Got so fed up with my 360 fan noise so decided to do something about it. Did a lot of research and found that:
1: Jaspers are still just as noisy and all use the most common 70mm twin Delta fans + a few have RROD already!
2: MS are unlikely to ever fix this issue as the case size is the biggest problem they should have made it slightly bigger and used higher CFM fans (originally they wanted to use 80mm fans) which would have been almost silent. No way to get a silent replacement equivalent CFM 70mm fan model as the CFM would be less so it would overheat and break the 360 quickly. http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/xbox360/xbox360theguts.htm
3: There are 3 different fan types used in 360's. Delta (most common fan model in approx 90-95% of all 360s including all new & recent models),then Nidec are the most quiet but prone to RROD as push less CFM) and finally Sunon. You can get replacement Nidecs in the US for $5 from one etailor but their shipping & handling costs to UK are around $86!!! so forget that as the Nidecs are not powerful enough anyway. You could obviously buy a Lian Li XB01 case for around £80 and even mod this for more cooling.
So as my choices are very limited I decided to mod it as mine is a Sept 06 model with the ultra noisy Hitachi DVD drive as well as the Delta fans (loudest combination you can get). With NXE and HD installs you can still only hear the fans now and they are so bad its not possible for me to use my 360 (its even in a desk cupboard but still makes a deafening whine). I figure after 29 months its unlikely to RROD as it would have done so already so I have very little to lose.
Looked around youtube for some inspiration as there are loads of people on there who have done some very inventive things to make theirs both quieter and cooler.
Here are 2 unusual ones which caught my eye.
Nice use of the LEGO!!!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=g2EZf2YWK14&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ESgChNrcqf4
And then this one is just beyond extreme stupidness!!! LOL
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=s-h0FhEG4GU
Heres something else I found which looks really great. 4 colour LED mod!!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Xbox_360_Ring_of_Light_LEDs/
I bought some Whisper Max Fans last week and they are pretty quiet as long as your 360 is not enclosed in a cabinet or cupboard in which case they get almost as noisy as the stock Delta's because its a constant mechanical drone as they appear to use noisy rifle bearings but on 5V are around 3-4db quieter than stock.
My Modding Solution For Non HDMI X360 Only (HDMI model has slightly different fan header so you need to investigate the wiring changes yourself):
Buy 2 x 80mm Silent Asaka Amber Fans (youcan get another brand as most will be ok).
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-023-AK&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=819
1: Partially dismantle your 360 (look on the web for a disassembly tutorial but its pretty easy to do). Remove the stock fans.
2: Carefully cut out all the plastic & metal grills at the back leaving a few holes to attach the 80mm fans onto with cable ties.
3: Now cut off your 360 stock fan motherboard power cable adapter leaving at least 3 inches or more as you need to connect those wires later.
4: Now after you have prepared both the fan & 360 stock fan motherboard power plug wires by stripping a little away you need to wire as follows:
Left Fan Red wire = Stock Fan Plug Red wire
Left Fan Black wire = Stock Fan Plug Black wire
Right Fan Red wire = Stock Fan Plug Brown wire
Right Fan Black wire = Stock Fan Plug Blue wire
The yellow or whatever other colour wire is not used here only reds & blacks.
5: Put the 360 back together again ensuring that the fan cable is plugged into the 360 motherboard hanging lose out the back.
6: Cable tie the 2 80mm fans together (you can do this earlier if you like makes no difference).
7: Attach the 80mm fans to your 360 using the cable ties ensuring that they are extracting air the correct way.
Optionally you can use black electrical or masking tape to ensure no air leaks by covering the gap between case & fans.
8: Turn on your 360 and all should be well as it will still control the fans RPM automatically.
Its an urban legend that people have been banned for this as you are only using the existing power source. If your silly and add loads of bling bling like multi LEDs & or 4 case fans then yes I can see that getting you the ban hammer. Obviously this mod looks ugly but you can easily tidy it up with a little creative case extension modding if it bothers you that much.
You can also do the following now your warranty is invalid.
1: Mark on the top case panel where the GPU heatsink is. Mod the case so that you have another 80mm fan blowing air over it to increase air flow and use a fan grill for safety.
2: Or do not mod the top case panel and use an 80mm fan internally mounted above the GPU HSF (just about enough room to do this) but you will need to be careful about how you wire it in. Probably use an adapter from the DVD drive power and you should be ok.
If you attempt this or something similar be aware that using the wrong fans can blow your 360 fan header circuit so make sure they are within the volts/amps specs and obviously commonsense is ensure that the fans have fan grills so no-one can hurt their fingers!!
I have been using mine like this for about 4 days now and can confirm the following:
1: Its almost totally silent even after gaming for 6 hours solid with the central heating up full blast so the room ambient temps are very high.
2: The air coming out the back is always either warm or even cold on a chilly day when air temps are lower (like today).
3: Even though I have an early Hitachi drive thats actually not noisy at all anymore even playing games from it instead of NXE installing you can hardly hear either the drive or 360. The 80mm fans do speed up a little but its still very quiet.
