360 cooler

[jman1018]

Which Xbox 360 cooler do you guys think works the best?

[FoxxyBott]

Which Xbox 360 cooler do you guys think works the best?
Well, from what I've heard none of the coolers work too well. Also, rumor has it that using a cooler manufactured by a third-party can void your xbox warranty, but I don't really know how true that is.

Definitely DON'T get one that makes you stand your xbox on it's side. When the xbox runs for long periods of time, the shoddy saudering Microsoft used on the chip boards on earlier xboxes starts to heat up and spread, so when it cools off the saudering messes up the chipset on the inside.

The best thing I've found that works is.... believe it or not.... a large fan. Just a large, standard wal-mart fan, pointed toward the back of the xbox. Don't point it directly at the back of the box, but slightly to the side so it cools the air but isn't forcing hot air back into the unit.

I have had to send 1 xbox in because of RRoD, so with this new one I have been experimenting. I noticed that my xbox starts to freeze up and have problems when it's been on for a few hours, in which case I turn it off for a while and point the fan at it to help it cool down. In order to avoid the problems altogether, I keep the fan on it constantly if I'm planning on having a long gaming session. This has eliminated my problems entirely, and I am happy to say that both of my xboxes function perfectly as long as I use this fan trick. It has been almost two years since I sent in my first box.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope this helps you out some! ^.^

[Sourjay3]

Yeah my buddy's XBOX was working great till he bought one, then it started to act up but once he took the Cooler off it started to work good again.

[EffEmmGee]

I wouldn't trust any Intercoolers, never had one, never will. I remember hearing over a year ago that they do more harm than good and didn't fully believe it. Then not long after hearing this I was in my local Gamestation (Game store in the UK, sells new games and second hand retro games) talking to the Manager when someone walks into the store wanting to trade their 360 in with a bunch of games. The staff pulled the console out of the bag it was in and it had an intercooler on it which they wouldn't accept as trade, so the customer says its fine and that they could take the intercooler off...only that was the problem...it had welded itself to the back of the 360! and when it was eventually removed there were black scorch marks over the back vents.

The way they work is that they help suck the hot air from the inside of the console, which is fine, only this sucking action makes the 360's own fans work harder which is when things start to fail.

Like what FoxxyBott said, using a small fan is fine just don't aim it at the back as thats where air come out, sides are fine.

[stonyarc]

You have to be very careful with coolers. In principle they void your warranty you have.

You can find a full overview of the warranty on http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemsetup/xbox360/resources/warranty.htm



The following clause probably applies


E. EXCLUSIONS FROM LIMITED WARRANTY

This Limited Warranty shall not apply and Microsoft has no liability under this Limited Warranty if the Xbox Product:

is used with products not sold or licensed by Microsoft (including, but not limited to, non-licensed games and game enhancement devices, adaptors and power supply sources) or which are otherwise incompatible;


It doesn't include direct reference to intercoolers so if you want to really formally check if using these voids warranty you need to contact your local support and open a ticket for that.


In my opinion it does.

[Don Linguini]

From what Ive read, the issue with Intercoolers is they tap into the 360s power supply. Not a good thing.
I really wanted to try an Intercooler, but didnt want to chance frying my new console, so heres what I did.

I took the Intercooler, and removed (cut out with a Dremel) the plug/power supply section. Now I can plug my 360 in as usual, without the cooler draining power between the console and power cord.
The Intercooler is nothing more than three 12v pc fans wired together. So powering it is easy as using an old pc psu, or a 12v adapter, available at most any retailer.
There are only two wires to deal with (after the coolers plug is removed) a gray and a brown. Brown is hot, gray is ground, very simple.

Without the cooler, my disc are hot to the touch after about an hour. With the cooler, they are only slightly warm, so the Intercooler does indeed work.

[gebbie]

that's actually a good DIY project, although a lot of gamers arn't that hands-on to get it done like that.

[Don Linguini]

To be honest, it isnt difficult at all. I made precise cuts because I wanted it to look nice, but if you want to be straight forward about it, its a one cut operation.
Just slice off the left side of the cooler (make the cut between the fan and the plug) and expose the two wires needed for power.
You can then seal off the open side of the cooler with duct tape. Will it look nice, no. Will it keep your 360 cool without voiding the warrantee, yes.

[gebbie]

yeah that's true. If you took pics while you did the modificaton, you should post a step-by-step guide :)

[Don Linguini]

As I was doing the mod, I thought "Hmm, I should take pics to document this ,, just in case it works."

Well, before I knew it, I was finished, and no pics were taken. Yea, I know, I dont think sometimes.
If anyone wants to donate an Intercooler, ;) Id be happy to document the "quick and sloppy" mod so others can see what Ive done.
Im just not in a position right now to be buying something I already have.