Xbox 360 Intercooler 360 - Black Reviews

• Works great initially, but will cause failures later on

  
  By A1LE8E3U7M935Y on 2007-10-17
  I had purchased the original Intercooler for my 360 last year. Initially, it worked like a charm, keeping the system cool to the touch. After awhile, my console started having issues. Thinking it may have been a defective unit, I swapped it out and got another one. In almost the same time frame, the second console started having problems. The only constant was the Intercooler. Save yourself some grief. Buy a USB powered laptop cooling pad. I use an Antec one that is frequently on sale for $10. It works like a charm and doesn't harm the 360.
  
  --Some analysis for those who care--
  
  First, an observation. On several units, plugging in the intercooler caused the CD tray to open poorly. It was sluggish and sometimes didn't open up completely. Unplugging the intercooler immediately fixed the issue.
  
  Thinking about the design, it makes sense why my console was failing.
  
  1. The extra device was under-volting the 360. Anyone who has taken high school physics knows that a fan can be simplified as 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 does it right with the Intercooler EX

  
  By A1984VKIK6PSRK on 2007-11-11
  My 360 Elite has yet to have any issues. Mine was manufactured in 3/07, so it was before they modified the internals that were causing the overheating issues.
  
  My cousins Elite, however does give him random red lights (not the RRoD). I purchased one for him as well to see if this helps his Elite in any way. I have yet to hear any updates, but they will come.
  
  As an extra precaution, I purchased Nyko's NEW Intercooler EX to use as what I called "preventative maintenance".
  
  I have read a good amount of the comments regarding the first generation Nyko Intercooler's causing meltdowns. The EX clearly addressed these issues by a much higher build quality with not only the fans but also the metal connectors that your 360 power supply connects to.
  
  Using an infrared thermometer, I measured some of the hottest points on the case with and without the EX. The temperate was a good 5-15° Fahrenheit cooler when using the EX.
  
  This is by no means a scientific form of measurement, but it worked for this 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.
  
  

• intercooler

  
  By A2Q0ZXGJJ11NCZ on 2007-09-09
  "Alright I'm tired of Microsoft and Xbox users blaming the death of their console on the Nyko Intercooler.
  
  Melting:
  There has been some cases where the Intercooler will melt to the femal power jack on the Xbox 360 and render both the Intercooler and the Xbox 360 useless. The Nyko Intercooler EX has addressed these problems. The reason the 1st and 2nd gen Intercooler were capable of melting were because the power inputs were encased with plastic. With all that electricity circulating through the power inputs heat becomes a factor, you ever feel how hot the Intercooler male power jack gets? It can leave a burn mark on you. With all this heat and extended periods of gaming the heat starts to take a toll on the plastic and begins to melt it to the female power jack on the Xbox 360. The Nyko Intercooler EX has a male power jack encased with metal similar to the original power cord male power jack. Since metal melts at a much higher temperature then plastic the problems are extinguished.
  
  Noise:
  Yes 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.
  
  
  
  

• Plug Connection is Incompatible with new XBOX 360 Elites

  
  By A1C8C6ZNH7SXRM on 2007-12-07
  The plug pass through on the Intercooler 360 EX IS NOT compatible with the new XBOX 360 Elites (my XBOX 360 Elite was manufactured in Oct 2007.) There is a prong within the Intercooler EX plug slot which prevents the original XBOX 360 Elite plug from being plugged into the back of the Intercooler 360 device.
  
  Microsoft may have changed their plug design to make it incompatible - since I cannot believe Nyko would be this messed up.
  
  

• Stay away from this device!!!!!

  
  By A2O4BF6CE7RARL on 2007-10-17
  These things kill 360's. Period. Just look at the forums over at the Xbox website. Nyko may have fixed the melting issue, but it still reduced the power going to the 360 from the external power supply causing components to fail. I lost 2 360s to this device. Microsoft highly recommends not using it and will void your warranty if you do use it.
  
  As an alternative, use the Pelican and other models that plug into the rear USB port. This will not reduce the power going to your 360.
  
  With the newer 360s fixed cooling and cooler running chips, you really don't need anything like this anyways on the newer 360s.
  
