Slashdot Mirror
Water Cooling an Xbox 360
An anonymous reader writes "HardOCP has done it once again. They have an article running down the process of water cooling an Xbox 360, and with surprising effectiveness and remarkable styling." From the article: "We had plans to water cool an Xbox 360 for over a year now. Little did we know that not only will this water cooling project be more fun than the original, but it may even be practical. Imagine that. With reports of heat related issues and a heat sink that can get almost too hot to touch after marathon gaming sessions, the Xbox 360 water cooling project now had a sense of purpose. We bought a retail Xbox 360 specifically for this project. The minute we got it back to the [H] labs we tore into it and, with a little help from the fine folks at Koolance, we have put together a water cooling solution that will handle anything the Xbox 360 can throw at it and literally knock your socks off." Actual implimentation with hand-holding. Hexus.net was discussing a kit to do this a few days ago.
what a absolute waste of time this project is....
And the guys that wrote it don't even know that heat-sinks are supposed to get hot...!
How about a small fan or maybe, just maybe, not shoving the whole thing into a tiny space with no ventilation.
Actually, that article which you are calling The Dupe, was a story about HEXUS.gaming recieving pictures and information that a company had created a watercooler for the XB360. The difference here, is that HardOCP has internal pictures, a guide on do it yourself, and final results that we can prove.
do.what.promptcmds
The standard 360 cooler uses liquid to transfer heat more efficiently from the CPU/GPU afaik. Maybe in the next revision they should consider taking this idea further and add a radiator and pump... :)
Not a dupe - It is a Howto. What was presented before was just the man page.
Nope, you'll find that it doesn't strike again.
This is an actual watercooling solution.
Think before you type, and all that...
It's not a friggin dupe if the article summary acknowledges that a similar article was posted before.
And besides, that lame Hexus article had what, TWO pictures? With no description or explanation? Right, it's a dupe alright.
The editor beat all of us to the punch by pre-empting our cries of "Dupe!".
War isn't about who's right. It's about who's left.
You fail.
Twice.
You know, I have a grim admiration of anyone that would devote so much time to water cooling an x-box. I only hope that the people with such time and talent do not devote their energies to darker activities. Today, those guys are cooling x-box 360s, but tomorrow, they'll be working on nuclear weapons, writing spyware, or working on Windows, depending on which pays the most.
This is my sig.
Why do modders always go compete ape shit over stupid stuff like this? I have an Xbox 360 and it works. It just works. No it doesn't have water cooling. I also did case mod it, and it still works! Yes, some people have had problems. Just don't put the power supply in a bad place and you'll be fine. Water cooling for PC's may make sense because there are different types of PC's. Right now an Xbox 360 is just a 360, and if you follow instructions and have a bit of common sense, you'll be fine. It either plays the game or it doesn't. A water cooling system isn't just unecessary, it's stupid.
Is it me, or could this just be one more problem that will plague the Xbox360?
Purple, because ice cream has no bones.
I fail to see how a water cooling system would do any sock-knocking. I guess they don't actually know what the word literally means (hint: it isn't a superlative nor does it simply add emphasis).
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
A game console that benefits from being water cooled, have its power supply dangled from a string, and can't even be slightly moved while there is a disk inside smacks of terrible industrial design. This is not a console, it's an unweildy, ill-conceived, ill-executed beast that seems to actually hate its users.
People say Apple users blindly ignore any and all flaws with Apple products, but Apple users have nothing on XBox fanboys. The thing could spew out radioactive mist and they'd still be forgiving Microsoft because OMG teh grafix are teh r0xx0rz!!!!11
they had better thank me for this? art=OTM5LDE=
http://www.hardocp.com.nyud.net:8090/article.html
With what, water pressure?
*grumblegrumble*
vk.
"With reports of heat related issues and a heat sink that can get almost too hot to touch after marathon gaming sessions.."
I just love touching the heatsink after a good session of gaming, and now I can't with the Xbox 360; I gotta get this product now!
Hey, I thought it was a dupe too... until I read the article.. oh doh! :)
It's the PSU that overheats, causing the majority of recent problems.
;)
But hey, if you'd rather spend ~180 on a water cooling system instead of not stuffing the power block deep inside a cabinet, more power to you.
