How to Cool Your Xbox 360 Cheaply and Effectively
While Microsoft’s xbox 360’s failure rate is at something close to 54.2%, I’m sure you or someone you know has had the dreaded red ring of death. You will find plenty of pages on the web on how to fix your xbox but not many on how to prevent your xbox from overheating. I’ve created a simple write up on how to install a standard 120mm computer fan and drastically reduce the internal temperatures of your xbox 360. I’ve been running this cooling setup on my xbox for about 2 years now and I just did a second install.
Materials Used:
- A2330 – ThermalTake Silent Wheel 130MM Fan (bolts are included with fan)
- 12v 200-400Ma AC to DC power inverter
- Simple on/off switch
Tools Used:
- Sharpie Marker
- Jig Saw
- Drill with Small Drill Bit
- Electrical Tape
- Soldering Iron
- Screw Driver
The fan I chose to use was the A2330 – ThermalTake Silent Wheel 130MM (13CM) Fan that mounts on a 120MM (12CM) bolt pattern, but really any 120MM computer fan will work. I chose this fan because it only mounts one way so it looks pretty good and it’s a near silent 16 DBa, spinning at 1400rpm and puts out a massive 54.4 CFM.
A good white fan to match white xbox’s would be the A2329 Thermaltake Silent CAT 120mm Case Fan. It has a similar fan speed of 1600 RPM, noise level of 16 dBA, and 63.5 CFM of air flow.
First thing you need to do remove the plastic side panel of the xbox 360. You can find plenty of great how-to’s to do this such as this one: http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/Xbox-360-Disassembly.htm
Be sure to properly ground yourself and the xbox before, during and after this installation is complete by using a ground strap or similar method.
Here are pictures of my progress..
Remove the front and the hard drive on top.
Remove the top and bottom grills.
If you don’t want to void your xbox’s warranty stop now, otherwise, let’s proceed by removing the side panel and tearing the warranty seal.
Remove the screws to expose the reverse side panel.
The main concentration of head will be from the heat sinks on the lower right side of the xbox as it lays in the picture. I layed the fan on the heat sinks to show were the cooling should be applied.
Remove the shield.
Mark the making sure the fan will be over the heatsinks.
The hole is marked.
Cut out the hole with a jib saw, hole saw or dremel tool. The hole edge doesn’t need to be perfect. It will be covered by the fan.
Drill the screw holes for the fan and install the fan.
I added a simple on/off switch to mine.
Finished the wiring..
Drilled a hole and routed the power inverter cable out the back.
Reassemble your xbox 360 in reverse order of disassembly. Here is a final shot.
Here is a shot of a white xbox 360 with a black fan.