  
• Great, listen to me.
  By A3L0QH9KV8O6V4 on 2007-08-15
  First off parrot_of_adun do not write reviews about something that you know nothing about. It does not draw power from the 360, it gets the power straight from the power cord witch comes from the wall. DUH!!! Second, if it did draw power from the 360, it won't hurt it. I have a 360 HD DVD player, recharge battery controler and still I can hook up a lot more. If that doesn't damage the 360 by pulling power, this little cooler won't come close. Actually knowing everything about electronics and computers, I recomend this product. Listen to my review, this product is GREAT!!!! I will not have to send this 360 in for overheating like my other ones. They have also improved the design and specs of it so defenintly buy one.
  
  
• Why are people so stupid.....
  By on 2007-10-26
  Why are people so stupid...
  
  This thing doesnt draw power from the 360 the intercooler draws power from the same place the 360 does the POWER SUPPLY(that big brick like thing that you plug in to the wall). If people would read before opening there mouth you would know that the three fans on the intercooler are rated at .12 Amps the console is rated at 16.5 Amps, so even with all the fans running your not even using .40 Amps. So this shows that if the intercooler was causing systems to fail it wasnt because the intercooler was drawing to much powerfrom the console. It was because of a faulty system or a faulty intercooler. Feel free to correct me on this...
  
  
• Not for the 360 Elite
  By AC278LE2JP773 on 2008-06-29
  This product did not fit the new 360 Elite. Microsoft has changed the design for the power cable and the power plug on the back of the 360. The plug cable no longer has two push buttons to release the cable. This design change does not allow you to plug the power cable into the intercooler. If you have a new 360 without the two push buttons to release the power cable from the 360, do not buy this product. If you have the old one, this product works great and could extend the life of your 360!!!
  
  
• Convenient, but just don't...
  By A1F6MFU9QL1GJI on 2007-07-26
  While the new EX works very well at cooling your 360, it STILL draws power from the xbox's PSU, WHICH CAN (and likely will at some point) CAUSE DAMAGE AND/OR HARDWARE FAILURE!!
  
  I have tried all the possible third-party solutions to xbox heat issues, JUST DON'T BUY ANY, mine doesn't over heat easily, and I have a feeling people underestimate the 360's cooling system.
  
  IF YOU ARE WORRIED, do as I do, even though it's a bit strange, simply place the console on a baker's cooling rack, and if it's summertime, use a normal fan, the kind you'd use to cool down a room.
  
  
• Useless product
  By A3HFM8AL4IL30S on 2008-04-18
  Nyco produced this unit in black so that it would match the new Xbox 360 Elite consoles. Not only is such a cooling fan unneeded with the new Elite consoles, but the Elite power plug is not compatible with this Nyco Intercooler. I have a hunch that Microsoft redesigned the plug with the specific intent of prohibiting installation of this product between the power supply and the game console. Such an installation can cause other problems, as has been explained in the numerous other negative reviews. In short, there was absolutely no reason to produce a black version of this product, and certainly no reason for you to waste your money on one.
  
  
• Power connector is still loose
  By A2SGB9KQ7ZIUW5 on 2007-08-26
  I bought a 360 about two weeks ago (the day of the price drop), and considering it's summer and I have no air conditioning, I looked into getting some accessories to help cool off the console. A quick amazon search returned the dreaded original intercooler, and this revised one which was newly released and didn't have any user reviews yet. I decided to give this one a try since it apparently solved the old intercooler troubles, and despite the older versions common problems, it was given high reviews when it actually worked properly. So I get one from gamestop, get home and attach it to the back of my 360, plug it in, try to power it up and nothing happens. My power adapter won't even fully connect to the back of the intercooler. There's sort of a small peg in the intercooler connector (and in the 360 connector as well) that the power cord snaps into to hold it in place firmly. My power cord doesn't even reach that far into the intercooler, and sits loosely and can be easily plugged and unplugged at will. And trust me, I definitely put enough muscle, and more than what should have been necessary, to snap this thing in there.
  
  I gave it 3 stars since I realize this might be a problem only specific to my console, but who knows. Someone reply with a console that they bought after august 8th and has a working intercooler ex attached!
  
