Is Removing The XBOX Drive The Key to Optimal Performance?

[@NiteJerk]

I appreciate all OG Xbox content.

[@Jobobn1998]

While the data definitely does show that the DVD drive means the heatsinks don't lose heat as effectively, I think the test could have been a bit more thorough by letting each test run until you hit the temp that each setup stabilizes at. Not strictly necessary, but it'd have been a little more thorough and could have shown an even wider temperature range. Still, good information to have, man! Thanks for the video!

[@AlDim000]

The GPU result isn't surprising at all considering 1.0 has the silly little fan blowing right at the bottom of the DVD drive. You should try this with a 1.1-1.6 system that has the updated heatsink design as it allows the natural airflow of the case to go through the GPU heatsink.

[@fu1r4]

The fan will not blow up against the DVD drive. It will blow against the heatsink. I do agree that this test should have been done on some of the higher versions.

[@AlDim000]

@@fu1r4 Yeah, fair point, for whatever reason I haven't paid enough attention to the airflow direction. It still upsets the airflow of the case though.

[@MotownBatman]

20 Years ago, Unless you had a ModChip that allowed the BIOS to Skip the DVD Seek... I among many others in the Xbox Forums, would take a DVD drive, Drive-Board off the DVD Drive and plug it into the connections. You would have to secure it inside, but it technically would recognize the Drive and Open Up all the Extra Room

[@ModzvilleUSA]

Great video! Would be interesting to see what the results yield with more time.

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks! A few others have said the same, I guess this one may get a part 2. I'm a fan of your work and I have learned a lot from you.

[@ModzvilleUSA]

@@RetroRenegadeRepairs hell yeah and thank you! I found your channel recently with all the wild BGA cpu upgrades. Super impressive stuff! Keep up the good work, your content is awesome 🫡

[@henshin587]

Well, the results are...completely as expected. Also, haven't encountered an Xbox which overheats after changing the thermal paste

[@SalmonJonesTheMagnificent]

I have. It was failing capacitors that was the culprit. Getting it recapped fixed the overheating.

[@sokmunky4104]

You should play around with the uncommon mod of putting a desktop drive into an xbox. There are a few models that can be modded to work in the xbox by flashing the bios and soldering on some components. Might be an interesting video.

[@haggis_hunter9870]

So I have removed all the metal case & dvd/hdd plastics from my 1.6 crystal, added ssd MakeMhz Stella and HD+.. Standard fan - I wish my pc could run that cool. No over heating isses with even bare bones.

[@KingKrouch]

Recently bought a 1.6 console, noticed that the disc drive didn't read games (Whereas the seller claimed that it couldn't open the disc tray), and for some reason when I opened the console, the disc drive completely lacked screws over the top tray. I wonder how hard it is to buy a replacement DVD drive considering they're failing left and right now, and if it's even worth doing at this point.

[@bryancampbell4604]

Do you work on 360s?

[@ronny332]

The whole fun fact of playing retro games (for me) is to feel the real hardware working. Getting rid of the dvd drive kills a lot of the nostalgia. Playing from hard drive or even an ide>sata ssd would let make me more play on a emulator as on an OGXbox.

[@SalmonJonesTheMagnificent]

Lots of the DVD drives are just plain broken and they're stupid expensive to replace, which is why I just ditched mine and put it on a hard drive. Xbox without DVD drive or a useless broken Xbox, easy choice.

[@Hellraiser988]

That doesn't even make any sense

[@coppermine733]

I agree that the console doesn't feel complete without a working optical drive, but I pretty much exclusively play games from an SSD for performance reasons, homebrew, etc. I even understand and share nostalgia and appreciation of optical drives mechanically and functionally, but who doesn't want faster loading times?

[@jjohnson71958]

heck id give it a coolermaster heatsink/fan

[@madmax2069]

Lmao, 100f (38c) is barely even warm when you're looking at it from the PC world. Heck many PCs idle above that temp. PCs usually run at around 150f-170f (65c-76c) and sometimes even hotter if you include modern intel CPUs.

