Gold members pay a $50/year fee in order to play on-line as well as download new content as it becomes available on XBL. Silver members cannot play on-line; however, they are able to download new content, typically, a week after it has been released on XBL. XBL is pretty reliable, but it does have its occasional problems (no, you do not get refunded if problems persist).

Almost everyone I know that has this system has experienced some difficulty after owning it for a few months. The good thing is that microsoft pays for all the shipping and handling expenses but the the cons are that it takes five buisness days to get the return box and then another 3 weeks for them to fix it. My point in all of this is that obviously the xbox 360 elite/xbox 360 has many difficulties that should be addressed.

I just scheduled a return pickup with UPS to send this back for a refund from Amazon.

If I had received a non Falcon box I would have returned it straight away. The tactics of relabeling or covering up of this important information seemed unfair to us the consumers I went with another system that I'm not going to mention to avoid any bias accusations.

The RROD requires the consumer to call customer support (1-800-4MYXBOX) in order to send the console into repairs. My suggestion is to pay for the warranty that comes with the 360 because it covers the system for 3 years. If you do send your 360 into repairs, typically, they will send you a refurbished 360.

The only bad thing... He has an Xbox live account and it will not work because Microsoft tech says they are having problems. It is bad enough if you don't pay and it does not work, let alone a paid account.

CON: One button on the wireless controller was not functioning properly and we had to return the entire bundle to get a working controller. That was a pain as the boys had already started files on the included games and had to start over again. It would've been nice to just be able to swap out the controller.

As several others have noted, the outer package box seal was broken and not even resealed. The games were inside, but the hard green plastic box they came in was broken in two places (shards of plastic were loose inside). There were plenty of scrapes and dings on the outer box too.

And, on top of it all, the game case was all broken inside. No need to say I returned it and bought another one at Circuit City. So, long story short, the Elite is worth every penny, BUT you should first check that it was manufactured after (and including) NOVEMBER 2007 (the power brick should eat 175w, and not 203w ou 205w).

My only beef is heat related stalls in the middle of action pack segments where the screen goes black. The game will return but I will have lost the point, been sacked, or some other negative result from having lost sight of what was going on. I looked into 2 heat devises neither work on "Elite" as one will not work with the HDMI plug and the new XBox 360 plug will not fit in the other.

1. For $449 a product should leave you in no doubt that you are making a worthy and sensible investment that will stand the test of time. You would not purchase a TV or Stereo that had a poor reliability image.

The unit is also loud. The cooling fans are not as loud as the disc drive unit. I have a good stereo so it's not hard to drown out the noise, but with a cheap TV the system noise could possibly be annoying.

Nope, mine broke down like all my other 360 after a week that i got it. People dont get a 360, you will not be pleased, i am trading this junk with a PS3 which by the looks is better and has great games out.

The thing that topped it off was the xbox live. Yet, even though it has been fun there is one MAJOR down side that I heard of but have not experienced until last week when I turned on my system and got the 3 red rings known as the "red rings of death". During research, I had discovered that this is the only system that has a high percentage of technical problems and it not reliable.

What a sweetie huh? :) Anyways, I'll be returning this Xbox 360 "Elite" to Amazon and buying a Playstation 3.

I purchased a 360 elite bundle with forza & ultimate alliance and I confirmed it does have the new "falcon" chipset (new power brick with 175w power rating and 2 inductors laying flat). On my box the sticker with team and lot # was covered with a new sticker which does not have that info on it. Microsoft does this now to make sure all old versions sell and not just new ones with new chips.

Here is a site that gives you information, and shows you how to check which version of chipset you have: http://forums.xbox.com/15804553/ShowPost.aspx Basically the new falcon chips ARE in the 360 elites but its kind of the luck of the draw unless you search the stores for certain lot #'s and such but again microsoft started covering up the stickers with that info.

