Is this XBOX a Good One ???

[TomasHA-SK]

This XBOX is on Ebay. Is chipped too and has some games and emulators in it.

The dvd drive is a Samsung one (this was from comparing it to the link you sent)
The serial number is: 2008281 45105
The date of mfg is: 2004 - 12 - 13
The product id is: 221 200281 45105

Because I read the Samsung ones are the best, but I even heard there are more versions of Samsung, ones are good and other are bad. So this one is good, which is in that XBOX from Ebay ???
And how good are Hitachi/LG drives???

THANKS

[fallenangle]

I'm guessing we're talking original XBox here (it would help if there was a link to the listing in question too). I can't answer your particular questions because I don't know the answers but this good/bad disc drive thing in general has interested me too recently.

As far as I can research the typical mechanical reliability of all the three types you find in the original XBox ie. Thompson, Philips and Samsung are the same. Why people dislike 'the' Thompson is because it doesn't like certain media (CD-Rs are said to be a problem).

I've also come across info that suggests there were various versions of all three disc drives and some of those are better or worse than others.
How you identify them without taking the XBox apart I don't know, maybe someone here can help.

All I know is that I have a Thompson disc drive PAL XBox pro-chipped with Exc.2.6 bought new in 2005 and I've really flogged it over the last four years. I've not used it for anything but original XBox games/DVD/CDs and until recently the number of freezes I've had in thousands of hours of play is <5.

The game that changed that record for me is Morrowind III TESGotYE and I'm not convinced these well known problems which some people have blamed on their Thompson drives have anything to do with the specific make at all.

That's really the point - 'the' Thompson drive get a bad press because they (allegedly) won't read certain types of media they weren't actually designed to read as reliably as 'the' Philips or 'the' Samsung. Sure it makes great sense to avoid 'the' Thompson if possible but as is also known, and what prompted this thread no doubt, neither 'the' Philips' or 'the' Samsung drives are without reported problems too.

I'd be very interested to hear other people's opinions on the matter.

[smouty]

I'd be very interested to hear other people's opinions on the matter.

If it is chipped it is of little importance as long as it works for me. You can slap a larger capacity HDD and transfer whatever you want over the network.

As for the OP's question - that model is likely to be a v1.6 which I would personally avoid.

[TomasHA-SK]

Looking at this page:

http://xbupgrade.com/page.php?3

it is definitely V 1.6, because it is made after March 2004, has Kernel number xxxx = 5838 and has that metal line on video out. I found that page later and showed it to seller.

And that SAMSUNG DRIVE:

SAMSUNG SDG-605 / Part No: X00603-005 = WILL PLAY CDR (Found in later 2003 and early 2004 XBOX�s)
SAMSUNG SDG-605 / Part No: X00603-006 = WONT PLAY CDR (Found in later 2004 XBOX�s)

So it seems in that Xbox that Samsung Drive wont read CDr, because it is late December 2004.

So I wont take it, because I heard that V 1.6 has problems with some games in progressive scan, cannot be flashed bios, changed ram and that it has some slow different ram.

[fallenangle]

If it is chipped it is of little importance as long as it works for me. You can slap a larger capacity HDD and transfer whatever you want over the network.

As for the OP's question - that model is likely to be a v1.6 which I would personally avoid.

If you've got a PC - which I haven't.

My chipped XBox is used as is with just an Enigmah region change disc some nice person burned for me giving me the NTSC dash, all I really wanted. So I've been using the Thompson drive all the time for the last 4+ years with, as said, less than a handful of freezes, no dirty disc or other disc drive errors at all.

But I did recently buy a pre-soft-modded one (pretty old soft-mod version and some files missing) and that too came with a Thompson.

I got so fed up with Morrowind ESIII GOTYE freezing and even dirty discing on my chipped machine I did exactly as suggested. I transferred it to the standard HDD of the soft-modded machine which came with the DVD2HDD app, as well as XBMC. Works brilliantly although the game is working it damned hard, loading times aren't any better, save times are actually longer but I haven't had a freeze in three sessions which was the whole point of doing it.

Interestingly, sort of, I ran the game from the disc for one session on the soft-mod machine just for comparison and within an hour had suffered two freezes although not at my chipped machines's bete noire locations in the game (Ebonheart docks and Ald'ruhn Skar).

Blame the Thompson drive but both of them have worked more than satisfactorily until presented with this particular game.

I'd actually love to have a bigger HDD (250GB) so I could run everything from there. I regret not having had one fitted in my chipped machine, an option I turned down at the time, doh! However, at this late stage I can't justify the expense of doing it now.

[TomasHA-SK]

So this one is much better ???

Manufacture date: 24/03/2003
Serial Number: 1078221 31205
DVD drive: Samsung

It is a 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 or 1.5 from the second test (5160). It doesn't have the metal strip (third test).