They hook the hs/waterblocks up in series. So the hot fluid from the first processor is attempting to cool the second processor.
This seems a bit scary to me. The processors really get that hot, then shooting the exhaust fluid from one over the other isn't going to do as much good as they might expect.
Still, awsome bit of home engineering.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
What is preventing a console or even a computer manufacturer from including water cooling themselves? Is there not a way to cheaply and safely mass produce it?
I don't understand why this project was undertaken to begin with. Ok, the Xbox 360 gets hot and the power supply can overhead we understand that. If the original Xbox power supply and unit are overheating it's the job of Microsoft to fix the problem.
I am not trying to troll, but my socks aren't going to be knocked off when someone has to modify their console to operate as originally intended...
we have put together a water cooling solution that will handle anything the Xbox 360 can throw at it
But does it run GNU/Linux?
They used all Koolance products throughout, with no discussion at all about why they used those particular parts when several other better ones are available. This really doesn't seem that useful anyway unless you pipe the water through the power supply. Even the most intrepid of the PC water cooling community are wary of doing that.
we have put together a water cooling solution that will handle anything the Xbox 360 can throw at it and literally knock your socks off.
Thanks, but I prefer cooling systems that do not explode or otherwise interact with the users clothing in a violent manner.
Though, I must admit, a device that can disrobe the user does have potential for porn.....
Wow, the authors command of english literally knocks my socks off!!
"Slashdot has done it once again. They have an article running down the process of water cooling an Xbox 360" http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/31/ 1414248&tid=211&tid=222
I tell people who consider buying a Disc scratching, power brick overheating, no-games-included, Xbox 1 incompatible, Xbox 360 to go jump in a lake.
Are video games that important to people that they need the newest console when there are already more games made than you could play in a year for every other console plus computers, and you'd spend less money buying all of them than an Xbox 360 with games? [Ok that last bit was a little exageration, to rile up your blood.]
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
From the site:
If "it goes without saying," why say it at all?
I had one fall on my leg.
It ripped my flesh to the bone, knocked my sock off, broke my big toe and killed my cat.
damn you Microsoft
DAMN YOU
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
I didn't realize you people post so fast... This is harder than I thought. >____
I'm now inspired to water cool my GAME BOY ADVANCED! Next will be my Texas Instuments Calculator and Timex Expedition digital watch! Water Cooling makes everything better.
MadOgre.com
In Soviet Russia, water cools you!
I am willing to grant that this is a pretty cool mod, if you want to call it that and an excellent example of ingenuity and resourcefulness. However, I still feel that the overall attempt is nothing more than a fix for a flawed product, a flaw that Microsoft needs to address and fix. I don't expect to buy a game console only to have to purchase an external cooling unit to make it function as originally intended.
...the damn thing rocks. No problems, stunning graphics...and its a pretty bitchen mp3 player if you plug a USB hard drive plugged into it, which kind of makes up for them trying to lock you into windows boxen by not supporting smb, in favor of some doubtless cheesy and unreliable streaming server software on your XP computer.
.... Woo! Woo!
Sure it gets hot...its a goddam supercomputer in a breadbox.
It will eat disks if you wobble it while its on, but with the rotational velocity of that disk at howevermany rpms its spinning, thats not surprising. I find very little need to wobble it while its on, so this is not a problem for me.
I run linux, and agree that Microsoft is the devil, but at 720p on my old projector, the 360 games are so beautiful that it brings just a tear to my eye.
Oh, and I got mine off ebay, for $625, with shipping. Just because I wanted it, now, and didn't feel like waiting in line. I'd have paid it at the store if there were no lines...it really is worth it to me...but I have a lot of disposable income for such foolishness, so I suppose I'm atypical.
Meanwhile, YOU, Mr. Anonymous economically disadvantaged troll, are playing on some newly sucky old system, or dropped 2 grand on a hot gaming pc, which you can't wobble while you have the dvd spinning, either.
Therefore, u R teh SUX0RS. I shall now perform an interperative dance of mockery in your general direction. Woo! Woo!
I mean this is a game console, yes? Does it smell like ozone? Is the case getting hot? Does it need a case fan that moves a 1000cfm? What exactly is it 'throwing' at the design? I understand "just because it's there to do" projects, but what's the point here? Does it run that much hotter than the underlying PC hardware it is?