System Failed on Me 2007 11 08 bought an Xbox 360 Arcade 2007 12 06 Bought an Elite 2007 12 21 sold tha Arcade Unit. Elite is smooth On The Outside An Pretty Good On Tha Inside Not Sure if Its a Falcon cause lot# is 0742 under another sticker but systems seems to be working fine 449 is a lot of money but take the chance. If Its Failing On U Microsoft Has Something Called A warranty Thats good enough Folks.

I bought my first 360 about a year ago and it lasted about 6 months before i got the red ring of death. I had a warranty on it and received a brand new system, which was awesome. The only downside was it was very loud, im assuming a fix to the overheating problem.

The console can detect it, but I can't access it to create gamer profiles. Games are unable to save progress to it. Removing the drive and reattaching it multiple times did nothing.

The unit is also loud. The cooling fans are not as loud as the disc drive unit. I have a good stereo so it's not hard to drown out the noise, but with a cheap TV the system noise could possibly be annoying.

The console can detect it, but I can't access it to create gamer profiles. Games are unable to save progress to it. Removing the drive and reattaching it multiple times did nothing.

I can't even believe how loud this machine is. Very good games out for this console, but beware of watching a movie or listening to music - the machine's drive and fans are so loud! The controllers are quite heavy, there is no bluetooth in them and they require 'AA' batteries.

Not by a longshot. I've been doing nothing but downloading videos on my new spacious 120GB hard drive, only to realize that there really isn't anything that you can download off of the Marketplace that you can't download for free off the internet. As for movie "rentals" you're probably better off going to blockbuster.

Although it was part of the original batch (late 2005) that were most prone to failures, I never experienced a red ring of death. This being said, that doesn't mean that the drive didn't fail, and playing through the Orange Box was like experiencing an acid-trip (graphics card issue). Microsoft said they'd fix it for 100+ dollars.

It froze on my game of Call of Duty: 4 and lost my save point. I had to unplug all connections, including the hard drive, and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then I plugged everything back in and it magically worked for 10 more minutes.

And, on top of it all, the game case was all broken inside. No need to say I returned it and bought another one at Circuit City. So, long story short, the Elite is worth every penny, BUT you should first check that it was manufactured after (and including) NOVEMBER 2007 (the power brick should eat 175w, and not 203w ou 205w).

My only beef is heat related stalls in the middle of action pack segments where the screen goes black. The game will return but I will have lost the point, been sacked, or some other negative result from having lost sight of what was going on. I looked into 2 heat devises neither work on "Elite" as one will not work with the HDMI plug and the new XBox 360 plug will not fit in the other.

It froze on my game of Call of Duty: 4 and lost my save point. I had to unplug all connections, including the hard drive, and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then I plugged everything back in and it magically worked for 10 more minutes.

Only slightly noisy, but not bothersome, and the game turned up to only medium volume drowned out the noise.

Then you should be good, cause it's the newer Falcon motherboard. So, don't get from Amazon, cause they seem to have a bunch of older Elites lying around, seals broken and game cases inserted. That's it.

It barely makes any. Even when the game CD starts spinning,the noise level is very low. The unit does not overheat after hours of playing.

As several others have noted, the outer package box seal was broken and not even resealed. The games were inside, but the hard green plastic box they came in was broken in two places (shards of plastic were loose inside). There were plenty of scrapes and dings on the outer box too.

The unit is also loud. The cooling fans are not as loud as the disc drive unit. I have a good stereo so it's not hard to drown out the noise, but with a cheap TV the system noise could possibly be annoying.

Not by a longshot. I've been doing nothing but downloading videos on my new spacious 120GB hard drive, only to realize that there really isn't anything that you can download off of the Marketplace that you can't download for free off the internet. As for movie "rentals" you're probably better off going to blockbuster.

It froze on my game of Call of Duty: 4 and lost my save point. I had to unplug all connections, including the hard drive, and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then I plugged everything back in and it magically worked for 10 more minutes.

I'm just a fan of black, but it is hard to find accessories that match this gorgeous black beauty. I've had this for a little less than a year and it is the same components as the white and Halo editions. Also, it has not crashed on me once.

