XBox 360 Intercooler reviewed by IGN

[steviep]

http://gear.ign.com/articles/703/703791p1.html

They gave it an 8.5 out of 10, which is surprising! Check out the link above.

 

[RanceJustice]

Pffft. I am not a big fan of having to add external cooling solutions to a console to avoid...killing it. It reeks of bad design, that the customer has to invest extra money in to remedy. A $400 system should not require this. Consoles are meant to be in close proximity to an entertainment centre. Having to place it specifically and/or buy some fan accessories doesn't seem like an acceptable solution to me.

 

[dirtydr]

The lines "Sadly, we don't have the equipment to test internal temperatures" and "...While we can't confirm such results, we wouldn't be surprised to find them accurate..." make this more like a sales pitch and less like an actual product review.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

I thought the CPU and GPU had two big ass heat sinks and plastic covers over them to direct the air out of the back? wouldn't something like this cause turbulence inside the console?

When i'm playing demos off the hard drive it doesn't even get that warm, what's causing the heat is that shitty dvd player i'm sure.

 

[steviep]

I'm surprised that it got an 85% at all if they couldn't test the accuracy of the claims. This is supposed to be IGN (not impressed with their credibility here)

 

[Circuitbreaker8]

Pffft. I am not a big fan of having to add external cooling solutions to a console to avoid...killing it. It reeks of bad design, that the customer has to invest extra money in to remedy. A $400 system should not require this. Consoles are meant to be in close proximity to an entertainment centre. Having to place it specifically and/or buy some fan accessories doesn't seem like an acceptable solution to me.

My $350 9800 Pro had a POS heatsink that would make the card crash when playing demanding games. New heatsink fixed the problem.

My $400 6800GT would lock up and crash in 3d apps w/ the crappy stock cooper cooler it came with. New heatsink fixed the problem.

My $500 X800XT came with the heat grease applied wrong, forcing tear it apart and apply it myself.

My $650 X1900XTX overheats like a mother and sounds like a tornado when it tries to keep itself cool. The new Zalman heatsink should fix this problem.

What were you saying?

 

[Trimlock]

A $400 system should not require this.

i don't see where you find that it requires it ... mine doesn't, it runs fine and i guess so does the few other some odd thousands that own a 360.

 

[Erasmus354]

i don't see where you find that it requires it ... mine doesn't, it runs fine and i guess so does the few other some odd thousands that own a 360.

Q F T

 

[NavyH16]

i don't see where you find that it requires it ... mine doesn't, it runs fine and i guess so does the few other some odd thousands that own a 360.

Q F T

QFT.

Navy

 

[amdgamer]

Pffft. I am not a big fan of having to add external cooling solutions to a console to avoid...killing it. It reeks of bad design, that the customer has to invest extra money in to remedy. A $400 system should not require this. Consoles are meant to be in close proximity to an entertainment centre. Having to place it specifically and/or buy some fan accessories doesn't seem like an acceptable solution to me.

Pfttt, do you even own an X360, or are you recycling some of the garbage going around on the internet? Look at the amount of horsepower in the X360, and let's see how long your mid-high end computer would stay alive crammed in some cubby hole without any ventilation. I don't know about you, but I have no intention of buying this as I have not had a single problem yet, since I picked my system up on launch day. Maybe you should find a way to change the laws of physics as we know, because you can't just snap your fingers and make heat disappear.

 

[[T5K]thrasher]

snip

sounds like you have had horrible luck. I have never had a stock properly functioning cooling device fail to do its job. sure they may run a little hotter than custom but there still with in spec.

Sounds like you might have other cooling issues.

 

[Sz1hart]

I hope my 360 does get mess up disc error/overheat/etc (hehehe) for my own reasons. However, Im happy to say that my 360 which I got on launch is flawless, but it sure does product a large amount of heat after a few min.

I myself won't get this since I bought the warranty for it...but I sure those who want to keep their system cold well like this.

 

[Darakian]

Pfttt, do you even own an X360, or are you recycling some of the garbage going around on the internet? Look at the amount of horsepower in the X360, and let's see how long your mid-high end computer would stay alive crammed in some cubby hole without any ventilation. I don't know about you, but I have no intention of buying this as I have not had a single problem yet, since I picked my system up on launch day. Maybe you should find a way to change the laws of physics as we know, because you can't just snap your fingers and make heat disappear.

I'l put his argument in another light.

Why should a console be so hot as to even give rise to a third party cooling device?

