Well, a good fix, but not a long term one, the firs time around.
XBOX 360 – Red Ring of Death — Round 1
So, this time I’m going to implement the X-Clamp fix, a more advanced repair of the box. Here is a video that basically covers what I am doing (this is not my video, I’m a much more exciting person than this dude).
Another relevant video. Between the two, there information is there on executing the ‘fix’ I’m attempting today:
Parts list for implementing the repair:
8 5mm .80pitch 12mm long socket head screws.
36 M5 washers
16 #10 nylon washers
1 vial of Arctic Silver CPU head sink paste
After following instructions from several sites, I used the above parts to try the X-clamp repair. After implementing the repair and hooking the XBOX back up to the TV, the 3 rings of death remain.
Looking over this ‘helpful’ Microsoft support page. Based on it’s diagnostic trouble shooting tree, it *might* be the power supply this time. Great. I guess I’ll have to go to one of those used gaming stores and see if I can get a power brick or at least plug mine into another XBOX and figure out if it’s the brick. Pathetic, overly complex, under-engineered device. Makes me wish I’d bought the PS3 or Wii instead.
I did notice that my XBOX seems to have upgraded cooling components. You’ll notice that the CPU (large block) and the GPU (two piece sink) are quite a bit larger than the ones pictured in the online guides and videos above.
Never the less, it has GPU cooling issues that resulted in the RROD (Red Ring of Death) .
After discussing this with my pal Steve in Reno, he prompted me to do a little more research on exactly which MB I have in this machine. It turns out I have the ‘latest and greatest’ MS fixes for the heat issues (well, except the ‘glue’ used on the Elite systems) implemented in my ‘Falcon’ Motherboard, as noted by Wiki page, here:
Falcon
IBM 65 nm CPU
ATI 90 nm GPU and smaller embedded DRAM chip
All Xbox 360 Premium machines and Arcade machines manufactured August 2007 introduced the new 65 nm CPU accompanied with a new cooler and still 90 nm GPU with the Zephyr cooler. The motherboard is based on Zephyr and requires fewer components (some capacitors and coils removed) for the new 65 nm CPU, resulting in lower costs.
