Now that the XBox 360 is out, a lot of people have been either selling their original XBox or looking to pick up a used system at a decent price. However, you need to be aware of one important fact that is not always mentioned BEFORE you start bidding: What drive is installed in the unit? Yes, this in an important question. You see, there are three different drives out there.

When the XBox was first released it had a DVD drive commonly referred to as the "Thomson Drive." These drives were quickly phased out due to some major problems. Many games would lock up midway through or would simply not load at all. These problems were attributed to this early drive. I purchased an XBox from a friend with this drive and had to replace it just a couple weeks later.

The Thomson Drive was quickly replaced with one manufactured by Philips. This one works fine and has no problems. It's considered to be the second best one you can get.

The Philips drive was later replaced with one made by Samsung which is known to be a bit faster. This one is known to be the best you can get.

So, before you make a bid on that XBox, make sure the seller either identifies which drive is installed or ask. They are easy to identify and you can use this to help explain to the seller what you are looking for when you ask what drive is installed.

First have the seller open the drive by pushing the eject button. Now looking at the tray, try to identify the shape of the hole. If the hole has a rounded bottom edge (like an inverted mouse hole) the unit has a Thomson Drive and you should avoid bidding on it unless you don't mind purchasing a different drive and replacing it yourself. If the hole resembles a large, fat inverted keyhole the unit has a Philips Drive and should be good enough. If the tray has 2 smaller holes and one larger one that resembles an inverted Duplo Lego block then you're in luck and the unit has a Samsung drive.

A picture of all three drives can be found at http://www.gamer911.com/archives/dec03_09.html which should make it a lot easier to identify.

So good luck in bidding on what is still a great (and now affordable) system.