Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:25 am Post subject: Should I replace the fan while upgrading the hard drive?
Since I'm preparing to do my first soft-mod and upgrade the hard drive, I was wondering if it was a good idea to replace the fan as well since I'm in there. I just recently bought the xbox used for $25.00 and the date on the bottom is 2001, so it's very old and I don't know its history, but I figure the fan has got to have alot of miles on it by now, and maybe a new fan would actually be quieter/more powerful.
I know the original fan dimensions are 70x70x25, so I was looking at a few 70mm fans on Newegg and Microcenter (there aren't that many actually). Is this something that would make sense? I just figured it's one less part to worry about for a while if it's new. I know some people put in an 80mm and cut the case but I don't want to do that. Does anybody have any recommendations?
dartht33bagger Moderator
Joined: Apr 17, 2007 Posts: 5408 Location: Oregon, USA
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:05 am Post subject:
If it was me, I wouldn't mess with it. Get some compressed air and give it a good blow out and call it good. _________________
SPPV V.I.P. Lifetime
Joined: Sep 13, 2010 Posts: 2644 Location: Kamloops BC Canada
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:22 am Post subject:
The thing you need to watch out for is that back in 01 PC parts used different pin setups and had different power requirements. Just cause the fan is the same size doesnt mean its not gonna pull more power putting a strain on your xbox. Also if you look at a PC from the same era the aux fans have three cords running to the PSU/MOBO for power where as the XBOX has two- a positive and negative no ground. If cooling is an issue then remove that useless tin thats around the xbox, unless you plan on putting it beside an industrial strength magnet or radio transmitor it serves no purpose other than to hold heat.
Be very careful if you do choose to go ahead and switch out the fan. I speak from experience when I say you can blow it up trying to wire in something not designed for that power structure.
Something you can do which will add to the cooling and requires no power is attaching a cheap turbo fan. It uses the air movement from the first fan to spin up and create a vacuum. Many of the newer highend gaming PCs have them and most PC stores sell no name models for 10 or 15 bucks
danff Xbox-HQ Enthusiast Xbox Version: V1.6b Modded: Babylon3 GS
Joined: Mar 27, 2011 Posts: 27
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 3:05 am Post subject:
Okay well I appreciate the input. I guess I might avoid the fan then and hope it lasts for a while. It's just so old...how long can these xbox fans last for?
Is there anything I need to know if I want to remove the tin? Can I just rip it out? What is it there for anyways?
SPPV V.I.P. Lifetime
Joined: Sep 13, 2010 Posts: 2644 Location: Kamloops BC Canada
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:13 am Post subject:
Its meant to stop magnetic and radio interference but in actual fact does a poor job of it since it has chromium in it, and all the slots cut in it. Removing the tin can be a bit of a task I was gonna do a tut on how to make a Crystal a clear box but its impossible for me to record and remove at the same time. Essentialy the top is the easiest you will see some clips they need to be compressed and the tin will come off. The bottom and sides is a little trickier since you need to remove all the innards to get it out.
A much easier approach to better cooling is to go into menu and switch the fan from 1 to 1.5 or 2. If your dash wont let you, go to E drive dashboard, config.xml make a copy of it and put it in a different folder just in case, now open the original you will see a line refering to fan speed delete the number and replace it with a higher number(example if it says fan speed 1 delete the 1 and put 1.5 or 2) and save it and reboot
danff Xbox-HQ Enthusiast Xbox Version: V1.6b Modded: Babylon3 GS
Joined: Mar 27, 2011 Posts: 27
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:40 am Post subject:
Okay thanks for the info. Think I'd rather avoid pulling out all the innards right now. I'll just raise the fan speed once I get the softmod done (hopefully over the weekend if I can make some time for it).
dartht33bagger Moderator
Joined: Apr 17, 2007 Posts: 5408 Location: Oregon, USA
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 5:04 am Post subject:
Make sure to blow it out though. If you have a lot of dust in the fan and heatsinks cooling will be decreased and you can burn out your fan if too much dust gets in it. Definitely don't skimp on that part of it. _________________
danff Xbox-HQ Enthusiast Xbox Version: V1.6b Modded: Babylon3 GS
Joined: Mar 27, 2011 Posts: 27
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:30 pm Post subject:
Okay I"ll make sure to blow it out good. Thanks for the advice.
wes213 Administrator
Joined: Feb 04, 2007 Posts: 10520 Location: Harrisonburg V.A.
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:46 pm Post subject:
I always took the easy bake tin out of the xbox since most new TVs wont get any static from the xbox and when i remove it i would just grab some needle nose and rip it out, can be sharp so watch your fingers.
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