High end comp in a cubby hole as most of us build those ourselfs (thus we have say over how much heat is produced) a console cannot be tailor made.

 

[RanceJustice]

I'l put his argument in another light.

Why should a console be so hot as to even give rise to a third party cooling device?

High end comp in a cubby hole as most of us build those ourselfs (thus we have say over how much heat is produced) a console cannot be tailor made.

Thank you Darakian. That's exactly my point. I expect to put an after market heatsink on my high end graphics card. I expect to modify my computer cases for the best cooling. However, I do /not/ expect my consoles to fall under the same category. That's a different experience. Most console owners have reasonable expectations that their consoles work "stock". I have seen three 360s go belly up due to (most likely) thermal issues, which is why I use the word "require". Perhaps it isn't the best choice, but if I was to buy a 360 today I would definately take special precautions (positioning, maybe a few fans, maybe one of the devices in the parent) to give myself a reasonable belief that my investment wouldn't fry itself. Are there people out there that havn't had any problem? Obviously yes, and I'm happy for you guys. However, there seem to be a staggering number of errors.

 

[Zoramac]

I dont see what the big deal is, its a $20 part that may or may not work. I spent more money than that last night at the bar drinking beer. Most of you are acting like its a $300 add-on that installs the anti-christ with it. Could MS have designed a better system? yes- but then name one device that couldnt use some aftermarket tweeking. If you guys have forgotten thats why this whole website exists.

fyi - yes i bought one, does it work, i have no idea- but at least i can say that i modded my 360 (albeit a cheap way- and in any case has been working flawlessly since i got it shortly after launch)

 

[RanceJustice]

I can't speak for everyone, but personally its more the principle of the thing. Is a cheap, easy modification? Sure it is. However, I worry about this kind of thing setting a precident. If it was just something that [H]ard readers decided to buy to cool their 360 so they could eventually overclock it, add an internal HDD modification or the like, that would be one thing. However, this is a product generated in response to the fact that an unusual amount of units are dying under "normal" wear and tear. It important to note this isn't marketed as something to make your 360 more Xtreme(tm), just to keep it cool and from dying under normal operation.

Spending more of your hard earned cash on stopgap measures tells the industry that we as consumers are willing to take on the burden of your design/engineering flaws. Suppose this cooler works more or less. Instead of encouraging the next production 360s to have better air circulation, more efficient heatsinks and the like, people will just buy this and be done with it. Thus, we're telling the industry "Hey, if you build something broken, we'll accept it. We will patch it ourselves with our own time, energy and money. On top of that, we'll create a new market for accessories!". This is a side effect of "Release it now, we'll fix it later" and "The people will tolorate added cost for minimal content" mindset that seems to have been growing in the industry as of late.

To take it to the PC analogy. Suppose you purchased a nice, shiny high end video card retail. Today when you pay $500 for the latest offering, you get the card plus a nice fan. Now suppose that they were selling $500 7900GTXs with the fan from a 6200. If you tried to run the damn thing at stock clocks, you're more than likely going to cause it to overheat. So you call your manufacturer and say "Hey what gives, I can't use my card at stock specs?" and they reply "Oh, I hear Zalman makes a heatsink. You should give it a try". "So Wait, you want me to spend another $50 on an after market cooler just to keep it from overheating?" *click*. Wouldn't you be pissed? Its one thing to get a defective item - it happens to us all the time. Its another that an entire product line is defective. Which, if that happens I vote with my wallet and abstain from buying something.

My annoyance is compounded in that consoles are not supposed to require tweaking on the part of the end user. In fact, console manufactuers actively oppose modifications like mod chips, HDD mods and such, as we all know.

In and of itself, is this cooler really a big deal? No, it isn't. I just hate the possibly implications for this kind of behavior. A lot of us here at the [H] have the capability and drive to "do it ourselves", but that doesn't mean we should /have/ to. We are far from the norm when it comes to even basic computer gaming, much less consoles.

 

[zero002021]

i don't see where you find that it requires it ... mine doesn't, it runs fine and i guess so does the few other some odd thousands that own a 360.

QFT.

I've had mine since launch and it's running fine to this day.

 

[dotK]

Thank you Darakian. That's exactly my point. I expect to put an after market heatsink on my high end graphics card. I expect to modify my computer cases for the best cooling. However, I do /not/ expect my consoles to fall under the same category. That's a different experience. Most console owners have reasonable expectations that their consoles work "stock". I have seen three 360s go belly up due to (most likely) thermal issues, which is why I use the word "require". Perhaps it isn't the best choice, but if I was to buy a 360 today I would definately take special precautions (positioning, maybe a few fans, maybe one of the devices in the parent) to give myself a reasonable belief that my investment wouldn't fry itself. Are there people out there that havn't had any problem? Obviously yes, and I'm happy for you guys. However, there seem to be a staggering number of errors.

