Tutorial  Updated

Ultimate Cooling guide for your Games Consoles (Noctua/Nidec fans, MX4, Thermal Right, Pico PSU)

This guide will mention the Original Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Wii, Wii U, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4,

Though it is not necessary to do these minor mods, if you like the idea of refurbing your old game system by replacing aging components with quieter, new/better-performing/longer lasting ones or you don’t like that loud fan your games console gives out. Then this guide will go into detail with those refurbs, upgrades, and replacement options. I will talk about the Airflow rating of each replacement fan but will not bother with the DB rating which is the Noise the replacement fan will give out. The replacements are always going to be much quieter and the Noctua is going to be quiet across the board, i can barely hear these fans. But also like to feel the air being pushed out and see the difference in temps whenever possible which is also really important to prevent overheating. When purchasing Noctua fan always go for the PWM version whenevr possible, which is capable of pushing out more air then the FLX version. The price difference between the two isn’t much.

Other Guides:
Soldering Tips and getting started
https://gbatemp.net/posts/9234898/

Console Repair Guide:
https://gbatemp.net/posts/9234528/

Fans (Summary after further testing, i only recommend Noctua fan mods for the Dreamcast it’s actually an upgrade, Og Xbox 1.0 GPU Heatsink, the Noctua A4 likely also performs better than the original 40mm fan and maybe even the Gamecube if your fan is really loud. The Noctua A4 has an Airflow rating of
8,2 m³/h
, but will not perform aswell as the original Nidec fan since it is smaller.


So i thought i make a guide to improving the cooling, quietness, and efficiency of your now classic game systems. As well as replacing the fan with another suitable replacement, which i see many fan replacement guides get wrong. Many people are too fixated on the quietness of the fan and end up ignoring the more important details by replacing the original fans in these old games consoles like the PS2 which has a 7v fan with 12v fan or a low CFM/rpm fan (Gamecube, Xbox and the Xbox One use 12v fans) and what this does is it ends up performing worse than the original always make sure to check the Airflow rating and the whether the voltage matches. Overall i recommend looking at the specifications of the original fan and the replacement fan before replacing it. Look at the rpm, voltage, airflow, sound and compare that to the replacement fan. The original blower fan is likely to be a Nidec or a Delta fan. I recommend to sometimes refurb the original or replacing it with a direct replacement with some of these systems.

So when it comes to the fan, you can either track a direct replacement or switch it out with something else. Or you can refurb the original, so it can run better and produce less noise. Great
for irreplaceable proprietary fans like with the PS3 and PS4.
I recommend cleaning the fan with a soft brush/Q-Tip dipped in 99% Isopropyl Alcohol and if it can be taken apart, use Gear Grease to make your original fan run quieter. Listing for Gear Grease: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...earchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_
View attachment 264167 View attachment 264172 View attachment 264173

Gamecube Fan replacement options
So let's start with the Gamecube it uses a 50mm Nidec D05U-12TS1 12v fan. You can either find a direct replacement, refurb the original that will run quieter and perform better, or you can replace it with a Noctua A4x10 PWM. 12v with an Airflow rating of 8.9 m³/h. It's one of the best if not the best 40mm fan you can buy plus the most reliable. The Noctua is quieter but it is smaller if it were 10 mm bigger it would perform even better but it’s still the best fan for the Gamecube with 150,000hours of run time. The specs of the fan are here https://noctua.at/en/nf-a4x10-pwm. Probably may look into ways to increase the fan speed of the Noctua perhaps using some adaptor or a resistor. Noctua fan bracket can be found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4653948
50mm fan bracket: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3117104

As for the 50mm fan mods for the Gamecube many that people are recommending such as the XS fan aren't as reliable as the Noctua but does cool better with an airflow rating of 11.5 m³/h. Personally, i prefer the Noctua A4 PWM as it’s much more reliable and well built. The original fan likely has an airflow rating of 7CFM, unfortunately specs for the fan aren’t available to compare. If you know of any great performing, long-lasting, 50mm fans that are also quiet, let me know. The Gelid Silent 5 doesn’t fit unfortunately.
Photo 25-05-2021, 11 22 43.jpg


