a little while.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=46138.msg441240#msg441240

[Blacksmith]

just ordered an xbox from comp usa $149 + tax.  Order it from them, and then pick it up at your local comp usa store.  Easy.