Hi. Im not sure on the ruling here about talking about Xbox modding, but searches show that there are no rules against it, but if there is, mods please just delete this thread. Right... Im awaiting a XeniumIce Solderless Modchip & a 40Gb 7200rpm HDD through the post. I intend to modify my newly aquired xbox (£50 for a v1.0, with SC: PT & a DVD kit!), into a media center, that`ll play any DivX/Xvid i throw at it well. (Which, for reference, my YamadaDVX6600 does, but doesnt like PCM Bitstreams or Ogg stuff. ) Anyway. For the moment, i will be sticking with the stock xbox look, but its as loud as hell. Especially that gfx chip HSF. Ive identifyed the culprits that are causing the noise to be the HDD, gfx chip fan & the DVD drive. The HDD noise is sorted as the HDD ive ordered is reportadly very very quiet. The DVD drive, i cant do alot about really, so that leaves the gfx chip. So, can anyone recommend a replacment gfx chip heatsink that`ll A) fit in its place & B) is passive. It doesnt have to work with the HSF locking mechanism, as i`ll probably epoxy it on. I was thinking of that ThermalRight mobo heatsink, but im unsure if that`ll be good enough. Ideas? Thanks in advance all.
Don't have an xbox to tear apart and see if it would fit, but you may wanna think about the thermalright MCX159 chipset cooler. Big ol' wad of copper and aluminum with a really quiet fan but I'm confident it could work passively for it.
The MCX159 is a Swifttech product. Anyway. Do you mean the one where the fins look like screws? Im not sure if its too tall to fit. Im not 100% how much clearence the heatsink will have. I`ll check in the morning and post back.
meh, I meant swiftech in any case it cools my overclocked 865 chipset passively no problems. but yes, the one with the "helicoid pins", swiftech's patented name for the screw-pins. I'd guess it's about 5cm tall with fan but I haven't exactly measured it, I could if you need me to although I'm sure swiftech has it online.
You can also delete this reply if not suitable for these forums. I have an Xbox and am going to put a chip in it. Could you recommend a chip for me. I was looking at an Xecuter 3. http://www.xbox-modchips.com/xecuter-3.htm
I'm sure the Avalaunch Dashboard has an option to run your Fan at a lower speed, which should reduce the noise output.
The X3 is supposed to be the best out, but apart from actual chip features, like a display on the X3, or a USB port on the XeniumICE, the actual functionality is down to the BIOS you install on it. I choice the XeniumICE as ive been told that its easyier to use initially.
I havnt measured yet, but i think that that "could" actually fit. Im not sure. I dont fancy taking the xbox apart again till i get the modchip, so i`ll check then. In the mean time, any other suggestions on HS`s? As a "backup" option?
I've got the ALX2+ R4 chip with the EvoX M8 bios & haven't had any problems at all. As for cooling.... http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/12v-fan-mod.php http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/80mm-fan.php Those are regarding fans, but the link below is regarding the heatsink http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/thermal-compound.php In fact just go to this link instead http://www.xbox-scene.com/tutorials.php?p=191|298|#0
Already read all them. Despite there being alot of guides there. Almost all of them are useless to me. As they require accessories that i either A) dont have, B) arnt sold anywhere near me or C) Are all fan mods, and not actual heatsink mods, which is what im after. And already have AS3 on the GPU/CPU`s. Thanks anyway though.
I've been looking around, but can't seem to find any direct replacement for the heatsink. Only spare parts. so good luck.
Problem is, the fan that is in the xbox is actually quite small, I've never measured it before but it appears to be less than 80mm, and it's specially made around the motherboard of the xbox... If you want to add a passive heatsink for the GPU (like in the newer versions like 1.6), you'll probably need a newer more efficient (more air movement, less noise) fan to help cool it.. I've had both 1.0 and 1.6(still have my 1.6) xbox's and I do admit, the 1.6 is much quieter... oh, and to add to this... the clearance that the graphics chip cooler has is minimal... probably not more than a few cm's from the chip itself to the bottom of the dvd/HD carriage. Other things: I'd personally recommend a Smartxx modchip mainly for it's 4mb flash rom, but not only that... it also has a built-in OS that makes it super easy to install bios's on the fly... I love my smartxx If you end up buying a 1.6 xbox (not just for you, but to all readers) and decide you want to put a modchip in it, make yourself aware that there is much more soldering required, of 6 very small points on the motherboard as compared to the one (d0) point before.. plus the original LPC header intstall..
i have a 2.3B Pro installed in my 1.0, with a modified samsung sd-616T drive, and 120gig samsung spinpoint hd. Running modified Evox M8 bios. I would recommend the X3 if your not going to go on xbox live. See the problem is sometimes they test the LPC when you logon, and since the X3 has no permanent off switch, it will turn on, then back off again, causing you to get banned. Other than that the X3 is a really easy modchip to install, except on some installs i did on others xbox's, the pin headers were kind of hard to install. Regarding the cooling, there are some xbox's where the gpu cooler is passive, however many have had problems since they dont provide adequate cooling. If you can, your best bet would be to find an all copper cooler, be it northbridge or even for a processor, then chop it down until it fits. My opinions
FYI, the main xbox fan is a custom 70mm i read somewhere. I have a XeniumICE Solderless on order. Im gonna rig my PCs DVD drive to the xbox to allow me to read custom CDs for a bit (so i can install new BIOS`s/Dashboards), and then when money permits, buy a Samsung Xbox DVD Drive.
you can fit an 80mm fan, but you need to cut out the clips for the regular fan, chop away at the harddrive tray, and fasten it. I used small zip ties to attach it to the metal grid thing that is between the plastic of the case and the components.
Xbox comes with a craptastic 70mm fan 12v fan undervolted to 7v to run more quiet. Your best bet is to find a good 80mm fan and run it off of the molex from the hdd. Also slap on a small heatsink on the MCPX chip (the Nvidia chip that's visible near the LPC points) depending on your version you could have a small 40mm fan on your GPU heatsink, later models have removed that and replaced it with a heatsink with lots of pretty fins. I'd say if you're really worried about cooling it, upgrade to Arctic Silver 3 or 5 thermal paste - the xbox stuff is crap - and put on a copper heatsink. As for the CPU it's a P3 at 733 mhz so it's not incredibly hot with a decent fan and Arctic Silver, however you can go ahead and upgrade it's heatsink, just have to worry about the clips they come with and the mounting brackets, depending on what you use you may have to drill it out of it's hole. As for chips, I will highly reccommend not going solderless, granted it's improved but it's still crap in my opinion, I learned to solder on my xbox motherboard, I don't think it's that hard for any person to pick up. Chips - I've installed an X3, Xenium Ice, X2's , and SmartXX. Out of those my favorite is the Xenium Ice, really easy to do and it's got a nifty OS you can boot to as a failsafe. If you get a 1.6 have fun rewiring the LPC that can be a b*tch if you're new to it, but the tutorials are excellent and should be very helpful If you need more help or questions www.xbox-scene.com tutorials and the forums are a great source