Photo 25-05-2021, 11 25 51.jpg


Nintendo 64
Did you know N64 a passively cooled system has a Noctua 5v fan mod. Even though the N64 has a massive heatsink with some high quality thermal pads. It can still benefit with addition of a quiet fan like the Noctua A4 5v version. Will have to solder in a fan connector to plug the fan in aswell as a bracket to mount it. What this will do is push the warm air out of the vent on the top shell of the N64 making it cool better. Check out this listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/265200273664?hash=item3dbf2b0900:g:xfMAAOSwOT9gzNVl
2C5E48BC-8D1E-40CA-973D-D58B70882612.jpegB9D38C6C-6195-4EFD-95FF-BC051E278758.jpeg

Sony PlayStation 2 Fan Replacement Options
With the PS2 i was able to find one person who offers a Noctua fan mod. The listing can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/203261375555?hash=item2f53527443:g:eg0AAOSwN2ZgE1lA

But before you buy the fan, the person is using a 12v and the original fan runs at 7v. And it seems like it performs worse than the original blower fan as i don't feel as much air being pushed out who know i maybe wrong will need to conduct a temperature test. As for the original fan, it is a Nidec D06R-07B1S1, there should be plenty of other similar replacements out there as well or you can refurb or directly replace the original fan for it to run quieter. The Noctua fan used in the mod is a Noctua A6x25 with an Airflow rating of
29,2 m³/h it should be capable significantly outperforming the original fan. But may need to do an extra mod or use an adaptor to get this fan to speed up overall may need further testing to see if there is an improvement in temps. The original Nidec likely has an airflow rating of 15 to 20CFM. Specs for the Nidec fans can be found here:
https://www.nidec.com/en/product/search/category/B101/M111/S100/
Photo 25-05-2021, 13 34 33.jpg


Photo 25-05-2021, 13 28 45.jpg

Photo 25-05-2021, 13 28 56.jpg



Sega Dreamcast fan replacement options
This uses a tiny fan a Delta AFB0305HA-AF00 fan with an airflow rating of 3.5CFM, and so replacing it with a bigger 5v Noctua A4X10 (Airflow=
8,2 m³/h)
with 3d printed brackets will likely make a big difference in cooling. The warm PSU can also be replaced with a Pico PSU bringing the PSU outside making the system run cooler. Many kits are available online and many adaptors come preinstalled with 10k resistors, so there is no need to mod the fan connector. If you have an ODE installed there is also this bracket that allows for you to solder in a second fan. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4742830
Noctua fan bracket:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2308549
Photo 25-05-2021, 11 24 57.jpg
Photo 25-05-2021, 11 25 07.jpg
hqdefault.jpg
maxresdefault.jpg
Photo 25-05-2021, 11 24 39.jpg


Original Xbox Fan Replacement Options
Removing the Clock Cap/Modding Options

Make sure to remove the leaky clock cap in your Xbox unless it's a 2004 model 1.6.

Also, recommend softmodding, Tsop modding or modchipping, highly recommend the Open Xenium since you can load up multiple bios’s thanks to Open Xenium OS. This fully opens up your console such as being able to increase the fan speed, use emulators, switch out the harddrive, play games off the hard drive, there are plenty of guides online. I recommend this bracket if you install SATA HDD with this adaptor. These adaptors can short out the drive if it isn't isolated. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3791879



Thermal Paste Replacement
The Og Xbox isn't a passively cooled system unlike the above consoles, the Xbox is more reliant on cooling similar to that of a pc and it’s essentially the start of the modern era of consoles that started to rely more on cooling. First of all, i recommend replacing the old thermal paste with MX4 or some other good paste. The GPU is glued on by this point. So you have to heat up the heatsink using a heat gun, rework station set to low, or a hairdryer. Once it's hot to touch, it should come off like butter and use a tool like tweezers or a flat head screwdriver to avoid burns. Wipe off the thermal paste with IPA and apply the right amount of MX4 pea size is recommended and a bit more on the GPU chip.

Fan Upgrades
Once that's out of the way, you can look into refurbing or replacing the fan. The Xbox uses a proprietary Nidec/Delta 72mm 12v fan with a built-in mount and supposedly has an rpm rating of 2600 and the Airflow rating of 23.26 CFM. You have many options for the fan on the OG Xbox, the is the Noctua A6x25 with an Airflow rating of 29,2 m³/h and will need this 3d bracket: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4617648 and screw in the Noctua A6X25 12v. The great thing about this method is that it's very easy to install and requires no cutting but will need to increase the speed in a custom dash, bios config or the bios itself using EV Tools. I recommend the Open Xenium modchip since you can load up multiple bios’s.

