![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Tuesday , January 03, 2006
- Author:
- Steve Lynch
- Google +1
Water Cooled Xbox 360
The world's first water cooled Xbox 360! A full Xbox 360 breakdown that will show you how it is done easily.
Once the top of the case is removed, you will see the large CPU heat pipe heat sink, DVD drive, and a large white shroud that ducts cool air across the CPU/GPU heat sinks. The DVD drive easily lifts out of the way revealing the large, flat, aluminum GPU heat sink. You can either disconnect the SATA and power cables from the drive or the motherboard. Next, remove the white plastic shroud by lifting it up and away from the heat sinks and fans.
Next, on the front of the case you will see the USB RF unit and “ring of power” light assembly. Remove the two small screws in the RF unit and pull the assembly away from the case to disconnect it from the USB connector. You are now ready to remove the motherboard. Turn the assembly over and remove all of the remaining screws from the bottom of the steel case and remove the motherboard.
On the back side of the motherboard you will see two large “X” shaped heat sink retention mechanisms. The “X” design uses tension to hold the heat sink in place; you must use your needle nose pliers to gently pry the clip mechanism up and over the heat sink retention studs. I recommend doing one side at a time (versus a cross pattern) to make removal easier. With the retention clip removed, the heat sink can now be removed.
You have now completed the disassembly portion of this mod. Let’s take a look at what you are going to need for the water cooling portion.
Water Cooling The Xbox 360:
For the water cooling components we needed we turned to our friends at Koolance. Koolance not only builds some of the best self-contained water cooling kits on the planet (see our Koolance PC3-720BK, EXOS AI, Original EXOS, and our original Xbox H20 article), but also sell all the high performance, low profile parts we will need for this mod.
We used:
Two GPU-180-L06 video/GPU water blocks (link)
One HX-360 radiator (link)
One Control Board (link)
One 120mm fan (link)
One PC2 Reservoir w/pumps (link)
One LED display panel (link)
12ft of 3/8” hose
Standard 110v to 12v wall adapter
The water cooling mods will be handled in two parts, the console itself and the water cooling unit. Let’s start off with the console modifications.
Microsoft made this project a whole lot easier by using four mounting holes around the CPU and four around the GPU to secure the heat sinks. We intentionally chose low profile water blocks from Koolance that are specifically designed to take advantage of this type of mounting method. We started out test fitting the blocks to make sure there was no interference with other motherboard components.
Test fitting also allows us to measure the length of tubing needed for in between the CPU and GPU blocks. It took a few attempts at trimming to get the tubing length perfect, but once we did, it was time to apply thermal compound and attach the cooling blocks. Once the cooling blocks are attached to the motherboard, turn your attention back to the stamped steel case.
There is a perfect space, right above the video header/port, to drill two ˝ holes for the tubes to enter/exit the case. You will need to drill the outer casing as well, but it is best to do this while both halves of the case are together as it is more rigid this way and easier to drill. We used 3/8” two way compression fittings that allow us to connect the short lengths of tubing from the blocks to the stamped steel case. The outside of the fitting protrudes out the back of the plastic clamshell where we attached the outer lengths of tubing that go to the external water cooling unit via compression fittings. There are other locations at the top and bottom of the console that can be used as well, but we chose this location because it allows for the Xbox to be used either lying down or in the upright position.
