Do I need a cooling fan for my 360? Your two cents please!

[ivotedforkodos]

Happy Holidays everyone. I've had my 360 for about two weeks and finally have had the time to really sit down and play the heck out of it. After about two hours I noticed it was much hotter than I thought it should be so I saved my game and let it rest for awhile. Now, I've heard all the horror stories about these things overheating- do any of you actually use those third-party fans? I tried to look at some reviews online but it seems that the Nyko Intercooler causes more problems than it's worth. Intec's looked better but I am firmly dedicated to keeping my 360 horizontal. Please tell me your experiences. I just don't want anything bad to happen to my 360!

[MegaDrive20XX]

I do agree, that Intercooler is dangerous. The one we had on our display unit at work, actually turned YELLOW on the 6 connector pins within 4 days and caused the 360 to freeze every now and again.

However, the newer versions of the intercooler claim to be more efficent. Yet I don't know if that has been proven.

[dylan0228]

I`ve had my 360 since it`s release & never had a problem with it. I don`t have an intercooler. I personally don`t feel a need for it.

[Drexel923]

I do agree, that Intercooler is dangerous. The one we had on our display unit at work, actually turned YELLOW on the 6 connector pins within 4 days and caused the 360 to freeze every now and again.

However, the newer versions of the intercooler claim to be more efficent. Yet I don't know if that has been proven.

See, I have an Intercooler and it stopped my system from overheating/freezing on me. And I know a ton of other people with the same results.

It's strange how so many are fine with it, but yet so many brake systems...I've never seen a product do that before. I wonder if it has to do with the actual 360 models themselves, or if it is a flaw in a batch(es) of intercoolers?

[MegaDrive20XX]

I think it has to be with those intercooler, but you make a good point about the systems themselves.

[norkusa]

Those cooling fans can screw up your 360? I just bought a NIB Intercooler from a local Goodwill on the cheap earlier this week. Aside from making a lot of noise, i thought it worked fine but my system froze up on me for the first time last night while playing a game of Uno on Live.

Are people really having problems with those Intercoolers? I just don't see how a cooling fan could damage your system. Sounds like it's a problem with the systems and not the fans.

[Gamereviewgod]

Are people really having problems with those Intercoolers? I just don't see how a cooling fan could damage your system. Sounds like it's a problem with the systems and not the fans.

It takes its power from the system itself, not its own source. That's not a good thing.

[mills]

Can't you just point the house fan at the system?

[retroman]

I too have had my 360 since day one, and have never had a problem with it. No intercoolers or anything. It works great...

[heybtbm]

Can't you just point the house fan at the system?

...and blow the hot air back into the machine?

I have an Intercooler and it keeps the 360 significantly cooler than without it. That is a simple fact. Run your 360 for 2 hours without the Intercooler and feel the heat at the top and bottom of the unit. Then run the 360 with the Intercooler attached for 2 hours and feel the difference.

I've found most of the negativity directed towards the Intercooler is based on questionable anecdotal evidence and paranoia. I'd like to know exactly how a fan could make a 360 freeze. The reality is that 360's freeze with or without Intercoolers attached. Cause does not always equal effect.

The only gripe I have with the Intercooler is the additional noise. It makes the loudest game console of all time even louder.

[Leo_A]

You've already been told how, it drains power the 360 isn't designed to give. If they just had made it plug into a USB port, it would've worked just fine.

[ProgrammingAce]

The 360, as designed by microsoft, is adiquate to cool itself without any sort of external fans. If your console is becomming too warm, return it. Whether or not your system runs cooler with some fan straped on the back is irrelivant if your system is defective to begin with. Is it really worth it to add another point of failure to an already complicated system if you're not having trouble with it?

If you are having trouble with the system, the intercooler will not stop the underlying issue. If your system is under warranty and it's locking up, send it back. Remember, Microsoft has extended the warranty for all systems to a full year now.

The issue with the intercooler is how it draws power. If it drew power from the USB port, it would be fine. The 360 is designed to detect a draw on the 12 volt rail on the USB port and adjust accordingly. Instead the intercooler takes the power straight from the external power supply connector, which does one of two things. It either:

1.) leaves the 360 itself with less voltage then required, damaging critical components and decreasing the lifespan of the system.