More is here: https://www.ogxbox.com/forums/index.php?/topic/6274-how-do-i-adjust-the-speed-of-replacement-fans-on-the-original-xbox /&tab=comments#comment-37510

“X2 5035 - edit x2config.ini

ind-bios 5003 or 5004 - edit ind-bios.cfg

Fan settings in a custom dash may also work

Evox M8 or M8+ - use EVTool v1.0.9 to create a new .bin file and reflash the modchip/TSOP with it”
featured_preview_IMG_2527.jpeg


There is also this mod for 1.0 consoles that replaces the small GPU fan with the Noctua one which performs about the same, maybe better and the Noctua runs quieter. This one i recommend. Also, make sure that it's the A4X10 12v (Airflow=
8,2 m³/h)
is installed like this upside down. Fan brackets can be found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3864107 https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4682947
Photo 25-05-2021, 11 22 35.jpg


Since this chip runs quite warm, i thought i also add in this 10x25x25mm heatsink to the chip
Photo 25-05-2021, 11 22 09.jpg
Photo 25-05-2021, 11 22 18.jpg


There is also the 80mm mod that requires DIY.
Guide: https://quade.co/2017/xbox-80mm-fan-upgrade/

The fan used is a Noctua A8. The FLX has a Airflow rating of 50,4 m³/h. And the PWM has an Airflow rating of 55,5 m³/h. And the Noctua R8 Redux PWM 1800RPM has an Airflow rating of
53,3 m³/h. The R8 Redux 1200 has an Airflow rating of 35,8 m³/h. So if you are looking for the best go for the Noctua A8 PWM is the best with an Airflow rating of 55,5 m³/h. Not only is it quieter than the original, but outperforms all of these other options. Note you may need a resistor mod, an adaptor, or may have to mess with the fan settings in the bios/dash to get the most out of these fans.

Xbox One Fan Replacement Options
Also, some person replaced the fan in their Xbox One, looks really cool, don't how it performs but check out the post. I recommend always replacing the thermal paste with these old used PS4's and Xbox One's and giving it a clean, that is usually enough to make it run cool and quiet again.
The guide is still being written. Xbox One Noctua Fan mod: https://pcpartpicker.com/b/W6mqqs
Photo 25-05-2021, 11 35 11.jpg


PS3 and PS4 Fan
Can't really replace the fan so i recommend refurbing and repasting your system. Check out my PS3 Repair guide which goes into more detail or preserving your PS3. https://gbatemp.net/threads/the-ult...nec-tokin-caps-delid-syscon-diagnoses.575455/

Thermal Paste Recommendations (Note always use the right amount, not too much not too little):

Update after doing further research: Arctic MX4 and Thermal Aeronaught are some of the best. They have near perfect review scores, aren’t conductive and last a long time 8 to 10 years. The more high performance pastes aren’t going last as long and aren’t designed to work with air coolers or are specifically designed for overclockers where 1 to 3 year lifespans are good enough. For a console standard MX4 paste or any other similar paste designed for air coolers is good enough.

After looking around for paste options, Thermal Right , Seems like the best non conductive thermal paste out there 14.3 W/Mk and 12.8 W/Mk with the pads but again i would just stick to the pads as i don’t see the paste being as good as other options. MX4 and Noctua do around 8.5 W/Mk and they tend to be the best options for pastes for consoles since they have a long lifespan. I do not recommend Liquid Metal as it can damage aluminium and is conductive, and it’s able to cause a short circuit. The only system that you can use liquid metal with is the PS5, Xbox Series, PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X. They do not have alumnium heatsinks like the other consoles but with some of these, you may need to do a few extra things to make sure liquid metal doesn’t escape or short anything. You may need a specific type of silicon/cover to protect the components.

