HDMI connections. Beyond that i'm not sure.

The larger Hard Drive is worth it and since a standalone 120gb is already $180 the price of upgrading later is steep indeed. Not to mention I thought the Elite came with everything you need for Live as well. I think you'd be better off just spending the $200 upfront.

Also, I thought the Elites tended to not be the old chipset that likes to sh*t itself and die.

Hmm, good call. I am in no hurry.

I dont even know what HDMI means, so I probably dont need it. : )

I think this thread endorses every possible outcome. Good work, team.

I bought a standard a couple of months ago and it came with HDMI. I haven't come across any storage limits yet, and I've been downloading a ton of demos. But I'm not downloading a lot of games or videos through the marketplace and don't use it as a multmedia machine or anything.

Just for the record, HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface.

The 120 gig hard drive version always seemed like overkill to me for a video game console, unless you plan on ripping tons of media to it. If you can settle for a smaller hard drive, the 100 dollar difference could be put towards a wireless adapter.

On the other hand, it seems like there's a reference to a blu-ray 360 on Kotaku about every other week.

I'd definitely wait for E3.

If you can't I'd definitely just get the 20gig. The 120gb is such an unbelievable ripoff and some people are starting to report success with DIY hacks to get off the shelf drives working just fine.

That's true -- all 360s have HDMI ports on the back now, but only the Elite ships with a HDMI cable in the box. HDMI cables are standard though, so you don't need to buy a Microsoft-branded one with the typical first-party accessory tax, and you can get them quite cheaply (unless you get a $200 Monster cable or something, to make really, really sure that your 1s and 0s arrive intact).

I picked up an Elite back in August last year when they came out here, and the 120GB hard drive and HDMI cables were nice bonuses, but the main reason for me was that I knew I'd be getting a nice, fresh system. With all 360 units being theoretically equal now, you really just have to decide if the HDMI cable and extra 100GB of space are worth it for you, and like others have said, you don't really need the extra space if you're not getting in to Video Marketplace or Xbox Originals (I haven't used either, and I have about 98GB free, even with a pile of demos on there).

That HDMI Cable should in NO way influence your decision to buy an Elite. Monoprice sells them for $4.05 a pop (not including shipping), and Amazon has nice cables (these are the ones I use) for $12.00. If you have Amazon Prime, like I do, the Monoprice cables are still a bit cheaper than the Amazon cables, but the return policy and procedures for Amazon are easier and more forgiving. Not that I've had issues with the cables, though. They all work well. Shipping from Monoprice can vary based on your location, too.

I must admit, the black was a factor for me -- all I need now is a black AV receiver, black Wii, and a black case for my HTPC and I'll be sweet

The worst thing about the ridiculous pricing on HDMI cables is when you see some poor confused sod shopping for TVs and being bombarded by an upsell-or-die sales guy who insists that "you really will notice the difference" between the $100 Monster HDMI cable and the $10 generic one beside it. Every time I see that happen I'm tempted to walk up to them and yell "either you're lying, or you're a gullible fool -- which one is it?".

Well, maybe not $10, but cheap I think the generic cables here are actually about AU$40 in the retail chains, but the Monster one is AU$200, so it's still a big difference. The super-cheap place I get all my computer gear from has them for AU$15.

Well, I must admit that said super-cheap computer store is somewhat of a retail aberration. It runs on razor-thin margins, cutting costs wherever it can, starting with the website. Its show floor is really just extra warehouse space -- the shelves are stacked with boxed motherboards and video cards, and every square inch of the floor that isn't needed as a walkway is covered with cases and monitors stacked to the roof. The minimal staff have no time to offer advice, since half the time the line of people waiting to be served extends through the shop and out the front door.

Yep, it's the computer equivalent of the Soup Nazi. You walk in, line up, tell them exactly what you want, and they get it for you -- no discussions, no "helpful" suggestions, and no bullsh*t. It's heaven

Jump online! There's a pile of demos you could be downloading and playing right now, not to mention the great XBLA games you could be buying. Grab Rez HD! Right now! Exclamation mark!