Sam
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Update - I bought this Xbox last night... 
It comes with a 60GB hard drive as well (is a James Bond "Quantum of Solace" pack according to the box).
I've got it upright and everything seems to work first time?  Although it seems a little on the loud side (fan) - are they all like that?
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Brett
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They're not quiet anyway, but the volume is dependent on amount of dust on the heatsink and the state of the original paste.
[Edited on 02-04-2011 by loafofbrett]
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Sam
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OK I take back what I said... One of the games doesn't seem to load... 
Getting a guy local to me to change the laser on the DVD drive for £30. Microsoft wanted £68 to do the same job... 
I was going to apply some new thermal paste to the CPU/GPU but annoyingly I don't have a T8 torx screwdriver to remove the heatsink screws with! 
So, I am going to order one of them and some better fans off eBay today and hopefully towards the end of next week I will have a fully working and modded Xbox!
On an unreleated note - I noticed the HDD is a 2.5" laptop item - can I simply remove it and put in a bigger one, or does it need to be flashed with some special Microsoft firmware?
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Sam
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Quick update - didn't need a new laser after all, just had to have the "pot" adjusted on the laser, £10 (although I've seen how he does it so I can now do it myself in the future for free)!
I also stripped the 360 down (those X clamps are a bastard to get off ) and I have discovered why it ran so hot/fans were on full whack all the time:
After getting rid of what was left of the original thermal paste, I cleaned everything up (this took AGES!):
Then I applied some Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste and put it all back together.
Now the fans just run at a normal speed. DVD drive is quite loud though, but nothing I can do about that apart from installing the games to the hard drive and running them off there. 
[Edited on 04-04-2011 by Sam]
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Brett
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Bear in mind, if you're buying "whisper fans" off ebay for it, they're actually louder.
Also, the resistance on the laser can only go so far. Why is it loud? Not the sound the laser reading loudly? If so, I hope the guy used a multimeter as if it is that then it's set too high for sure and won't last long.
Good job tho Although I've been telling you it's a 2.5" SATA for ages
Also, what did you use to strip the old paste? WD40 does it in a few seconds usually.
EDIT: T5 to remove the heatsinks too iirc.
[Edited on 04-04-2011 by loafofbrett]
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Sam
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Yes I've been reading mixed reviews about these Whisper fans. On my server I removed the shitty PSU fan and replaced it with a Nexus fan (and same for the CPU fan also) and they seem really quiet, so I'm tempted to buy another stock 360 fan set, remove the fans and fit some Nexus ones to it then install them.
The DVD loudness is only when it's playing something, it makes no noise when it's idle.
I used isopropyl alcohol (99% I think it was) and some cotton buds to remove the old paste. Normally old paste isn't too difficult to remove but Microsoft have used some cheap shite which seemed quite tacky/rubber like.
Edit: forgot to say, the guy did use a multimeter on the DVD drive yes, and he lowered the resistance. Forza still doesn't play, but then it's a bit scratched and it didn't work in his 360 either. He tried some 'graphic intensive' games like COD on my 360 and it loaded without a problem.
[Edited on 04-04-2011 by Sam]
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Brett
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I'd do that with the fans personally, as you can always add your own LEDs if you're that way inclined. Those Talismoons aren't what they're cracked up to be.
If it's the laser that's loud and high pitched mate then the resistance has been set too low. Shouldn't be set to less than 3.2Kohm. I'm baffled why you paid someone tbh lol
I usually soak it in WD for 5mins then it just wipes off no problem. Saying that, I would've used alcohol had I ever bothered buying some.
[Edited on 04-04-2011 by loafofbrett]
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Sam
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Not arsed about LEDs TBH, just want a quieter 360!
The laser is OK I think, the drive is made by Lite-On and in my experience their drives are quite loud anyway - I remember working on a Packard Bell PC recently with a Lite-On drive in it, sounded like it was about to take off!
The laser doesn't make a high pitched sound, just loud when the disc is spinning. I paid someone because I never opened up an optical drive before and didn't want a laser burning a hole in my eyes because of something I did wrong PMSL
Apparently Philips/BenQ drives are meant to be the quietest for the 360, but I CBA dumping DVD keys and doing PCB hacks etc.
[Edited on 04-04-2011 by Sam]
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Brett
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Did he actually use a multimeter tho or just turn it blindly? Just wondering.
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Sam
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quote:
Originally posted by loafofbrett
Did he actually use a multimeter tho or just turn it blindly? Just wondering.
He used a multimeter. He's actually an electrical engineer, does this sort of thing as a "hobby" apparently. I think he set the resistance to 4.8 from 5.2, something like that.
[Edited on 04-04-2011 by Sam]
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Brett
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Wow, not much, surprised you noticed a difference then lol Looks like you've got a way to go then if that's the right figure.
I'd deffo do the alternative fan method tho. Post some pics up when you're done. Think it's 60mm you need. Could do the fan shroud mod too whilst you're at it, if cooling is your goal.
[Edited on 04-04-2011 by loafofbrett]
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Sam
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Well I'll see how I get on, the other 3 games seem to work OK and the ones he tried from his collection were a bit scratched and they worked in it too.
I'll definately post some pics up and do before/after videos with sound to compare. Maybe even an oil painting or two.
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Brett
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Make the pics a reasonable size next time too
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N3CRO
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Forget exactly what I used to clean Microshafts crappy thermal paste.
It was either white spirit or I used white spirit to get the chips looking shiny and something else to clean off the paste.
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Sam
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quote:
Originally posted by loafofbrett
Make the pics a reasonable size next time too
I thought they were!
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