Original XBOX - $39.99 at eb/gamestop

[severdhed]

hey guys, just wanted to let you guys know that EB/Gamestop just dropped the price of their refurb xboxes from $59.99 to $39.99.  I already have 2 modded xboxes, one in the living room, and one in the "man room"...but i figured at this price i'd pick one up for the kid's playroom.  they aren't available online, but you may be able to get them at your local store.  we have 3 stores here in town, (one EB, two gamestops) and only one of them had any in stock.  and i figure, at $39.99, they won't last long. 

then you add $20 for a chip, $60 for a 250gb hard drive, and you have a nice media center/emulator machine for $120...you cant really beat that.

just thought i'd spread the good news

[Malenko]

hey guys, just wanted to let you guys know that EB/Gamestop just dropped the price of their refurb xboxes from $59.99 to $39.99.  I already have 2 modded xboxes, one in the living room, and one in the "man room"...but i figured at this price i'd pick one up for the kid's playroom.  they aren't available online, but you may be able to get them at your local store.  we have 3 stores here in town, (one EB, two gamestops) and only one of them had any in stock.  and i figure, at $39.99, they won't last long. 

then you add $20 for a chip, $60 for a 250gb hard drive, and you have a nice media center/emulator machine for $120...you cant really beat that.

just thought i'd spread the good news

you could softmod it and save $20 :p

[shardian]

I've seen these at the local Mall game stores. Maybe one day I will pull the trigger.

[ChadTower]

Make sure to test the DVD drive thoroughly as soon as you get it.  I know my local Gamestops don't do that on tradeins so people have been trading in Xboxes with dead DVD drives all along.

[Red]

Gamestop is also throwing them into cardboard boxes now so you can't look through the packaging to make sure it's not a 1.6.  :/

If you get a sympathetic manager, he'll let you open the box and check - I had to open 3 the last time I did it. 

Why is a 1.6 bad?  And how can you tell it's a 1.6?  Thanks.

[severdhed]

i have done soft mods, but the problem is, upgrading the hard drive is much more difficult, and if your dvd drive is crap, then it is essentially worthless.  if you install a chip, you can easily upgrade the hard drive, and then it doesnt matter if your dvd drive doesnt work, cause you dont need to ever use it again.

installing a chip isnt that hard at all, even on a 1.6...it is a little more work, but still pretty easy.

if you are thinking about picking one up, i'd do it soon...they don't make these things anymore, and at that price, i don't think they will last long.

the guys at my gamestop were very helpful.  they sell them in a clear plastic shell.  when i asked for one, i asked for an old one if they had them..he looked through them and found me one that was from Jan of 03, which means it should be an easy one.  if i remember correctly, anything manufactured after March of 04 is a 1.6.

i booted it up as soon as i got home and it played a game with no problems.  even if the dvd drive is no good though, i still have two other modded xboxes, plus a spare drive lying around, so i can always swap it out temporarily if i had to.

i'll probably order a chip this week one day, but i need to finish my Christmas shopping first, to make sure i have the cash to get it.

[Singapura]

If you think an Xbox with a broken DVD is worthless, please send it to me If you network your Xbox you can stream about anything from your PC directly to the Xbox. You don't even need a larger hard drive that way.

[severdhed]

i think i said that wrong.  i just don't like soft modding, and what i meant was, since upgrading the hard drive on a softmod box is difficult, i don't do it.  so therefore any softmodded xboxes i have, only have the standard hard drive in them, and if the DVD drive is no good, then you can't really play games on it.  however, if you have a chip, it is very easy to install a larger drive, and therefore you can FTP your games over and install them on the hard drive, eliminating the need for a dvd drive.

i very rarely actually play games on my xbox anymore, but i pretty much exclusively use them for streaming movies over my lan, and it does an excellent job.  and yeah, i could do that with a soft mod too, however i just like having a chip in there, it makes me feel more secure and less limited in what it can do.

[pmc]

hey guys, just wanted to let you guys know that EB/Gamestop just dropped the price of their refurb xboxes from $59.99 to $39.99.

These are trade-ins, right? Not refurbs. I'd think that there must be a huge used market of these things out there but that's still a good price given that you can bring it back if you have a problem. I've been thinking about getting one for XBMC so maybe I'll go see what they have. Thanks for the tip.