If 'almost too hot to touch' is below the specs for the processor's operating temperature range...it doesn't matter how hot it feels to the user.
It never ceases to amaze me how people with no training will second-guess the basic competency of others with degrees in their field. Yes, the power supply gets too hot if placed on a rug...but that doesn't mean the xbox itself isn't designed properly. Probably just means that they didn't do a lot of testing in people's homes with the bricks on rugs and such; from what I understand, the problem is pretty rare even if you don't "cool" the brick.
I also love the egotistical "we drive 'em hard" implied in the "marathon gaming" bits- as if they're HARDCORE users who STRESS the xbox beyond its limits. I guarantee Microsoft had units running benchmarks/game demos for WEEKS at a time doing burn-in...
Please help metamoderate.
Fanboys for any system, for any sort, have no right to complain about other fanboys.
:3 rawr.
watercooling the power supply? :P
Please see this article (and a dictionary).
Return to kindergarten, "dogg".
The hip way to get your IP. No ads, ever.
I keep hearing about water cooling an xbox 360. I think that is about as necesary as water cooling an emachine, they are both cheap computers designed to sell to idiots who can't run a real one. Get a real/quality computer, learn how to use it, then start talking about water cooling and other modding. until then, enjoy playing on your wannabe consol and PC...because it isn't either in my eyes.
Please see: this.
it's sad that after all the hype, MS seemingly ignored such a basic component as verifying that internal components remain within thermal limits. I should be able to leave my xbox 360 on overnight without having to worry about it overheating, and I shouldn't have to resort to water-cooling the 360 to ensure it operates properly. Props to those who got this to work, but a user who spends 300+ bucks on a console shouldn't have to make the choice of voiding their warranty (and spending extra to put a cooling sys together) in order to keeep their 360 operating within thermal specs, or risk overheating and failure in the future. MS never seems to quite get it, they made a _huge_ deal pre-release about the chassis being smaller and more attractive (especially those stupid swappable front covers), yet all the hardcore gamers I know would prefer a stable system with great performance to an attractive POS that overheats when you leave it running overnight.
The problem is that only the latter will bring more power to the SYSTEM. So either way, power to me is irrelevant.
They way I see it silicon chip technology is hitting a wall. The wall is heat.
Back in the day, chips like these processors today would be dreams. It's amazing how certain dreams never succeed and amazing things never dreamt become reality. The Internet was not dreamt, but it has come. The flying car does not exist in the practically and computer chips are doing nightmarish speeds. The same happens with large cities.
Most cities are not designed to become large. the result is extremely tight roads and impracticalities. The solution is all kinds of crazy technologies. Computer chips are following this path.
The silicon chip is largely inefficient in my opinion since it produces so much heat. Large cooling devices are needed now. Though a dream it may be, the basic technology that makes computer chips, specifically the CPUs, need to be changed out to more efficient technologies. I hope for optical computers in my day. If done properly, the optics could allow for extreme speeds and cooler temperatures. Optics don't cause cross-talk so wide busses that are really close to eachother could run at ultra-high frequencies (in data transmission, not in color) for near flawless function.
The XBox 360 may be designed with a poor implementation of cooling, but it is not the only device that produces a lot of heat. I don't like Microsoft myself, but I certainly don't blame Microsoft for producing a high heat device. Though they should have added a better cooling device.
Ultimately, we are hitting the wall, and Microsoft is taking some heat (sorry). AMD may produce a cooler chip, but I think a new technology is needed to advance the old fashioned silocon-transistor-metal based chips. Add optical technology (again, a dream) and free ourselves of this burden.
XBOX360 is an awesome gaming platform, but it's pretty clear that the first version is doing poorly power- and cooling-wise.
The Raven
Do we really need such an ineffecient video game console that we need to water cool it? Somebody's gonna get electrocuted.
They didn't even overclock it? Fucking Pussys
"I had one fall on my leg. It ripped my flesh to the bone, knocked my sock off, broke my big toe and killed my cat."
