Hey GP's, I wanna buy an Xbox360 today but I need some answers to some ?'s...

Playstation 3 is the way to go, Stay away from the 360 it's hardware is very unreliable. whitetiger3521

Apart from the lack of a hard drive the premium pack doesn't really have much more than the core. I personally prefer a corded controller. You don't get a headset with the core, or the AV cables for a HD setup. If you intend to be an avid 360 gamer I suggest you get the premium however. Since you will probably by the HDD later getting it with the premium will save you some money.

The red ring problem is meant to indicate a lack of hardware. If one of your cables is not plugged in securely you get the red lights. The red lights are basically a diagnosis of some simple do-it-yourself problems.

In summary... buy a 360... it's awesome.

[QUOTE="whitetiger3521"]Playstation 3 is the way to go, Stay away from the 360 it's hardware is very unreliable. vistamanV5

Well i'm just going by the many many people that have complained about 360's breaking down and i've seen it myself. The chances are quite high that the 360 is going to break down, why do you think they are releasing a new 360 with the new chip in it so it runs cooler?

GP = gaming pal

*I even wanna buy it now despite Halo 3 not being out yet. I already have a Wii but I'm not endorsing Wii60 here*

1. Any major disadvantages for buying the basick pack over the premium other than HDD?
2. Are the hardware problems (red A-hole of death) still a problem?

Also to afford it I'll be traded in the majority of my handhelds games : (, but I hardly play them anyway so I shouldn't be emo about it. Might even go for the PS3 if I have enough...
wok7

1. You are going to want everything the premium pack includes. It will cost you almost $200 bucks to buy it all seperately to save 100 bucks now.
2. They are alot less of a problem then they were this time last year. Buy brand new, and get a 2 year warrantee just in case. I went through 4 core units, they were all replaced by the store or MS, but when the last one died, 5 days after my warrantee expired, I had to pay for one out of pocket.

Since it appears you are on a budget, I would suggest only going for the PS3 if you are interested in HD movies. I have one it's amazing, but it's HD centric. If you buy a 360 premium, the wireless adapter and the HD-DVD drive you will spend more on the 360 than the PS3, but if you have a SDTV the 360 is definately more affordable. Don't worry about the current lack of games on the PS3 if you choose to pick it up, thats about to change really quick.

Both are excellent systems.

EDIT: For the love of god, the I saw way too many false statements up there in this thread. Paraphrasing:

"As of Nov 2006 there are no red light issues" - If you believe MS press releases. Some 360s will still have issues, they didn't solve anything, they are getting better, but they haven't cured it.

"The Red ring is supposed to diagnose do it your self fixes" - I have a 360 sitting in my closet that would like you to use "do it your self" fixes to revive it, cuz even MS said it was dead

"Why do you think they are releasing a new chip so it runs cooler" - Every console since the PS1 has been redesigned with smaller, cooler, cheaper components and the only thing that changes on the outside is the revision number. MS is using new chips because it saves them money. The system overheats, because of flaws in the manufacturing process, not because the designed hardware was flawed. My new 360 has the same chips as the old one, and it does not get hot and is much more quiet.

[QUOTE="whitetiger3521"]Playstation 3 is the way to go, Stay away from the 360 it's hardware is very unreliable. vistamanV5

GP = gaming pal

*I even wanna buy it now despite Halo 3 not being out yet. I already have a Wii but I'm not endorsing Wii60 here*

1. Any major disadvantages for buying the basick pack over the premium other than HDD?
2. Are the hardware problems (red A-hole of death) still a problem?

Also to afford it I'll be traded in the majority of my handhelds games : (, but I hardly play them anyway so I shouldn't be emo about it. Might even go for the PS3 if I have enough...
wok7

1.  If you don't have the HDD, you'll need to buy a memory card which adds to the cost.  Also the wireless controller is really too nice to not have.  My advice is buy the premium and get some of the used 360 games like Cod3, Fight Night if budget is a concern.

2.  You get a 1 year warranty.  If you have a faulty system, it's likely the problem will show up before then.

Let's not forget the 360 has more RAM and a better GPU. ps3 can claim all it want's but it's not going anywhere without RAM and a great GPU._Peoples_Champ_

WTF???

They both have 512MB of usable RAM. 256 for video, 256 for system on the PS3. 512 shared for the 360. The system RAM on the PS3 is also clocked at 3.2GHz, where as the 360 uses 700Mhz RAM. That extra 10MB of DRAM in the 360, is a frame buffer, it cannot be accessed like the rest. Even if a developer decides to allocate more of the RAM for video or system, it's at a cost to the other. If anything the 360's RAM is more flexable, but there certainly isn't anymore of it and it's still slower when it's used for system processes.

As for the GPU, that is still to be determined. You're not a developer, you don't have hands on time with the card, you can only speak about things you have heard, and most of them could be posting the same crap that you are, which is unfounded. The PS3 has a more than adequate GPU and both have more potential than developers will ever use this gen. And thats a fact, just like it was for every console before it. the industry moves on before a console gets maxxed out. 

If someone asks for advice, you're expected to give them facts and your opinion. Not made up, unreasearched, fanboy misconceptions.