Thinking about switching...

[game_over]

I'm thinking about switching over to XBOX from Playstation... having not used it for quite some time i've been browsing the internet looking for ways to get more out of it, i've stumbled across comparisons and XBOX stuff, and i must say i'm really drawn to XBOX Live, i'm mainly an online player, usually skipping campaigns and sticking with online... from what i can see the online experience on XBOX is far superior to PS3.

- I've been checking out the specs and from what i can see (i'm no programmer or expert..) the PS3 is much more powerful? how does this show in performance and graphics?

I've read that PS3 exclusives will always look amazing and more superior than anything xbox can deliver, this is because of the investment of time and money into the platform, as it is hard to develop games so cross platform games look better on XBOX, as they are usually ported to PS3? I also read that since PS3 has blu-ray it has more capacity and stuff is removed from XBOX versions of the same game to accodate the less space.

- My PS3 (fat) is unbelievably loud, the fan is noisy and the constant motion noise/clicking of the optical drive is more than noticeable.. i'm not sure if the drive is on it's way out to be honest it's constantly clicking away throughout playing. Whats it like on the XBOX?

- Can the XBOX play movies from my NAS drive? TwonkyMedia. this is not that important anymore since my TV is network-enabled.

- Has the ring of death thing and overheating been rectified in recent xbox versions?

- Finally, (and let me know if this is against the rules, i've seen it mentioned a few times on here, but if not i will remove this part) i'm being drawn to this JTAG business i came across online. It looks like i can run homebrew, emulators and play backups.. If i buy a JTAGGED xbox does this mean i wont be able to go online? On another forum i visit a few people said they have no issues going online. What is the newest xbox version i can do this?

Sorry for all the questions :)

[Lingwo]

I personally don't see the point of "switching". Just have both and you don't need to worry about picking and choosing.

I'll answer in order.

1. PS3 technically is more powerful and the exclusives do look better but the majority of games are multi-platform so it doesn't matter that much. 360 Exclusives still look great.

2. Removing stuff from games because of the 360 DVD drive, is rubbish. Developers always know how to compress data.

3. My PS3 fat is a lot quieter than my first gen 360. I hear the new 360's are quieter but still think when the drive spins up you hear it. Installing games to the hard drive will fix that.

4. Should play fine if your NAS drive works as a DLNA server also. Won't play HD content like MKV's but something like PS3MediaServer installed on your PC can fix that.

5. Yes this is fixed but like everything they still can break.

6. Personally never touched it and wouldn't even attempt to. MS don't let on if they know who has illegally modified consoles. I personally wouldn't get one because the main reason you do it is the pirate games and if you want to play online then you're really risking having your console banned. Plus the console you buy might already be banned. I believe they ban the console and account (i could be wrong).

[mint0]

6. Personally never touched it and wouldn't even attempt to. MS don't let on if they know who has illegally modified consoles. I personally wouldn't get one because the main reason you do it is the pirate games and if you want to play online then you're really risking having your console banned. Plus the console you buy might already be banned. I believe they ban the console and account (i could be wrong).

The console gets banned, not the user :shiftyninja:

[Biohead]

I've had a first gen 360 and now on the current slim. I also have two PS3 fats (the last two generations, so should be the quieter ones).

I do fine Xbox Live to be a much better experience than PSN, although you're better off trying it for yourself as you may think otherwise.

The slim is very quiet, definitely quieter than the PS3s. The only thing that makes a noise on my 360 is the damned PSU although I think that's down to the fan in it becoming covered in dust. Install your games to the HDD and then you don't get any noise from the disc drive either. I only have a 120Gb HDD and I still have 30GB+ free after installing all my main games.

Only the very early 360's can be JTAG'ed, although all but the brand new ones can be "glitched" - two different hacks but same effect. MS can notice and you console will get banned from Live.

[philcruicks]

1 - Yes PS3 is more powerful, but you are correct, cross platform games tend to look better on the 360 as normally they are developed on it and then ported/tweaked for the PS...prime example for a high end current game is BF3 this looks better on the 360...generally stuff isn't removed on the 360 because of the lack of blu-ray you get get 2 disc's like in BF3, 1 blu-ray for PS3, 2 DVD's for 360...

2- New 360 (slimer one) is much much quieter, basically no drive noise unless your installing games to the HDD (which I recommend you do for your most commonly played games.)

3 - Provided the format is right then yes it can...PS3 does support more media formats like divx/xvid avi's...best bet for a 360 format is mp4...

4- RROD has been fixed (in terms of the major issue the old one had) obviously the RROD is a error indicator so if your xbox breaks you can still get a RROD, the the common error that many people used to get has been fixed...no overheating issues providing as with any devices that the fan isn't hard up against a surface or otherwised blocked...I will admit I get the odd crash with BF3 but I think thats the game more then the 360 and the patch which we're still waiting on will hopefully fix it.

5- Don't touch Jtagged, you'll probably get banned from XBL so there goes your multiplayer experience...if you really want it then get a 2nd hand 360 that's been Jtagged and just use it for that.

[compl3x]

I think Microsoft has extended the warranties for 360s after the whole RROD issue.

If you hardly use your PS3 now, I don't know if buying a 360 is going to revitalise your interest in console gaming, After the novelty wears off, you might find yourself with another expensive paper weight.

PS3 exclusives generally look better then the 360s, but that isn't to say the 360s are chopped liver. Exclusives sell consoles to certain demographics or fanboys. Unless there is some particular 360 exclusive you just need to play, I don't see the need to get one.

