Big Newbie With A Lot Of Questions., ... need info Options

[Pyroboy123]

Ok, you guys have converted me into a motivated futur xbox buyer.

I think I'll go and get myself one in a week.

I also want to mod it, and am thinking of getting the X-ecuter Pro modchip ... but cant seem to find good info on how to install it and how to put bios in it and of course where to get these bios !

Second thing is that the xbox I will get is the french promotion one : Xbox + JSRF + Sega GT ...
From reading the info you people put up ... i'm thinking it will be a 1.1 version but I cant be sure.

I also read that the original Samsung dvd drive has problems reading many brands of cdr ... now I read that the samsung isnt always the one in it and some other drives are much better than others ... how do I know which drive is the best and can I know when buying it which drive is shipped ?

I guess this makes a sufficient number of questions I would be very thankfull to have answers to ...

anyway thx

[whiffin]

QUOTE

I think I'll go and get myself one in a week.

Good choice

QUOTE

I also want to mod it, and am thinking of getting the X-ecuter Pro modchip ... but cant seem to find good info on how to install it and how to put bios in it and of course where to get these bios !

IIRC the pro version isn't released yet (only lite) - but a simple search on the web will find this. There will be plenty of tutorials for the Pro chip on this site (tutorials button) when it's released.

QUOTE

Second thing is that the xbox I will get is the french promotion one : Xbox + JSRF + Sega GT ... From reading the info you people put up ... i'm thinking it will be a 1.1 version but I cant be sure.

Most probably 1.1 - but there is always a chance that it's a v1.0 (it's haoppenned - but is rare)

QUOTE

I also read that the original Samsung dvd drive has problems reading many brands of cdr ... now I read that the samsung isnt always the one in it and some other drives are much better than others ... how do I know which drive is the best and can I know when buying it which drive is shipped ?

The Samsung is generally more tolerant than the Thompson drive - but you need to take the Xbox to bits to find out which one is which (says on it). The Samsung may do CDRs (some are more tolerant than others), but it all depends on the individual drive on which brands. The thopson will probably not do CDRs. They will both do CDRWs - but some brands are better than others. Unfortunately you'll have to buy an Xbox and see if you get lucky!


HTH

[Schmo]

My Samsung does CD-Rs just fine (tried 3 brands). I have yet to find a brand of media that it doesn't support.

Tried:
Optidisc DVD-RW
Ritek DVD-R
TDK CD-RW
Verbatim CD-RW
PNY CD-R
Philips CD-R
One other CD-R (can't remember brand at the moment).

This post has been edited by Schmo: Dec 5 2002, 03:49 PM

[iam]

QUOTE (whiffin @ Dec 5 2002, 12:05 PM)

The Samsung is generally more tolerant than the Thompson drive - but you need to take the Xbox to bits to find out which one is which (says on it).

Just to clarify this... the Samsung is more than "tolerant"... it reads EVERYTHING.

I tried at least 6 different brands of CDRs on Mine... 4 different brands of DVDR/RW.... They all worked.
If you're lucky enough to find one with a SAMSUNG, buy the whole crate !!!

[M@verick]

for a chip recommendation I'd recommend getting a homebrew LPC mod chip if you can. See if you can get one with a programmer as well. X-ecuter2 pro won't be out in mass quantities till january/feb (in my opinion) so you'll have to wait a while on that. If you want one next week a homebrew chip is the way to go. Check the Buy, Sell, Trade shop board for deals there.

If you're scared of solder and prefer to wrack your brain with aligning a Matrix/Xodus chip, thats also an option. Although I wouldn't recommend it. Solder is probably much easier.

If you really want to get a lot of good software, I'd recommend investing in a DVD burner as well.

[Schmo]

QUOTE

If you're scared of solder and prefer to wrack your brain with aligning a Matrix/Xodus chip, thats also an option.  Although I wouldn't recommend it.  Solder is probably much easier.

I guess this is a matter of opinion. I can solder but chose not to and my Matrix installation went VERY quickly and easily. I have had it a few months and not once did it lose alignment. Just take your time and do it right the first time... i think many problems are that people don't take their time with it since they are just so anxious to get it working

QUOTE

If you really want to get a lot of good software, I'd recommend investing in a DVD burner as well.

Or a really big hard drive... or both optimally.

This post has been edited by Schmo: Dec 13 2002, 06:35 AM