Thermal Pad Replacements
Note:
When it comes to replacing thermal pads just like thermal paste, never cheap out with thermal paste i use Arctic MX4. (Always use a Peasize amount of thermal paste, not too much not too little) As for the thermal pads, avoid generic ones, always look at the Reviews, Price for what you get, W/mk rating, reusability, lifespan and make sure it is above 6 W/mk. I usually go for the Thermal Right ones which have a rating of 12.8W/mk there is also Gelid, Arctic, FujiPoly though i hear Fujipoly can’t be reused despite having the best performance. These are going to be a big improvement in cooling performance over the original thermal pads and make to measure the thickness of the original pad before replacing it. Never stack them on top of each other, it will give you air bubbles and a decrease in performance.

Nintendo Gamecube Thermal Pad Replacement NOTE: USE 1.5mm on GPU chip aswell 2mm is too thick
Guide:
C42FF6E7-659B-4849-A999-7510A6960278.jpeg


Sega Dreamcast Thermal Pad Replacement
The Dreamcast 1.5mm pad, check out this post for more detail on replacing thermal pads in the DC https://dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11066

Sony PlayStation 2 and PS2 Slim
The PS2 Slim uses 0.5mm pad but i recommend 1mm just in case. The Phat PS2 likely uses 2mm and 3mm thermal pads on the driver ic’s on the otherside of the motherboard.

PS3
The PS3 likely uses 1.5mm to 2mm thermal pads. More info is here:

Xbox 360
https://imgur.com/gallery/3FdPUHD

I refurbished this Jasper revision Xbox 360, and added some paste to the ram chips aswell as heatsinks to the IC Chips nearby. Should make a big difference with cooling.
46C9E58A-EA94-43F8-B4C7-198346168298.jpeg

62BE31F9-9DB7-4938-B7CA-70EA7845AB46.jpeg


Wii and Wii U
It likely uses a 0.5mm pad but i recommend 1mm. If you have the Wii U is a lot easier to Delid than the 360, Wii, and PS3. Check out my Delid post: https://imgur.com/gallery/1dyee6P
3FDD4B80-4355-41F6-A59C-AA69988C7A9C.jpeg


Nintendo 64
Yes even the N64 has thermal pads underneath its heatsink. People use Thermal Paste but i recommend 1 to 0.5mm thermal pads from Thermal Right. They perform well and last longer. Especially important for a console like this. Which your not going to be opening up much.

PSU Mods (Note be very careful when doing psu mods as it is possible that it can damage your system for good when installed incorrectly. Always follow the guide or message the creator/supplier before installing it)
PSU mods are another great way of improving cooling in your system as of yet there are replacement PSU kits available for the PS1, N64, Sega Saturn, and the Dreamcast just make sure to stay away from the Chinese Pico PSU's they're likely to fail. I recommended some great quality kits below. Pico PSU's are also universal and more power-efficient and bring the PSU out of the console in the form of a power adaptor. Make sure to use the right power adaptor and make sure it's a high-quality one from a good brand. Ask the seller if you are not sure what power adaptor to get or how to set it up. Other wise you do not want risk frying your console.

PS3
Somebody did a clean power brick psu mod on the PS3, check out this persons post: https://www.psx-place.com/threads/powering-launch-ps3-w-external-power-brick-d220p.21818/


PS1 Pico PSU Kit: Uses 12v 3a DC adapter https://www.willsconsolemodifications.co.uk/ps1_pico_psu.php

Nintendo 64 ReN64 only recommed using parts from the Original PSU when installing this Kit:gst60a12-p1j psu
https://www.game-tech.us/product/ren64/

PS2 RePS2 Kit: Uses: gst60a12-p1j psu
https://www.game-tech.us/product/reps2/

Dreamcast and Saturn Pico PSU kit: https://videogameperfection.com/2018/05/24/picopsu-dreamcast-review/
Photo 25-05-2021, 11 29 59.jpg
Photo 25-05-2021, 11 31 01.jpg
Photo 25-05-2021, 11 31 43.jpg
main-new.jpg
 
Last edited by iVirtualPlays,

cutrus

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Oct 13, 2022
Messages
1
Trophies
0
Age
34
XP
30
Country
Poland
Wii and Wii U
It likely uses a 0.5mm pad but i recommend 1mm. If you have the Wii U is a lot easier to Delid than the 360, Wii, and PS3. Check out my Delid post:

Would there be a chance for you to upload pictures for the Wii U? I see that the gallery link no longer works.
 

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
    K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2: Sorry for accidentally bending over