Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite System - 120 GB Black

This review is to review the focuses differences that are not on a "standard" XBOX 360 and the Elite, and rate the system as a new purchase, not an upgrade or replacement to your current XBOX 360, but overall.

When the Elite was first announced, the biggest thing that made this different than the other two versions: the HDMI output. Now, after the new XBOX 360 price drop announcement and hardware update, the only difference between the Elite and the Premium is the 120GB Hard Drive and included HDMI cable.

Almost everything about the Xbox 360 in white stands true for the Elite: It theoretically doesn't run cooler, or quieter, or faster, and you've already know that it is black. The Elites should have the added heat sink for realiability, but all models should be receiving that soon.

Don't let the black paint job distract you; the only thing you need to ask is if it improves the video quality and after many reviews and hours using this machine, the XBox Elite's HDMI output is the pretty darn good, and the 120GB hard drive upgrade is nice for all that downloadable content that you have been picking up on th market place.

Should you buy it?

Gamers who have an Xbox 360? No!

Videophiles looking for an HD DVD player? No!

Videophiles looking to get into the Xbox Live video marketplace? Yes, but know that this thing is still loud and you can now get HDMI in the newly manufactured XBOX Premiums.

Guys like me who are gamers and video geeks? Ya, this is for you. The fact that all that video and audio is being piped through a single HDMI cable is a bonus. I swear it's a touch cooler and quieter, and I could want it to be such, but reports say it is not.

When running the HD DVD player, using Tokyo Drift and the newly minted HQV Silicon Optics test disc—the rigorous test disc benchmarks showed the same flaws on both the HDMI and Component outputs. Jaggies That means the video processor between the older and newer Xbox is likely identical, or of identical quality. That's the processor, though. This isn't a high-end HD DVD player. As for the outputs and what I saw with my own eyes and confirmed with my camera. The HDMI's slightly better shadow detail showed itself. That detail might be lost on a lesser TV or the untrained eye. But remember that the component cables are limited to 1080i. So HDMI wins at full 1080p with no compromises, but with VGA cables you have a draw.

Playing games, Command and Conquer and Virtua Tennis yielded no differences between the 1080p signals of all three cables—except the strange washed out colors that the VGA cables sometimes show (GRAW and Gears of War, for starters). The HDMI again has that shadow detail boost that comes up over and over again. HDMI wins for a better picture, even though all cables do the 1080p dance with games.

Final Verdict:

It runs HDMI 1.2 (not 1.3 - the newest version), only runs 5.1 Dolby still (no 7.1 yet), and only has the bonus of the larger hard drive, and sleek styling. The 360 Elite is worth getting if you are just now entering the high definition video game market and need the extra hard drive space for all your goodies - if not,then save yourself $100 and get the newly updated Premium with HDMI, packaged with a game bundle (if you can find them) and game on.