Wasabi (or Xkey) -- Is It Worth It? Options

[mickey797]

Guys,

I've been looking at Wasabi and right now it can be had for around $99. To me, personally, it's going to cost a little over $35 because of a paypal gift card. But I can't undermine that it's still close to $100.

My question: Is it worth it?

Here's my situation ...

I have an old (3 or 4 yrs old) Phat XBOX 360 Elite. The "Red" resident evil version that came out some time ago. It's a Jasper box with a LiteOn flashed to iXtreme LT+ 2.0

I NEVER go on XBOX Live with this box. This box is 100% OFFLINE. I have another untouched/unmodded Slim that I use for online gaming. I reserve this modded box for OFFLINE gaming only.

The "hardware" installation of Wasabi doesn't seem like rocket science. And I would love to be able to play my backups off a connected Hard Drive as opposed to popping discs in & out. I was wondering if someone who actually owns & uses a Wasabi (or xkey) can comment ...

Firstly, is the software setup hard? Do I need my drive's original FW dump?
Secondly, do you need to keep updating the FW on Wasabi? Is it hard?
What about he Dashboard? Does dashboard updates impact Wasabi in any way? I use the USB/Offline update method for updating my dashboard ... and I sort of like the newer Dash updates they come out with. I don't even know if you can update Dashboards if you use something like Wasabi or Xkey.

All in all -- I really, really would like to play my backups off a connected hard drive & build a game library on my hard drive as opposed to burning discs; and this is a 100% offline box so I that's not even an issue. That said -- is the Wasabi worth it?

On a side note; I know a lot of people will jump in & suggest "RGH". Let me clarify on that -- I cannot RGH myself; I have no thumbs when it comes to soldering, I won't even bother! Secondly, my Phat is a few years old now -- I don't expect a very long life expectancy. It'll pop one day soon enough - and then RGH is moot. If instead I have something like Wasabi, I can pop it out of the dead box & put it in a new one. Thus my reasoning to go with an ODD as opposed to RGH.

I'm open to all suggestions & comments.

Thanks!!

[Serious Sam]

Yes you will need OFW but you can get that anywhere. What you do need is your drives key to inject to that OFW.
I own an xk3y and yes it is very easy to install and setup. Updating it is very simple as well. You can update it using a USB memory stick.
I did the last xbox dashboard update with my xk3y installed and no issues. I just used passthrough mode meaning your using the original DVD drive.

The reason i went with the xk3y over the Wasabi is because I'm like you I have a Phat Jasper xbox and a couple of Slims. You can use the same xk3y in both slims and phats but with the Wasabi you have to buy two devices one for each type of xbox.

[nikeymikey]

The wasabi team has just revealed that they can automagically extract the dvd key from your original drive, therefore making it truly plug and play and no need for any other equipment to get it running.

See wasabi360.com for more

This post has been edited by nikeymikey: Jan 8 2012, 01:59 PM

[browrol17]

i got both wasabi360 and xkey.
if you have a new slim model i would say go with the wasabi360,just hold one button on the wasabi,turn on the 360 and it will automatically add the slim key to it.there is nothing else you have to do.amazing!!
but really it is your choice on witch to buy.hey i got both..

[hellslave]

Personally, I'm going with xk3y, and for a few reasons...

1 - Support. The xk3y has deticated forums for support and general discussion; something the Wasabi team does not offer; they only have an email address. One of the main devs for the xk3y posts on the forums regularly, and they are always looking for customer input in regards to future firmware updates and the like. Again, Wasabi doesn't have anything like that.

2 - Yes, having to get the drive key manually extracted can be a bit pricey if you're unable to find someone to do it for you (I got lucky and was able to find someone to do it for a trade). However, while it is nice that the Wasabi can auto-extract it, it also requires the bin file (and the other accompanying files) to be stored on whichever storage device you're using. The xk3y stores its files on board via microSD card, which means you can easily switch out multiple storage devices (or use them all at once) without having to worry about making sure that those crucial files are on each device. ...and if they aren't on there, there's no risk of accidently deleting them.

3 - Speaking of storage devices, the Wasabi requires an eSATA interface. While I haven't done much looking myself, with the few larger storage devices that I have seen, they all seemed to be USB 2 or 3 rather than eSATA. Wasabi claims to have an adapter in development the can go from USB to eSATA, but I've heard nothing more aside from that. The xk3y uses the good ol' USB interface, so you can use ANY storage device, be it an external HDD, flash drive, etc. Also, I believe the USB adapter for the xk3y may be USB 3 compliant, but I'm not entirely sure.

4 -The xk3y supports numerous files systems, such as FAT, FAT32, NTFS, and EXT3 and 4 which, from what I've heard from numerous users, offers the best stability and performance. Though it does require a little bit of work to use that particular filesystem on a Windows machine.

4 - The Wasabi requires physical modification to the console's metal frame to allow the cables to connect to the Wasabi housing. Also, because this housing directly connects to the console's case, it makes it that much more difficult to take apart again in the future should you need to do so.

-

Again, these just some of the reasons that I personally am going with an xk3y. You of course have your opinions and are free to choose whichever device you like the most.

[Khaine]

If you are keeping the box offline, I'd say you're better off getting it RGH'ed by someone instead.

Then you can dump games to your hard drive direct from the DVD, and even run emulators if you want. You can also replace the standard MS hard drive with pretty much whatever size you like (I've heard of some people connecting up 1TB drives via the HDD caddy). You can also put games on USB if you like.

[rwcottrell]

get an xkey.excellent customer support on the forums .easy to install.no more dvd dl issues.all games playable.able to go on live even though not technically safe.

[xboxdawg]

Xkey is the way to go if you want to keep things live compatible. Nothing is 100% live safe. But for now it's working fine on and off live.

But if you're not planning to go on live then RGH is probably the best bet. However if you don't have the skills to do the rgh mod and you can get the wasabi for $35 that's not a bad option.

[markieb]

I have both. As stated before if you get a wasabi they are model specific so if you get the phat model you are stuck using it only in phats. Also the auto-key extraction only works on 16D4S drives (slims) so you would need to extract the keys manually then upload them to the wasabi. The wasabi also uses eSATA so unless you have an external esata hard drive AND power supply, that is an additional expense. The PLUS side of the esata is the games load even faster than off the original DVD drive! The Xkey is much more universal as it will fit both phats and slims without cutting your case up and the support in the xkey forum is very good with lots of active members so questions get answered quickly and correctly. I have not found a good wasabi forum as of yet. If I purchase another it would probably be an XKEY.

This post has been edited by markieb: Apr 18 2012, 07:07 AM