Xbox 360

So I finally ordered my Xbox 360. I don’t usually post hot deals on my blog, but this one is just too hot, especially since Microsoft’s announced they won’t be lowering Xbox 360 prices this holiday season.

There’s been 2 threads going on:
B$: xbox 360 for 360 at overstock.com ($340 with coupon)
SD: Xbox 360 Platinum System with HDD $360 at Overstock.com (page 6 and 7 are the most useful)

Both threads are talking about the same thing, but the thread’s title on SD is a bit outdated.

Overstock has the Xbox 360 Platinum for $398.99.
However upon adding to your cart, it drops to $380.44 (including $1.40 shipping)

There’s no sales tax (unless you live in Utah and Indiana). If you do unfortunately live in one of those States, well… you should move.

Next, you’ll need to go through the 10% off coupon link which will get it down to $342.59 shipped. However, some people who go through that same link are getting $340.59 shipped, so I’m not exactly sure what’s going on. Looking at their posts, it seems the 10% is apply to the $398.99 price instead of the discounted $379.04.

Anyway, after you’ve added the system to your cart, click here to go to the 10% off coupon link (expires 11/31/06).

The price won’t update in your shopping cart, so begin to check out. You could either log into an existing account or create a new one. I’ve had better luck by creating a new account.

Your Order Review should appear like so:
Subtotal: $379.04
Discount: – $0.00
Coupons: – $37.90
Shipping Charge:* $1.40
Tax: $0.00
Grand Total: $342.54

Enjoy!

Do hurry, since Overstock tends to go out of stock on their Xbox 360 supply quite often, given that it’s $60 cheaper than everywhere else. If you’re confused about the terminology, the Platinum system is also known as the Premium system, or the system that comes in the White box (vs the Green box which holds the Core system). It normally retails for $400 + tax + shipping (if applicable) and what differs between the Core and the Premium is that it comes with a 20GB hard drive (Core has no hard drive) and has a wireless controller (Core comes with a wired controller) and a headset. You can see a better chart of the differences at Xbox 360 FAQ – What is the difference between the Xbox 360 Core System and the Premium edition?

At first, I was planning to get mine from Costco. They’re selling their Xbox 360 Bundle for $489.99. There are stacks of these in my local Costo (last weekend that I went). Some people have reported that the price has been lowered to $469.99 at their local Costco, but I don’t think that’s the case here in Washington. I’ve calculated the Costco bundle at $490 and the regular bundle at $400 and with my employee discount, I don’t need $90 to get the extra stuff that the Costco bundle comes with (Extra Wireless Controller, Play & Charge Kit, Project Gotham Racing 3). Although the main reason I wanted to buy from Costco was the return policy. If anything happens to it, like the overheating issue, I can just go and return it and get a new one.

I don’t have a big screen TV yet, but I still can’t wait to plug this into my Dell 24″ LCD. I mean my Dell 2405FPW 24″ LCD supports upto 1080i through the component inputs in the back. Check out these images from [H]ard|Forum – Will XBOX 360 look good on 2405FPW?

Pictures from g-prime.net:

480p:
xbox 360 on dell 2405fpw - 480pxbox 360 on dell 2405fpw - 480pxbox 360 on dell 2405fpw - 480p

720p:
xbox 360 on dell 2405fpw - 720pxbox 360 on dell 2405fpw - 720p

1080i:
xbox 360 on dell 2405fpw - 1080ixbox 360 on dell 2405fpw - 1080i

More pictures:
xbox 360 on dell 2405fpwxbox 360 on dell 2405fpwxbox 360 on dell 2405fpwxbox 360 on dell 2405fpwxbox 360 on dell 2405fpwxbox 360 on dell 2405fpwxbox 360 on dell 2405fpwxbox 360 on dell 2405fpwxbox 360 on dell 2405fpwxbox 360 on dell 2405fpwxbox 360 on dell 2405fpw

Don’t the images look pretty darn sweet on the Dell 2405FPW 24″ LCD?

By the way, I just realized what the i and p stand for (i.e. 1080i vs 1080p).
i = interlaced
p = progressive

From What is the difference between interlaced and progressive video?

There are basically two ways to display video: interlaced scan or progressive scan. Progressive scan, used in computer monitors and digital televisions, displays all the horizontal lines of a picture at one time as a single frame . Interlaced scan, used in standard television formats (NTSC, PAL, and SECAM), displays only half of the horizontal lines at a time (the first field , containing the odd-numbered lines, is displayed, followed by the second field, containing the even-numbered lines). Interlacing relies on phosphor persistence of the TV tube to blend the fields together over a fraction of a second into a seemingly single picture. The advantage of interlaced video is that a high refresh rate (50 or 60 Hz) can be achieved with only half the bandwidth. The disadvantage is that the horizontal resolution is essentially cut in half, and the video is often filtered to avoid flicker (interfield twitter) and other artifacts.

5 Replies to “Xbox 360”

  1. I had a question….I have the same 24″ inch dell monitor, but I have no idea how I’ll get the audio to work for the 360. Do you have any suggestions?

  2. I’d need to know what audio inputs your speakers take and what audio inputs your soundcard takes. I’m assuming you mainly uses your Dell 24” LCD as a computer monitor, so you’d be using computer speakers in conjunction with a computer soundcard. Most soundcards have at least a stereo mini (3.5mm) line in (usually light blue colored = line in; green = audio out; red = mic; the most common coloring).

    I’m also not sure how fancy your speakers are and if the take in external input other than the typical 3.5mm cable.

    If so, you’ll basically need a composite audio to stereo mini converter, which you can probably get for ~$5. Something like: 3.5mm Stereo Plug/2 RCA Jack cable – 6 inches

    The red/white female counterparts are where you connect the Xbox 360 audio cables to. The other side (stereo mini 3.5mm) is where you connect into the blue line-in of your computer’s soundcard.

    If you need it fast, I’m pretty sure your local Best Buy, Circuit City, or Radio Shack would carry it, but you’ll have to pay a premium for convenience.

    If your soundcard takes in digital signals, take a look at: Xbox 360, TOSLINK, and Audigy2 ZS

    //krunk (^_^x)

  3. Hi. I am thinking about getting the same dell moniter , but I can’t decide between this and a normal 26″ 1360×768 LCD TV. Which would be better in your opinion for the xbox360? Also I am a little confused about 1080i. I know what the different hdtv formats are, but I want to know what is happening on the dell moniter. LCD tech can’t display interlaced and so has to change it to progressice scan. So does 1080i display on your moniter as 1920×1080 at 30fps or does it only display 540 horizontal lines, and so has to be upscaled to to fill the 2405fpw. I don’t like the look of images when they are upscaled, and forsee that 720p won’t look very nice on this moniter . Also what setting are you using on the image setting . Have you got it on fill, 1:1 or aspect. This is another way of seeing if the 1080i is 1920×1080 or not. Just set the moniter to 1:1 and if the image becomes very small, then it can’t be 1920×1080. Please get back to me as quickly as you can as I have no other way of finding this out without actually buying the moniter. Thank you. Feel free to email me.

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