i am about to buy a 360 arcade, because i already have a hard drive. But, im seeing that some websites are sayin there is an old an a new one. whats the difference? and how do i know when i buy it, that i am buyin the new one?

I'm not sure is there is a definite way to tell the difference but I'd assume that you should be able to look on the 360's box for a manufactured Date. Also, yes there is a difference in the last 2 months Microsoft has issued press releases that state "After years of research we have found what causes the Red Ring of Death" Now is there a specific way to tell which consoles are the updated ones and which are not, No. again I'd assume within the next month or two Microsoft will replace all 360's on shelves except for Wal-Mart because they buy there’s in bulk. Also there is one other difference that I'm not sure if Microsoft will ever update the consoles in the store with, but the 360's I've seen bought still have the old 360 dash board, the one with the blades. They came out with an updated dashboard for Xbox live members in November 2008. Now again I do not know if they will ever sell The NXE (New Xbox Experience) Dashboard on store shelves, so if you do not intend on getting an Xbox live account I would call Microsoft at 1-800-4MY-XBOX (1-800-469-9369). And ask if there is a way to buy a 360 with the NXE dashboard. Again only do that if you are not intending to get an Xbox live account.

Thanks, and i definitely plan to have live. how about a place like gamestop/ebgames or playntrade? you think they would have the new ones there? I mainly just want to get the best i can find for $200.

Agian the best way to determine if they have a new console is to go in and ask to see the manufactured date on the box.

The newer versions of the white xboxes have the HDMI plug on them the old ones didn't not sure there are any OLD xbox 360s on the shelves anymore as they replaced the old ones over a year ago

So if you want to know if your buying a new one just check to see if it has a hdmi plug on it.

Also it was a month ago that I replaced my old xbox because it died and to the dashboard hadn't been updated so I doubt very many of them will be updated with the NXE any time soon at least not out of the box

Alright, thanks both of you. and you both think its worth it right?

I think it's well worth it. I mean if you dont mind spending an extra 100 dollars in 2 years for an extended warranty then theres no problem ive had to send my xbox in twice and the second time they replaced it. so i do indeed suggest the extended waranty through microsoft. ive had my xbox for 3 years and cause i caughed up 50 dollars a year im covered for another 2. and i play it probably 8 hours a day at least.

so nomatter where i buy it from, the microsoft warrenty is the one that i use, right? And what is the standard warrenty it comes with?

usually you can get a warranty for a year or so from the store which is nice to be able to walk in and exchange the system but the problem is i am not sure if they will just exchange the system or if they want the system and hard drive in which case you loose all your memory but yes after the first year do be sure to keep up and renew the microsoft warranty befor the current one runs out it must be under warranty to buy an extended warranty

oh, ok, so Microsoft does the warranty stuff. so i can buy the system from anywhere new, and it will come with that same warranty. that's what i needed to know. also (sorry about all the questions) the arcade with a hard drive is essentially the same machine as the regular, right?

yeah just no warranty on the hard drive

There is an Arcade model with a Jasper chispset that is the one that's supposed to fix the RROD.

Jasper
The latest revision to the silicon inside the Xbox 360 is code-named "Jasper". It replaces the second generation "Falcon" chips that many credited with reducing the Red Ring of Death problem. Consoles with the new Jasper chips are already on sale in some stores. They are distinguishable by their new power bricks, which look exactly the same as the bulky old ones, but draw only 150 Watts of power instead of the usual 175. Of course, that doesn't help shoppers who want to know if the box they are looking at contains a Jasper or an older model. The way to determine whether the console has the new chip is by looking at the Lot Number on the outside of the box. The first Jasper models have a lot number of 0843, so if yours is equal to or higher than that number, there is a stong chance that it contains a Jasper, rather than a Falcon equipped Xbox 360. You can search a little more info on google about it.

I'm planning on searching for one and buying it. I have a XBOX360 Pro Falcon chipset. Sending it this week to Microsoft to get it repaired for a E74 one Red Light error.

Thanks, both of you. This really helps

I don't know what I would do without this website.

Oh, and the lot number would be near the bar code, right?

The Xbox 360 box has a hole at the top of it where the bar code of the console is visible. Clerks usually scan this when you buy one. What you need to do it look at the lower left corner of this box. If you peer closely you can make out at least half of the voltage/amperage rating of the unit. The # of amps used by the 12 volt rail is the key to determining which console it is. Basically, Falcon uses 14.2 amps while Jasper uses 12.1 amps. Check the link below and the are photos of the console that show where to look.

Info taken from here

I think is more reliable to look for the 12,1A instead of the lot number. So, look for those amps. At least that's what I'm gonna do as soon as I get the money to buy an Arcade BackUp for my broken Falcon.