Xbox 360 Walk Throughs

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Microsoft re-appeals over Word case
Phil Muncaster, V3.co.uk , Saturday 9 January 2010 at 12:51:00 Redmond will fight on in bid to overturn ruling in patent case against i4i Microsoft has asked the US Court of Appeals for a rehearing in its long-running patent dispute with i4i systems over its popular Word software, after losing the original appeal last month. In a December ruling , the United States Court of Appeals for the ...
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	Microsoft Xbox - Video Game Console Sale Price: $195.00

	Xbox Standard AV Cable Sale Price: $0.77
	This product connects the Xbox to TVs with audio and composite video input terminals.

	Xbox DVD Movie Playback Kit Sale Price: $0.01
	Enables DVD movie playback functionality on the Xbox video game system. Includes a DVD remote control and an infrared receiver that plugs into an Xbox controller port. Note: this item is required for DVD movie playback on Xbox.

	Microsoft Xbox AV Pack Advanced - Game console link cable - S-Video / composite video / audio - 4 pin mini-DIN, RCA, TOSLINK (F) - Xbox AV connector (M) - black Sale Price: $0.01
	This Xbox AV pack allows integration between the Xbox video game system and TVs or receivers that utilize optical digital audio input for Dolby Digital playback, as well as S-video input.

BLACK Duke Controller [OFFICIAL] Sale Price: $48.03

The Xbox game controller, which sports the "jewel" logo, is built for maximum control and comfort. Its design is the result of thousands of hours of usability testing. It features an eight-way directional pad (D-pad), left and right analog sticks, left and right shoulder triggers, six pressure-sensitive multicolored analog buttons, dual slots for memory cards and other peripherals, and a built-in "rumble" feature to increase gaming realism...

	Xbox 360 HDMI Cable Sale Price: $4.60
	Handling up to 1080p resolution in a single wire, the Xbox 360® HDMI cable brings you HD entertainment in all its eye-popping glory. High-def movies and TV from Xbox LIVE and Netflix, plus all your favorite HD games, come through in picture perfect clarity...

	AC Power Supply for Microsoft XBOX 360 Sale Price: $22.01
	Did you misplace or destroy the AC power adapter to your Xbox 360. Don’t stare at a blank TV hoping the piece will replace itself. The Xbox 360 AC Power Adapter gives you plenty of power to play any Xbox 360 games.

	175W Microsoft X811689005 XBOX 360 Console AC Adapter Power Supply X811689-005 Sale Price: $24.83
	175W Microsoft X811689005 XBOX 360 Console AC Adapter Power Supply X811689-005. Product may differ from image shown.

	Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller for Windows Sale Price: $30.06
	Precisely what you need for PC and Xbox gaming. Play with confidence with this responsive, ergonomic controller. It works on either your PC or Xbox to give you the ultimate gaming experience.

	Xbox 360 Power Supply AC Adapter Sale Price: $20.72
	Cables Unlimited's XBOX 360 power supply is the best replacement for the original AC power supply and the perfect solution for using your Xbox 360 in separate locations without having to carry your bulky power supply around...

Pros: 720p/1080i HD, outstanding online, great selection of exclusive titles, decent price.

Cons: Not Blu Ray compatible, cost of Live.

Summary

Microsoft hit the 7th gen of consoles hard with the Xbox 360. Its improved Xbox Live and 720p/1080i compatibility makes it the best online system, and with a line of top-list games, it's hard to beat.

Introduction

Microsoft's Xbox was a hit among gamers, aiming more on the mature level of gaming rather than the competition's focus on E - T rated games. The 360 pushed the competition further towards the mature audience, and improved its online capabilities far beyond that of Sony's (you get what you pay for), a great start to the 5th generation of consoles.

Features and Design

The design of the 360 is a large improvement over the original, which seemed to anchor my house down in case of storms. Its sleeker, white design is nicer than the big black cinder block, and is much more practical for any entertainment center with its ability to go vertical and horizontal. Be careful not to exercise that ability during gameplay, it cost my buddy another copy of Call of Duty 4. Another part of it's design is its interchangeable faceplate, which I think is pretty pointless, but if you really want a different color to look at, it's a nice little feature.

