PGA370 Socket Install OG XBOX Holy Grail of XBOX Mods?

In todays episode we install a socket 370 PGA370 and the Intel PIII 1.4Ghz 512K 133MHz processor Tualatin onto the original XBOX console. We'll be achieving the socket 370 attachment with the use of the open source interposer.
We'll be showing comparisons and footage of the 733MHz stock XBOX CPU vs the 1GHz and 1.4GHz CPUs that are in our upgraded machines. Game footage shown: Half-Life 2, Doom 3, Matrix Path of Neo, Surreal64 CE F-zero X, and KI2 arcade.
We know there will be an improvement, but do all of the games benefit from the CPU upgrade? Which games have the most glaring differences between the three CPUs?
Check out our previous CPU video where we install an Intel Slot 1 1GHz CPU onto the Original XBOX:
• Is it Worth it? OG XBO...
Interposer used:
github.com/zzattack/xbox-cpu-...
Would you like us to mod your gaming console or repair it? Inquire at our website: nickselectronics.com/pages/co...
Need some capacitors for your OG XBOX repair needs?
nickselectronics.com/products...
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Supplies and tools we use:
Magnetic Non-Slip Precision Screwdriver Tool Kit 145 in 1: nickselectronics.com/products...
Hakko FX951 Soldering Iron: amzn.to/3FQfyhG
SN63PN37 Leaded Solder: amzn.to/3qScy0d
"ROHS Compliant" Solder: amzn.to/3wAwM3V
Desolder wick: amzn.to/33DAjjy
Kingbo Flux: amzn.to/42YWYBa
STIRRI-V3-TF Soldering Flux: amzn.to/49UcJvt
Hakko FR301 Desolder pump: amzn.to/3IhTKzc
MG Chemicals 4140A Flux Remover: amzn.to/4ayOPGh
Metal Shears: amzn.to/4agzAC4
Linesman Pliers: amzn.to/3IWbe4H
Long nose Pliers: amzn.to/3TXr7y4
Makita Drill Bit Set amzn.to/4cyU2Qf
Dewalt 20V Drill: amzn.to/4aublzY
Tweezer set: amzn.to/3J4Mk2x
HQ Wire Strippers: amzn.to/4afy6YD
Cotton Swabs: amzn.to/43FmJqD
Wipes: amzn.to/4ayK67l
Compressed Air Duster: amzn.to/3JiIZ0h
CPU Upgrade, XBOX, 1Ghz, 733Mhz, Faster, BGA Rework, BGA machine, Reball, Stellar

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Would you like to upgrade your XBOX with a new CPU? Check out our XBOX CPU upgrade service: nickselectronics.com/products/og-xbox-interposer-1-4ghz-cpu-upgrade-service

[@Eric2300jeep]

Good stuff man!

[@GeneralPadron]

There is no evidence that has anything to do with the burial of The Christ. And the ancient Hebrew burial ritual is much like the Egyptian's. They use many small strips of linen soaked in perfumes and oils. Not one large sheet. You are a catholic liar.

[@Soonjai]

Somehow it feels wrong to see Half-Life 2 running smoothly on the XBox. Awesome upgrade.

[@LRK-GT]

It was so smooth I was getting uncanny valley feels, myself. Mind you, I can go play HL2 @ 144fps (displayed) any time, and it doesn't look *that* smooth.

[@JourG215]

The funny thing is the Xbox was a beast in it's day. So imagine what Nintendo and Sony where pushing back then.

[@Chris-yy7qc]

Its crazy how badly HL2 ran. People paid a lot of money for an Xbox and the game and got this...

[@Chris-yy7qc]

@@JourG215 The framerate was never an issue for the N64, because the games where designed to run on this exact hardware. Meanwhile the xbox ran mostly ported windows games. The hardware specs on the Xbox might be superior to the N64. But the N64 was way more optimized.

[@JourG215]

@@Chris-yy7qcok nerd. cope

[@soulshinobi]

8:39 watching the solder wick up the socket legs was incredible.

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Yea, its nice in slow-motion for sure.

