As with any console out today, there are many different generations and models to choose from when purchasing.
Particularly with the Xbox 360, each new release carries with it more and more features that previous models just don’t have and can’t seem to keep up with. Particularly compared to some of the older models, the newer Xbox 360s have improved by leaps and bounds, practically rendering old models obsolete. If you’re still on the fence on whether to go with the new slim model, maybe this will help change your mind.
First of all, if you have one of the old school pop top HD models, you’re putting yourself at risk. Well okay, not you yourself, but every game’s worth of data, DLC, and content you have saved. The older pop top HD models feature a removable hard drive so you can swap them out if you want to upgrade to a model with larger space and range from a tiny 20GB up to a relatively spacious 250GB, but therein lies the problem.
Having the hard drive as a separate, removable piece means that if anything happens to your hard drive, everything on it is lost forever. Upgrading to the slim means a built in hard drive of either 4GB or 250GB that’s significantly less likely to become damaged (due to being inside the console’s casing).
You also don’t have to worry about replacing the entire HD when you need more space, just plug an external USB hard drive in and you’ve got an instant upgrade to your storage.
Another huge bump up from the original Xbox model is the built-in N wireless adapter. If you wanted a wireless internet connection with an older model of Xbox you were either out of luck or out of cash because even the 3rd party adapter was about $50 (the official one being in the neighborhood of $100). With the newer slim models, you see the built-in adapter which connects at N wireless speeds and an increased range over the previous external adapter.
Probably the biggest bonus for the slim model of Xbox is the increased quality of the hardware inside the machine. The RROD (Red Ring of Death for those unfamiliar with the term) is a general hardware fault that the original Xbox 360 was susceptible to characterized by the flashing red ring in the LED lights on the console’s face.
It rendered consoles completely unusable for nearly no apparent reason and was blamed on pretty much everything from overheating to evil spirits for years. The newer slim models are considered “RROD Proof” with its enhanced cooling system and high quality internal components keeping it safe from random hardware failures.
In addition, the slim model’s ports don’t require any special adapters to use the Kinect accessory. So if you’re sitting there glancing over at your old elite or classic Xbox model and wondering if it’s time for a change, the answer is yes. The real question is what took you so long to make the switch?
