Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite

Xbox Slim - or Xbox 360S

So I've had a lot of experience with Xbox. From the original days, through to their current system. I would describe myself as a gamer, although I suppose a better term would be:consumer. From successful debut with equipment which wasn't cost effective and unprofitable, too something cheap and nasty - The story of Microsoft's console franchise is interesting.

I originally upgraded to a halo edition 360 around the time of launch. I'm not even sure which chipset, but it failed miserably after only 4 months. I sent off an immaculate RROD console to European repairs, Germany. They returned me a hacked up piece of rubbish covered in water stains and scratches. It promptly went on eBay after repairs. That was the end of my involvement with Microsofts game consoles or so I thought.

With a price reduction and new image, I thought I'd give the console a second chance - this time with a instant replacement warranty. As happy as I was with my PS3, I also acknowledge there is a lack of decent exclusives on the system. Also I did miss a few familiar Xbox titles.

I have the version with a glossy shell and silver trims. I've since seen two other versions which are probably a little more sensibly designed. There's an additional matt version now with gun metal trims (it obviously doesn't attract as much dust). I regret not waiting longer for this. The glossy slim does look very luxurious at first. However after a week the shell starts picking up those daylight scratches and thumb prints easily.

The inclusion of touch sensitive buttons is great, I far prefer these to my playstation3's equivalents. They're extremely responsive in comparison, requiring hardly any touch. The dvd drive has those familiar wobbly trays, I'm pretty sure they're the same Hitachi's used in the elite. There's a questionable redesigned vent on top. Directly underneath is the heat sink and what looks like a single 80mm fan. I will be interested to see if this clogs up with dust over time and causes problems. It doesn't seem like the best solution for something which failed the majority of time due to overheating. As before, theres the option to stand the console sideways. There are rubber feet on the right side and the bevel tray has tiny dvd guards. But with the consoles previous history of ringing discs - I'm reluctant to use it vertically.

Reputedly the new 360 is whisper quiet and runs cooler. I don't think mine is particularly. After installing software to the 250GB hard drive, there's a noticeable reduction in noise, it's much quieter than older models of 360 too. It certainly isn't 'whisper quiet' though. Heat on the other hand is a different story. It's described as a cooler system, but I can remember my older 360 expelling around the same amount of heat from its rear -as this slim does from its top. It doesn't smell particularly pleasant either. There is a slight odour of heated plastic (but obviously not a suspicious worrying one). The longest I've used the system is 8 hours straight. I experienced no freezing or problems during that time, and the console seemed good to go for more hours.

Wi-fi connectivity seems fine, I have absolutely no problems with this new internal unit. The power brick is still resident though, a different compact design but I do hate the things taking up space and, equally, having to be ventilated. The controller is nothing special, same design as before. All in all, I will be happy with this system as long as it doesn't develop problems - and even if it does, at least Im fully covered this

time. If you don't own a 360 already, I would certainly recommend the slim over older models. If you own an older model and it's reliable, there is really no need to buy this system. The space saved over the original is marginal, the weight doesn't matter (it's not supposed to be portable) and the look isn't particularly an improvement.

I already changed 7 times Xbox 360.Luckyly i had insurance.All same problem;overheating and red ring around at start button

To start with very impressed and then very unimpressed that with the slightest movement of the machine while in use and your disc gets burnt by the laser rendering it unplayable very disapointing for a microsoft machine. I also have a nintendo wii which you can jump around like a loonie with no such problems come on microsoft get your act together.

Be very careful and hopefully you wont have this problem.

A brilliant and powerful machine! alot quiter than the original Xbox 360, and with 6 times more storage! the graphics are incredible, but this is especially brought to light when using the HDMI lead.

Overall the Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite console has great graphics and is easy to use. There are a wide variety of games for everyone. Everything you need comes in the box such as a HDMI cable and an ethernet cable. However I did not find it great value for money as mine was very unreliable. My console broke after 7 months. It completely stopped working and I had to send it to microsoft for repair. This took around 2 weeks. The online is not free. Also there is no bluray drive or wifi built in.

WOW, the elite version of the xbox is supposed to have much improved hardware so that it doesn't break and that is why i bought it, but guess what.... it broke after a few months.......and then again! It was good fun while it did work though but i cannot give a broken product a good score.

HDMI cable. Large hardrive. Nice colour.. Overall I like this product despite its bad points. Which are in my opinion there is still a lot of noise coming from the console, and it still has the 90nm. Still Well recommend Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite.

Would of given the console a perfect score of 10/10 if had it had a blu-ray drive (internal or external). Exclusive games, XBox live, smart looking, ease of use, nice comfortable controllers, graphics that rival sometimes exceed PS3 graphics.

This is a great console, had mine now for about a year (since it came out) I was a huge fan of the original xbox and the original 360 (white 20GB). I have both the white 360 and this and this is worth the extra £50 because of the memory and the cable and no red ring of death.

Best gaming console on the market. The Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite is a great looking system with a good range of games.