I was lucky enough to score a "Core Bundle" from Sear's which is comign today. It comes with an extra controller, a 64MB Memory expansion and PGR. Should I just go out and buy HD AV cables and keep this "core" system or wait for a premium (who knows if I'll ever get from Dell).

I have an iPod, so I'm not so interested in copying music to the Hard Drive. I also don't plan on using the 360 for xBox games (use my original modded box for that). So, do I need the Hard Drive right away? The way I see it (and correct me if I'm wrong), I just need the AV cables,headset and remote. Is the only difference the "platinum" appearance on the drive? It looks like Hard Drives are in shortage right now, as they are fetching over $150 for the puny 20GB drive.

M$ really handicapped the "core" system. Tremendous value in the premium.

Thanks for the advice.

Yeah there really isn't a reason to get the core system. Just the HDD alone will cost you $100. So you might as well just wait and get the Premium system. Also you don't have to copy music to the Xbox360 HDD. You can stream the music right to your games from your PC, or Portable Devices

(V)ega

I simply walked into an EB games on launch day and asked for any xbox 360's . They had 2 "on the shelf". I bought both. Sold one for 650 on craigslist, kept the other. They were cores.

I am in no rush for accessories, and when they are available for the normal price I will get them. Much cheaper than the premium pack. I only need one controller, which i have....SO only the harddrive I need to wait for and hidef cables.

Hold on to it and just get the stuff as the price comes down....after all , your holding an xbox 360....something millions of others are trying to get.

Hold out for the premium system. You are going to want a hard drive which will cost you $100 to get, the Component video cables will set you back another $40, and you will want a headset for live anyway. Having the remote control is nice, and a wireless controller is way better than having even more wires in your entertainment system. Oh and stream music off of your ipod, the HDD only has about 12 gigs worth of space so dont waste space cluttering it with 10+gigs of music from your ipod. Just sell the core on ebay and wait. There arent any good games out anyway. Just a few half way decent ones worth getting just because there isnt anything else out. Just hold out for the premium.

You will most likely end up wanting a HD just because there will be so much content available to download from Live. In the future, I'm sure developers will take advantage of the extra space and some games may even be "Hard Drive Only". If you can't wait any longer to play, then by all means keep the Core. But if you have enough patience, then try to hold out for the Premium. It is totally worth the extra $100.

Agreed, There are already high def movie trailers, Game demos and arcade games and i would imagine there will be extra levels and things for games shortly. You've probably paid as much or close to how much the premium costs just with the 64mb memory card and av cables, I think if you buy a core then all the accesories extra its something like $520 total.