Nyko Technologies 86022 Intercooler for Xbox 360 Black

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Nyko Technologies 86022 Intercooler for Xbox 360 Black

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Nyko Technologies 86022 Intercooler for Xbox 360 Black

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simple test.

I will give you some more specific number. When I measured the temperature of the 360's case (on top when laid on its side) where both the CPU and GPU are located side by side I got a reading of 109° Fahrenheit to 114° Fahrenheit. This was after playing Halo 3 for roughly 3 hours non-stop. After installing the Nyko Intercooler EX, I played Halo 3 yet again for roughly 3 hours. The CPU area measured 90° Fahrenheit to 101° Fahrenheit. These lower numbers are not staggering by any means, but the EX is doing its job by reducing heat. If you want drastic heat reductions look elsewhere.

The point is the EX provided a substantial amount of cooling, rather venting, to the 360.

Just to clarify for the people out there: The EX does not blow air into the 360: The Intercooler EX uses three fans lined in exhaust mode. This means the EX pulls the hot air from the already existing two fans inside the 360. In simpler terms, the EX fans pulling the heat being blown onto my hands is a lot warmer than just the 360's fans alone. Remember that this is a good thing: more heat being exhausted from the 360 means a cooler 360.

One more note. The 360 game discs and DVD's that pop out of the tray are now room temperature instead of either warm or hot thanks to the EX.

Will this prevent my Elite from bricking on me in the future? Who knows?

I purchased the two year extended warranty from Microsoft, so I am not concerned.

Only time will tell how long my 360 will last, but for $20 and active cooling you cannot go wrong.

I will update my review in the future if anything "unexpected" happens to my 360 with the use of the EX.

Nyko Technologies 86022 Intercooler for Xbox 360 Black

...

simple test.



I will give you some more specific number. When I measured the temperature of the 360's case (on top when laid on its side) where both the CPU and GPU are located side by side I got a reading of 109° Fahrenheit to 114° Fahrenheit. This was after playing Halo 3 for roughly 3 hours non-stop. After installing the Nyko Intercooler EX, I played Halo 3 yet again for roughly 3 hours. The CPU area measured 90° Fahrenheit to 101° Fahrenheit. These lower numbers are not staggering by any means, but the EX is doing its job by reducing heat. If you want drastic heat reductions look elsewhere.



The point is the EX provided a substantial amount of cooling, rather venting, to the 360.



Just to clarify for the people out there: The EX does not blow air into the 360: The Intercooler EX uses three fans lined in exhaust mode. This means the EX pulls the hot air from the already existing two fans inside the 360. In simpler terms, the EX fans pulling the heat being blown onto my hands is a lot warmer than just the 360's fans alone. Remember that this is a good thing: more heat being exhausted from the 360 means a cooler 360.



One more note. The 360 game discs and DVD's that pop out of the tray are now room temperature instead of either warm or hot thanks to the EX.



Will this prevent my Elite from bricking on me in the future? Who knows?



I purchased the two year extended warranty from Microsoft, so I am not concerned.



Only time will tell how long my 360 will last, but for $20 and active cooling you cannot go wrong.



I will update my review in the future if anything "unexpected" happens to my 360 with the use of the EX.

Nyko Technologies 86022 Intercooler for Xbox 360 Black

...

a resistor. By putting an extra resistor between the 360 and the power supply, you are creating an unexpected voltage drop before the power even gets into the 360. Less voltage = less power.

2. The 360 is a computer, not an appliance. It has a motherboard, drives, and all that fancy stuff. Inside a computer, power goes into 2 places: motherboard and drives. Drives are fairly tollerant to power fluctuations. Hence, you can put fans and other devices in the same power line as a hard drive or optical drive without too much issue (up to a point). The motherboard and all components on it, are far more sensitive to fluctuations. Therefore, power coming in first runs through a regulator on the motherboard. These regulators expect a certain amount of voltage and current. Power that comes out of these regulators is clean and at the right amount. By reducing the amount of power going into the regulators, not enough power can be supplied to the components, causing damage. Ultimately, this can lead to failure

3. While the power supply is rated for 203 watts, anyone who has built a computer knows that the rating usually means the peak power the supply can put out. The constant output is typically lower than that. Under no circumstances should the power supply be constantly run at the peak power (unless explicitly stated, like an Antec TruPower). Given this, the supply can easily supply the ~180 watts necessary for 360 peak performance. It can probably safely supply somewhere up to 185-190 watts. Any more than that and the supply will become unstable if constantly asked for that load.

Misconception that I've seen all over: "The 360 can power all these extra devices like battery chargers and wired controllers, why shouldn't it be able to handle a couple fans?"

Reason: The issue isn't if the 360 can handle it, but rather where the fans are placed. All of the peripherals for the 360 are powered by USB, which runs through the motherboard. This means the power is drawn from the board and through the voltage regulator on the board. The board controls where the power is sent. USB power is a standard, and each port is rated for a certain amount. If the draw on a port exceeds the rated amount or there is a short, it shuts off to protect the other components. An external device bypasses all regulation and safety measure.

Nyko Technologies 86022 Intercooler for Xbox 360 Black

...

a resistor. By putting an extra resistor between the 360 and the power supply, you are creating an unexpected voltage drop before the power even gets into the 360. Less voltage = less power.



