Xbox 360 250GB Console

The proven track record of 360 games and the XBox Live experience is well documented - so I'm not going to review this side of things. Quite frankly the software experience on the 360 is second to none. Its hardware history over the years has been plagued with RROD failure and noisy hardware operation.

My thoughts on the new 360 compared to the old. The only differences with the new Xbox 360 S 250GB compared to older design 360s are the standard larger 250GB HDD, wireless 'N' WIFI now built in, the whisper quiet operation and the redesign of its outer appearance (including touch sensitive buttons). It has an optical output for surround sound amplifiers too, which I don't use, and is Kinect ready such that the 360 slim will power the Kinect camera directly whereas the old 360 will need a separate AC adaptor for Kinect.

I've had my new 'slim' a few days now and the new black sleek shiny design is surely very sexy, and will not look out of place under your TV with your other AV equipment. The slim 360 is slightly smaller than the old 360 (not by much though, mainly in height when vertical by approx 1.5 inches) and it's definitely quieter. The DVD drive is still fairly noisy when playing games, but this can be solved by simply installing games to the HDD. All in all the new slim certainly has an excellent exterior build quality and finish which finally gives it a quality AV component feel. And the 250GB HDD will take some filling, even when installing games to HDD. These are the pros of the new slim.

The cons of the new slim. Well it appears that the 360 slim kicks out a lot of heat from its main exhaust grill - which heats up the surrounding exterior casing too. And I mean it's hot!! Now, this isn't necessarily a problem as perhaps this shows that the unit is adequately expelling the hot temperature from the inner casing of the 360, away from the main heatsink that sits on top of the combined main processor/graphics processor chip on the new Valhalla motherboard. The old 360 due to its design had a problem expelling the heat from the console and as such resulted in the dreaded RROD. So the heat coming out of the new 360 slim may not be a con (negative) at all. I guess time will tell. One other thing to note, the slim will also shut itself down if it overheats, allowing itself to cool down before permitting the user to switch it back on - which should help reduce the chance of permanent damage to the console.

The second slightly concerning thing for me is the noise coming from the external power brick (the PSU) - which is also smaller than the old power brick. The fans are clearly audible and in some ways negate the new quietness of the new 360 console itself. Now, I've discovered something. My power brick used to sit on the carpet behind my AV cabinet, and I could still hear it. I've moved it onto a wooden shelf at the back of the AV unit so it's now on a solid level surface and much closer to the AV unit therefore muffling the sound much better than where it was positioned previously. As a result I can barely hear the power brick at all any more - even when I put my ear over the back of my TV. I think placing it on a solid surface has helped. And I don't think my power brick is faulty because the noise comes from inbuilt fans - and even Microsoft's xbox website reports that the noise of fans from the power brick is normal, and will even increase as the power brick heats up.

In summary, the new Xbox 360 slim is a definite improvement on the old 360 in all respects. Only time will tell if it's more reliable but I suspect it should be.

I am going to sound a little bit like a fangirl what with the 5 star review, but I don't care. I'm just fed up of the whiny reviews saying stuff about fingerprints and noise claims, and hope to give a fair-ish review.

I wasn't originally going to upgrade to the new XBox 360 until I went to University. But then 3 weeks before it was released in the UK, my Elite, which gave me 2 years of gaming without a hitch, red-ringed on a saturday night which was meant to be a gaming night for me and my mates! To say I was peed off was an understatement. So with the claim that the new XBox 'cannot red-ring', I waited patiently for a few weeks, and bought the replacement XBox 360 S in HMV (after Amazon decided to take their sweet time to get it here. We've sent the Amazon one back...disappointing since we pre-ordered and paid extra postage as well).

First of all: the 'Whisper-quiet' claim - DEPENDENT ON THE GAME BEING PLAYED! I noticed a distinct difference in noise when playing different games. Playing Red Dead: Redemption, the console was almost silent. It gave out a smooth low hum, and I could hear everything that the characters were saying without putting the volume on the TV up or reading the subtitles at the bottom of the screen. When playing Fable 2, however, the poor console sounded like it was going to roll down my desk like a runway and take off. Different games have different results, so if you're having problems with a noisy game, install the game to the hard drive: There's enough room on the thing! If it's still noisy, then something isn't right.

So far, I've experienced better wireless connection than that of the old Elite, which tended to disconnect at the most inopportune times (Mid-match, or mid-movie). The connection is definitely stronger, and I haven't had it drop randomly during gameplay or while streaming films from Sky Player. (Also a very good thing while playing Gears Of War 2, which is P2P and requires a good connection to host. Good news though, GOW 3 to have online servers! Sound off like you've got a pair!!! YEAH!)

But back to the subject in hand...

The hard drive space is another thing that is worth buying for. Having a few extra gig is always a good thing, especially if you wish to install the games to the console (this tends to put less strain on the disk drive, and make the console quieter, on both new and original). If you want to transfer your data, get the official cable. The transfer doesn't take long, and it's worth it to keep all your saved data.

The console does get warm, but the vents on the console are placed in a better place than on the original. Where they were at the back before, they are now on top, and as heat rises it goes straight out the vents at the top.

One complaint: It should be shipped with a HDMI cable as well as a composite cable. I had one from the Elite already and a spare from something else so this wasn't a problem, but a first time buyer will have to buy the cable separately. Not really much of a problem as they aren't expensive, but with High Definition almost standard, it's something that should be mandatory for a current generation console. But it isn't worth taking a full star off the rating for.

Aesthetically, the console is definitely pretty. The case is a little more angular, but still has the smooth edges and the shiny surface makes it look more appealing to the eye than the old matte casing. I do like the touch button to open the disk tray, and the start-up noise the power button has. It make a nice little pinging sound just before the tray opens and feels very fresh...Yes, the little things like that amuse me.

All in all, definitely worth it, ESPECIALLY if your XBox is circling the drain. The pros definitely outweigh the cons in terms of accessories, the price and package value, so if you're hesitant about buying it, I hope this helps in your decision.

Well finally replaced my original Xbox (yes original first release week edition) since it was big clumpy and old, but it still worked. Must be an antique by now!

The new one what a difference the thing doesn't make a sound when you use it. No longer am I watching or playing games with what sounds like a jet engine taking off.

It seems to load quicker and had no faults at all with it yet. the hard drive is excellent addition as my old 20gb was full and I can now install the games instead of playing off the DVD helping reduce the noise even more.

Anyone who has the older style or even the newer one will benifit if they want quiter machine.