 Guaranteed Jasper, Free RE5 and SSF2THDR |
| Review Date: March 14, 2009 |
| Reviewer: poddie, Chicago, IL |
First of all, the important details for people wanting the tech specs:
(1) Yes, this is Jasper, which is a lower power (energy usage, not processing power) revision of Xbox 360 that was released late last year for Arcade models. This seems to be the first Elite range with the new, more efficient chips.
(2) It does NOT appear to have the 256MB on-board Flash Ram. Many theorized that MS would include this on Jasper Elites (and Pros) so that they wouldn't have to have two different motherboards. This does not appear to be the case though. This has little effect on the usage of the system though... in fact, I prefer it as I have no need for the extra storage device to always show up when downloading and copying (I use two external memory units as is for profile portability, which wouldn't be provided by internal flash RAM anyway).
This is IMO the best way to go for an Xbox 360 right now, especially if you have any interest in Resident Evil 5 (a full copy of which is included with this system, including the game case). It also comes with a free downloadable copy of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, which is a great game (though I already own a copy of it). Capcom is the best!
The system and controller are a nice shade of red. The original photos made it look a bit bright and gaudy, but the actual unit seems much more subdued and a bit darker shade. I don't have the previously released red controller, but this looks like the same shade of red to me.
Runs cooler and quieter than any of my other three Xboxes (2 Zephyrs and 1 Falcon, FYI only 1 RROD so far for me and it was the Falcon!).
I highly recommend the Elite because the 120GB drive is big enough that you can fully install all of your games rather than playing them off the discs. This is much quieter while playing (360s spin the DVD drive so fast that it gets quite loud) and a bit faster, too.
The Arcade is a great value, but I guarantee once you try installing games to HD you will wish you could do it for them all. |
Don't be fooled!
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| Review Date: May 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: M. Kline, Arlington, VA United States |
Don't be fooled by the Amazon message that "There is a newer version of this item." The "newer" version is the Game of the Year edition which actually comes with an older console. These older consoles don't contain the new Jasper chip. I just received the Resident Evil elite console in the mail today and the console is only 4 months old and it does contain a Jasper chip. By contrast, the Game of the Year editions I have seen are as much as 1 year old and have all contained either Falcon or Zephyr chips. On a related note, all of the systems I have seen packaged with Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones have also contained Falcons.
I'm sure a lot of folks probably think that the difference between Jaspers and Falcons only matters to hard-core gaming geeks, but I think it matters a little more than many people realize. The Xbox 360 has been plagued with hardware defects ever since it was released. Famously, the system is known for over-heating and for a system error colorfully called "The Red Ring of Death." Supposedly, the Jasper chip solves these problems. For my money, that makes this package the best currently on the market. |
Rage in your veins? This console will fit your style for sure!
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| Review Date: March 14, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Dmitry Kristal, Brooklyn, NY United States |
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2CK4QQEO7H4PF Xbox 360 Resident Evil 5 Elite Red Console Out Of The Box!
This video was made minutes after I purchased this console.
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XBOX 360 Resident Evil 5 Elite Red/Black Console
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| Review Date: May 13, 2009 |
| Reviewer: iHyphy, Oakland, CA |
This is the first official release of the "Jasper" Elites and all i can say from having this xbox for 60 days now it runs hella nice! when compared side by side with my black xbox elite, the resident evil version runs quieter, uses less energy and doesn't create as much heat! the power supply uses 150 watts and 12.1 amps and i can tell you from experience i put the box to a good 8 hour session several times and my resident evil jasper elite doesn't even sound or feel like its been running at all...and while i ran my black elite falcon box it would be hot and sound like an oscillating fan (exaggerating to a degree).
you can't beat the price though its an elite and it comes with resident evil 5 for free! which is by the way an awesome game..and as an added bonus it comes with codes for streetfighter 2 hd remix for free and others as well. you get all the same stuff as a regular elite except these are the jasper xbox's and its all red with black. the 120 hdd is black and chrome the front is mixed with black and chrome and the controllers are black and red. as of now the only wireless accessories you can buy for it in red and black are the controllers with the play and charge kit, you cant buy the play and charge kit by its self and you can't buy the controller by its self only the package with both together. which kind of sucks because the elite comes with a wireless red and black controller so to get the red play and charge kit for it you will need to pay extra money for the one that has the controller with it..so i got two controller with only one play and charge kit.
on the other hand if your not a huge resident evil fan and you aren't taken away with the colors go with the regular black xbox elite because now they come with fable 2 and halo 3 for free which are both game of the year titles and soon will be getting the platinum hits collection. but be aware that the new black xbox elites offering fable 2 and halo 3 for free aren't jasper elites, they are in fact older model xbox's repackaged in newer factory wrapping.
***20 June 2009 Update***
decided to add an update to my review on this product. after a month of using this xbox i can still say i would give this 5 stars again and again and again! this xbox runs so smooth and flawless and at least appears and seems like the perfect xbox to date! no flaws, no bugs, no red ring of deaths, nothing!
anyways, i know you can buy other elites that now come with 2 game of the year titles like halo 3 and fable 2 which by the way are awesome games, but don't just buy a system off of the freebies...resident evil 5, halo 3 and fable 2 are all great games but trust me buy this system because its the latest and greatest xbox...the jasper elites like said before still amaze me how it doesn't even sound like its on compared to the others..i can run it non stop and my xbox and power supply have never gotten hot in fact my ac adapter was even cold to touch in my washington state environment..
keep in mind though they haven't released any accessories that coordinate well or at all with this color scheme. the closest thing as of right now is the black headset (which it comes with) and the black play and charge kit...but if you want a red play and charge kit you will have to buy the one that comes with a controller as well..which sucks because if you only want the play and charge you have to cough up another $30 to get the one with a controller as well..
