Modded Xboxes

[bringoutthegimp]

i have been looking at modded xboxes for a couple days now and they seem to be able to do everything i would want in a gaming machine......since i dont own an xbox and have no experience in soldering or any of that shit ive been looking at a pre-modded one with an 80gb hard drive from here.

But, can people with modded xboxes give me a run down of the speed of the emulators, a site with a good xbox community, and the ease of use of running "backups". also, is there a cable that can connect the xbox to the pc as if its a removeable hard drive for easy file transfer? any help would be appreciated.

EDIT:: also, what's the GUI like for running emulators/mp3s/cds/movies etc?

 

[declaration]

Go to xbox-scene.com for more info. Its a great site with MASSIVE community.

Emulation- is superb. SNES/GBA/Genesis etc= full speed. PSX and N64 are also brilliant. N64 games many are full speed. There are masses and masses of emu's available. Check the software section of xbox-scene for more info.

To connect up to Pc, you'll need to network up, so some knowledge of networking is really needed, although there are plenty of tutorials etc to help you out. if networked up, you can also play online for free using great tunneling software such as Xbconnect.

The media players are superb and more can be found out under the software section of xbox-scene.

i would advise a bigger harddrive than 80GB though, as they get filled rather quickly. Some of your "backups" will be upto 4GB.

I am about to put Linux onto my Xbox, which will open possibilities, such as web surfing via Mozilla etc.

For more info, Xbox-scene is the place to go. you should definitely get one though as they can do so much.

 

[Steve-O]

an Xbox is just a Mini PC... Whats the point get one of them small box PC's and a USB X-Box controller converter and there u go...

hehe

 

[PinkSpider]

I wouldnt mind a pre modded xbox myself... would love to play n64 games on it

 

[diablo2]

no man the xbox scene is much better than u might think steve-o
they have a new mod chip that is sooo ez to install
and its only like 53 usd
its called an xecution 2.3b lite

 

[Efompor]

an Xbox is just a Mini PC... Whats the point get one of them small box PC's and a USB X-Box controller converter and there u go... 

hehe

Mainly just because xbox is a console. You can connect it to your big screen tv and run things with high definition and sound. Plus it has the benefit of Xbox GAMES too, which you can't exactly play on your computer. I play halo all the time with my friends, then Soul Calibur and DOA3 too

EDIT: all of xport's Xbox emulators are really good: Screenshots of them

 

[Magic Knight]

it kicks, you wont regret it

as Efompor (?) says... it's all about having it on the tv... with the sound through your living room speakers.. etc..

mame ! for goodness sake, just buy the 2.3blite chip as mentioned - it does take time but you can't beat outrun on the tv.. no not really.. well maybe.. maybe metal slug on the tv beats it.. get my point ? mame is excellent, as is another one called kawa-x which does the neogeo stuff really sweet...

there have been so many times when i've considered building a mame cabinet, or buying an arcade machine... the x-box elimates that desire... xbox controllers on the tv with that sound is awesome and cant really be matched ???? hmmm... it's close enough for me anyway...

n64 is cool - mario kart... snes, nes - i dont even bother with... there's too much other good stuff....

with hindsight - i would have done the following :

- spent £190 on a chipped xbox (130 retail, 45 chip, postage, installation hassle/buying fucking tools = a good deal)

- spoken nicely to the person who was sending me the chipped xbox. and asked them to flash the bios on the chip too. this saves hassle. confusing point#1 - there is xbox bios (which remains intact at all times and can always be fallen back on - so you can always 'just' do what its designed for - expensive games..) , and there is also chip bios if you get it chipped - and it's the chip bios you need to flash after the chip has been installed.. so ask them to do this too..... with evo.....

- then find an ftp guide to sort you out transferring from the xbox to the pc. this involves :

i) making a cdrw boot disk
ii) having a twisted pair cable to network card on the pc
ii) establishing a conntection and backing up all current x-box drives onto the pc in case of shee-it...

- lastly. make a cdrw of slayers disk and take it from there... it's more than enough to get up and running with...

the media player - xbmp - is probably the greatest player in the world......

mame is a wet dream frankly...

this is what it's all about......

 

[Steve-O]

You can connect a Micro PC to a TV and play Mame...

But If u have to get one then I recommend getting the stuff / pre modded console from www.eliteconsoles.com they offer Excellent VERY Fast Service and are the best prices.. I got my PS2 Chip from there.... Send them a Email and you will most likely get a reply within 10 minutes or less they are Fast..

 

[Dozer]

You can connect a Micro PC to a TV and play Mame...