[@alperen194]

Bro is going to put a Ryzen 9 one day in that xbox

[@RemasteredStudios]

He needs a 100 watts to do that

[@Ronetic_]

@@RemasteredStudios have u heard of sarcasm also no shit sherlock

[@XWXS2]

and enables 4k with an build in hdmi port

[@LRK-GT]

I was wondering if a Socket 479 Pentium M or Core Solo could be made to work? I know a lot changed in regards to the FSB between Pentium 3 and Pentium M, though... Ideally, the *very* last 32-bit P6-derived single-core CPU: 2007's 65nm 1.83Ghz Celeron Embedded; Sossaman (Yonah derivative) Intel Celeron; 1.83 GHz, 1M Cache, 667Mhz FSB.

[@GamerSuper91]

Him install Intel 14

[@matthiasmartin4355]

Digital Foundry brought me here. Great content and video!

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@gnurken]

Me too. Please see if you can collaborate with foundry for perf testing

[@kevclark8661]

same

[@GreggyAck]

Same. Channel seems great!

[@petrsonTD]

same

[@BK2Modder]

Finally, always wondered why I never saw anyone using one if the interposer designs to not just upgrade the CPU but to install a socket for future easy swaps. Really appreciate you performing this mod and documenting the process as nicely as you did!

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Its really just a matter of knowing your rework machine and adjusting the temps accordingly for the type of application you're working on. Thank you for the view and it was my pleasure.

[@JoshLineberry]

​@@RetroRenegadeRepairsSo the ones you sell are socketable?

[@stephenr7424]

You have a very 90s style of narration to your videos. Double-dose of nostalgia, thank you!

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks

[@cromulence]

Insane. I really hope that the 256MB RAM mod can be made stable at 200MHz, or hopefully even higher. Both of these mods would open up so much on this machine. I’d imagine that whilst it’s not easy, it’d be totally possible to modify games and/or the OS to correctly utilise the extra RAM for the GPU - I imagine being able to play more games in 720p thanks to additional VRAM!

[@atranimecs]

Someone will find a way, problem is the game itself with need to be modded not just the bios

[@JoshLineberry]

I'm so looking forward to 1.4ghz and 256mb of ram just for movies and TV shows. I have a 16tb loaded full of them on my Xbox now and soon I'm pretty sure we'll be able to use up to 32tb with 256mb of ram and 1.4ghz, my God! We take ours with us on vacation and use it for gaming and media so being able to use 720p or 1080p media instead of 480p will be huge.

[@Cooe.]

​@@JoshLineberry... Why not just make a modern HTPC? O_o The OG Xbox is HUUUUUGE and heavy for god awful media center performance by modern perspective.

[@mclovin2005]

I would never try this but had a lot of fun watching you do it

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks

[@2.Plus.2.Equals.5]

Any successful CPU interposer Xbox mod deserves a sub. Good stuff

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks

[@rezqiano]

That smug face after telling us that the balls has been cleaned tho.... 🤣

[@plume...]

Half-Life 2 was completely transformed! Also, seems The Matrix is GPU bound. Great video, thanks!

[@ArtisaneSC2]

Almost looked like a double buffer vsync type issue

[@AlexCatV12]

Thanks for the outstanding work, masterpiece) Especially glad to see a difference between 733/1000/1400, looks amazing

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

While IMO you won't see many games take advantage, I think the emulators and homebrew would benefit the most from these types of upgrades.

[@Mareka6969]

Very nice, I like. It makes me happy that you guys are finally showing some game play clips at the end of the install.

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks. Amazingly enough, getting the game play footage together was the most time consuming part of creating the video.

[@Mareka6969]

@@RetroRenegadeRepairs yeah, I bet. But it's what people look forward to, they want to see the results, especially after watching a long install. Again, good job.

[@userbosco]

Let the ball jokes commence.... LOL. Cool video! I wasn't aware this was even doable!

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Glad you liked it!

[@shaneobrien5214]

Talk about an OG Xbox pro, that Tualitin chip is a game changer. Nice work, I personally hate soldering those capacitors my hands are not as steady as they once were.

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

I'm sure someone will come up with a better solution in the future that is a bit easier to align. Thanks for watching!

[@quattroclub]

The solder flowing up the pins was so satisfying lol

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Its honestly my favorite part of the install

[@hugosimoes5119]

Cool! As long the CPU is properly cooled, it will never melt anything.