Multiplatform games do usually look better on the 360 because it is usually chosen as the lead platform. Some games are slightly better, some are overwhelmingly better.

Fan noise seems louder on the 360 than the PS3 for me. I have the newest 360, around 6 months old, and a slim PS3 I've owned for about 3 years. Sometimes I can hear the 360 rattling away after a long session. I've tried both consoles in the vertical and horizontal position; it's true either way.

Don't mess with modded consoles. It might seem tempting, but I advise against it. Running homebrew and emulators gets boring after the novelty wears off. As far as backups are concerned, I think that is a silly justification for modded consoles. I have dozens of games in mint condition because if they aren't in the console, they are in the cover. Maybe you can run games off the HDD without changing discs, but I don't think that small inconvenience is worth the risk of getting a banned machine.

From your post, this seems like a passing fancy. If you got plenty of cash to throw around and you rarely suffer from buyers remorse, have at it. Otherwise, stick with your PS3 and look into getting some exclusives/MP games you mightn't have played yet.

Hope that helps :)

[game_over]

Thanks for the replies, all helpful :)

I personally don't see the point of "switching". Just have both and you don't need to worry about picking and choosing.

6. Personally never touched it and wouldn't even attempt to. MS don't let on if they know who has illegally modified consoles. I personally wouldn't get one because the main reason you do it is the pirate games and if you want to play online then you're really risking having your console banned. Plus the console you buy might already be banned. I believe they ban the console and account (i could be wrong).

I'm not much of a gamer to be honest so having both would be overkill, it depends how much i end up paying for the xbox, or i may keep both for a while and see which i prefer. I was looking at some of the homebrew and the emulators interested me.

From your post, this seems like a passing fancy. If you got plenty of cash to throw around and you rarely suffer from buyers remorse, have at it. Otherwise, stick with your PS3 and look into getting some exclusives/MP games you mightn't have played yet.

You are probably right.. as above i think i might keep both for now, and see which online i like better, after checking out the xbox it looks like there is much more incentive to play and connect on XBOX Live than PS3.

[AbandonedTrolley]

I'm not too sure what you want from the Xbox, I still struggle to see the argument about Live but it must be good as people keep pushing it. PSN does all I need it to do, it offers an online store for me to purchase games and films, contains my friends list and allows me to play online. I'm not one for talking to friends online tbh so maybe that's why Live doesn't have that much appeal to me.

Enjoy your choice, both machines have great exclusives :)

[BajiRav]

I switched from a first batch elite to a slim and I must say it runs really quiet. So much so that if I accidentally turn it on (from my STB remote), I don't notice it unless I look at the xbox. The only time you will hear any noise is when it is playing games off the disk and even that will be gone if you install games.

It is silent and no RROD.

XBL is a good, seamless online experience (no idea how PSN is)

If you want to play online, don't bother about various hacks. You will get banned sooner or later.

[game_over]

Picked up a 120GB XBOX Elite (fat) for ?110.. don't know if that was a good deal but it was local so i could go and pick it up so i went for it, pretty much brand new with headset and 2 controllers, hdmi cable.

also ordered 4 games

SSX 2012

Battlefield 3

NFS The Run

Silent Hill Downpour

Can anyone recommend some good XBOX exclusives?

[compl3x]

Picked up a 120GB XBOX Elite (fat) for ?110.. don't know if that was a good deal but it was local so i could go and pick it up so i went for it, pretty much brand new with headset and 2 controllers, hdmi cable.

also ordered 4 games

SSX 2012

Battlefield 3

NFS The Run

Silent Hill Downpour

Can anyone recommend some good XBOX exclusives?

Alan Wake (Well, it was an exclusive. Now you can get it on PC)

Gears of War 3.

Forza 4

I think this link has all the exclusives available on the 360

[philcruicks]

Picked up a 120GB XBOX Elite (fat) for ?110.. don't know if that was a good deal but it was local so i could go and pick it up so i went for it, pretty much brand new with headset and 2 controllers, hdmi cable.

also ordered 4 games

SSX 2012

Battlefield 3

NFS The Run

Silent Hill Downpour

Can anyone recommend some good XBOX exclusives?

Yeah pretty good deal IMO,

I know the 1st two are a bit older but Mass Effect is a fantastic series if you like SP and good story lines.

Halo is always a possibility...now that anniversary is out you can play the entire series on the 360 (2 as an original xbox port) tho that's a fair investment in money and time to get through every game.

+1 for gears and forza.

fable if your into RPG's

and don't forget the arcade games like Trials and Trials evolution, Splosion man, Harms way (free)

[spaceelf]

- I've been checking out the specs and from what i can see (i'm no programmer or expert..) the PS3 is much more powerful? how does this show in performance and graphics?

I've read that PS3 exclusives will always look amazing and more superior than anything xbox can deliver, this is because of the investment of time and money into the platform, as it is hard to develop games so cross platform games look better on XBOX, as they are usually ported to PS3? I also read that since PS3 has blu-ray it has more capacity and stuff is removed from XBOX versions of the same game to accodate the less space.

dunno how I missed this, but eh been out of the Xbox scene a while

Usually they look pretty much the same. The Xbox has more available texture RAM (technically the PS3 has the same amount, but half of it can only be accessed at half speed) and the PS3 has a stronger processor (harder to make use of, but when they do it can look very good.)

IMO PS3s only definitive strength is Blu-Ray. Anything else is fanboy talk.