On the original xbox, I used to softmod. I was thinking about hardmodding it because I never play it anymore because of the 360. I don't care about backing up games or burning dvds too much (though it would be a nice bonus), but what I really care about is modifying the gameplay. Is there any advantage as to what I can do with a modchip in that area? My friend used to tell me he had a hardmodded xbox & he could do CRAZY **** with the gameplay, but after searching youtube videos for it, I think he might have been jerking my chain.
the major difference between soft moddding and hard modding is just the bios. The ms bios requires the hdd to be locked using the eeprom and the mod chip bios doesn't need a hdd to be locked. It's easier for some people to solder in a chip, throw in a new hdd and run with it. On the other hand i would much rather softmod than mess with modchips, out of 8 installed i've had 3 of them either doa or frag the board.
So if you already have a soft modded xbox then leave it that way, there's no reason to swtich over to a modchip if you are already soft modded. You can do just as much with a softmod as you can with a hardmod (unless you soldered in more ram).
Linux works fine with a softmod. You can even get a windoes98 emulation of linux, so you can install pretty much any program that will work with windows 98. Its emulated, so it isn't fast, but it shows how far xbox softmods and linux have gone. Turn Xbox into a windows 98 computer for free.
As for Halo moddin, I have been modding halo since bungie released developers kits for Halo CE. I have made plenty of maps for the PC version, and can at least say I am an experienced Halo Modder. For modding Halo 2 on your Xbox, go with a softmod. My ship fried my board within a week, not to mention it cost 45$. Waste of money, unless you plan on installing an LCD panel, but those don't go over to well either. The Xbox modchips was just a marketing ploy by thousands of vendors. The websites tell you bogus info, then attempt to glorify it using appealing words. Do not succumb to the norm and give into conformity like so many chippers did. Softmod FTW.
(for the record C4RN made me a 500gb Xbox, softmodded with Avalaunch, Iv got over 300 roms for every single emulator there is, and about 200gb of xbox 1 games on disc. Other then buying the HD, you can find isos for every game on google. softmod pwns modchip)