On a scale of 1-10 I would say this is about a 2 it really is very simple to do and should easily cost you less than £25 for a totally silent X360
1: Jaspers are still just as noisy and all use the most common 70mm twin Delta fans + a few have RROD already!
2: MS are unlikely to ever fix this issue as the case size is the biggest problem they should have made it slightly bigger and used higher CFM fans (originally they wanted to use 80mm fans) which would have been almost silent. No way to get a silent replacement equivalent CFM 70mm fan model as the CFM would be less so it would overheat and break the 360 quickly. http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/xbox360/xbox360theguts.htm
3: There are 3 different fan types used in 360's. Delta (most common fan model in approx 90-95% of all 360s including all new & recent models),then Nidec are the most quiet but prone to RROD as push less CFM) and finally Sunon. You can get replacement Nidecs in the US for $5 from one etailor but their shipping & handling costs to UK are around $86!!! so forget that as the Nidecs are not powerful enough anyway. You could obviously buy a Lian Li XB01 case for around £80 and even mod this for more cooling.
So as my choices are very limited I decided to mod it as mine is a Sept 06 model with the ultra noisy Hitachi DVD drive as well as the Delta fans (loudest combination you can get). With NXE and HD installs you can still only hear the fans now and they are so bad its not possible for me to use my 360 (its even in a desk cupboard but still makes a deafening whine). I figure after 29 months its unlikely to RROD as it would have done so already so I have very little to lose.
Looked around youtube for some inspiration as there are loads of people on there who have done some very inventive things to make theirs both quieter and cooler.
Here are 2 unusual ones which caught my eye.
Nice use of the LEGO!!!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=g2EZf2YWK14&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ESgChNrcqf4
And then this one is just beyond extreme stupidness!!! LOL
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=s-h0FhEG4GU
Heres something else I found which looks really great. 4 colour LED mod!!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Xbox_360_Ring_of_Light_LEDs/
I bought some Whisper Max Fans last week and they are pretty quiet as long as your 360 is not enclosed in a cabinet or cupboard in which case they get almost as noisy as the stock Delta's because its a constant mechanical drone as they appear to use noisy rifle bearings but on 5V are around 3-4db quieter than stock.
My Modding Solution For Non HDMI X360 Only (HDMI model has slightly different fan header so you need to investigate the wiring changes yourself):
Buy 2 x 80mm Silent Asaka Amber Fans (youcan get another brand as most will be ok).
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-023-AK&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=819
1: Partially dismantle your 360 (look on the web for a disassembly tutorial but its pretty easy to do). Remove the stock fans.
2: Carefully cut out all the plastic & metal grills at the back leaving a few holes to attach the 80mm fans onto with cable ties.
3: Now cut off your 360 stock fan motherboard power cable adapter leaving at least 3 inches or more as you need to connect those wires later.
4: Now after you have prepared both the fan & 360 stock fan motherboard power plug wires by stripping a little away you need to wire as follows:
Left Fan Red wire = Stock Fan Plug Red wire
Left Fan Black wire = Stock Fan Plug Black wire
Right Fan Red wire = Stock Fan Plug Brown wire
Right Fan Black wire = Stock Fan Plug Blue wire
The yellow or whatever other colour wire is not used here only reds & blacks.
5: Put the 360 back together again ensuring that the fan cable is plugged into the 360 motherboard hanging lose out the back.
6: Cable tie the 2 80mm fans together (you can do this earlier if you like makes no difference).
7: Attach the 80mm fans to your 360 using the cable ties ensuring that they are extracting air the correct way.
Optionally you can use black electrical or masking tape to ensure no air leaks by covering the gap between case & fans.
8: Turn on your 360 and all should be well as it will still control the fans RPM automatically.
Its an urban legend that people have been banned for this as you are only using the existing power source. If your silly and add loads of bling bling like multi LEDs & or 4 case fans then yes I can see that getting you the ban hammer. Obviously this mod looks ugly but you can easily tidy it up with a little creative case extension modding if it bothers you that much.
You can also do the following now your warranty is invalid.
1: Mark on the top case panel where the GPU heatsink is. Mod the case so that you have another 80mm fan blowing air over it to increase air flow and use a fan grill for safety.
2: Or do not mod the top case panel and use an 80mm fan internally mounted above the GPU HSF (just about enough room to do this) but you will need to be careful about how you wire it in. Probably use an adapter from the DVD drive power and you should be ok.
If you attempt this or something similar be aware that using the wrong fans can blow your 360 fan header circuit so make sure they are within the volts/amps specs and obviously commonsense is ensure that the fans have fan grills so no-one can hurt their fingers!!
I have been using mine like this for about 4 days now and can confirm the following:
1: Its almost totally silent even after gaming for 6 hours solid with the central heating up full blast so the room ambient temps are very high.
2: The air coming out the back is always either warm or even cold on a chilly day when air temps are lower (like today).
3: Even though I have an early Hitachi drive thats actually not noisy at all anymore even playing games from it instead of NXE installing you can hardly hear either the drive or 360. The 80mm fans do speed up a little but its still very quiet.
On a scale of 1-10 I would say this is about a 2 it really is very simple to do and should easily cost you less than £25 for a totally silent X360
. Or any 360 failure for that matter actually.