Cooling Mods With Proof That They Work ... Options

[RBJTech]

Jan 19 2007

Hi all,

You may have seen various tutorials (from myself and others) that mod the cooling system on the 360 - some 'feel' hotter air coming out the back etc - well I bought myself an infrared temperature probe a few days back and now have the proof that they work !

Below is a table of difference scenerios as follows :-

A Totally standard console (cooling!) - Standard fans, standard paste, standard shroud, standard case incl top RF Shield
B As above, but with Talismoon fan.
C As above, but now with internal shroud modifications, GPU & CPU lapping as per XS Tutorial.
D As above, but now with RF Shield removed - ie Free unrestricted air.

Intro demo for COD3 was run for 2 hrs from a cold console in each scenerio before the measurements were taken.

I have compiled a fairly comprehensive list of the 'before and after' temperatures on the link below :-

Temperature Chart

Large decreases in temperature I have bolded - the figures speak for themselves... :-)

I'll also take back what I said about the Talismoon fans (no different to stock) ...

I'd also love to find out what temp's a watercooled solution makes on the CPU/GPU for comparison if anybody has them ...

Makes interesting reading - well I think so anyway ...

PS - Measurements were taken on black PVC tape for metal surfaces (heatsinks incl) to ensure accuracy of the reading (ie Emissivity of 0.95 fixed)

I've finally done a graph to show these results ...



The ones to be concerned about are the RED and BLUE lines - RAM Temp and GPU Temp. As you can see, putting passive heatsinks on ALL the RAM chips makes a massive difference to the temp. This may account for game freezes etc, the RAM is just getting too hot.

The GPU temp after AS5 is interesting - from the results it looks like the temp of the h/s actually went up - that's fine because more heat is being transferred (+ the RAM too now). The worrying bit was that I couldn't get rid of the extra heat using stock fan voltage ... despite all the extra holes and flow etc in the case.

I'll post the full results in another thread, but the only way to get the GPU temp lower than pre-AS5, is to raise the fan voltage to 5.8v - that heatsink really is insufficient ...

Jan 29 2007

AS5 Results

As predicted, the heatsink temperature goes UP on both heatsinks, more so on the GPU, not a huge 4-5 degrees C that some predicted but +3 on the GPU die. This is GOOD! This means that more of the cpu/gpu's heat is being transferred onto the heatsink - meaning a lower temperature for the die itself.

I followed this up with a test to see if I could get rid of the extra heat in the heatsinks (F) - this I did with a hole in the top of the case just before the CPU heatsink. This seems to have done the trick as temps dropped again by up to 2 degrees - good.

Passive/Southbridge RAM heatsinks

Another area for massive improvement (shown in F) is the RAM 1&2 - by adding a simple low profile heatsink, they dropped 13 Degrees C ! Down from 62 Deg C to 49 Deg C. The Southbridge also dropped 9 Degrees but that is nowhere near as not as the RAM without a heatsink..

Underboard cooling..

A little extreme - but I have installed a 40mm Fan UNDER the motherboard (via a hole in the metal & plastic case) - the 360 sits 20mm higher than normal off the ground to allow air flow. This pumps in cool air inbetween the metal case and the motherboard itself (!) Temps are again lowered by up to 5 Degrees but this ones for hardcore air coolers only ! Shout if you want to see pics ...

So my Xbox running on STANDARD voltage / Noise is now probably as cool as it's going to get with Air Cooling ...

I've put together the following pics of the mods I haven't shown in the tutorials (see my sig for the full list..)

Thermal PADS on memory underneath GPU heatsink



Passive heatsink on RAM 1&2 :-



Passive heatsink on the Southbridge :-



Nothing new here - all been done many times before ...

I think this one is new though ..



This one will make sense in the case pics below ...

Side/Top Elevations :-




Top :-



Rear (lol!) :-



That'll be extra ports for : VGA (+switch), SPDIF Coax, Left Phono, Right Phono, HD-DVD Power Source ...

Bottom :-



The huge feet take it off the floor by 20mm or so - more than enough for a 40mm fan to pump air in, through the case (see hole above..), and spread out under the motherboard - to be vented by the air vents at the ends of the case...

So there it is - modified inside, but I like the plain look from the outside. I've also tried to keep the extra vent hole in with the original 'theme' and I don't think it looks too out of place...

Regards,

Richard.

This post has been edited by grim_d: Feb 22 2007, 11:50 PM

[xprimex]

wow simply amazing

nice job man

[Dano2k0]

Thanks for posting these results, i also appreciate seeing them here.

In future maybe some people will listen to my advice instead of doing different to what i tell them, ive had many arguments with people regarding different thermal upgrades, and cooling solutions, some of which people do will make matters alot worse than better.