There's a "staggering" number of issues with any electronic device. However, due to the nature of Sony/Nintendo !!!!!!s they are going to make the issue seem like the 360 is some portable furnace used to test thermal barrier coatings for use in turbines. The 360 does become warm after use but it does not come anywhere close to being excessively hot. I don't think many people know what hot is so they point to any elevated temperature as being too hoy.

You have seen three 360s stop functioning for reasons you don't know. Maybe it was a heat related issue, maybe it was not. Unless you know the reason why they stopped working you're doing little more than just guessing.

I know a lot more than three people with 360s. Strangely enough, none of them have had issues and all work just fine. These 360s have come from a variety of different shipments (the first 4 shipments for sure, unsure on the others).

I once received a crazed PSU that blew up upon install and took A LOT of other parts with it. Did I post everywhere saying that BRAND X sucks and is plagues by problems? No, I knew it was an isolated problem and I was just unlucky.

 

[RanceJustice]

Valid point. Though, I'm not basing my opinion entirely upon my own experiences. The sheer fact that the product is reviewed and marketed to counteract an issue that has been experienced by a disproportionate number of users stands to reason that the problem is larger than it "should" be. That is to say, there are more failing 360s for unknown, possibly heat related issues, compared to say... faulty gamecubes. This is a well known phenomenon, having seen it reported online by media and individuals, as well as seeing it in person. I wish it was only an isolated incident, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I was annoyed when some 4th revision PS2s had issues with misaligned DVD drive lasers. However, I didn't see Lynx or Pelican come out with some USB DVD drive to alleviate the issue either. Sony fixed the problem in the next revisions, and I hope that MS does the same, but thus far I've heard nothing of it.

 

[Erasmus354]

Valid point. Though, I'm not basing my opinion entirely upon my own experiences. The sheer fact that the product is reviewed and marketed to counteract an issue that has been experienced by a disproportionate number of users stands to reason that the problem is larger than it "should" be. That is to say, there are more failing 360s for unknown, possibly heat related issues, compared to say... faulty gamecubes. This is a well known phenomenon, having seen it reported online by media and individuals, as well as seeing it in person. I wish it was only an isolated incident, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I was annoyed when some 4th revision PS2s had issues with misaligned DVD drive lasers. However, I didn't see Lynx or Pelican come out with some USB DVD drive to alleviate the issue either. Sony fixed the problem in the next revisions, and I hope that MS does the same, but thus far I've heard nothing of it.

It has been stated time and time again that the failure rate on the 360 is no higher than any other first run electronics device. Seriously it is getting quite tiresome the nonsense some of these sony and nintendo geeks are throwing out there. It isn't very sensible to make an addon drive to replace the faulty drive in a console, hell it probably isnt possible because the console probably isn't setup to read from an external drive, not to mention bandwidth bottlenecks. However making an accessory like the intercooler is easy. It wasn't made because it is necessary, it was made because Nyko saw an opportunity. That opportunity is all the people who have been made paranoid by the same crazy "OMG YOUR 360 IS GONNA XPLODE!!!!" talk that people have been throwing around forums for months.

This isn't a necessary product, it is a product preying on idiots, and possibly people who want to keep their 360 in a confined space.


For the record, my launch 360 did fail. HOWEVER I know for a fact that it did NOT fail because of heat. However lesser informed people may immediately assume it is a heat related failure due to all the hoopla, so bottom line, dont believe the hype. Oh and the replacement has been running flawlessly ever since I recieved it shortly a week after the launch (fast returns ftw!).

 

[lesman]

I was annoyed when some 4th revision PS2s had issues with misaligned DVD drive lasers. However, I didn't see Lynx or Pelican come out with some USB DVD drive to alleviate the issue either. Sony fixed the problem in the next revisions, and I hope that MS does the same, but thus far I've heard nothing of it.

lol, the reason being is because someone isn't gonna make a thread titled "Hey....my Xbox 360 works!!!one1!" Come on now, if people who's 360's have had no problems made threads about it like people who have broken 360's do, then every forum on the planet would likely be stuffed to the rim in threads titled "My 360 works", and I'd imagine mass server crashes would take place.

