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PS3 vs XBOX 360 questions

12K views 102 replies 36 participants last post by  prufrock 
#1 ·
With the conclusion of the original XBOX, I am now in the market for a new console. I have been looking at the PS3 online and in the stores, and I borrowed a buddies 360 to try.

My needs/concerns for a console are:
1. Has to have the EA sports franchise (NHL, Madden, Tiger Woods and Baseball)
2. Online connectivity is important for those games
3. I am not into shooting or action games (not enough to impact a decision)
Concerns
4. Price is a concern
5. I am not much of a renter, I like to buy a couple games a year.
6. The 360 fan is really loud. It is much louder than the previous generation. Is the PS3 any quieter?
7. I know that a lot of people have had some problems with the 360, but am I only hearing about it because I hang out here? Is it a big problem?
8. The drive in the 360 sounds like my $30 dvd player when it opens and closes. There are clunks and you can really hear it moving. Is this normal, or just the 360 I borrowed?
9. The PS3 doesn't come with HD cables, can I use a standard HDMI cable, or do I have to buy a special one from Sony?
10. I know the 360 controllers take batteries, does the PS3? If not, how long does the batter last before it no longer holds a charge?
11. Both the 360 and PS3 have wireless wifi built in, correct?
12. I can't find the price for the PS3s online service, does anyone know it?



If I did get a PS3, i would probably get some blu-rays, but I doub't I would get the HD DVD drive for the 360.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.
 
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#2 ·
If you're basing your loud 360 experience on your friend's unit, don't. Newer ones aren't as loud.

The 360 repair problems aren't great, but you're covered well by MS. If you're really worried, buy a product replacement plane.

You can use any HDMI cable with the PS3.

The batteries are built into the PS3 controllers.

Only the PS3 has wifi built in. There is a wireless adaptor you can buy for the 360 if you require it.

PS3 online service is currently free of charge.

If price is a major concern, what until the fall for the rumored price drops.
 
#3 ·
hockeymancw:

1. Both consoles offer the EA Sports titles
2. Both consoles offer online options for EA Sports titles
3. I'm guessing you're looking for a more diverse line up. Right now there are more games available for the 360.
4. The 360 is cheaper (its available in 3 configurations, I believe 2 of them are lower than the PS3 price - The PS3 is available in just the one configuration with the cheaper one recently being discontinued - to the best of my knowledge)
5. An alternative to renting (sort of) are downloadable demos, of which there are more available to the 360.
6. The PS3 is very quiet.
7. I would invest in an extended warranty if purchasing the 360. MS offers a 2 year warranty for around $50 CDN I believe.
8. The 360 drive tray noise is on par with most tray loading disc players.
9. You can use any HDMI cable.
10. The 360 has rechargable battery packs available for its controllers. The PS3 charges seem to last between 4-5 hours.
11. PS3 yes, 360 no. A separate adapter must be purchased for the 360.
12. PlayStation Network is free to access, some content is charged for and a credit card can be used for those purchases.
 
#6 ·
7. I know that a lot of people have had some problems with the 360, but am I only hearing about it because I hang out here? Is it a big problem?
This thread at NeoGAF might give you an idea of how big of a problem the 360's reliability is.

From my own experience, of the 4 people (including myself) that I know in RL that have 360s, 1 original system is still working (but has begun locking up on him). My launch system was trouble free right up until it died (0102) about 6 weeks ago, and one friend is on his third. I was kind of skeptical about how widespread this issue was as I kept hearing how defective the launch PS2s were, even though nobody that I know that had a launch-day system ever had a problem with them. I just attributed the stories to fanboyism (in both cases).

I wouldn't recommend buying a 360, even with an extended warranty, until they sort out what's wrong with it. I am not going to replace mine until they do.
 
#9 ·
My friend (who is on his third system) has the Elite. He says it locks up more frequently than his previous (refurbished) system did, but has not had the RROD (yet). I don't think that there is any internal difference between it and the previous SKUs, but apparently some warranty replacement systems have been showing up with an extra heat sink on the GPU. There is much speculation that the main cause of the RROD is the GPU losing contact with the motherboard--the solder breaks because the board flexes as it warms up.
 
#10 ·
The new Xbox360 systems are coming out with a new heatsink on the GPU which should help prevent the failures.
I guess I got lucky because my Elite is not very loud.
This may not be a deal breaker for you but there is an article that the Xbox 360 versions of Madden 08, NCAA Football 08, and All-Pro Football 2K8 run at 60 frames per second on the Xbox360, whereas the PS3 editions are locked at just 30fps.
If your thinking of getting a PS3 you may want to wait a couple of months. It looks like it will be getting a price cut fairly soon. Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer pondering just how much he can afford to knock off the PS3's price tag to boost sales.
 
#11 ·
While we haven't had the opportunity to see the difference with EA's titles (the publisher hasn't sent us PS3 builds of either), All-Pro Football 2K8 definitely runs better on Xbox 360.
The only issue I have with that article is that without having a PS3 build to even see, how can one say it runs better on the 360? One can certainly appreciate that it runs "quicker" on the 360 currently, but that doesn't necessarily translate to better. I'll be interested to see the side by side playing comparisons.

Cal
 
#13 ·
Depending on whether or not you use bluray or wifi, the PS3 price is already comparable to the 360. If you get the elite+wifi+hd-dvd-addon you're paying way more. Not to mention the $30/controller for the battery packs.