[@silent9pc]

I've done years and years of rework/repair and quality inspections on mil/aerospace boards and I gotta say, you do some pretty clean work! One recommendation, I'd take the stencil off after you place the balls and fill in any missing ones and then do the reflow, so you don't risk ripping traces and pads if you do a reflow first before lifting the stencil 😊 Working on boards is a great skill and too many other channels on here do a terrible job at it but call themselves "pros". I dunno where you got your training at, but hell yes, great job!

[@onlycrtfans]

Would love to see a collab with Digital Foundry if you can ship a modded Xbox to them!

[@piratelechuck1911]

These mods are so OG! I remember when the dream-x hit the scene it was next level. Now we have 256mb memory upgrades 🤓 Makes me want to hop back onto the scene again.

[@novafiddler1712]

There was a company that used to do this mod back when the xbox 1 was relevant. Ive never seen it performed. Very skillful

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Yea, Friendtech. I really wanted one of those consoles back in the day. Thanks for the compliments!

[@Johnny_LuvBuckets]

Thank you kekule and frank for making these interposers and making this mod easier for more people to do it.

[@nrabbit300]

Dude... you are probably one of the only people in the world that I can do this to but *bows in a very over-the-top asto royalty style* Good sir, I bestow on you the title of "Dude with a better X-Box than my own" I am fully impressed.. I had what at that point was the be-all end-all xbox... even had the ram and 1ghz cpu mod done but that was in the days prior to interposers.. apparantly theres a mod that lets you change the 8mb ram chips (via interposer) to 16mb modules as well! My old box (which was lost to a flood like 6ish years ago) was like my favorite techy toy, I even went to the effort of sourcing one of those Xecutor LCD boards that I had mounted to a little sort of ear that stood off the top right of the console that showed clock speeds, temps, and info regarded the current loaded game or whatever... I wish I still have pics.. all I have today is the little board you used to re-flash different bioses :| but, amazing work and I am glad to see there exists passion for such a wicked console, even though us enthusiasts are all old and shit now :P "Back in my days ... " ugh I hate aging >.< Peace XD

[@ugzz]

Also here from DF.. This is fantastic, and i've already queued up the Duke and NES vids, and I see a ton in the back catalogue that interests me! Easy sub!

[@hosie01]

Man, that's awesome. The possibilities just went higher on that thing 😁 I can't wait to see what developers come up with now that it can support a higher processor and ram

[@Joostinonline]

Came here from Digital Foundry, absolutely amazing!

[@Spartan536]

It's almost as if the OG Xbox should have been running at 1.4 Ghz the whole time, now if you upgraded the memory, graphics, and storage this thing could be something else entirely. Well done on the mod!

[@dav1dbone]

Old Eddie from soldering class, he had the biggest solder balls in the business 😅

[@royhandy8365]

Legitimately one of the coolest videos I have seen on YT.

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks!

[@SpicySpleen]

sooo cool Love to see you upgrade the ram next! make the ultimate og xbox!

[@Johan.Larsson]

Digital foundry sent me here!

[@techguy348]

best formatted video I have ever seen on this. Broke it down really well

[@oneofus6924]

lol "seems like the coffee is kickin in" as his hand starts shakin

[@MannElite]

The most mind blowing thing to me is the confidence this guy has doing this to an OG xbox lol

[@HEADSHOTPROLOL]

Alex from DF sent me here, glad he did this is super cool and chill stuff :))

[@ChrisEbz]

Awesome work! Kept seeing over and over comments that this wouldn't happen. Well then... Nice job. Now maybe some games that can be patched with high ram along with the faster cpu power.

[@KB-du3rh]

Digital Foundry squad here, awesome stuff! When those lads recommend something, you know it's gonna be good

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Welcome aboard!

[@JerroudiYassine]

This is one of the coolest things I've seen on youtube for a while

[@fetsluck5620]

Got no idea about what you was talking about but that was cool as hell to watch. Plus you make it fun to watch. Not like the dry eyes guy Comercial lol.

[@CheezeWuz]

Clearing off that socket was unbelievably satisfying

[@Treejets]

What a great watch man. You deserve WAY more than the subs you have!