  
• DONT BUY THIS
  By A2ZWOT63SSYFYP on 2007-10-09
  it has been known to melt to the XBOX 360...yeah the 360 over heats BUT...with proper ventilation it wont..seriously if it melts to the 360...MICROSoFT cannot give you a repair for it...because its not there product..SO DONT BUY
  
  
• Awesome product!
  By A1UG5O5IBLOWVN on 2007-12-12
  This thing does what it says! I have the white version and got this one for my brother's Elite. It really works in dissapating heat. My 360 has always worked from day one for over 2 years now. :)
  
  
• IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR 360 READ THIS
  By A3VC5Z71QAN8UP on 2008-01-28
  i will guarantee you, this product will give you the three red rings of death sooner than without using this. I called in to a guy in Microsoft and he said this product causes almost 50% of the dead 360s they have to repair. This product even leaves plastic stuck into your plug and once you get a new 360, it won't work unless the plastic is out. DO NOT BUY!!!
  
  
• Meh it works great but. its loud...
  By A2F8VH9GP94J2H on 2008-01-28
  well unless you have your volume up loud enough that you cant hear the three fans spinning then its ok but at night when your watching a movie or playin a game with the volume down it sucks because you can hear the fans spinning but other than the loudness of the fans its great and pritty cheap and definatly worth it
  
  
• good so far...
  By on 2007-10-07
  I plugged the EX into my 360 about a week ago and so far so good. I'm kind of a serious gamer but i take breaks. Each day I play only about 4 1/2 hours so im good...so far
  
  
• Fan fan FAN
  By A22KVQRVAX0OEI on 2007-10-17
  This thing works great, though if you have it in an enclosed area, it dosent work too good. Also if you have it in a small area but still big enough to echo, it sounds like a jet engine, but that is ok, considering that it keeps my xbox360 cool to the touch.
  
  
• Keeps it Cool
  By A3KT0A7JFQUJ0M on 2007-10-19
  Well, i bought this New Nyko fan for my 360 Elite, and it's working pretty well. I have my 360 placed horizontally, and it barely gets hot on the bottom. The top side never heats up. I have been playing for hours on end, and the temperature is always the same. It's loud, but i guess it's better than the RROD.. i got used to it, i just turn the volume up and problem solved. I bought this product when i read that they made it out of metal now, instead of plastic. So i'm not worried about the melting issue. I've had this fan for about 2 weeks, and have had no problems with it at all.
  
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  Edited on March 4, 2008
  -----------------------
  
  I've had the fan for months now and it still works fine. No problems what-so-ever. One thing i've noticed is that the 360 gets a bit hot (small bit) if i have it placed horizontally; in it's vertical position, it runs cooler.
  
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  EDIT
  
  To all the people that are saying that this fan doesn't fit into the Elite... they're wrong! I bought this fan about a year ago, and it's still up and running. I had some trouble attaching it at first, but hey, once you hook it up, it'll stay there for a long time. I have 2 360s, one of them got the RRoD this past week, and guess what - it was the one WITHOUT the Nyko Ex Fan.
  
  Like 2 months ago, the fan started making strange noises, so i took it off for a few days. But that was just that 1 time - since then, it has worked OK.
  
  Compared to my other 360 (the one that got the rrod), my Elite always felt waaay more "cooler". The fan reduces a lot of heat. I didn't buy one for my first console because it was replaced by Microsoft - so i thought the rrod was resolved (i was wrong of coarse). I would recommend to wait for the new Intercooler that comes out later this month, the Nyko TS i think it is.
  
  
• Very cool!!!
  By A12URZHNW174NC on 2007-10-29
  I live in Brazil, a very hot country, and my last Xbox 360 died because of overheating. I now have a Xbox 360 Elite and I am using the Intercooler since the first day of use and so far everything is perfect. I feel the difference touching the top of the Xbox, it's still hot, but a lot less then without the Intercooler. Great product.
  
  
• 360 Intercooler
  By A1O9F91VNKSQOK on 2007-11-13
  Looks like this works.Lots of hot air coming out of unit.I would buy this again.
  
  
• Works
  By A2D8IAB7UE66DT on 2007-12-02
  I've had this for over a month now and my 360 runs fine. I don't play everyday but sometimes when i do play it can be for up to 4 - 6 hours. It keeps my 360 very cool (does it's job.) So far no power problems with my 360 so I'm very pleased but I'll edit this if any problems occur in the near future. thanks amazon.
  
  
  
• So far so good.
  By A39YBBK8671UIW on 2007-12-12
  I was a little hesitant at first because of all the bad press this thing got. But after a few long hours of play my framerate started to stutter which I attributed to heat. I picked up the intercooler and it seems to be made pretty well. It had a metal plug connector and 4 pin clips and a plug removal button. Once this thing is on your system it's not going anywhere. And because of that it's not going to short out and melt like the earlier models did. It is a little loud but I hardly notice while playing. Also, the AC plug isn't as snug as I'd like but that doesn't seem to be a problem. So far so good.
  