I had a hard time finding this item so close to the holidays since I would only order it from a company I had heard of and knew they were reliable, which is why I ordered it from [...].

The RROD requires the consumer to call customer support (1-800-4MYXBOX) in order to send the console into repairs. My suggestion is to pay for the warranty that comes with the 360 because it covers the system for 3 years. If you do send your 360 into repairs, typically, they will send you a refurbished 360.

System Failed on Me 2007 11 08 bought an Xbox 360 Arcade 2007 12 06 Bought an Elite 2007 12 21 sold tha Arcade Unit. Elite is smooth On The Outside An Pretty Good On Tha Inside Not Sure if Its a Falcon cause lot# is 0742 under another sticker but systems seems to be working fine 449 is a lot of money but take the chance. If Its Failing On U Microsoft Has Something Called A warranty Thats good enough Folks.

I bought my first 360 about a year ago and it lasted about 6 months before i got the red ring of death. I had a warranty on it and received a brand new system, which was awesome. The only downside was it was very loud, im assuming a fix to the overheating problem.

The fact that Microsoft has a great warranty and is willing to work with us on problems is encouraging.

The RROD requires the consumer to call customer support (1-800-4MYXBOX) in order to send the console into repairs. My suggestion is to pay for the warranty that comes with the 360 because it covers the system for 3 years. If you do send your 360 into repairs, typically, they will send you a refurbished 360.

The console can detect it, but I can't access it to create gamer profiles. Games are unable to save progress to it. Removing the drive and reattaching it multiple times did nothing.

it would be more convenient for it to be built in (take a note microsoft). hopefully more of this console comes into stock and people wont have to pay an arm and a leg for it...until then good luck and good gaming.

I can't even believe how loud this machine is. Very good games out for this console, but beware of watching a movie or listening to music - the machine's drive and fans are so loud! The controllers are quite heavy, there is no bluetooth in them and they require 'AA' batteries.

i then noticed that my console was manufactured on 10-23-2007 and came with a 175 watt power supply. hmmm?

I purchased a 360 elite bundle with forza & ultimate alliance and I confirmed it does have the new "falcon" chipset (new power brick with 175w power rating and 2 inductors laying flat). On my box the sticker with team and lot # was covered with a new sticker which does not have that info on it. Microsoft does this now to make sure all old versions sell and not just new ones with new chips.

Here is a site that gives you information, and shows you how to check which version of chipset you have: http://forums.xbox.com/15804553/ShowPost.aspx Basically the new falcon chips ARE in the 360 elites but its kind of the luck of the draw unless you search the stores for certain lot #'s and such but again microsoft started covering up the stickers with that info.

System Failed on Me 2007 11 08 bought an Xbox 360 Arcade 2007 12 06 Bought an Elite 2007 12 21 sold tha Arcade Unit. Elite is smooth On The Outside An Pretty Good On Tha Inside Not Sure if Its a Falcon cause lot# is 0742 under another sticker but systems seems to be working fine 449 is a lot of money but take the chance. If Its Failing On U Microsoft Has Something Called A warranty Thats good enough Folks.

the lot number on it said 743 so it would be a later manufacture date compared to the old zephyr units. anyway, i own a ps3 and i would say that the setup of the dashboard is more intuitive than the ps3's. this of course would be based on user preference.

I went into the store, and like other reviewers have noticed, the sticker with the lot # was covered up with another sticker. The employee was looking at me funny because I was holding a bunch of the boxes up to the light at different angles, trying to see if I could get a glimpse of the lot #.

I actually prefer the wired connector as I do a lot of downloading now and I get much better performance with the wired port, in addition to better security by not sending the data through the air.

And, on top of it all, the game case was all broken inside. No need to say I returned it and bought another one at Circuit City. So, long story short, the Elite is worth every penny, BUT you should first check that it was manufactured after (and including) NOVEMBER 2007 (the power brick should eat 175w, and not 203w ou 205w).

