(Part 2) Top products from r/GreatXboxDeals

Yes, I did this myself--bought 5 gift cards, redeemed them all and then ordered the console through the website with my MS account balance. (Although I purchased the cards from Amazon, they look to be completely the same item and I'm fairly sure they are.)

In the description it states "Redeem your code to your U.S. Microsoft account." Your MS "Money and Gift Card" balance that the card applies to is visible here, which is what you use to make purchases from the online storefront (Xbox One X for sale here).

Also, in the Q&A: "This would be good for anything from the Microsoft store including the Xbox One?"
BEST ANSWER: "Yes. it would. It is as good as cash."

Edit to add: You can verify with little risk to yourself by purchasing a single card (even a five dollar card) and then redeeming it and beginning the check out process. You will be able to select "Use my Microsoft Balance" during the checkout process and confirm that it is able to apply to your item. (I just tested and confirmed that it's still possible to apply my MS account balance towards and Xbox One X--tax and shipping cost free at that.)

FYI, fast external drives can give you a huge boost in game load times over the internal drive, so it might be worth investing in some good quality hardware.

You can look up some performance metrics on various combinations/models, but one guy halved his load times by putting two WD Red Pro HDD's in RAID0, and you can shave off 30-50% on load times with various SSD's.

I've been looking at this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N0V4JG2

Reasonable cheap, big (for an SSD), compact (can fully hide behind the One S), and has enough reviews/performance benchmarks to seem fast & reliable.

I just bought this WD 2tb. This one is 74.99 and has great reviews

Would you mind explaining the difference between the Seagate hard drives and WD? Which one's better?

Looks like you could just get the Fallout New Vegas Ultimate Edition on Amazon for $13 which includes all DLCs. :-P

https://www.amazon.com/Fallout-New-Vegas-Ultimate/dp/B0065NP6NC

This looks pretty good: HGST Touro S 1TB 7200RPM High-Performance Portable Drive, Gold (0S03753) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IVFDNFK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_duPRyb0ESYZAR

I'll admit I'm new to the portable hard drive scene (just bought my Xbox two days ago and haven't even seen it yet). But since it's not a portable system, you could easily plug in an external hard drive enclosure and insert a desktop hard drive. It'll cost more, but it's a faster drive by far, and in my mind that's worth it. Then again, I'm primarily a pc gamer and have my games on a desktop 7200rpm hard drive and an SSD, so I'm used to the quick load times.

Luckily the game is just $10.97 via Amazon.

Amazon has a physical copy for like $25
https://www.amazon.com/XCom-2-Xbox-One/dp/B01GJMAOL2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496939956&sr=8-1&keywords=xcom%2B2%2Bxbox%2Bone&th=1

Season pass is on sale at Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072MPGX4Q

It is also still $17.25 on Amazon right now.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00W8FYFBU/ref=sxts1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475250865&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65

If you can deal with physical, Amazon has it for $20.

https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Souls-III-Xbox-One-Standard/dp/B00Z9LUCEY

Walmart has it for $15 in-store.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00WTI2HV6/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484256714&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=the+witcher+3&dpPl=1&dpID=51sLdoerp0L&ref=plSrch


Now temporarily out of stock.

Seagate Expansion 3TB Desktop External Hard Drive USB 3.0 (STEB3000100) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TKFEEJ4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_1bdzzbW3THQZR

Game | Price |
---|---|
Forza Horizon 3 Ultimate Edition | $59.99
Gears of War 4: Standard Edition | $29.99
NBA 2K17 | $44.99
LEGO Worlds | $22.49
Halo 5 Guardians | $23.99
Fallout 4 | $24.00
Battlefield 1 | $41.99
NHL 17 | $24.00
FIFA 17 | $24.00
Watch Dogs 2 | $35.99
Just Cause 3 | $19.80
Unravel | $6.60
Titanfall 2 | $25.99
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege Year 2 Gold Edition | $55.99
LEGO Marvel’s Avengers: Deluxe Edition | $15.00
Terraria | $8.00
Mad Max | $11.99
ReCore | $19.99
Forza Motorsport 6 | $34.99
Steep | $35.99
Dishonored 2 | $35.99
Gears of War 4: Ultimate Edition | $49.99
Forza Motorsport 6 Ultimate Edition | $53.99
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition | $11.99
Sunset Overdrive | $12.00
Mortal Kombat XL | $27.99
Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection | $34.99
For Honor: Deluxe Edition | $55.99
NBA 2K17 Legends Gold | $64.99
Metro 2033 Redux | $6.60
Doom | $41.99
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition | $9.90
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris | $6.60
Far Cry Primal | $49.99
Rise of the Tomb Raider | $39.99
Battleborn Digital Deluxe | $22.49
Quantum Break | $30.00
Farming Simulator 17 Premium Edition | $52.49
Naruto Shippuden: Road to Boruto | $42.49
Watch Dogs 2 Gold Edition | $59.99
Batman: Return to Arkham | $39.99
Zoo Tycoon | $19.99
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens | $29.99
XCOM 2 | $35.99
Need for Speed | $19.99
Thief | $6.60
XCOM 2 Deluxe Edition | $44.99
ScreamRide | $9.90
Pixel Piracy | $3.75
Ryse: Son of Rome | $19.99
Silence: The Whispered World 2 | $14.99
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition | $20.00
Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell | $14.99
WW2 2K16 | $39.99
Evolve | $29.99
Forza Horizon 2 Ten Year Anniversary Edition | $49.99
Necropolis | $17.99
Baila Latino | $19.49
Crimson Dragon | $14.99
The Technomancer | $39.99
Blood Bowl 2 | $39.99