:-(
that wasn't the xbox - it was the power brick
----(o)----
We used:
8 77125-6416806?v=glance&n=284507
Two GPU-180-L06 video/GPU water blocks (link)
One HX-360 radiator (link)
One Control Board (link)
One 120mm fan (link)
One LED display panel (link)
12ft of 3/8" hose
Standard 110v to 12v wall adapter
Now one has to consider if the time spent building and the cost of these materials could be more cheaply and easily reproduced by buying a compact refrigerator and drilling holes in it for the wiring?
You would just need a drill and one of these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009WNPEW/002-2
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
If you own a Xbox 360 you will quickly realize how loud the two case fans are. The liquid cooling modification if done properly will make a huge difference in the noise level provided you can remove, replace, or slow down the stock fans.
Obviously you ignored the "Watch for Falling Xboxen" sign.
Gawd, I literally hate it when people misuse the word "literally"...
(socks not withstanding)
Slashdot seems to be falling behind I mean, this was up like 2-3 days ago.
Wasnt microsoft trying to make the xbox slim and less bulkier then the xbox 1?
/ 1414248&tid=211&tid=222)
So then -
a) Watercooling the processor with its own little fridge like system and
b) Having the power supply jump 2x the size (see http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/31
Man its going to be a pain in the ass to cart this unit over to your mates place for a weekend gaming session.
Have you ever met a true audiophile? The performance of their systems is not only directly proportional to the cables used, but they also have to lay the cables the "right" way, isolate the room the "right" way, load media the "right" way. Heck, for a lot of them even the power supplied in your perfectly fine wall outlet is just NOT GOOD ENOUGH and causing nausea.
;)
Now, does this rings a bell to you?
Stories like this represent a clear violation the EULA, illegal taking of Microsoft's IP, and probably violate the DMCA as well.
Of course, if you just give $4,000 to the RIAA lawyers then it wiill go away...
No? Well, at least the bubbling can amuse you while you're waiting for Microsoft to acknowledge its latest crapfest.
I know painting a car red makes it go faster, but I can't remember if knowing how something works makes it better or worse...
Looks like a damn Xbox with a colostomy bag.... >>> Can the articles get any worse? Do duplicate articles belong on /.? Get a clue
This is not an uncommon comment. However, consider that most fridges have to work very hard to keep even lukewarm contents cool. The fridge that you linked to would burn out with a "warm" object inside of it because the thermostat would be running the refridgeration cycle continuously due to the heat given off by the xbox.
.. and become a "review" site, so I can get free crap and attempt to destro-- I mean, improve it.
Not All Who Wander Are Lost
that make me regret not buying a 360 when I had the chance: I was at a Costco and they had the premium setup (and an additional wireless controllers plus PGR3) for $480 and they had plenty of them with no line: two weeks before Christmas. I should have bought it and sold it on e-bay! Dang!
>>I had one fall on my leg.
>>It ripped my flesh to the bone, knocked my sock off, broke my big toe and killed my cat.
This spells doom for Micro$oft, doom Doom DOOM dOOm!!! As soon as the public is aware that the XBox360 is causing severe lascerations, minor fractures and feline fatalities it's the end of the road for Micro$oft.
Don't buy the marketing hype that it's a large scale release of a complex consumer product, the occaisonal dead cat is expected and unavoidable, and that these are all vary rare and isolated instances.
THE XBOX360 IS A CAT KILLER!!!
Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated up.
Lazy bastards, grab some ammonia and a compression pump and do this right. (It's funny. Laugh.)
...it's really a sad day for America when we require a goddamn ACT OF CONGRESS to make our DVD players work properly. ~
So the creators of this device claim that the x-box can overheat and possibly break. However, by installing this device, they claim it voids the warranty.
Forgive me if I'm being dumb, but rather than fork out a load of dosh preventing the problem, I'd rather wait for the Xbox to break and get a shiny new one courtesy of Microsoft.
"Having to pay attention to where cables/exhaust fans are located on a piece of consumer electronics is unacceptable"
That is the most foolish statement I have read in a long, long time.
All electronics need ventilation. Ever seen a Server room? Do you think there is a reason they have extra cooling for them? Why didn't the manufactures simply design it better so I could put it into my oven instead? Because you're an idiot that's why.
Nothing but a publicity stunt.
The only part of the Xbox360 that overheats is the power brick. The console itself does not overheat.
*Tosses XBox360 in harbour*
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife