Console modder Ben Heck recently took apart a retail Xbox 360 Elite unit. And what did he discover? Upgraded Cooling!
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Here’s a good view of the heat sink area. The CPU ’sink is the same as before, because we all know the problem was with the GPU. Now not only is there a heat pipe going over the GPU but the material the heat sink is made out of seems different as well - it doesn’t feel like aluminum. (Originally it was a fairly generic aluminum heat sink that would honestly look more at home in a 486.) Maybe I can get NASA to scan it for me, or maybe who cares as long as it works?
Last edited by bapenguin; 07-31-2007 at 05:39 AM..
I sent my 360 in for repair last week due to the RROD. When I dropped it off at the UPS store, the girl behind the counter said, "Let me guess, an Xbox 360. We get about three to four of these a day. One guy has been in here six times with his 360."
I knew there was a major issue, but I wasn't aware it was a three-to-four-a-day issue. I'm just hoping I get it back in time for Bioshock and Blue Dragon, or I might be tempted to buy an Elite and just sell my old one.
I saw one of the heatsinks inside a 360 before; they're weak. Extremely weak.
I'd love to see actual thermal figures of how hot those things get. This is one of the main reasons i'm waiting to get a 360; the falcon-core should help immensely - unless they use that as an excuse to make the cooler smaller again.
When I put my hand on my heatsink while it was running, it damn near burned my hand. The heatsinks and cooling on the 360's in general is poor at best (obviously). I will say that after I made a few mod's to my first one, it does appear to be running a little more cooler. The ducting in place results in air being pulled over the top of the heatsink, instead of through the whole heatsink. I put a playing card over the top of the fins of the heatsink so that the fans would be pulling air through the whole heatsink instead. In the back, I also cut out the metal honey-comb behind the fans as it appeared to make it noisier as well as actually block some of the air-flow. Combining that along with the x-clamp mod (basically removing the xclamps and hard-mounting the heatsinks with bolts) do seem to have made a marked improvement in that 360, although time will tell ultimately.
Disclaimer - the above actions will obviously void your warranty. At the time I did it, my 360 was out of warranty. Should you choose to do the above mod's, do so at your own risk. That being said...they're things that Microsoft should have done from the beginning.
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Originally Posted by 51|RandoM
"HOST ADVANTAGE!!!"
"I was on my knees getting my face pounded" - BaPenguin during a GoW match
Does this mean that the latest batch of elites are shipping like this, or they always have been? Can't access the site right now to find out more detail...
This photo also kind of shows how the XBox cooling is a bit weak. There’s no fans directly on any of the components, just 2 large ones at the back of the case and a “tunnel” to pull hot air from the chips. This would be akin to having only a rear fan on your PC and nothing on the CPU or graphics card.
In comparison the PS3, which I may or may not have opened and worked on, has a huge fan which pulls air from the rear and ejects it out the top (or right side if laid flat - is it just me or does the PS3 looks stupid sitting on end?) The air goes through a very large system of heat pipes and radiators along the way and is fairly similar to what’s probably on a Geo Metro. It’s very ridiculous looking when you first see it but then again we never hear about massive failures on the PS3 do we? Of course this could be because a mass of people haven’t bought them yet… But I digress, back to the 360 Elite:
I enjoyed the writing of the linked article.
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Originally Posted by Jarvis
I was told specifically when I called to setup up repair for mine (last week) that they would be installing the new elite cooling system in it.
That is terrific news for you, and hopefully for all subsequent consumers seeking repairs.
Perhaps MS should have done a staggered 'recall' to do this preemptively as well?!
Location: West Virginia (not Western Pennsylvania assholes!)
Posts: 1,779
I got the three red rings of death, and I'm gonna call MS to get it fixed. Even when they do fix it and bring it back, would it be wise to buy a third-party cooling unit?
I normally refrain from buying such items, but...
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I recently got the Pelican Pro Cooler for my newer 360 (that one's still under warranty) and I gotta say I like it. The additional USB's, the new video cables, the quiet fans, are all nice features and it doesn't rob power from the power supply like the Nyko Intercooler did.
Disclaimer: I don't want this to turn into another 360/PS3 argument. Honest.
My 360 is never hot. It doesn't feel hot, it doesn't spew hot air. My PS3 on the other hand is a fucking furnace. It radiates heat, it blows heat...hell, I use it to steam my hams.
So this talk of the 360 overheating baffles me. My PS3 is inifinitely more worrisome to me in that regard. Anyone else with both systems experience the same?