 

[Worldhammer]

lol, the reason being is because someone isn't gonna make a thread titled "Hey....my Xbox 360 works!!!one1!" Come on now, if people who's 360's have had no problems made threads about it like people who have broken 360's do, then every forum on the planet would likely be stuffed to the rim in threads titled "My 360 works", and I'd imagine mass server crashes would take place.

Exactly!! It is the simply human nature to bitch to high heaven and feel that you have been personally slighted when you get a defective piece of equipment, or anything else for that matter. Ever go in a restaurant and see a hothead get a screwed up order. They bellow and moan and seem to expect everyone to be offended and leave the restaurant. While they overlook the fact that the place is full of satisfied customers and they are really the small minority.

 

[steviep]

Question, then: why does this product exist if there shouldn't be a market for it?

 

[dotK]

Question, then: why does this product exist if there shouldn't be a market for it?

http://cgi.ebay.com/PS2-SLIM-COOLIN...itemZ8270263790QQcategoryZ11319QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/GameCube-Cooler...itemZ8278531381QQcategoryZ20389QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Erasmus354]

Question, then: why does this product exist if there shouldn't be a market for it?

Its not that there isn't a market for it, it is that there is no technical necessity for it. As with the PS2 slim cooler, what about the multitude of laptop coolers. How about aftermarket coolers for regular computers. There is no NEED for any of it, but because people will buy it there is a market for it.

EDIT : Lol at that Gamecube cooler. I guess because there is an aftermarket Gamecube cooler then gamecubes are overheating furnaces which will die without extra cooling!!!111!11one

 

[HardOCP News]

Question, then: why does this product exist if there shouldn't be a market for it?

This is the EXACT REASON these types of product sell....HYPE.

Legitimate Xbox 360 Owner: Crap, my 360 overheated...I had to send back, this sucks.

Non 360 owner in anymous forum: I hear Xbox 360 catch your house on fire!!!

200 other lemmings chime in: I KNEW IT, TEH M$ SUXBOX 360 RAPPED YUO!!

The media pics up on it...200 tards turn into 20,000 news headlines.

Walk into any BestBuy or GameStop and the sales people will tell you "TEH 360 KILLS PEOPLE FROM HEAT RADIATION"....

Online "journalist" claim they have a 95% Xbox 360 failure rate and that the return process is terrible!!!!

Company A sees an opportunity to capitalize on the hysteria, cranks out $7 product, charges $20.

All of this despite the facts:

6 months and 4 million consoles later the official number of console failure is under 3% as reported by MS in their financial statement. Microsoft Home Entertainment Division just posted their financial numbers, revenue is up 85% due to the Xbox 360 (first time in forever).

Turn around time on consoles that are in need of repair is easily one of the fastest in the business (show me any company that overnights your stuff TO and FROM at no cost to you)

There have been NO recalls like everyone predicted. Where are all the doomsayers now? I'll tell you where they are, digging up articles like this and screaming I TOLD YOU SO!!!!

Obviously the forums experts are right, Microsoft has lied on their financial statements to cover up the massive 2 million molten 360s that have killed people. It is all a big conspiracy and because Nyko made a $20 cooling fan (that looks pretty cool) it must be true!

Just because someone said it in a forum somewhere doesn't make it true.

 

[Rich Tate]

^^See that's the radiation sickness talking there.

Seriously though, Steve watercooled an Xbox because he wanted too. Companies realize there are a certain group of people who will mod just about anything and are making a product to assist those people, period, case closed, end of story.

Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinions, but as Steve said the numbers don't lie. It's a good console, it's selling well and the issue rate is low to on par with that of a typical console launch.

*EDIT* I just thought of another point here to consider. The stock heatsink and fan that comes with your new CPU serves its purpose correct? Then why do we see 5 or 6 reviews every day on new types of cooling solutions? Simply because people may want another option, or perhaps they want to OC a little and therefore require an additional solution. Nobody is making these things because the stock ones aren't adequate at suggested settings, but because there are people out there who like to customize.

 

[lesman]

Steve and Rich Tate, 2 words:

Thank you!!!

 

[amdgamer]

Steve and Rich Tate, 2 words:

Thank you!!!

Yup, well said. People also like to customize as Rich stated. Look at all of those hacked up Honda Civic's driven around with bumble bee mufflers, huge rims with rubber band tires, and spoilers that are taller than the roof of the car?