But If u have to get one then I recommend getting the stuff / pre modded console from www.eliteconsoles.com they offer Excellent VERY Fast Service and are the best prices.. I got my PS2 Chip from there.... Send them a Email and you will most likely get a reply within 10 minutes or less they are Fast..

But can you buy a pc for 190 thats gona be able to do all the things an x-box can? Full speed divx? +all the emus? I doubt it. If I had the money, Id buy one of those premodded x-boxes deffinately.

 

[Akuma no Houkon]

You can connect a Micro PC to a TV and play Mame...

But If u have to get one then I recommend getting the stuff / pre modded console from www.eliteconsoles.com they offer Excellent VERY Fast Service and are the best prices.. I got my PS2 Chip from there.... Send them a Email and you will most likely get a reply within 10 minutes or less they are Fast..

But can you buy a pc for 190 thats gona be able to do all the things an x-box can? Full speed divx? +all the emus? I doubt it. If I had the money, Id buy one of those premodded x-boxes deffinately.

Yes, yes you can.

TigerDirect has MANY $200 and under great PCs. From 1ghz+ to 2ghz PC's for $200.
(although the 2ghz usually are just barebones so are missing some crucial elements)


None of them have a monitor so you have to get one or hook it up to your TV (what you were going to do anyway right?) Alot come with Lindows as an OS (a linux variant) or for free you can download any linux variant, and almost every emulated platform you can think of has a linux version (or you can just install your version of windows on it). All of them are fast enough for DivX and all of the emulators, as well as nearly all of the PC games available too (you might have to upgrade the videocard for $20 - $30 to get great speed on some newer PC games)

So all you are missing is Xbox games, but, with the xbox, you are missing PC games, so its a trade off.

 

[Axeman]

I've never looked back since I moddem my X-Box. The emulators are fantastic, as is all the other stuff. With Xboxes and mod chips at the prices they are now, it's well worth it. If you use the Xecuter Lite chip, it's a breeze to install too

To all those who say to use a PC - BAH!! No boot up (well.. more or less), and everything there for you. No need for a keyboard etc etc.

Is great

Modding is easy too - just follow all the tutorials on www.xboxscene.com and www.teamxecuter.com (if you use an Xecuter chip) and you're away.

 

[jegHegy]

why is everyone so surprised about how emulation on xbox is so good? they're the ports of already great emulators on pc!

heh.

 

[Akuma no Houkon]

Oh I didnt say get a PC rather than an Xbox, I just replied to the post that someone said you cant get one that powerfull for $200. Untruth

I would never get an Xbox because of the two main reasons, one, its as big as a house, and two, its microsoft. (specs and games dont even enter into it, I will never, under threat of death buy a microsoft product.)

However, I do agree that playing emulated games on your TV is _MUCH_ funner then playing them on the PC.

Although you can get the same emulation from PS2, they have full speed NES/GB/GBC/GBA/N64/SNES/etc.... emulators for the PS2 (no PSX emulator is needed obviously) and its not as big as the Xbox, with an ugly uncomfortable controler, and heres the real kicker, its NOT Microsoft!

Or even get the DC, its _alot_ cheaper, needs no mod chip,and has all of those emulators, and is unofficially an opensource console like GP32, and they even have GP32 to DC cables now! A perfect compliment to your GP32.

 

[diablo2]

ps2 has full speed n64?!?

 

[Akuma no Houkon]

Dont know about N64, they were working on it when I last had a PS2, hell there is even someone working on an N64 GP32 emulator (its slow as hell most likely and hasnt been updated in 6 months, but hey )

 

[Dozer]

Doh, I need to find a place in the UK that sells pcs that cheap. The x-box is big tho, dumping a pc next to your tv, which is seemingly bigger is worse.... Hmmm, ill have to think about what to invest in . Might sell my ps2 and go 4 a premodded x-box.

 

[Dolfhin]

I also have one and it works great on Emulators, BackUps and everything else you might need. At the moment i'm copying the DivX version of 'Bullet Proof monk' to my Xbox with a transfer speed of 500 kb/s (not to much but it's fine for me, any tips on howto improve it are welcome ).
The emulators works, Mario kart is extremly good in multiplayer (yes even in splitscreen!) Golden Eye works like a charm in singelplayer and Sonic rocks

 

[declaration]

i am writing this post on my xbox on a standard tv using a standard xbox control pad And mozilla under linux.


Edit- back on the pc now...... the above post took about 5 minutes to write. I am just happy that I got it working well. Just wish I had a USB keyboard here.

 

[blipped4]

I have a guide for changing two controller ports for 2 usb.