So I was playing around with NXE for a bit this evening and I must admit, I was quite impressed. I created my lovely Conan O'Brienavatar and perused the new interface that is replacing the old blade system. I think everything looks wonderful and is very easy to navigate. Unfortunately I do not have a Netflix subscription, so I wasn't able to explore this potentially amazing feature. However, the real reason I was so eager for this update was the ability to install games to my hard drive. I have one of the older systems and my disc drive is essentially shot to shit. It has scratched way too many of my games. It is kinda like my 360 has Parkinson's and is reading my discs with a switchblade. It sucks. I was banking on this feature to essentially fix my disc read error problems and possibly prevent me from needing to purchase a new console all together.

Any who, I have been terrified to play Gears of War 2 for the past week because I really did not want it to get scratched. Every time I booted it up, it sounded like my console was gargling nails. You can probably imagine the relief that I felt after finally being able to download it without having to fret for future gameplay experiences. It took a little less than 10 minutes for the game to download. Afterward, I wanted to check how much space I had for my next download. It turns out I only had 5.6 gigs left on my 20GB hard drive. Gears 2 took up a whopping 6.7 gigs. I checked the rest of my library to see if I could stuff anything else on my HDD and the only games small enough were Condemned: Criminal Origins and the Orange Box. Yes, the disc with 5 games on it is less that 5.6 gigs. Ain't that some shit?

So I was playing around with NXE for a bit this evening and I must admit, I was quite impressed. I created my lovely Conan O'Brienavatar and perused the new interface that is replacing the old blade system. I think everything looks wonderful and is very easy to navigate. Unfortunately I do not have a Netflix subscription, so I wasn't able to explore this potentially amazing feature. However, the real reason I was so eager for this update was the ability to install games to my hard drive. I have one of the older systems and my disc drive is essentially shot to shit. It has scratched way too many of my games. It is kinda like my 360 has Parkinson's and is reading my discs with a switchblade. It sucks. I was banking on this feature to essentially fix my disc read error problems and possibly prevent me from needing to purchase a new console all together.

Any who, I have been terrified to play Gears of War 2 for the past week because I really did not want it to get scratched. Every time I booted it up, it sounded like my console was gargling nails. You can probably imagine the relief that I felt after finally being able to download it without having to fret for future gameplay experiences. It took a little less than 10 minutes for the game to download. Afterward, I wanted to check how much space I had for my next download. It turns out I only had 5.6 gigs left on my 20GB hard drive. Gears 2 took up a whopping 6.7 gigs. I checked the rest of my library to see if I could stuff anything else on my HDD and the only games small enough were Condemned: Criminal Origins and the Orange Box. Yes, the disc with 5 games on it is less that 5.6 gigs. Ain't that some shit?

Fallout 3 is about 6.8 Gigs.

Yeah, if you're playing it from your hard drive, clearly you'll need more than 20GB. Heck, dude, I don't even have all that much saved on my hard drive, just games saves, DLC for a few games, the official GTAIV trailers, and 1 Xbox Original and I'm down to like 5GB left on my 20GB 360.

Doesn't matter too much for me. I sit away from my 360 and if you still have to put the disc in the drive it doesn't matter too much.
My 360 works and read discs fine though.

yeah, let me run out and drop a hundred bucks so I can shave a few seconds off loading times. 

That really blows. My 360 kills disk's a lot too, so I was really looking forward to installing the games also. 6 gigs for GTA...why?

I have space for one game. I really don't want to delete my Arcade games to make space for another. Fable II is over 6 GB's and Far Cry 2 is 4.5 GB (!). I'd love to get a bigger hard-drive, but the price is insane, especially in a country like Norway.

If your disk drive is scratching disks shouldn't you send it to Microsoft to get it fixed?

Either way, installing games seems like a gimmick to me. The only real advantage is that its quieter, and the noise doesn't bother me anyway.

"If your disk drive is scratching disks shouldn't you send it to Microsoft to get it fixed?

Absolutely excellent blog!

"MattyFTM said:

"If your disk drive is scratching disks shouldn't you send it to Microsoft to get it fixed?

Unfortunately my 360 is not under warranty nor is it red-ringed so it wouldn't be free... nor cheap."

"Absolutely excellent blog!

Quick question for anyone who knows:  how big of an update is the NXE in terms of download space needed and/or length of time to download on...say...a fiber line?

I've gotta update 20 fucking Xbox 360s tonight, and I kinda need to know my time frame.  =  /

"

"MattyFTM said:

"If your disk drive is scratching disks shouldn't you send it to Microsoft to get it fixed?

Unfortunately my 360 is not under warranty nor is it red-ringed so it wouldn't be free... nor cheap."

"MasterSplinter said:

"MattyFTM said:

"If your disk drive is scratching disks shouldn't you send it to Microsoft to get it fixed?

Unfortunately my 360 is not under warranty nor is it red-ringed so it wouldn't be free... nor cheap."

I heard that Microsoft offered reasonable prices for out of warranty disk drive repairs. Or you could just make it red ring. Drop kicking it into the wall should work."

That sucks about your disc drive, that's the exact reason why I was excited about this update allowing us to install the games. Wow, over 6GB, I will definitely need to get a bigger hard drive soon.

Well, the only thing stopping them is that big hard drives are a ton of money. I fortunately lost my 360 to the dead graphics card plague the day after the new premium launched. I had purchased the Best Buy warranty, which is totally worth it, so I walked in and they gave me the new 60GB version and $20 credit.

 Drop kicking it into the wall should work.

I tend to only play one game at a time, until completion, so un/reinstalling won't be that big of a deal even with limited HDD space (approx. 8-10 gigs).  When I get a craving for some quick multiplayer or the like in another game, I'll just deal with the spinning.

"I tend to only play one game at a time, until completion, so un/reinstalling won't be that big of a deal even with limited HDD space (approx. 8-10 gigs).  When I get a craving for some quick multiplayer or the like in another game, I'll just deal with the spinning."

Damn.  I guess I'll switch to at least a 60 GB.  I was planning only to install Fallout 3 and Gears 2, but that's 13.5 GB.  I only have 10.2 GB free on my 20 gigger.  My dad uses a 120 GB though.  Maybe I can trade my HD for his...

I've been considering upgrading to an Elite for HDMI output and the larger hard drive and I think the NXE is going to push me to do it.  Anyone need a very functional premium 360?

I'll stick to loading off the disc.

"Fallout 3 is about 6.8 Gigs."

Great time to have an Elite.

I underestimated how much I'd love installs.

I guess this is where convincing your parents last Christmas to get you the elite for more hard drive space for no use payed off! Lol But yeah, those sizes are pretty large, having a 20gb is going to be tough to handle a few games.

I will get a larger hard disk when the price is reasonable.  What is it, $140 now?

yeah, i'm not giving microsoft that much money for something that is TOTALLY not worth that much.

I shed a tear for you MasterSplinter.

"I shed a tear for you MasterSplinter."

Effing Zeldagamer14!

You are right, I'm probably getting 40 or 60.

What about dead space , I wanted to get that maybe and rip it.