Xbox quiet fan mod

Daoxer

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Earlier this year I got my first Xbox. I didn't know a ton about them so I just nabbed one (I think it is a version 1.4) off of ebay with a few games. However, when I started playing it I noticed that the fan was either worn out or just pain loud. In either case it was just way too loud to enjoy. I love tinkering and last year, I went through the process of creating a pretty nice Noctua fan mod for the PS2 that works great. So, I figured I would go ahead and do the same with the Xbox. A little digging shows a few different fan mods that people have done.

I first tried the 60mm Noctua fan as I have these on hand because I now sell PS2 fan mod kits. This worked great noise wise, but I was not very happy with the thermals on the Xbox. The Xbox uses a lot more power than the PS2 and thus the cooling and airflow needs are a fair amount greater. The GPU specifically ran quite a bit warmer than the stock fan to the point I was not comfortable with it. We're talking almost 20C warmer. I measured the CPU and GPU temps with thermocouples.

Next, I ordered myself a Nexus 70mm fan. This definitely dropped the temps and the noise level was virtually the same as the Noctua. It was a slightly different pitch, but the same noise level according to my smart phone decibel meter app. However, I still wasn't very happy with the temperatures and I knew we could do better.

The next step was to start modifying the airflow through the case and seal off air leakage paths. This meant a 3d printed mounting plate for the fan that seals up the holes in the case. This improved thermals a good bit. Several iterations and testing went by (this stuff is fun for me) and it was better, but I was still after more. I then printed up a blocking plate that fits on the CPU heatsink. The GPU heatsink is much smaller, and yet the GPU runs a good amount hotter than the CPU. I figured I'd divert some airflow from the CPU and give it to the GPU. This worked great. The shrouds dropped the temperatures a good amount versus just the bare Nexus fan.

The console is now nice and quiet. The optical drive is now probably the noisiest thing on the system.


Here are some pictures:

All the pieces.
IMG_20210507_083820638_HDR.jpg


Plug for the holes in the bottom of the case.
IMG_20210506_185132979.jpg


Fan with mounting / sealing plate installed.
IMG_20210506_185444447.jpg


CPU blocking plate. This diverts more air to the GPU heatsink. I know some may be concerned about this, but this part had zero effect on the CPU temperature and brought the GPU temperature down at the same time.
IMG_20210506_185521830.jpg
 

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