[@bryancampbell4604]

@@madmax2069 Do what? My PC runs around 40°F....

[@jamesdavies686]

FYI the custom dashboard should read cpu and ambient temp

[@Zoomer.88]

Not in-game though, if I remember correctly

[@Antzmacadamia]

38 degrees C for a console is fine. PS4 sounding like a jet fighter engine at 65C is what needs your therapy

[@madmax2069]

Heck that's lower than most PCs idle temps

[@lookitskazzy]

This isn't surprising whatsoever. You get the same problem with the Dreamcast because you're removing the GDROM and thus changing the cooling & airflow characteristics inside the shell. Furthermore, the power rail continues to draw voltage for the drive that doesn't get used, so it gets dissipated as heat... further raising temps. Might need to put a 3D printed tray in there to better mimic the interior still having a CD drive installed. Or even just put the original tray back in and test it again. I bet it'll run a few degrees cooler. I'm not an engineer, just spitballing based on anecdotal observations.

[@inputfunny]

I get it, but if someone is going to worry about 7 degrees difference, they may as well switch to PC gaming. Real console gamers don't worry about these tiny things. Lol. Good video though.

[@Jobobn1998]

Well, we don't know what the temperatures stabilize at, since it was only a five-minute test. After running for an hour, the temperature range could be much wider--which does have implications for the longevity of the (already very aged) console.

[@bigdillan9612]

Keeping temps low is important to the longevity of our console.

[@davidb.6681]

"Real console gamers don't worry about these tiny little things" 1.) That makes you sound extremely ignorant, arrogant and immature. 2.) People that care about their consoles do take it seriously and it's not a "tiny thing" to them. If you care about your consoles or PC you take the steps to make sure they last and run as best as they can. You sound like part of the "just throw it away and replace it" generation. Believe it or not there are people out there that actually care about their possessions and take care of them by learning how to themselves or taking them to a guy like this channel here and having it done.

[@inputfunny]

@@bigdillan9612 7 degrees Fahrenheit isn't going to matter much if at all on a chip that's rated for much higher temperatures. It's a non-issue.

[@inputfunny]

@@davidb.6681 That's fine. I clean the dust out of my consoles so they don't overheat, but 7 degrees Fahrenheit difference is a non-issue. Lol. I'm just saying if you're going to worry about these tiny, miniscule things, you might as well just switch over to PC, because they care more about that kind of thing. Console gaming is about plug and play, not worrying about the tiny things. Just play the games man, and clean out the dust every once in a blue moon.

[@jareddoesstuff358]

Those GPU fans on the 1.0 suck so much and are so noisy. I'd recommend replacing with a passive heatsink if you have any extras laying around.

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Agreed. I've seen too many fans die on these old 1.0 consoles.

[@eileenlucynakurosawa7421]

I actually did it, saw so many recommendations online, yet the result was awful. Temperature on GPU was too much with short time. The passive heatsink couldn't be touched with bare hand, got really hot, I've never seen this kind of heat on original Xbox before. Definitely NOT healthy. Main fan working well of course, nothing broken inside or blocking air so, Idk what happened. Of course, applied new thermal paste and good cleaning but console GPU got too much heat. I'm using the stock heatsink with a serviced fan and temperature is very good, even in demanding games and warm weather and not noisy at all but more than newer revision systems like the 1.6 being the most quiet.

[@jareddoesstuff358]

There does seem to be a bit more heat venting out the back of my 1.0 with a passive heatsink installed compared to a newer revision. But I've put a few playthroughs of KOTOR on that console since then and haven't run into any issues yet.

[@jeff15]

true that. i had to replaced a few with noctua fans. super low noise.

[@fu1r4]

The only good thing with Fahrenheit is when it is -40 😊 The GPU has its own fan. You have to use a version without its own fan when the back fan will cool both the CPU and GPU.

[@gamergod9182]

for those who need actually relevant numbers: it's all in the high-30°C / low -40°C range.

[@keir92]

C is superior