Buying tips for xbox 360 4gb or 250gb? (Philippines)

I've been receiving many questions on whether to buy a 4gb xbox 360 or with a 250gb HDD Here's my answer, in any gadget/computer/console/ etc... that you will buy it is always better to have a bigger storage.

"The more memory you have, the better" 

"If you have the budget go for the 250gb xbox"

"If you can't afford it right now, its ok."

You can still upgrade your memory in the future

Some of you might disagree and say that

"You don't really need a bigger memory because you can delete and just put it back in blah blah" 

Note: I know that there are other alternatives 

This is only my opinion, it is still up to you. If you have the budget, go for the extra memory, but if you think you will be not needing extra storage, then go for the 4gb Xbox 360. Don't worry you will be able to upgrade your memory in the future (like I did).

This was my experience, I bought a 4gb Xbox 360 kinect bundle early last year 2012 for PHP14,800, After playing for 2 months I noticed that I needed more storage for game add-ons and saves, since I also buy arcade games from the xbox market place for my kinect like fruit ninja and hole in the wall, I noticed that my 4gb of internal memory was almost full and It was making my console load slower.

Eventually I bought an xbox 320gb media storage for around PHP4,800 in iTech Market Market branch so adding it all up I spent around (14,800+4,800)  = 19,600 by that time the Xbox with 250gb cost around P17,000+ well my storage was 320gb not 250gb so basically I paid around P2,600 for an extra 70gb of storage but nevertheless its still 70gb you can put a lot of stuff with that like movies music etc..

The first thing I noticed is that it really loads alot faster especially with RPG games and somehow, my console was a more quiet compared when it only had the 4gb internal memory. Lag was also reduced during online gameplay (this will still depend on you ISP).

To sum it all up, here are some of the benefits of having an HDD

Faster loading speed 

    - Based on my experience the xbox 360 with HDD loads faster compared to Playsation 3. I've tried it, since I'm also a PS3 owner.

More space for add-ons

    - Trust me you’ll be needing this especially if you want to download games like fruit ninja and other arcade games. You can also download themes and other stuff from the xbox marketplace.

Store more Game Demos

   - Now you can download more demos, well almost everyone wants to have a demo before buying a game, You can also tryout game demos before they get released so you can see if its really worth it.

Store more media

   - Now with bigger memory you can now store HD Movies and Music this is very helpful especially if your TV has no USB port for you external hardrive (well almost every LED/LCD tv has one) this will act as your DVD/Music player for your TV if you like.

Enjoy other game features

   - Some game features requires HDD like Autodance for Justdance 3 and 4 (Try to google autodance or search it in Youtube)

There are other benefits, but I think this will be enough to help you decide, because this were the major reasons why I upgraded my memory.

FAQ:

1) Hey Lou what if I don't have the budget right now?

"Don't worry, like I said awhile ago, you will be able to upgrade your memory in the future" 

2) Can I use a temporary flash drive until I can get an 250/320gb HDD?

    Can I use a flash drive instead?

"YES! you can use a Flash drive this will also speed up your games, just make sure you only buy/use a 16gb flash drive. I don't know right now if the xbox will support 32gb flash drives" 

3) I have a spare HDD from my PC can I use it instead?

"YES! you just need an HDD enclosure for the xbox (take note HDD ENCLOSURE FOR XBOX NOT FOR PC) after that you need to reformat it and use a program/hack so your xbox will be able to recognize your improvised xbox media HDD. 

-Their are guides in youtube that will teach you how to do this 

4) If I plan to do #3 where can I buy an HDD enclosure for my xbox

Well you can try to find sellers at

www.sulit.com.ph

www.tipidpc.com

www.pinoyxbox.com 

5) Where can I buy the cheapest Xbox media HDD 

You will be able to get a discount if you pay in cash

- Datablitz 

- iTech 

- Gameonegadget

You can also try online sellers from 

www.sulit.com.ph

www.tipidpc.com

www.pinoyxbox.com

(warlock360 from pinoyxbox sells refurbished HDD's for a cheaper price ORIGINAL)

http://www.pinoyxbox.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=41032 

You can also check my youtube channel I uploaded a video on how to install and setup you new HDD for your Xbox 360  "http://www.youtube.com/user/EverythingLouu?feature=mhee"

I hope this will help you decide don't forget to like, share and leave a comment! :D 

If you have other questions just like my page, subscribe to my youtube channel or follow me on twitter

http://www.facebook.com/everythinglou

http://www.youtube.com/user/EverythingLouu?feature=mhee

http://www.twitter.com/everything_lou

My nintendo 3ds Experience "it's more than you think"

At first I was confused on which handheld console should I buy I was Muddled by two of the greatest handheld consoles ever made both have their pros and cons, Playstation Vita or Nintendo 3DS XL? it was graphics and specs vs game exclusivity and 3D gameplay