-pmc

[J_K_M_A_N]

i think i said that wrong.  i just don't like soft modding, and what i meant was, since upgrading the hard drive on a softmod box is difficult, i don't do it.  so therefore any softmodded xboxes i have, only have the standard hard drive in them, and if the DVD drive is no good, then you can't really play games on it.  however, if you have a chip, it is very easy to install a larger drive, and therefore you can FTP your games over and install them on the hard drive, eliminating the need for a dvd drive.

i very rarely actually play games on my xbox anymore, but i pretty much exclusively use them for streaming movies over my lan, and it does an excellent job.  and yeah, i could do that with a soft mod too, however i just like having a chip in there, it makes me feel more secure and less limited in what it can do.

I have one with a chip and 2 without. I would never buy a chip again. It is a waste of money for me. Soft modding is VERY easy. I use the hotswap method and once I am done, I get the eeprom and then there is nothing to worry about. I can build a bigger hard drive with the eeprom in about a half hour or so. I have an old system that I use just for modding. I have soft modded about 15 systems. No problems with any. My very first system is chipped with an X3 which is a very nice chip but it doesn't run XBMC any better than the 2 soft modded ones.

You are correct in that upgrading a hard drive in a chipped system is easier but it is not MUCH more difficult on a softmod. (IMHO)

J_K_M_A_N

[severdhed]

well, yeah i guess they are trade ins, but they say " gamestop refurbished" on the box, so it looks like they got a little attention before being resold.

as for the hot swapping hard drives, it just doesnt seem safe.  i dont want to risk blowing out the IDE controller on my motherboard, especially when it only takes 10 minutes to install a mod chip.   but, to each his own.

[ChadTower]

If you think an Xbox with a broken DVD is worthless, please send it to me If you network your Xbox you can stream about anything from your PC directly to the Xbox. You don't even need a larger hard drive that way.

Not until you've modded it... and since he doesn't have the cash right now for a modchip... you need the drive to softmod... and thus an Xbox with a dead DVD drive is a brick to him.

[ChadTower]

well, yeah i guess they are trade ins, but they say " gamestop refurbished" on the box, so it looks like they got a little attention before being resold.

They give it a wipedown with a dry napkin.  That's about it.  I have bought "Gamestop Refurbs" that still had fast food crud on them when the box was opened.  I got one Gamecube last year that was missing the drive door and a controller port.

[DantheApe]

i just hit the gamestops here in louisville...$49.99

still picked one up and a fist full of bargain games (riddick for $5, yes please) but meh

[edit] i just saw on the site that they are 39.99...looks like i get to make a phone call today after work

[DantheApe]

I have a tsop modded box and i am planning on just soft modding this new one, but the process for upgrading the hard drive in a soft-box just looks a bit more in-depth than what i was expecting *shrugs*

surprisingly enough, I still have softmod files on my old memory card from the early auf days so i think im good to go

[ChadTower]

I've still never done a softmod.  I've done all hard mods, mostly to 1.6 too, just because those are the Xboxes I've had my hands on.

[DantheApe]

you really can't beat xbox 1 consoles for the media center abilities...I'm probably going to be picking up a copule more after the holidays just to put one with each tv

When the gamestop clerk asked if i wanted the warranty my wife just laughed and said i would end up voiding it in the next copule of hours....she really has accepted my addiction with these things.

oh yea, before i made myself look like a heel by calling up said gamestop my recipt showed the 39.99 price point despite what i was told in the store...score!

[shardian]

These were back up to $49 as of yesterday. They said the $49 price was only for the week of black Friday.

There was only one left, and it was a piece of junk. I took one look in the box and said no f'ing way.

[severdhed]

oh well, i guess i just got lucky then.  i'm sure glad my wife was at the mall that day and saw the sign.  but still, even at $50, it is a great deal.  you can't beat a modded xbox as a media center box, and from what i read, mame on the xbox supports the xbox light guns...so it could be great for an arcade cabinet project as well.

[pmc]

I stopped by our GS last night just to see what was up. Same horrible experience as usual. 

Anyway, they were $49.99 and they had five in cardboard boxes. I didn't bother ask about the $39 thing. And they had no deals on used PSP, GBA, or GC software so I walked out empty handed.

Maybe after Xmas they'll want to flush out all that old stock for cheap.

-pmc

[DantheApe]

even at $50 it's not a bad deal...if i had known i wouldve gone on and bought 2 or 3 more that day

ahh well, live and learn

[Hoopz]

Here's an X-Box for sale....  Could be a good price.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=87313.msg917348#msg917348

 

[werejag]

they raised the price back to 49.99

[Chris2]

I've thought about doing this in the past as a happy fun time project. First, though, I have to buy a Gamecube and make it a lunch box.