Xbox 360 - New drives?

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vindaloo

57 posts

Master Geek

#41477 16-Sep-2009 16:39

Hey guys, hoping for some advice...

The pending arrival of Modern Warfare 2 has me dusting off my original launch-date 360 again but I've forgotten how noisy the bloody thing is.

I understand the more recent releases may have been built with quieter drives and more efficient chipsets?

Anyone familiar with this and if its accurate, how much of a difference it makes? Have tried googling but its mostly overseas reports and I'm keen to get some local feedback, including availability etc.

Thanks heaps...

rossmnz

507 posts

Ultimate Geek

#256222 16-Sep-2009 17:24

new MW xbox 360 package has 250gb HDD right?

The force is strong with this one!

wazzageek

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#256233 16-Sep-2009 17:39

As an aside, the latest UI updates allow you to copy the game to the HDD ... if your drive has enough space on it it's worth copying the game off the DVD to the drive as that certainly helps with getting the noise level down.

You'll still need to stick the disk in the drive when you want to start the game, but that's all it uses the disk for from then on in.

vindaloo

57 posts

Master Geek

#256259 16-Sep-2009 19:46

rossmnz: new MW xbox 360 package has 250gb HDD right?

Sorry I probably should've been more specific - I was referring to the DVD drive which is where alot of the noise seems to come from?

I've heard that the newer BenQ drives on some later models are fairly quiet compared to the earlier Hitachi drives but not sure if thats actually true or not.

wazzageek

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#256266 16-Sep-2009 20:10

I've heard that the newer BenQ drives on some later models are fairly quiet compared to the earlier Hitachi drives but not sure if thats actually true or not.

I've *heard* that too ... but I'm not in a position to be able to confirm that. Perhaps a visit to a store to play on a demo unit?

corksta

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#256269 16-Sep-2009 20:18

Yes I can confirm there is a noticeable difference. I bought a console at launch back in 2006, then recently replaced it with one of the newer consoles with the Jasper core.

As soon as I fired it up I could tell an immediate difference. My console sits in an open air cabinet, and while you can still hear it, it is definitely much quieter and, for me at least, at a much more acceptable level.

But yes as wazzageek said copying the game to the HDD virtually eliminates the noise.

vinnieg

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#256370 17-Sep-2009 08:39

www.x-mods.co.nz have new drives, the Benq ones are apparently better than the hitachi's used in the model previous to the Japser :( which I have.

I installed all my games to HDD also, my problem is mainly with the fans, have to crank the surround up louder to drown them out

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

vindaloo

57 posts

Master Geek

#257027 19-Sep-2009 14:55

corksta: Yes I can confirm there is a noticeable difference. I bought a console at launch back in 2006, then recently replaced it with one of the newer consoles with the Jasper core.

As soon as I fired it up I could tell an immediate difference. My console sits in an open air cabinet, and while you can still hear it, it is definitely much quieter and, for me at least, at a much more acceptable level.

But yes as wazzageek said copying the game to the HDD virtually eliminates the noise.

Ok, so copying to HDD seems the best way to minimise noise...

Does this affect being able to play on Live tho? And can it be done straight from the dsashboard or do I have to downoad a utility?

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corksta

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#257032 19-Sep-2009 15:14

Yes the best way to minimise noise, regardless of how new or old your console is, is to install the game to the HDD.

No, you can carry on playing on Live without any difference at all.

I'm assuming you have the New Xbox Experience update installed that was released in November 2008? If not you will be prompted to download it the next time you connect to Xbox Live. Once it's installed and you have a game in the drive, navigate to the 'My Xbox' pane, then you'll see at the bottom of the screen it says you can press 'Y' for 'Game Details'. Press that and you'll see you have the option to install it to the hard drive. Each game is different but it seems to be in the range of about 5GB to 8GB to install to the HDD.

vindaloo

57 posts

Master Geek

#257411 21-Sep-2009 19:14

Thats brilliant, have just done that and it works a treat. Its been that long since I fired my 360 up that I had no idea that functionality was now included.

Saves me a fair bit of money too because now I just need a bigger HDD as opposed to upgrading to the newer machines which is what I was planning.

Thanks for all the advice everyone, very much appreciated and a great example on how well these forums can work.

Thanks again

ronindanbo

180 posts

Master Geek

#257526 22-Sep-2009 11:04

I yhave both an original release XBox360 AND a recently purchased XBox360 Elite and I can categoricly say that the Elite is fart quiter with both cooling fans and drives.