Also, this thing get's warm, but i've said this many times before. This thing isn't putting out hardly any more heat than a Dell Laptop with a 3.6ghz Pentium 4 chip. Put that laptop into a cubby hole, and let's see how long it lasts. You can't break the laws of physics, and you can't just make heat disappear. I now have 4 friends with a X360, with 2 of them owning a launch day unit just like me. One of them even waited in line with me at a Walmart supercenter out in the middle of nowhere. None of us have had any problems, and heat hasn't been a problem. When you are packing this kind of horsepower, creating this kind of heat, you can't just stick somewhere in a cubby hole with no ventilation. I'm honestly impressed with the build quality on these things, as they have been solid.

 

[steviep]

Oh, customizing PCs is a hobby of mine, as many on the [H]. I fully agree people like to mod things, usually to OC Of course, the marketers of the product claim it as a necessity (as all marketers do, LOL at the Gamecube cooler), but if the article is anything to go by, the IGN offices seems to be having to deal a lot of dead XBoxes (and long turnaround times)... which I'm sure is why they posted such a half-assed yet positive review. It gives them peace of mind, I guess

 

[Erasmus354]

Oh, customizing PCs is a hobby of mine, as many on the [H]. I fully agree people like to mod things, usually to OC Of course, the marketers of the product claim it as a necessity (as all marketers do, LOL at the Gamecube cooler), but if the article is anything to go by, the IGN offices seems to be having to deal a lot of dead XBoxes (and long turnaround times)... which I'm sure is why they posted such a half-assed yet positive review. It gives them peace of mind, I guess

Over in the Overclocking and Cooling forum I would probably say something like : "These reviewers dont know their ass from a fan." Thats how bad the review was.

 

[Darakian]

...I just thought of another point here to consider. The stock heatsink and fan that comes with your new CPU serves its purpose correct? Then why do we see 5 or 6 reviews every day on new types of cooling solutions? Simply because people may want another option, or perhaps they want to OC a little and therefore require an additional solution. Nobody is making these things because the stock ones aren't adequate at suggested settings, but because there are people out there who like to customize.

...
High end comp in a cubby hole as most of us build those ourselfs (thus we have say over how much heat is produced) a console cannot be tailor made.

How many people stick a new heatsink on a dell?

 

[HardOCP News]

...the IGN offices seems to be having to deal a lot of dead XBoxes (and long turnaround times)... which I'm sure is why they posted such a half-assed yet positive review. It gives them peace of mind, I guess

I did notice that too. Why they couldn't test the temperature like we did is beyond me as well. It is EASY to do, you just need to be willing to crack that 360 open.

 

[Trimlock]

Why should a console be so hot as to even give rise to a third party cooling device?

no precedence for it was made, hell they made a cooler for the freakin Nintendo, did it over heat? i had that thing in a halfway rotted wooden drawer for a little over 3 years and it never overheated, but one add in the nintendo magazine had an advertisement for a set that would keep your unit cooled ... boggling at best.

either way, this is a product, most likely not set to take over big time, and will most likely only gain capital on the people who buy into the hype that the heat put out by the 360 will kill your dog and steal your wife

the Xbox was probably the coolest running console ive ever had, and i lay witness to a few people who modded their own for water cooling, why do it? why mod a case, its to be different and do something different, is that the intentions for this product? probably not, but it also doesn't classify the 360 as a ginormous heat producing monster either

 

[cfull]

I dunno. I have my xbox360 sitting on top of my entertainment center, not in it, and i can tell after playing for an hour or so the temperature in the room is noticeably warmer. That sucker DOES pour out the heat.

 

[Zoramac]

How many people stick a new heatsink on a dell?

The question should be, how many people would - if there was a product available and was just as easy to install? i already have laptop coolers for all my laptops (except work ones) but they are a pita to use (wires always in the way, always comming apart, have to move both together, etc.) now if only someone could make a universal one that would actually attach to a laptop

 

[steviep]

I did notice that too. Why they couldn't test the temperature like we did is beyond me as well. It is EASY to do, you just need to be willing to crack that 360 open.

The only thing I can think of is that they didn't want to void their warranties? But it's IGN... they've got money pouring out of their XBoxes, they shouldn't be afraid to crack one open for the sake of being thorough. They should re-do that review with their own temp readings.

 

[dotK]

The question should be, how many people would - if there was a product available and was just as easy to install? i already have laptop coolers for all my laptops (except work ones) but they are a pita to use (wires always in the way, always comming apart, have to move both together, etc.) now if only someone could make a universal one that would actually attach to a laptop

Very few people would bother to install a custom cooling system on a Dell. People just want to get a system that works and don't really worry about it.