Or 2.) Increases the power draw from the external power supply. (the power supply should be able to take the current draw, but it really wasn't designed for that).

Like i said, if your system has problems, send it in for repair. Otherwise you're adding another possible point of failure on a $400+ console.

There is one more issue with the intercooler... It creates a vacuum within the console. Unforutnately the 360 works off of air cooling and a vacuum makes that job more dificult. Notice the 360 doesn't have much for intake airflow? It's balanced out so that the intake airflow matches the CFM (cubic feet per minute) of the exhaust fan. Adding extra exhaust fans (from the intercooler) creates a vacuum because you're sucking more air out then the little airholes can let back in. In some cases the intercooler makes overheating worse, as it can reduce the overall volume of air inside the system. Air that is needed to keep critical components cool.

In otherwords, don't trust that $10 pice of junk.....

[maxlords]

Do what I did....move your system from inside the entertainment center to the top of the entertainment center so it gets air flow from 360 degrees around the system (no pun intended). I was starting to get freezing issues when mine was in the entertainment center, even with it being the only item on that shelf, but as soon as I moved it to a place with complete air flow, the issue went away. I wouldn't trust the intercooler at all. Essentially you're putting something between the power supply and the system making the Xbox draw harder to get what it needs, which I can't imagine could EVER be good long-term.

[Drexel923]

But I can't imagine 3 little fans drawing that much power away from the 360. I still think that if your system brakes with the intercooler on it, the system was going to brake with it off too. No way 3 fans are drawing enough juice to kill the system.

[meancode]

But I can't imagine 3 little fans drawing that much power away from the 360. I still think that if your system brakes with the intercooler on it, the system was going to brake with it off too. No way 3 fans are drawing enough juice to kill the system.

Have you seen the photos of the charred 360s because of the Intercooler? I have. There is a 360 at our local shop that has a good portion of the back charred brown and black because of the Intercooler.

It is not the answer.

Think of it this way. If you are having problems with your 360, and have to call MS for repair, are they going to fix your hardware failure for free if you were using a third party piece of junk on the back of it to "cool" the system.

The problem is there Intercooler, there are no two ways around it. As it has been said above: if you are having overheating issues, move the 360 to a fully open air environment. If they persist, call Microsoft.

[8-bitNesMan]

The only gripe I have with the Intercooler is the additional noise. It makes the loudest game console of all time even louder.

I beg to differ with ya, the Dreamcast holds that honor.

[Algol]

You should be just fine without the fan. If your 360 overheats, it should be covered under the warranty.

[DreamTR]

The Intercooler is a thorn in everyone's side. It's sold 500,000 units, but it definitely does not do anything for the 360. It helps keep the outside "colder" if you use a laster temperature reader, but it is causing systems to shut off randomly because it is drawing power from the system.

The best cooler I have seen on the market is not released in the USA yet, it's the "King Cooler" in Europe with multi-port USB hub, Optical Sound out, and Numerous Video connections that allow you to utilize S, Composite, VGA, Component, etc, with your existing non-Microsoft cables.

Half of the reason you see the Intercooler still on shelves? It's a great selling SKU. None of the retailers want anything to "replace" a performing SKU, so you have to depend on retailers to actually WANT a better product. We can see it, but retailers only care about the bottom line and profitabilty, and don't like to take chances on a competing product.

Similar Items released so far in the USA:

THE COOLER (smaller version of USB Fan Stand from Pelican) BUDGET WAL-Mart only.
FAN STAND
DVD + FAN STAND (Mad Catz replica of Pelican version)

[norkusa]

I beg to differ with ya, the Dreamcast holds that honor.

No way, the DC doesn't even come close. I've got my 360 in a stereo cabinet with an enclosed back + glass door and you can STILL hear it over the surround sound when playing a game. The 360 is a monster.

[8-bitNesMan]

I believe you but that's strange. My 360 isn't loud at all to me. But my DC makes so much noise I have to crank up the volume to drown it out.
(Doesn't help much)