Breaking open the Xbox 360 brick issue

Although Microsoft has dished out US$ 1.2 billion to repair Xbox 360 units, they refuse to reveal what actually causes the hardware failure that crashes the console. This prompted the folks at Nikkei Electronics, wanting to get to the bottom of things, to start their own investigation.

Their experiment consisted of two consoles: one bought at the end of 2005 and another that experienced a hardware failure and was repaired last May. The experiment focused on hardware malfunctions caused by heat for two reasons: the Xbox 360 is prone to overheat and that it makes a snapping noise consistent with hardware damage caused by overheating when it breaks down.

Cracking open the console that hasn’t been repaired, they found that the heat sink for the graphics LSI is too small for its role. They surmise that proper design was compromised to make room for the DVD drive. The resulting consequence is that the LSI’s temperature goes way up real fast. The cooling fan, according to their expert, is not big enough in relation to the size of the chassis.

The experiment was done in a cool and clean environment, meaning no dust and no extra heat, but the LSI still rose to 70 degrees Celsius. They believe that in worse conditions it could go up to 100 degrees. They conclude that the LSI may very well be what is causing the hardware failure.

When they opened up the second Xbox, the one repaired last May, they found no difference whatsoever in the design of the heat sink and cooling fan.

Via Tech On

Although Microsoft has dished out US$ 1.2 billion to repair Xbox 360 units, they refuse to reveal what actually causes the hardware failure that crashes the console. This prompted the folks at Nikkei Electronics, wanting to get to the bottom of things, to start their own investigation.

Their experiment consisted of two consoles: one bought at the end of 2005 and another that experienced a hardware failure and was repaired last May. The experiment focused on hardware malfunctions caused by heat for two reasons: the Xbox 360 is prone to overheat and that it makes a snapping noise consistent with hardware damage caused by overheating when it breaks down.

Cracking open the console that hasn’t been repaired, they found that the heat sink for the graphics LSI is too small for its role. They surmise that proper design was compromised to make room for the DVD drive. The resulting consequence is that the LSI’s temperature goes way up real fast. The cooling fan, according to their expert, is not big enough in relation to the size of the chassis.

The experiment was done in a cool and clean environment, meaning no dust and no extra heat, but the LSI still rose to 70 degrees Celsius. They believe that in worse conditions it could go up to 100 degrees. They conclude that the LSI may very well be what is causing the hardware failure.

When they opened up the second Xbox, the one repaired last May, they found no difference whatsoever in the design of the heat sink and cooling fan.

Via Tech On