So while id imagine the ps3 price will drop, it has every right to cost a bit more than a 360.

Also the PS3 doesnt have that nasty power-brick. It runs very quietly and I also get about 15-20hours of battery life per charge.
 
#14 ·
The Elite is a completely different revision of the motherboard. If you look at the side by side pictures you can see pretty much everything has changed or been moved around. They have put some goop on the CPU to prevent it from popping off, which was one of the issues. Add in the new heat sink on the GPU. From reports the Elite seems more reliable, more in lines with any other consumer electronic product, not it's predecessor.


Now to your original question:

-Xbox 360's online experience is much better than the PS3.
-360 currently comes with rumble controllers.
-360's controllers allow you to have spare batteries, not forcing you to plug in so you can recharge as you are gaming. This is a big pain in the butt with the PS3!
-360 has way more games
-360 has a much larger online community

-PS3 has Blue Ray and great upconversion capabilities.
-PS3 is quieter
-PS3 has built in wireless
 
#19 ·
1. Both consoles have EA
2. Online connectivity on the 360 is far superior to the PS3s, but ya, it costs you a little money, just look for deals for Xbox Live Gold cards.
3. Well if you were, the 360's shooters are amazing, Gears of War is the best example, as is Lost Planet
4. 360 is the cheaper unit
5. A lot more games available for the 360, both for sale and rent
6. The 360 is loud, but the newer units aren't as loud as the original units; the PS3 is quieter from what I've heard, no pun intended.
7. Yes, lots of problems out there, but Peter Moore just announced a new 3 year warranty which covers the common Red Rings of Death issue. I highly recommend an extended warranty though, through MS or the store you buy it from.
8. I don't find the drive to be problematic at all, it's a fairly loud drive, unless you get the BenQ model, but that's cause it's spinning at 12x, so what do you expect?
9. Standard HDMI cable, but if you get the 360 Elite, you get an HDMI cable with it.
10. PS3 batteries are built in, but that means if they crap out, you have to deal with Sony to replace it, or buy a new one. 360 you can pop in your own rechargeables, or buy the MS rechargeable battery pack.
11. PS3 has wifi built in
12. Free, but also crap in comparison

I said I wouldn't buy the HD DVD drive either, but I bought it since it's so inexpensive, just recently it was $160 at Bestbuy, but I bought it a long time ago for $180. I also now have 10+ HD-DVDs in a matter of months, I barely have more regular DVDs than this.

If gaming is your main aspect, then it's simple, get a 360, far better games, far better online service.

With the conclusion of the original XBOX, I am now in the market for a new console. I have been looking at the PS3 online and in the stores, and I borrowed a buddies 360 to try.

My needs/concerns for a console are:
1. Has to have the EA sports franchise (NHL, Madden, Tiger Woods and Baseball)
2. Online connectivity is important for those games
3. I am not into shooting or action games (not enough to impact a decision)
Concerns
4. Price is a concern
5. I am not much of a renter, I like to buy a couple games a year.
6. The 360 fan is really loud. It is much louder than the previous generation. Is the PS3 any quieter?
7. I know that a lot of people have had some problems with the 360, but am I only hearing about it because I hang out here? Is it a big problem?
8. The drive in the 360 sounds like my $30 dvd player when it opens and closes. There are clunks and you can really hear it moving. Is this normal, or just the 360 I borrowed?
9. The PS3 doesn't come with HD cables, can I use a standard HDMI cable, or do I have to buy a special one from Sony?
10. I know the 360 controllers take batteries, does the PS3? If not, how long does the batter last before it no longer holds a charge?
11. Both the 360 and PS3 have wireless wifi built in, correct?
12. I can't find the price for the PS3s online service, does anyone know it?



If I did get a PS3, i would probably get some blu-rays, but I doub't I would get the HD DVD drive for the 360.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.
 
#20 ·
I didn't even open up the cables that came with it. Just plugged in the optical audio and HDMI cables I had.

Monoprice is the best place for cables eh? I need to a 20+ ft HDMI cable to connect my PC to my TV. Seems that $50 is the best price I can find here even at the cheaper places.
 
#21 ·
I agree with DS... wait until a retailer actually drops the price online or in a flyer. You don't want to get boned for the additional $110 and tax if you don't have to.

And if price was a huge factor, wait a little longer as I'm sure MS will announce 360 pricedrops before long.
The more I read on the 360s problems, the more scared I get. When I read numbers as high as 33% fail, it makes the decision easier to make to go PS3. I know that MS provides the waranty, but I don't want the hassle of calling and returning it. I have my hands full with my Shaw cable to take on anything else.
 
#27 ·
Not to sound like too much of a fanboy here, but that is only according to MS. Until we see an end to all the RROD talk (which admittedly will probably continue even if the problems are fixed), I doubt that even the one billion dollars will be enough to both reimburse everybody already affected for their warranty and shipping costs as well as re-engineering (and reworking existing inventory) the existing design flaws.
 
#26 ·
Once i head that NHL 08 was not coming out for xbox or Wii, I had to upgrade to either the PS3 or the Xbox 360. With Madden and NCAA football, Motorstorm and GTA, that will keep me busy into the new year. I am really looking forward to getting Goodfellas on Blu-ray also.
 
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