[@ImmaSpam__________________Can]

Its kinda amazing how far you can push the original Xbox to be completely honest, like the amount of actual hardware upgrades you can make to console is insane and the difference it makes (especially in half life 2) is crazy. It takes hl2 from "i guess it's playable", to, "yeah this is totally chromulent"

[@-PVL93-]

Digital Foundry raid, checking in

[@OneMore1UP]

Digital Foundry sent be here!

[@Netbug]

You make everything look so easy.

[@ResidentXombie]

Your work is amazing.

[@dbaldwin2803]

I wish this didn’t require specialized equipment; I would absolutely love to do this mod.

[@ap894]

lets go my dude, this is some serious throwback

[@kevbot5.0keller66]

Found this on complete accident. Very interesting. You make it look easy. Nice job

[@KephTwentySix]

I love your videos, you're really skilled, still uploading this kind of content

[@maneatingduck]

Your skill and confidence is amazing, with good presentation too :) Got here from DF, subscribed

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks and welcome

[@kylehiggins9416]

You are the Bob Ross of the retro repair world my guy.

[@LaMeGam]

Esto es jodidamente increíble. ¡Excelente trabajo.!

[@garrisonpatton2393]

Bro was so stoked to make some ball jokes 😂

[@SpikeBlighty]

Beautiful work. You are an artisan.

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thank you very much!

[@Treejets]

"spray those balls off" "I say we're ready for the next part" 🤣😂

[@jester17282]

I'm no scientist, but this looks like rocket scientry to me.

[@Theseanparker]

I love watching the BGA work!

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks

[@areyouastarseedtommy2toes192]

Wow you make it look so easy ...the sign of a true artisan

[@McTwistedTwisties]

I think it would be so awesome to see a VIA chip in a Xbox.

[@BifareZanah]

seeing your growth as a creator is truly inspiring!

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

I appreciate that!

[@MisterRorschach90]

Bro you are living one of my dreams. I’ve long dreamed of buying all the gear needed to do mods like these. I could just never find a justification for it. You are awesome.

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks

[@DanielCardei]

Impressive work. well done sir! 🤝

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thank you kindly!

[@jimmyboy9883]

Just scrolling through KZbin and find this? Great video!

[@CrystlizeWorld]

Shout to you homie, wish I had steady enough hands for open heart surgery!

[@touchgameplay]

LOL. The Video launched for me with 240p and i thought for an moment "Cool Retro Renegade Repairs now goes real retro with an low resolution of his Videos." Well i was wrong, the new VIdeo is still awesome. Probably KZbin and it's Buffering tricked me once again :D

[@mesicek7]

Same for me. Are you using adblocker?

[@Juice.b0xs]

same for me

[@doctorgenesisx]

Whoa! Seeing Half-Life 2 running buttery smooth at 1.4 GHz is crazy!

[@IMBJRWOLFY]

this guys videos are interetsing and fun to watch so i subscribed to see more

[@milsvaard]

Digital foundry recommended your channel, I subscribed.

[@rewtdawg9852]

This almost feels more like a material science video than a gamer video :)

[@Diego-fc9ks]

this Video makes me want to dig out my OG Xbox, Great stuff. ( Found this Gem through DF)

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks for the view

[@deanjohn9203]

Wow! So the 2 XBOX's I have in the closet collecting dust can be upgraded to this!?!?!? Great work!!!

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks

[@Hamster51893]

I don't know you, i don't know your channel, i dont even have or had or played an OG XBox at any time, but that video might the only one in 2024 with not a freaking single second wasted to any sequence without useful information. There isn't even an intro or endcard in this video. God bless you for beeing the real OG in this video.

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks

[@shadowscarnage]

The games run so smooth now.

[@bluedistortions]

Ive always wanted to play half life 2 but never upgraded past the original xbox. This mod seems like the most practical way to go about it.

[@LeapFrog_Radio]

Top level work, beyond "Technician".

[@DIYDUDE012]

Dude you rule! Thank you for amazing content, much appreciated!

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks

[@RazzettisRepair]

I've got to give this a shot now. The homebrew improvements alone have me super excited. If you have ran a test yet on HD video playback, I'd love to know the results! Also that work on the upgrade was just phenomenal. Had that CPU not been bad, I'm sure it would of worked first try!