2. The 360 is a computer, not an appliance. It has a motherboard, drives, and all that fancy stuff. Inside a computer, power goes into 2 places: motherboard and drives. Drives are fairly tollerant to power fluctuations. Hence, you can put fans and other devices in the same power line as a hard drive or optical drive without too much issue (up to a point). The motherboard and all components on it, are far more sensitive to fluctuations. Therefore, power coming in first runs through a regulator on the motherboard. These regulators expect a certain amount of voltage and current. Power that comes out of these regulators is clean and at the right amount. By reducing the amount of power going into the regulators, not enough power can be supplied to the components, causing damage. Ultimately, this can lead to failure



3. While the power supply is rated for 203 watts, anyone who has built a computer knows that the rating usually means the peak power the supply can put out. The constant output is typically lower than that. Under no circumstances should the power supply be constantly run at the peak power (unless explicitly stated, like an Antec TruPower). Given this, the supply can easily supply the ~180 watts necessary for 360 peak performance. It can probably safely supply somewhere up to 185-190 watts. Any more than that and the supply will become unstable if constantly asked for that load.



Misconception that I've seen all over: "The 360 can power all these extra devices like battery chargers and wired controllers, why shouldn't it be able to handle a couple fans?"



Reason: The issue isn't if the 360 can handle it, but rather where the fans are placed. All of the peripherals for the 360 are powered by USB, which runs through the motherboard. This means the power is drawn from the board and through the voltage regulator on the board. The board controls where the power is sent. USB power is a standard, and each port is rated for a certain amount. If the draw on a port exceeds the rated amount or there is a short, it shuts off to protect the other components. An external device bypasses all regulation and safety measure.

Nyko Technologies 86022 Intercooler for Xbox 360 Black

...

the Nyko Intercooler makes noise, it's 3 powerful fans! 90% of the noise is hot air being moved away from the Xbox 360. Try increasing the volume on the TV or speakers and the noise will be washed away.

Power Stealing:
This is what makes me laugh, the majority of you guys think the Nyko Intercooler drains power away from the Xbox 360 causing component failure. When you plug in a wired controller, Ipod, or wireless adapter what do you think those do? Supply power?!?! The Nyko Intercooler in full operation takes up about 4-5 watts of power.
If you look beneath the ugly power supply unit for your Xbox 360 you'll see the output is 203 watts. The Xbox 360 takes up about 140-180 watts when in full operation. Need I explain more? The power supply is supplying additonal overhead power if the need a rises. Did you really think 3 yet powerful fans can cause stress to that big ugly power supply unit? If you did than you need to re-take high school.

Temporary 3 Red Lights:
Another reason to purchase the Intercooler EX is because with the first and second generation Intercooler the power inputs were poorly designed. The Intercooler's male power jack fitted perfectly but the female power input was poorly designed. When you inserted the original power cord into the Intercooler's femal power input immediately you could feel the looseness. The power cord was'nt able to be pulled out unless you squeezed the buttons but the power cord was able to move around in there. With the power cord moving around in the Intercooler's female power input it caused the power cable to lose contact with one of the metal power receivers which immediately turned the Xbox 360 off and the Xbox 360 began to display a false 3 red lights indicating it was'nt receiving enough power. Again with the Intercooler EX the power inputs both male and female are dramatically improved. In the Intercooler EX there is a release button which must be pressed along with pressing the original power cords buttons to release the power cord from the Intercooler.

Permanent 3 Red Lights:
This is where I get kind of frustrated. The majority of you Xbox users blame the 3 red lights on the Intercooler. They are more Xbox 360's dying without the Intercooler than with it. If your Xbox 360 died with the Intercooler attached most likely If you had never bought the Intercooler in the first place your Xbox 360 would have died much sooner.

Nyko Technologies 86022 Intercooler for Xbox 360 Black

...

the Nyko Intercooler makes noise, it's 3 powerful fans! 90% of the noise is hot air being moved away from the Xbox 360. Try increasing the volume on the TV or speakers and the noise will be washed away.



Power Stealing:

This is what makes me laugh, the majority of you guys think the Nyko Intercooler drains power away from the Xbox 360 causing component failure. When you plug in a wired controller, Ipod, or wireless adapter what do you think those do? Supply power?!?! The Nyko Intercooler in full operation takes up about 4-5 watts of power.

If you look beneath the ugly power supply unit for your Xbox 360 you'll see the output is 203 watts. The Xbox 360 takes up about 140-180 watts when in full operation. Need I explain more? The power supply is supplying additonal overhead power if the need a rises. Did you really think 3 yet powerful fans can cause stress to that big ugly power supply unit? If you did than you need to re-take high school.



Temporary 3 Red Lights:

Another reason to purchase the Intercooler EX is because with the first and second generation Intercooler the power inputs were poorly designed. The Intercooler's male power jack fitted perfectly but the female power input was poorly designed. When you inserted the original power cord into the Intercooler's femal power input immediately you could feel the looseness. The power cord was'nt able to be pulled out unless you squeezed the buttons but the power cord was able to move around in there. With the power cord moving around in the Intercooler's female power input it caused the power cable to lose contact with one of the metal power receivers which immediately turned the Xbox 360 off and the Xbox 360 began to display a false 3 red lights indicating it was'nt receiving enough power. Again with the Intercooler EX the power inputs both male and female are dramatically improved. In the Intercooler EX there is a release button which must be pressed along with pressing the original power cords buttons to release the power cord from the Intercooler.



Permanent 3 Red Lights:

This is where I get kind of frustrated. The majority of you Xbox users blame the 3 red lights on the Intercooler. They are more Xbox 360's dying without the Intercooler than with it. If your Xbox 360 died with the Intercooler attached most likely If you had never bought the Intercooler in the first place your Xbox 360 would have died much sooner.