the wireless headset, the qwerty text pad, wireless network adapter, and etc still only come in white color and i dont see microsoft changing that except in some cases they have released halo 3 versions of the wireless headset.
if your debating on whether you should go with the arcade version, the pro version or elite...then let me school you a bit, since the only thing that might opt you to go with the other versions is price then look at this way...
the arcade version has no hdmi cable or input/output (and it can't be added later), it has no hard drive and hard drives can run you up to $120, the pro version has a 60 gig hard drive and it does come with the hdmi input/output but no hdmi cable, but if your going to get one of those why not just spend a little extra money to get twice the hard drive space, better color schemes, cool free games, hdmi cable and last but not least the Jasper units? so go with the elite its the best bang for your buck
i would 100% recommend this and if i had to over and over again i would purchase this product everytime |
if on the fence--Now is the TIME to buy
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| Review Date: April 12, 2009 |
| Reviewer: SteamaZon, |
PROS: lightweight. Fast plugin connections, good media type support, plug into a jack on the router-- on the internet. RUGGED sturdy controller
CONS: text input slow with controller. Controller sticks cannot be remapped or changed unless specifically game supported
First of all, I wish to thank sMakTard89, gEEpPo01 and the thousands, perhaps millions of others who beta tested this product through its zephyr and falcon chipsets, sending it in multiple times for service after it failed. Special thanks to the guy who bought his box off of Ebay for $1200 after its original owner waited all night in line and bought it then promptly placed it online for auction.
Now, in its Jasper chipset, designed to run cooler, and, knock on mahogany, the Xbox 360 should be less prone to breakdowns. I decided to jump in and make a purchase because it came with a game I might be actually interested in playing.
The fact it could play .avi's, DVD video and Netflix streaming was certainly a deal sealer as I do not think the Playstation or WII had all these capabilities.
I quickly set it up and the first thing to try was the Resident Evil game, as I heard a few people had a problem getting the drive to read it. No problem, it loaded, it wanted to play. My problem was in trying to figure out how to get it off the screen and install it to the hard-drive. I set that aside and decided to try and play a chapter instead. Stunning graphics, every year they get better and better with that part of it. After the cutscenes, it came my turn to do something in the game. Ugh, as a longtime computer gamer with vast experience with the keyboard, mouse and assorted controllers, the Xbox sturdy gamepad with its movement and camera thumbstick will take some getting used to. After 14 minutes of trying to get my drunken sailor of a guy to walk over to the meat market without going zen with the sky or moored in the mud, and after bumping into every post, pail and stray goon with a machete in sight, I moved on to something else (maybe Kung Fu Panda might not have been such a bad game to start with after all).
I had a movie on a thumbdrive and after a moment, located the USB ports behind the springdoor (cute). I found the Dashboard selections to play it. However, a message indicated I would have to be signed into Xbox live in order to get updates; prevented its immediate playback. Now was as good a time as any to activate my Xbox Gold card for Netflix steaming use; the thing downloaded, updated and the .avi could play. Wonderfully, the Xbox 360 could pause the movie without it ever timing out. My entertainment center's DVD player blanks out after a pause of three minutes and worse, on an .avi or mepg file, it will quit altogether requiring a cue it up from the very beginning and fast forward to the spot it was previously at. The Xbox, however, will remained paused there and though my experience is limited, I have not seen it blank out yet. Additionally, options are present which will allow skipping and rewinding with far more control than that of my entertainment center, ESPECIALLY with .avi files.
The Netflix streaming went rather well, and after a disappointing download from Xbox live for a free Resident Evil movie 2008 (it is NOT the movie only the film clips from cutscenes in the game itself), I streamed in the REAL movie from Netflix (Resident Evil Extinction). As of now, I have far logged more movie than game time, but, that could change.
Now all that needs doing is try to figure out how come the get the media from my computer portion is not working and get longer audio cables to extend and use the entertainment center speakers instead of the Tv's.
A worthwhile purchase(at 399.00, sorry beach).
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Edits
After using the unit for around a week, I can go into a few more things:
The red color is the shade of those red audio cable ends.
The noise is not noticeable, or at least it does not seem any more obnoxious than any other thing in the living room: computer, refrigerator, wind tunnel fan. Amongst the three, I have to look to see if the Xbox 360 is even on. However, when compared to my shelf of books and pile of old tractor parts, it is definitely louder, so there might be something to other customers' concerns about Xbox noise. Regardless, the sound of growling monsters and screaming women being shot by AGM type 39 blast cannons will not go well in a library setting.
It seems the controller issue regarding moving my guy around, is not my problem alone. Internet searches have revealed many people would like to swap the functions of the left and right thumbstick. In its most default and common setting the right Xbox thumbstick controls camera and aiming while the left thumbstick supports movement of the character. Currently these thumbsticks cannot be swapped and the solutions are as follows:
--The specific game supports (maybe) it in its configuration settings and the gamer can change it,
--The controller is disassembled and the wire leads removed and re-soldered on the controller's logic board,
--a "southpaw" controller is purchased (a rebuilt Xbox controller soldered by someone else to have the thumbsticks swapped),
--the gamer learns how to use the thumbsticks in its default settings.
As someone who trained for years using the right thumbstick on a computer configured Logitech gamepad to move my character front back and sideways, this of course introduces a learning curve with results earlier described with the included Resident Evil game. I am contemplating my options along these lines to perhaps considering the purchase of an additional wired Microsoft Xbox 360 game controller for the PC to facilitate learning the default movement and camera control to stay consistently trained across these platforms.
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