Haven't touched my X360 in about a year, could use some help upgrading

So I haven't really been playing with my xbox 360 all that much and have not been keeping up with the latest modding news at all. I could really use some help to guide me through on what to do to get my system up to date with the latest and greatest ixtreme firmware. I've read up on some stuff and have ordered a Lite-On iHAS424 B which should be coming in later today which I will flash to a 624 and then to Burner MAX v1.0 by following a tutorial I found online.

Here is the relevant information for my xbox 360

Drive: BenQ
Dashboard: 2.0.13599.0
Current Firmware: ixtreme 1.61
Model: Original (phat)

PC1:
PC Chipset: Intel z68
PC OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

PC2:
PC Chipset: SY-VIA-150
PC OS: Windows Vista 32bit

I was reading that it's best to revert back to the original firmware and then to update the dashboard through live, but that was before the new dashboard came out a few days ago. Is it safe to update to that dashboard or will I have to download the previous dashboard from someplace else?

I used to use iprep to flash my system, is there a new version that can be used to flash it or will I need to use something else?

Are there any other routes I should be aware of in regards to flashing my system? I saw a few mentions of something called USB Pro v2, though I'd rather not have to buy anything if possible.

I think that about covers it, if you need any further details just let me know.

 

http://forums.afterdawn.com/t.cfm/f-152/tutorial_faq_links-916280/

 

consider an Xkey you won't regret it

cuts all the BS to a minimum

everything works

no burnung or extra costs Intenso HDD an short cable

http://www.x360keyforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7599

update without opening the xbox and connecting wires

takes 20 minutes to fit yourself. you already have you drive keys.

 

That's my favorite part about the xkey, so fast to update it, no dicking around and prying open your XBox and drive every time!

 

I agree completely! an xkey is the ay to go, a little pricey buy my god you never have to reburn your games or buy only verb discs,you can play online and have all your iso's running just from your hd

 

xkey is the best thing ever invented for the 360,dont forget the 3key coming soon,but yea,i always use the xkey with stock fw and load up the games 2gb hdd,i dont even run em through abgx cause they still work with out it,
no more buying discs

 

what is the 3key? googled it and can't see it anywhere. I Can't imagine something being better than the xkey, unless its DVD menu supported more than 100 games

 

3key is for the ps3,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFqxeAB9mAE

 

cheers for the link. ... i missed the old ps3
i swapped to xbox cos of free games

i always think ps3 modding gets stopped by Sony very quickly

is the 3key going to be able to combat this?