Both wireless and wired controllers are usable for the system, which is quite a perk if you don't feel like charging batteries or buying new ones quite so often. These controllers are great; the elimination of the white and black buttons was a good move, and the introduction of the left and right bumpers brings it right up to perfection. The only problem I experienced is hitting the home button on accident while in the middle of an intense match. Xbox Home is easily navigable and offers lots of great pages, including the Xbox Live Arcade, trailers and previews, Netflix, and the most recent feature that allows you to create your own avatar and view others'. It is certainly a little more user friendly than the Playstation 3's home menu.

Microsoft's big hit: Xbox Live. If (roughly) 5 dollars a month is all it takes for a gamer to get fantastic online experience, I think I'd buy two. The only problem with the price though, is the $99.99 Wireless N Networking Adapter. What a bunch of crap, Microsoft, throw us a bone here. Sony gives you a free one! Plus free online service! Well, with the total 5 dollar monthly fee plus the 100 dollar adaptor, you better expect some great service. And that's exactly what you get. Easily navigable pages, friend lists and features, party chatting with your friends, game invites, messaging, game hopping, and dedicated servers. Xbox nailed it with their Live, and no console's is comparable.

The Xbox 360's hardware is great, even if it doesn't quite compare with the PS3's. The processing capability is top notch with 3 custom CPUs, each pushing 3.2GHz and a custom 500MHz, 10Mb ATI Graphics Card.

One mistake was the use of the DVD instead of the new Blu Ray, which could hold up to 50 GB of information on one disc! I'd pay to have that rather than all the downloadable content. Plus the Blu Ray is compatible with higher graphic settings.

But say, why get a 360 when I can get a revolutionary Wii, or a gorgeous Playstation 3? Because of two main reasons: Online and exclusive titles. The 360 surpasses both systems with it's Live (especially Nintendo's pathetic excuse for "online gameplay"). And the two competitors don't come close to the 360's titles, such as Gears of War and Halo. With the Wii's fixation on (awful) party games, and the PS3 having a higher price, you can see why the 360 is a good pick.

Technical Specifications

CPU

Custom IBM PowerPC-Based CPU

3x 3.2 GHz cores

128x VMX-128 registers per hardware thread

3x VMX-128 vector units

6x hardware threads

1Mb L2 Cache

GPU

Custom ATI Graphics Processor

500 MHz

10 MB embedded DRAM

48-way parallel floating-point dynamically-scheduled shader pipelines Unified Shader Architecture

16 gigasamples per second fillrate using 4X MSAA

500 million triangles per second

48 billion shader operations per second

Sound

Multichannel surround sound output

Support 48 KHz 16-bit audio

32-bit audio processing

over 256 audio channels

Memory

512 MB GDDR3 RAM

700 MHz DDR

Unified memory architecture

System Bandwidth

22.4 GB/s memory interface bus bandwidth

256 GB/s memory bandwidth to EDRAM

21.6 GB/s front-side bus

System Floating Point Performance

1 TFLOP

Storage

20 GB hard drive (detachable and upgradeable)

I/O

Support for up to 4 wireless game controllers

2 memory unit slots

3 USB 2.0 ports

Online

Ethernet Port

Wi-Fi Ready: 802.11 A, B and G

Video Camera Ready

AV Output

All games at 16:9, 720p and 1080i and anti-aliasing

Standard definition and high def video output supported

Disc Media

Support for DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD

Stream media from portable music devices, digital cameras, Windows XP PCs

Rip music to Xbox 360

Custom playlists in every game

Windows Media Center Extender

Interactive, full 3D visualizers

Ratings

Graphics 9/10

Audio 10/10

Variety of Games 10/10

Accessories 9/10

Price 9/10

Written by Kellen Beck, Editor
http://computergameandconsolereviews.com/

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