I purchased a 360 elite bundle with forza & ultimate alliance and I confirmed it does have the new "falcon" chipset (new power brick with 175w power rating and 2 inductors laying flat). On my box the sticker with team and lot # was covered with a new sticker which does not have that info on it. Microsoft does this now to make sure all old versions sell and not just new ones with new chips.

Product description indicates a release date of 23 Oct 2007 which lead me to believe it would have the new chipset and lower power consumption.

i then noticed that my console was manufactured on 10-23-2007 and came with a 175 watt power supply. hmmm?

Nope, mine broke down like all my other 360 after a week that i got it. People dont get a 360, you will not be pleased, i am trading this junk with a ps3 which by the looks is better and has great games out.

the lot number on it said 743 so it would be a later manufacture date compared to the old zephyr units. anyway, i own a ps3 and i would say that the setup of the dashboard is more intuitive than the ps3's. this of course would be based on user preference.

I DO NOT reccomend getting this system when you could get the Wii for less than half the price. Also, when you could get the ps3 for a little more money but no problems with the system and you don't have to pay extra for the online or live service(s).

I purchased a 360 elite bundle with forza & ultimate alliance and I confirmed it does have the new "falcon" chipset (new power brick with 175w power rating and 2 inductors laying flat). On my box the sticker with team and lot # was covered with a new sticker which does not have that info on it. Microsoft does this now to make sure all old versions sell and not just new ones with new chips.

System Failed on Me 2007 11 08 bought an Xbox 360 Arcade 2007 12 06 Bought an Elite 2007 12 21 sold tha Arcade Unit. Elite is smooth On The Outside An Pretty Good On Tha Inside Not Sure if Its a Falcon cause lot# is 0742 under another sticker but systems seems to be working fine 449 is a lot of money but take the chance. If Its Failing On U Microsoft Has Something Called A warranty Thats good enough Folks.

I did the flashlight test to be sure, two flat inductors. I bought mine on the 21st of December. All the Premium systems there were Falcons too, the sticker was not covered up, and all of them said 175 Watts on them.

I went into the store, and like other reviewers have noticed, the sticker with the lot # was covered up with another sticker. The employee was looking at me funny because I was holding a bunch of the boxes up to the light at different angles, trying to see if I could get a glimpse of the lot #.

If I had received a non falcon box I would have returned it straight away. The tactics of relabeling or covering up of this important information seemed unfair to us the consumers I went with another system that I'm not going to mention to avoid any bias accusations.

I purchased a 360 elite bundle with forza & ultimate alliance and I confirmed it does have the new "falcon" chipset (new power brick with 175w power rating and 2 inductors laying flat). On my box the sticker with team and lot # was covered with a new sticker which does not have that info on it. Microsoft does this now to make sure all old versions sell and not just new ones with new chips.

Here is a site that gives you information, and shows you how to check which version of chipset you have: http://forums.xbox.com/15804553/ShowPost.aspx Basically the new falcon chips ARE in the 360 elites but its kind of the luck of the draw unless you search the stores for certain lot #'s and such but again microsoft started covering up the stickers with that info.

System Failed on Me 2007 11 08 bought an Xbox 360 Arcade 2007 12 06 Bought an Elite 2007 12 21 sold tha Arcade Unit. Elite is smooth On The Outside An Pretty Good On Tha Inside Not Sure if Its a falcon cause lot# is 0742 under another sticker but systems seems to be working fine 449 is a lot of money but take the chance. If Its Failing On U Microsoft Has Something Called A warranty Thats good enough Folks.

Then you should be good, cause it's the newer falcon motherboard. So, don't get from Amazon, cause they seem to have a bunch of older Elites lying around, seals broken and game cases inserted. That's it.

I ordered this last night as my Christmas present from my other half. I spent countless hours investigating the reliability of the product and tried to evaluate the chances of the new 'falcon' configuration versus the less reliable hardware out there.