Got an Xbox yesterday and I'm curious how much I should be concerned about taking up space by recording 20 or so songs on the hard drive. Is this just a blip on the drive?

That's not even a blip on the drive. I think there's a thread with the specific details but it's something like, 100 CDs before it even got under the 50,000 blocks.

Does the XBOX function as a MP3 player? You can rip 100s of CDs into MP3s on the harddrive? Just want to make sure.

If this is true, this thing would function great, even for parties and such.

PJ, yup you are right. However it doesn't rip to MP3 but to WMA, almost the same thing. I have many times used my Xbox to play tunes while hosting a party that wasn't big enough for me to drag the turntables out of my room.

If you didn't know it, several games allow you to use the tracks you rip to the harddrive to replace the in-game music. Best. Feature. Ever. (er, minus Xbox Live of course).

There was a thread in this forum a long time ago (maybe a year ago?) with exact details on xbox hard drive size. I don't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure it's greater than 200,000 blocks.

Here is the thread: http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=183000

Yeah, which games take use of that feature, pixyboi

Of the games I have: Project Gotham Racing, Quantum Redshift, and Dead or Alive Volleyball. Of course I have a small library so maybe somebody else can procure a bigger list.

It's getting more and more common. Plus later this year Mix master (or what ever it's called) comes out, which will allow you to add photo backgrounds, and karoke features. (great for parties)

I ran a query at http://hdgames.net, and it lists the following games as supporting custom soundtracks:
4x4 Evo 2
Aggressive Inline
Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding
APEX: Racing Evoluzione
BMX XXX
Burnout 2
Chase: Hollywood Stunt Driver
Conflict: Desert Storm
Dave Mirra BMX 2
Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball
Deathrow
Defender
Fuzion Frenzy
Gunmetal
Inside Pitch
Kelly Slater Pro Surfer
Kung Fu Chaos
Legends of Wrestling 2
Moto GP
MotoGP 2
Nascar Thunder 2003
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
NHL Hitz
Project Gotham Racing
Quantum Redshift
Rallisport Challenge
Sega GT 2002
Splashdown
State of Emergency
Street Hoops
Superman: The Man of Steel
Test Drive
Tetris Worlds
Tiger Woods PGA tour 2003
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4
Tony Hawk 2x
Tony Hawk 3
Totaled
Transworld Snowboarding
Transworld Surf
World Racing

edit: I removed Midnight Club2, as it does not support custom sound tracks

WWE Raw 2 will allow you to use ripped songs for Create-A-Wrestler entrance themes. Best use so far.

Midnight Club 2 DOESN'T support custom soundtracks?! What a waste..

Thanks guys... I was hoping the files were compressed and it looks like they are. I'm gonna load it up. Would rather listen to the "Run Lola Run" soundtrack while racing around (Rallisport).

So the guess is about 100 CDs huh?

So far I have about 53 CDs burned on there and I was curious if I should slow down a bit. I guess I'm still ok for some time.

I swear I use my XOBX more are a jukebox than a gaming machine and I play my XBOX a great deal.

You should see how many songs you can get on your Xbox when you have a 120 gig hard drive.