I picked up an Xbox 360. Are they supposed to be loud?

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deanx0r

Senior member
Oct 1, 2002
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I grabbed an Xbox 360 Elite from a yard sale and powered it for the first time. The noise on that thing is deafening. Is it supposed to be normal? It seems to be going going full blast and I haven't even loaded a game on it yet.

I don't think it's been modded, but I might pop it open later to confirm.
 
sweenish

sweenish

Diamond Member
May 21, 2013
3,656
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Being an elite, it could also be full of dust, making it even louder.

A cleaning could drop the volume a little, but 360's run loud.
 
Drako

Drako

Lifer
Jun 9, 2007
10,697
161
106
My Jasper 360 is quieter than my PS4, without a disk spinning anyway. :\

First gen was loud as hell. :(
 
mmntech

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
The fans in the early 360s are pretty small. That's why they're so loud. Was also why they kept overheating.

I remember the early PS3s weren't exactly quiet either. Though because they had a bigger fan, they took longer to cook themselves to death. The 90nm process era was a rough one.
 
sweenish

sweenish

Diamond Member
May 21, 2013
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DaveSimmons said:
Second gen = loud too.

Jasper = not exactly quiet, but not bad.

Deafening = hyperbole :)
Click to expand...

I never said second gen wasn't loud.

With the exception, of the latest slim, I've had some experience with each generation of 360. They're all loud when playing off disc. Installing to HDD was a boon in that regard.
 
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DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
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sweenish said:
I never said second gen wasn't loud.

With the exception, of the latest slim, I've had some experience with each generation of 360. They're all loud when playing off disc. Installing to HDD was a boon in that regard.
Click to expand...

Very good point about installing to HDD. My jasper's disc drive is really loud, but with install to HDD it only spins up once for a disc check.
 
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deanx0r

Senior member
Oct 1, 2002
890
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The Xbox 360 is the only system in the living room with a fan on it. I feel bad for console gamers who had to put up with this noise. I think it just takes away from the overall experience.

Has anyone tried mods or replacement fans to render their Xbox quieter?
 
poofyhairguy

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
14,612
318
126
There are replacement fans, but the issue is any fan that small is going to be loud if it pushes air. They aren't really better, they are more for adding colors.

As far as mods some people have tried to turn down the fan speed, but you risk RROD. I did the opposite, I modded mine to run at max because I am on my third 360.
 
TeknoBug

TeknoBug

Platinum Member
Oct 2, 2013
2,084
31
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I got my 360 back in 2008 (after Falcon chip revision) and yes it's pretty loud. I literally don't hear my PS4 unless it's spinning a disc inside, and since the XB1 is directly under the TV and I sit feet away from the TV, I can hear the fan on the XB1 (it blows to the top).
 
mmntech

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
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If you're feeling adventurous, you could cut open the side of the case and attach a 120mm fan to it.

Personally, I wouldn't even touch the cream ones. Least not pre-Japser anyway. Slims are so much better. Though for one picked up cheap at a yard sale, guess the OP can't complain.
 
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deanx0r

Senior member
Oct 1, 2002
890
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I popped the unit open yesterday. I was hoping the fans and heat sinks would be clogged with dust to clean up, but the internals were immaculate. I was hoping the fan was modded to 12V so I might be able to revert it back to its stock 5V, but it appears to be totally stock. The logic board seems to be been modified or repaired. I have noticed wires soldered on it.

I am wondering if I should just pick up the slim version. But for 50 bucks, I think I am gonna try to slap on a 120mm fan on it first and see how it goes first.
 
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deanx0r

Senior member
Oct 1, 2002
890
20
76
I really meant it when I said the fan noise was deafening. I compared a friend's fat Xbox and it was no where near as loud as mine. I ended up pulling a multimeter and read 11.91V from that fan connection.

Looking around for various 12V fan mods online, I found the culprit sitting on the backside of the logic board. I undid this mod. It is now much quieter.

AtREP4I.jpg


While I had the box open, I cut a hole on the side with a dremel and I added an extra 120mm fan I had lying around. It should help with cooling, but I might add a resistor on the fan as it is now louder than the silenced stock xbox fans.

NwYDfxW.jpg


There are other wires running along the logic board that I found no documentation about online which are from either from a repair or a modchip, but I found no modchip attached to the logic board. Can anyone chime in?

4dKOi3z.jpg
 
Sonikku

Sonikku

Lifer
Jun 23, 2005
15,848
4,783
136
The pre slim 360 models were horribly designed. They basically planted a beastly hot gpu RIGHT underneath the disk drive, utterly choking air flow. And they had a funnel around it that the tiny fans in the back far to the other side of the box could pull air from there, but they were so far away and so tiny that the cooling was barely adequte for a basic non video card PC.

You can mod them to put in bigger fans that don't need to spin as fast to move as much air. You can also put better paste down on the gpu and remove that cheap putty they put on it, and untighten some of the screws so the motherboard isn't so warped.

awful design all around.
 
mmntech

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
Sonikku said:
The pre slim 360 models were horribly designed. They basically planted a beastly hot gpu RIGHT underneath the disk drive, utterly choking air flow. And they had a funnel around it that the tiny fans in the back far to the other side of the box could pull air from there, but they were so far away and so tiny that the cooling was barely adequte for a basic non video card PC.
Click to expand...

64-bit PowerPC chips from that era were hot, power hungry beasts. Most likely a major factor in why Apple ditched them. They couldn't be used in laptops or other tightly enclosed systems.

The original 360's heatsinks were too small, the fans were too small, and there wasn't enough ventilation. Just a recipe for disaster.

The Fat PS3s had a similar issue. They had a big heatsink and blower, but virtually no air flow at the top of the case. That's where the internal power supply was, which was entirely passively cooled. Damn things would get hot enough to burn yourself on. Cooked the back of the motherboard until the solder became brittle.
 
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