Written by Brakken
May 2006
Introduction
One of the cool features of the XBOX 360 is the fact you are given to opportunity to customize your
console with changing the front panel (faceplate) with anyone you’d like. It’s pretty cool that
Microsoft has thought of the modder a little bit when creating their console.
Team Xtender has used this opportunity to produce three packs of custom colored faceplates each
with five colors. I’ve received pack two along with their limited edition Chrome faceplate for
review. Team Xtender’s has been known for producing high quality cases in the past, but will
their new venture into the XBOX 360 realm pay off?
Contents
Pack Two comes with five faceplates: Diamond Clear, Amethyst, Sky Blue, Crystal Lemon and Romantic
Pink. Each faceplate comes protected in foam wrapping and also includes a front DVD bezel. The front
bezel caught my attention because all of the third party replacement panels I’ve seen in stores or
online don’t give you the luxury of replacing the DVD front panel (bezel). The Chrome faceplate
comes alone in the same condition as the ones in the pack do – wrapped in protective plastic along
with the front DVD bezel.
The quality of each faceplate is on par with the ones you’ll find in the store – well except for
the chrome one. You’ll have to hold it to believe its quality. It feels a bit heavier, but is
flawlessly covered with a chrome layer that doesn’t get dirty easily and it hard to scratch. The
rest of the faceplates are still pretty cool, but this chrome one will be staying on my XBOX 360.
Each faceplate is built to precision and comes with high quality springs which are right on par
with the original faceplate. Everything is included – the memory card lids, the USB port lids,
power button are all created with the fine detail you would come to expect from a new faceplate.
Installation
Installing the faceplates may or may not void your warranty as it all depends on how you want to
go about putting them on. If you’re planning on just replacing the front faceplate and the DVD
bezel you won’t need to void your warranty. If you’re planning on fitting the eject button then
you will have to take off Microsoft’s sticker which will void your warranty.
First remove anything you might have hooked into your XBOX 360 (including the Hard Drive). To replace
the eject button you’ll remove the Microsoft sticker and then pop up the three front tabs holding the
console in place. Now with the front open you can remove the reset button and swap it out. No tools
are really required, but I did find that having a small flat head screw driver helped detach the
front tabs.
Once the button is swapped out you can easily take off the DVD bezel (with the drive open) and put
on your new one. Lastly, starting from the bottom insert your faceplate of choice into the snap on
spots and press firmly until it snaps into place. To remove one just snap it back off. I did find
out that these faceplates don’t like to come off as easily as the original does so using the small
flat head screwdriver helped out here.
Conclusion
Due to the low cost, high quality and ease of installation I would recommend purchasing either of
the three packs Team Xtender’s offers. Just check which one has a color (or colors) you’re looking
for and grab it up. Additionally, if you really want to make a bold statement you could pickup the
Chrome faceplate which is my personal favorite. These faceplates sure beat the ones you’ll find the
in stores! So in the end Team Xtender’s new venture did pay off – get chrome while you can!
Positives
 Low Cost
High Quality
Easy Installation
Range of Colors
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Negatives
 May Void Your Warranty
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Links
Team Xtender's Website
-=[ XCM XBOX 360 Faceplate Review Discussion Thread ]=-
Product(s) were received from the website above. ISO-420 will always link back to whomever sent the
product(s) *respect*, but please remember that the reviews are independently written by our staff
and are not subject to alteration by whomever supplies us with the review product(s).
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