I have had the Windows 7 Beta and Release Candidate since they were available, but after the RC expired, I bought the full version of it, and I have to say, it’s pretty awesome. It has the performance and reliability of XP combined with the graphical improvements Vista made, and then some. I didn’t have any driver problems, because almost anything that ran with Vista will run on 7. The new taskbar (called the superbar) is great, because when you have a powerful computer running multiple applications, you can see them all by mousing over them. You can also pin file’s and program’s icons to the taskbar to quickly and easily open them. A new feature supported by many popular apps, such as Valve’s Steam, Mozilla Firefox, and any built-in Windows program, is something called Jumplists. They are menus that pop-up when you click a program’s icon and drag it upward. They can show different things depending on the program, but they will usually show options, recent files, and common actions for the game. I installed Windows 7 on my laptop, which is an ASUS Eee PC 904HA, and it runs very well for the speed of the laptop, comparable to XP. My desktop absolutely flies, but it’s running a quad-core processor and 4 gigs of RAM. Windows 7 is by far the easiest to network on as well. Most wireless cards are detected when you install it, and Homegroups are supported. Homegroups are an easy way to send media and files through your network, and are much easier to use than workgroups. The problem is, they only work with windows 7 computers. The good news is they are still backwards-compatible with  older computers by using the traditional workgroup setup, which seems to work just as well, if not better, as it did before. There are only 3 versions, Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. Home premium is is the best for home, media, and games, and is around $180 for a full version and $120 for an upgrade. Professional is equivalent to the Business edition of Vista, and goes for around $270 full, $180 upgrade. Ultimate combines all of it, and has everything, including an XP emulation program and Bitlocker encryption. It is $320 full, $220 upgrade.

A few days ago, I bought an Xbox 360 from Gamestop, and about 5 games. First of all, the packaging is very nice, with the box easy to open without destroying it and the contents protected, but not in a clamshell or sealed plastic bag.

Anyway, clams aside, the system is easy to set up. If you have your TV near your router, you’re in luck. The Xbox 360 has a networking cable included, but no built-in wifi; you have to buy that for another $60-$100 depending on where you go. It is straightforward to set up offline, and if you decide to go online, Xbox LIVE is around $10 per month if you pay monthly, and $50 for 13 months. Payment methods are credit cards and Xbox LIVE cards sold at most stores that sell video games. Online is mostly lag-free if you have a decent broadband connection. The games are great, the system is powerful, the Xbox Live party system is awesome, and with the exception of few (lot) of idiots on XBL, very fun to play. It works with Windows vista and 7 for the HD video and music streaming over the network. On the XBL Marketplace you can buy games, movies, music, videos, expansion packs, and a bunch of other stuff for relatively low prices using a credit card or Microsoft points, which are about 1.2 cent each, so its $20 for 1600 points. XBL is the main selling point here, because the PS3 is more powerful, but lots of new things are coming out all the time, like Project Natal, which is basically the Wii with better graphics and no controller.

I’m looking forward to Call of Duty:Modern Warfare 2, as are who knows how many other people. The games I recommend right now, though, are Halo 3, COD4, Burnout paradise, and (if you’re into RPGs) Fallout 3.

The XB360 is a great system, and Microsoft recently dropped the price on the Elite (the black one) to $300, the Pro to $250, and the Arcade (which has only 1 controller and no hard drive) to $200, which is what it was at before. If you’re looking to upgrade from that old Xbox or PS2 without waiting for the next generation consoles, the Xbox 360 is a good option. Also, Microsoft released windows 7 today.

UPDATE- After over a year of having my xbox, it’s still running strong and there are tons great games. Microsoft recently released a patch to allow usb flash drives (up to 16gb) to be used as memory cards, which lets you have a lot more stuff on it for a lot less money, as a 16gb drive is $40 and the 512MB card is $30. There was also a recently released 250GB hard drive, and I may actually buy one soon-I only have 2gb left on my 60 gig hdd.

]]> http://bricksandbots.com/review-xbox-360.htm/feed 1 http://bricksandbots.com/computer1.htm http://bricksandbots.com/computer1.htm#comments Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:06:57 +0000 brix http://bricksandbots.com/?p=87 If you are looking for a fast and cheap computer, look no further than here. This one is good for mid range gaming, graphics, internet, or a future proof family computer.

Here are the components and prices from www.newegg.com

Intel E7400 Core 2 Duo processor- $119

Asus P5QL Pro motherboard- $84

Visiontek HD 3650 video card- $60

Western Digital Caviar SE 160 GB Hard Drive- $40

Cooler master 500 watt power supply- $30

Gigabyte SECC Black Case- $30

Kingston HyperX 2GB 1066 mhz RAM- $18

Samsung CD/DVD drive/burner- $22

Logitech G4 gaming speakers- $70

Razer Copperhead 2000 DPi gaming mouse-$54

Logitech g15 Keyboard- $80

Samsung 2232 22″ monitor- $209

Your choice of Microsoft Windows XP Home, or Windows Vista Home Premium- $89 or $99 respectively

If wanted-Linksys Wireless-N adaptor- $69

Total cost-$975 With Monitor, $750 without

To Build- follow ALL instructions that came with the motherboard, processor, and all other components.

1. Wait for all parts to arrive.

2. Take out Case.

3. Install Power Supply

4. Move all wires aside and install motherboard spacers and backplate.

5. Place motherboard on a non-conductive surface and install processor and heatsink/fan.

6.Install Motherboard in Case.

7. Install hard drives, optical drives, power buttons, and secure in bays.

8. Push 24 pin power connector into place on motherboard, and do the same with 4-pin connector(should be near CPU).

9. Plug in other power cables and SATA/ IDE cables.

10. Now for a test- plug in computer and push power button. The lights and fans should turn on. if not you have a problem. check power cables and other connections and try again. If all is well, you should hear a beep.

11. Install video, network, and sound cards, connect monitor, plug in mouse and keyboards, and proceed from there, following motherboard and operating system manuals.

12. If you did everything right, you should have a working computer soon. if you have trouble, feel free to leave a comment and I will try to help. You can find these items on newegg, or go to the amazon links here.