So it isnt V 1.6.

And when looking at this site Step 3 Version Table:

http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Xbox_Versions_HOWTO

it seems it is V 1.3. Year 2003 12th week. But maybe it is a V 1.2.

4.0/ v1.2 compared to v1.3 There's no perfect method to see the difference between v1.2 and v1.3 (yet). The best test we can give atm is and check on the serial#: Serial Number v1.2 : XXXXXXX 30XXX Serial Number v1.3 : XXXXXXX 31XXX Serial Number v1.3 : XXXXXXX 32XXX We do NOT know if this test is 100&#37; accurate. If the red number is lower then 30 and NOT a v1.0/v1.1 (see tests above) then it's probably also a v1.2. If 32 it's probably a v1.3, 33 and higher can be v1.3/v1.4/v1.5/v1.6 We also know that all Special Edition (translucent green) xbox consoles are still v1.2.

It is 31, so it seems this XBOX is V 1.3.

So is V 1.3 a good one??? And what is the difference between V 1.2 V 1.3 and V 1.4, which one is BEST ???

Because I heard there is some overheating on PSU of versions V1.0 V1.1 and V1.2. So this isnt on V1.3 ???

SAMSUNG SDG-605 / Part No: X00603-005 = WILL PLAY CDR (Found in later 2003 and early 2004 XBOX�s)
SAMSUNG SDG-605 / Part No: X00603-006 = WONT PLAY CDR (Found in later 2004 XBOX�s)

But this one XBOX is sooner 2003 Samsung, so it is that which will play CDrs???

[TomasHA-SK]

And dont you know which Xbox version has best RGB output ? Because I heard that first US models are worst. Conexant Video Chip, Focus
Video Chip or Xcalibur Video Chip ? Which has best RGB out ?
Or all of them are almost same and it depends on that soft filter, which can be turned off ?

THANKS

[TomasHA-SK]

I am deciding between these two:

First is V 1.3 and has Samsung DVD Drive, it seems to be first version which reads CDr, it has Conexant Video Chip.
24/03/2003

The second one is V 1.4 or V 1.5 but has Thompson DVD Drive, and it has Focus Video Chip.
09/07/2003

So which one take???

THANKS

[fahrenheit]

V1.3 no question.

Not only was the Thomson a terrible drive, but it wasn't used in the v1.2-1.6's, so its an old drive that someone has put with a newer model.

[fallenangle]

V1.3 no question.

Not only was the Thomson a terrible drive, but it wasn't used in the v1.2-1.6's, so its an old drive that someone has put with a newer model.

Can you explain to me why 'the' Thompson drive is considered so terrible?

As I said earlier in this thread I've used a XBox with a Thompson drive almost exclusively for almost four years. It's given me no more trouble (ie. practically none until I played Morrowind TESIII) than I had with my green XBox with a Samsung drive which I used almost exclusively for two years before that.

The Thompson doesn't like CD-Rs that's all I can find people to say against it but that seems enough to bring out the hate for some reason.

[fahrenheit]

The Thomson (no p) was the most prone to DDE of all the drives. The early Philips drives were also fairly poor, but the Thomson seemed to be the most dire and wouldn't take long to break. The drive was responsible for civil suits filed against MS.

I'm sure there are plenty that were fine like yours, but MS moved fairly quickly to remove them from the supply chain.

[fallenangle]

Thanks I didn't know that but I as I said earlier I have read elsewhere online that, presumably later examples, used a, claimed, more reliable version Thomson drive. Is that true and if so how can they be identified?

BTW until Morrowind ESIII the only (never repeated) DDE error I'd ever had was on my green Samsung drive XBox.

[Darwock]

I had a Samsung drive in mine and it was terrible... I burned a few discs of MP3s for ripping to custom soundtracks, and the machine couldn't read them at all. Several retail games had loading problems too.

If that was the best drive available then I dread to think what the others were like.

[TomasHA-SK]

Thomson was used almost in all versions of Xbox. I asked one person on Ebay about his Xbox, and he said his Xbox has metal line at video out (so that means it was V 1.6), and he said there was definitely Thomson DVD Drive. It was used in V 1.2, 1.3, and even 1.4, but not so often.

[fahrenheit]

All the drive manufacturers had multiple models. The first Philips were terrible, lots of DDE's, but the second batch of Philips (2004) were one of the best drives (if not the best).

The early Samsungs were also much lauded, but the late Samsungs (which showed up with the v1.6's) were terrible.

But the thing with the secondhand Xbox market is that drive swapping is a piece of cake and anyone with a Torx screw driver can do it. Buying from ebay you will find 99&#37; of them will be Frankenboxes and you'll have to take the seller on their word.