Which, oh which, Xbox 360?

At first I was all for the Xbox 360 Pro/Premium, but now I'm not sure. I'm edging toward the Core version. Is a hard drive really needed? Couldn't I just use memory units? I heard that the hard drive is for backwards capability but I don't think I'll be getting any Xbox games. If I get a Core I won't be able to use wireless controllers, right? Or will I still be able to?

These are my questions until I remember more.

Thanks.

You won't be able to download map packs or game extensions and arcade games without the hard drive.

A hard drive is pretty much necessary in my opinion. They should never have made a version without it.

XBox Live is pretty much useless without a Hard Drive.

I believe any version can use wireless controllers. They just don't all come with them.

I could always buy a hard drive. Why does Xbox Live use the hard drive?

See, if I go with the Core I'll have to get:
HEADSET
MEMORY UNIT
possibly ANOTHER CONTROLLER
HARD DRIVE
XBOX LIVE SUBSCRIPTION

But, if i go with the Pro then I won't have to get those things except maybe another controller and xbox live subscription. I'll have to work up the money difference to see the difference.

Go with a hard drive, if for no other reason than to be able to download and play demos of new games.

I just downloaded a few new ones the other day. It's a great way to try out new games.

Can you just open the thing and add a HD later?

Premium for now if you won't be a heavy download user, the 20gb HD is fine for patches, data-caching, and save data, not to mention that when you go wireless, you can't go back to wired gaming, it feels too restrictive.
(even if you have to fork out more cash for the rechargable battery packs to not have to deal with a bucketload of AA batteries)

Albeit it should be noted the latest revisions of the Premium's come with a proper HDMI support for up to full 1080p, so I'd keep an eye out for one of those if you got a TV (or will get one eventually) that supports it, else you'll be stuck to what, 720p/1080i max on older models?

Anyways, personally, I'm waiting on another price-drop/the 65nm processors, hopefully by then the 360 won't have that 33% failure rate still, and I can be safe owning one without having to worry about dealing with Microsoft.
(my bro's Elite is working dandy still at least)

You don't even need to open it. It just plugs into the top/side ( depending on your choice of orientation ) of the console.

With the hard drive on Live, you can download demos of games, download XBox Live Arcade games (there are even free ones every once in a while).

You can also get patches for games, Map Packs, add-ons, etc.

You can download movie trailers in High Def or Standard, you can even download whole movies for $4 if that's what you are into.

You can use Live just to play multi-player without an HD, but there is just so much more to Live. Playing multiplayer games is only a small portion of it.