Ram Cooling Options

[joh123]

Hi,
I got an old xbox with 3rrod (error code 0020) from a friend.. managed to get it to work with the x-clamp fix.. To prevent anything like that happening in the future I thought I should upgrade the cooling system a bit.. well, I modified the fan to work at 12v and I also modified the fan shroud (made a divider and added cardboard pieces so it would suck the air more through the heatsinks ( basically this http://robinhoodsplayground.com/forum/view...=134&t=2035 )..

Now I'm going shopping to buy 2 small heatsinks for the two RAM chips I can see when I take the DVD reader away.. but now to the real question - there were those 4 thermal pads on the bottom of the motherboard (on RAM chips), but my friend said he tossed those away (accidentally).. what should I do? I can only put 2 heatsinks because the other 2 RAM chips are covered with the GPU heatsink..

Please someone advise me!

I'm thinking of adding another fan but I'm not sure where should I take the power from - an external source?

Thanks in advance,
really looking forward to your answers!

This post has been edited by joh123: Feb 7 2012, 01:42 PM

[MadMaxGR]

Your better option is to buy thermal pads from the market and put them on those hidden RAM chips.

[Gazc0igne]

the RAM chips hidden under the GPU do not make contact with the GPU and do not transfer any heat to it.

I put a blob of thermal paste on them to make a contact between the two to allow heat to be conducted into the heatsink.

do not put any pads or washers etc on the chips, i have found that the system will RROD if these RAM chips are put under any pressure at all.

[joh123]

I have also read that putting thermal paste onto those chips would only "condense heat"..

I'm pretty confused now

Any more suggestions?

--edit--
Oh, the heatsinks I bought don't have glue/whatever on them. How should I fix them to the RAM chips?

This post has been edited by joh123: Feb 7 2012, 04:47 PM

[MadMaxGR]

Try these kind of pads, especially under the GPU heatsink's RAM chips. I prefer the 1mm thickness.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/30CMx3CMx0-3MM-The...=item2eb802e88e

This post has been edited by MadMaxGR: Feb 7 2012, 04:50 PM

[joh123]

Try these kind of pads, especially under the GPU heatsink's RAM chips. I prefer the 1mm thickness.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/30CMx3CMx0-3MM-The...=item2eb802e88e

Almost bought it already, but then I noticed it's only 0.33.. The original was like 4mm thick. Will the 1mm do the job? If I can find it from ebay.. at the moment I didnt

-edit-
Aight, took that - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thermal-Conductive...=item2a06a0cf25 ... it's gonna take time to arrive tho..

And managed to fix the 2 heatsinks I had..

Now I just gotta get another remote, an HDD (or an USB drive just for the xbox).. and probably flash the system. And HOPE that I won't meet Mr. Rrod again..

This post has been edited by joh123: Feb 7 2012, 06:16 PM

[Gazc0igne]

doesnt matter how many heatsinks, pads, thermal paste etc you mess about with

unless you reball that baby with LEADED BGA balls you will definately meet mr RROD again in the near future.

all your "fixes" are only postponing the inevitable....

[joh123]

Well, I just try to avoid causing any extra trouble.. investing a few € to reduce the possibility is a good idea imo..

As for reballing, I watched a vid on YouTube about it.. well, it sure seems like a proper thing to do.. don't know who might offer such service here though.. But I won't bother searching for a guy before it dies again..

doesnt matter how many heatsinks, pads, thermal paste etc you mess about with

unless you reball that baby with LEADED BGA balls you will definately meet mr RROD again in the near future.

all your "fixes" are only postponing the inevitable....

[joh123]

I mite be getting a bit newer Zephyr box in a few days. It hasn't had RROD yet but I'm definitely going to modify it. First thing will be cooling mods, but I'm wondering if I should do a preventative X-Clamp fix. And which is the best and most up to date method. Is it the Hybrid method? Maybe, while doing this, I should install a different heatsink to the GPU (with a fan maybe?).. although the Zephyr GPU heatsink seems a bit more advanced than the Xenon one.

Please give me decent advice!

This post has been edited by joh123: Feb 15 2012, 03:25 PM

[MadMaxGR]

I suggest you to not do any x-clamp fix and do only cooling mods. Don't touch anything that works already. So do the following:

a. Replace thermal paste with Arctic Silver 5 or similar
b. Put small heatsinks on exposed RAM chips on the top of the board.
c. Use thermal pads on the RAM chips located underside of the board
d. Put Zephyr GPU heatsink as you already said, the one with the extension
e. Do the fan shroud (tunnel) mod
f. Put any extra fans inside possible
e. do 7v or 12v mod on the fans

Good luck

[joh123]

That's almost exactly what I was planning to do, but I still have two questions:

1. If I already removed the heatsinks to replace the thermal paste, I could basically just as well replace the x-clamps (as I'm already messing with stuff that used to work when I remove the heatsinks). And according to this picture provided by the Hybrid team ( http://xbox-experts.com/tutorial/team-hybr..._complete_x.jpg ) it would help in preventing the RROD by unflexing the motherboard.

2. Should I put thermal paste between the two RAM chips and the covering GPU heatsink?

This post has been edited by joh123: Feb 15 2012, 03:24 PM

[xboxhaxorz]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&a...khzJ_dQ78vVRIqg

[digipimp75]

He's right, man. No matter what you do, there's always a chance that rrod will return. These things are just doomed to fail. My advice? Look for a cheap Jasper and trash this board. Well... maybe not trash it, but definitely don't waste time or money or cooling mods.

[joh123]

Yes, I've read all that, but I have also read people playing years with their Xenons/Zephyrs, even years after x-clamp fix.. but yeah, I'll see how it goes. Can't invest into a proper piece of equipment (read: Jasper/(Falcon)) at the moment, so I'll just do the cooling mods that are free of charge and hope for the best

[xboxhaxorz]

electronics are doomed to fail that is correct

with a proper repair they can last a very long time

there is a lot of wrong info out on the net

for those that say x clamp fixes last a wk a mth or a decade doesnt mean anything i could say my 360 lasted 3 yrs after fixing with x clamps but i didnt tell you i only used it 6 times

you have had to been around many boards, i have been around hundreds

when a customer asks my success rate i tell them this

unopened 99%
opened 50%

there is no doubt x clamps flex the board anybody who tells you otherwise is a liar and you should go away

x clamps also destroy chips, i keep replacement GPUs in my shop at all times

sometimes the gpu is curved because of the clamp pressure

the only thing myself and other vets can do is give advice, its upto the individual to take it or leave it

i have recently invested in a nitrogen rework machine as bga reworking is the future

i now have 3 employees working in my shop, and we had to let go of a contract we had with a game store because all their systems had x clamps and it was a 20% success rate with them and a waste of time