Sadly, too many people obviously think they know better, but i will only comment with advice i'm pretty certain will improve issues than post something i just made up, i think people need to start appreciating that, ive many years cooling experience behind me.

Oh and for watercooling, it really does depend considerably on the setup, but i'd have said on adverage, dependant on the climat your in, expect at least a 20-30 degrees C drop in tempratures.


Cheers

[YUNG ERIC]

well you have just been working hard in helping people with cooling there box. Great tuts and now this I appreciate it. I'm a nub and I' gonna be using some of them for my xbox. So thank you for the tuts and especially the results.

[Dano2k0]

Oh and just to add, an xbox CPU / GPU and -8 degrees C doesn't work, so for those looking into extreme cooling in the minus, don't, i think you'd probably get away with a fully working machine at -4, but i wouldn't recommend it, especially unless you make some custom pads and retention brackets, condensation would be a major issue.

[Heet]

Wow great job! Thanks so much for compiling that data. I use a thermohawk200 and those are the same temps im getting.


Great to know my readings were the same ones you observed. Thanks again!!

[LAN Monster]

thats a cool little thing you did there

[rrg]

I'm looking at your data. So per your observations the front "RAM1 and RAM2" is the hotest area in the box. So adding heat sinks should be a must. The Southbridge is a close 2nd. Should it be heat sinked as well?

Do you agree??

Also in your write up you should put a conclusion or lesson's learned paragraph for the noobie's and less technical people.

This post has been edited by rrg: Jan 24 2007, 04:48 AM

[Xbox 360 Genius]

Wow this really helps!
I guess those mods do cool the console quite little bit don't they?

[synace]

I'm looking at your data. So per your observations the front "RAM1 and RAM2" is the hotest area in the box. So adding heat sinks should be a must. The Southbridge is a close 2nd. Should it be heat sinked as well?

Do you agree??

Also in your write up you should put a conclusion or lesson's learned paragraph for the noobie's and less technical people.

in 2 i've opened so far, there were 40 (or50 maybe) mm fans squeezed in between the controller connector and the gpu heatsink laying flat above ram 1 & 2 and plugged (soldered in the other one) into the fan header behind the ROL board.

the one i've kept had that fan fail and i've sinced heat gunned it and will be attaching sinks to the ram & possibly cutting the gpu sink down to sink the other ram chips. the south bridge was an issue on the other box, using a hair dryer on it directly would fix 0102 temporarily. i'll be adding a sink to the sb also.

[RBJTech]

in 2 i've opened so far, there were 40 (or50 maybe) mm fans squeezed in between the controller connector and the gpu heatsink laying flat above ram 1 & 2 and plugged (soldered in the other one) into the fan header behind the ROL board.

the one i've kept had that fan fail and i've sinced heat gunned it and will be attaching sinks to the ram & possibly cutting the gpu sink down to sink the other ram chips. the south bridge was an issue on the other box, using a hair dryer on it directly would fix 0102 temporarily. i'll be adding a sink to the sb also.

I'm of the opinion that cutting the GPU heatsink is a very BAD idea. The GPU heatsink is too small anyway - so by cutting a 3rd off it (!) - you are reducing it's cooling capability by 33%. Add to the fact that you have now created an extra 'hole' in the airflow guide - what's easier for the air ? - flow though the hole, or travel through the GPU heatsink vanes ? A double negative mod - probably taking a good 40% of so of the cooling away from the GPU ... (nooo..)

I agree the RAM needs to be cooled - and the only way I can think to do this, is to add pads (note Pads, NOT just paste) to the top of the RAM which thermally attaches the RAM to the existing GPU heatsink. See here :-



Yes, this will ADD a small amount of heat to the GPU heatsink, but from the stats, it is on the 'cooler' side of the heasink (as I would expect, away from the main GPU die/cache memory) and should not have any impact on the temp of the heatsink.

AS5 testing in progress - watch this space for an update in a couple of hours ...

Cheers,

Richard.

[Raven88]

Great job. Its good to know these things. I have the Talismoon Whisper Add On Fans & XCM Add On Fan

[rrg]

Richard,

You have me stumped on a few items you did. Pictures please, I have heat sinks going in right now,

I'm just waiting for the back ordered Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive to come in.


What does this mean "RAM 3&4 thermally attached to GPU Heatsink" from your site?


Great job.



Thanks.



This post has been edited by rrg: Jan 29 2007, 09:32 PM

[belke]

good info, why not post one of all of the modifications running together

[SuDDeN]

Richard,
I would love to see a pic of your case to see where this hole is you put in it to improve air flow. Please.
And if I read your chart right - AS5 didn't reduce heat transfer? (Puzzles Me) ? Or am I not reading the chart right?

Thanks for all the awesome and TIGHTLY documented work you are doing by the way!
I for one truly apprecitate your time and effort!