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Do you know of anything that XBMC struggles to play?

[@MiddleAgedAviator]

I have no idea what you just did, but I liked the vid!

[@collegeatlas]

Your delivery is absolutely on point. Great content.

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

I appreciate that!

[@overunityresearchchannel]

thats Awesome man 👍 best xbox mod iv seen would be nice to see you do something like this to the xbox 360

[@Yusuq_Madeek]

Amazing!! Also this is the first video I've ever seen of you and I kept thinking you look like you're a funny guy but keeping more serious because of the subject at hand and then the balls comment just caught me by surprise 😂😂😂 Just wanted to say thank you I haven't physically lol'd in a really long time 😂😂 Just the way you looked at the camera and said it haha thanks again for the good laugh!

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Heh, you're welcome. The editor and myself try our best.

[@erickrayos]

i thought Jorge Masvidal let himself loose and got into tech.. LOL

[@ridiculous_gaming]

What's crazy is that most of the things you did are not done by hand, but via intricate automation via a large scale(volume) factory.

[@joellandry2406]

Another great video sir 👍🏻Minor nitpick, Alumi-tape is considerably more effective with an air gap between the components and itself.

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks for the info!

[@brandongoken8033]

The 1.4ghz makes me want to play vintage video games that are overclocked with as much space and speed as they need.

[@urdnal]

Clever use of those caps along the edge of the inerposer. Interesting. Wish I had a use case to try it out.

[@8bitnation419]

What's awesome about a Socket is the ability to revert the console back to a stock speed Pentium 3. The OG Xbox had a 733mhz Pentium 3. So if you want to run incompatible games like RalliSportChallenge or games off of discs without having to install or patch them. You can swap the faster Pentium 3 1ghz or the 1.3ghz Tualatin out with a 733mhz one, restoring the console back to stock. But this is just something I'm theorising. I could be wrong, but I would love to see this get tested. Though I'd like to see somebody make these faster CPU's work like stock CPU's to improve compatibility across the board running games without having to patch them. This reminds of the Sega Genesis/Megadrive Motorola 68000 upgrades where the games just speed up along with an increase in game incompatibility. As nice as emulation and homebrew is, the main reason to play on an OG Xbox is for its library of games.

[@stanosherkanor8416]

You do amazing work. Thanks for sharing! Doing things I didn't think we're possible.

[@madmax2069]

I always loved how solder pulls the components in line almost perfectly when it melts. You can never really apply too much flux...... On the video results you should probably use some frame capture analyzer to show frame rates on the upgrades.

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

I also enjoy how the solder pulls the components in line. I've seen the same happen for ICs.

[@sudheerm.s6792]

This is better than some " better than factory hdmi port" change video

[@jsizzy3489]

Would love to see how more games compare across the different CPUs. Feel like so many games would run smoother with this upgrade.

[@jabezhane]

It's good to see the games scale nicely in terms of smoothness with more CPU power. I remember back in the early 90's playing Wing Commander on a 33Mhz 486DX and it ran smoothly. I then got a 150Mhz Pentium in 1997 and loaded it onto that and it ran like 4x speed and was impossible to play.

[@konstantine_c]

This is nuts! Very impressive work! Subscribed and will be checking out your other videos.

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Awesome, thank you!

[@hydralicmonkey6490]

ABSOLUTELY BONKERS, YOU'RE A LEGEND!

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

Thanks

[@Aplayz42]

DF sent me here in the here & Now give us another vid with the extra ram interested to see a super pimped Xbox Alex @ DF already said he would like one can see a collab incoming only thing you were missing was the FPS numbers at the end great content!

[@RetroRenegadeRepairs]

I'd love to. I imagine they are so busy.

[@HuGiv5]

Look at Half Life 2 finally playable 👀👀

[@joeAK7.62]

wonderful stuff, you my friend are a living legend!🍾🍾🍾

[@mrburns366]

Just because you can doesn't mean you should... But in this case you totally should.😂 Awesome work.

[@bstram4363]

Impressive work. Very Good. Can you do the PS3 Franken mod next?