But eventually I ended up getting a Nintendo 3DS XL at first it was hard to choose since I only had a budget for one console. I already have an Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 so I said to my self "why not comeback to nintendo I had the first ever Gameboy, Gameboy pocket, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance and Gameboy Advance SP and  DS LITE, I had good experience with these handheld devices why not go for my childhood games"

This picture was taken from "http://aimeeroo.com/2011/08/let-mario-hold-your-nintendo-3ds/"
edited by: Eveythinglou

So I made the decision to get the nintento 3DS, so went to the nearest gaming store (Datablitz Glorietta) and I asked if which was better, at my surprise the salesman also had a 3DS XL and told me that "both are great consoles it would just depend on what games you want to play" He showed me his nintendo 3ds and he was playing monster hunter I saw the graphics and I was not impressed but as soon as I turned on the 3D mode I was amazed and didn't bother anymore about the graphics it was like watching a 3D Movie without glasses but at first it was kinda weird and was irritating my eyes but eventually I got used to it.

Another factor that helped me was exclusive games like Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Mario 3D land, Although I haven't tried the Monster Hunter series before, it was still an easy decision once I learned that you can also buy classic nintendo games in the nintendo E-shop like Adventure Island, Man was I a big fan of that game I played hours and hours when I was a kid.

So here it is I got my Nintendo 3ds XL Blue with Circle pad pro, Capdase Screen guard, Hori TPU, Super Mario 3D land and  Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate I got this all for ₱13,785 ($314.83 as of June 21, 2013) Unfortunately the 3ds consoles that are being sold here in the philippines comes with 110v chargers, our standard voltage here is 220v.

 BREAKDOWN 

Nintendo 3ds XL                 = ₱8,600 

Black TPU case                   = ₱550

Capdase Screen Guard         = ₱496

Circle Pad Pro                      = ₱995

Monster hunter 3 ultimate     = ₱1,595

Super Mario 3D land            = ₱1,550

-----------------------------------------------------

Total                                   = ₱13,785

I cant find a store that sells original nintendo 3ds charger that's 220v and I don't want to use a class A 220v charger so I had to spend another ₱549.75  ($12.56) to buy a 100 watts step down transformer (note: Ill be explaining other alternatives on my next blog)




Whats inside the box?

- Nintendo 3DS XL Blue

- Operations Manual

- Quick start guide

- AR Cards

- Nintendo 3DS AC adapter (110v)

- 4GB SDHC

-Stylus (inserted into the systems stylus holder)

Now lets go to the title of my blog  "it's more than you think" if you would base the specs and graphics of nintendo 3DS to the Playstation vita you would clearly see who's the winner specially if you're like me  who owns an iPhone or any other apple device and has been familiar to the retina display since 2011 you would be disappointed in the graphics of the 3DS but take note of the "but",  it has features that you will surely enjoy.

Im not telling you that the graphics of the 3DS is horrible in fact coming from the DS lite up to 3DS XL I can really say that they've done big improvements

let me put it in a term that will clarify all my statements regarding the graphics (Because some people might react about this) if you've seen a better device with better display automatically you will be disappointed with other devices with pixelated graphics, its our eyes where talking about who wouldn't want to see things more clearly, right?


Take note that this is a buyers point of view Im talking about and for  first time users. here's my perspective, the graphics are like this for a reason simply because if they put more hardware to improve the display the console would be bulk and would have to consume more battery it wouldn't be portable if it's big right? Nintendo would have to do a research about new hardware, and believe me that takes time and money and if they ever discover anything during this time that handheld console would be damn expensive.

So now lets go to the things I really like about the Nintendo 3DS its not all about games, one thing that I like about the 3DS is you can create your own Mii it's like an avatar of yourself and thats not all this Mii character will meet other Mii's (other people with 3ds device) how? Via Street Pass

Street Pass is a feature that exchanges data when you walk by a person with a 3DS this is also the reason I always bring my 3DS I am really enjoying this feature specially when I go to the mall I am always surprised that I get a street pass everywhere I go, that just means that many people here in the philippines are 3DS users.  

This is how street pass works first  put your 3DS into sleep mode and it will automatically connect /find /communicate with nearby 3DS devices, a green light on the upper part of the 3DS will light up if you have a street pass

After that you can open the built in app called Mii Plaza this is where you can see the other Mii's which usually has an introduction about them and what games are they playing you can also include a special greeting

The Mii plaza also records every Mii that you've met via street pass or spot pass currently I have 62 Mii's in my Mii Plaza, You can also play games with your Mii street pass tags to get exclusive hats for you Mii via Find Mii and get puzzle pieces for your puzzle collection which you can view in 3D if you complete it 

For gaming review ill be posting another blog this only consist of why I love my 3DS, Why do I love my 3DS  simply because of this cool feature called Streetpass I think this is a really great app from nintendo because they didn't just give us a gaming console they also gave us a way to meet other people and they made us go out, stand up and find streetpass tags which is really healthy for us gamers because I've been a gamer since I was in grade school and none of these console made me go out, I always wanted to stay home and play but with Streetpass it changed my perspective about the nintendo 3DS