  
  Edit: Well, it's been about a month and it just started making a vibration/grinding noise. I removed it and reattached it a couple of times just to make sure something didn't come loose. No dice. Oh well. It was worth a shot. The intercooler is now permanently off my system. I took the intercooler apart to see what the problem was and I found that the AC passthrough mounting pegs were cracked and so we the mounting brackets for two of the fans. That's why it was making that noise, because the fans broke free. The plastic inside the case is very brittle.
  
  
• Seriously.
  By A2V1KLNCQL0VV on 2007-12-19
  Stop writing good reviews. This is the worst thing for your 360, not only does it barely help cool it down, it drains power from your 360, making it get hotter. Also, if you send your 360 to microsoft and its broken, microsoft will not fix it for free if they find out you used an intercooler...so...honestly..who cares whether or not it uses 360 power, obviously its unwanted if microsoft does that.
  
  
• Does the job
  By A32QZWFRXWG9XO on 2008-01-12
  The only drawback I have found is the noise... oh and the power plug had to be modified for the elite system. Not sure what was up with that, I thought with this intercooler being black it would've been made specifically for the elite system but the plug wouldn't fit. There was a plastic prong in the middle of the plug that I was able to snap off and make the item work. It does what it's supposed to do a little noisily but it's worth it.
  
  
• Only buy if you really trust Microsoft
  By A2TO6S6QVVHXN2 on 2008-02-20
  This item has a piece in the connector that prevents it from connecting to the X-Box plug. After expending a lot of energy I noticed there is a tiny piece of plastic on the X-Box elite (the black box) that prevents this from connecting to it. Does Microsoft want these things to burn up on you so you have to replace them? I don't know, but a set of box cutters will work to modify the Microsoft connector such that the fan will connect nicely. Be careful and don't cut yourself!!
  
  
• Keeps It Kooler
  By A3VXW7AH4CXH2H on 2008-03-24
  I am over in Iraq and 360's Fry all the time cause there is no easy way to keep them cool. the intercooler works just plug it into the back.
  
  
• Warning: Voids the warranty and DOES NOT fit ELITE
  By A2PSC7LUNIDEAH on 2008-04-08
  As some have already mentioned, it does not fit ELITE correctly. You can force it by breaking off the inside piece inside the cooler, but hey, maybe its trying to tell you something: If you use it, you void your warranty. Don't believe me? Call up Microsoft and see for yourself. Its easy to tell if you used it as well. So if you want to void the warranty and roll the dice, then by all means. Your XBOX really doesn't need it if you just take XBOX out and give it plenty of air and ventilation from all sides. I take my out and then put it back into the storage space after I'm done.
  
  And yes, I bought this product. Why did I buy it? When I bought my Elite package, I also bought about 10 accessories to go along with it and this was one of them. I was in a hurry, so I didn't do much research. Once I learned that it won't fit with my XBOX, I then did some research. While every other accessory works like a charm, this is definitely the bottom of the barrel.
  
  
• Why is the Black Intercooler Needed
  By A2I4P7DSK9TYT6 on 2008-04-08
  I don't know why this is still even being made. The back of the XBOX 360 Elite already has fans inside to cool down the system. Maybe the first Elite's that came out didn't have it but the new ones do. The intercooler comes with a plastic piece inside that keeps the power cord from plugging into the unit. THIS IS BECAUSE ITS NOT NECESSARY. You do not need this if you have a newer 360 Elite.
  
  
• Powercord does not connect
  By ACF3UZ0JPDBJH on 2008-05-14
  My Intercooler arrived today but after a few excited moments I quickly realized that the problem wasn't my lack of upper arm strength but rather the Intercooler having a plug interface that is not compatible with the power cord on the xbox 360.
  The Intercooler has a small bit of plastic in the center that will not allow the power cord to be inserted. Unwilling to break it off and risk having a bad unit I'm returning it as is. Admittedly I'm nervous about some of the reviews here sighting broken machines though its hard to believe some of them when there are problems with early xbox 360's that could have been the issue. I'm just not willing to find out with my machine until I hear differently from reputable independent sources (consumer reports anyone?).
  
  
  
• Would not buy again
  By AF6G2I1PYFGIU on 2008-05-19
  I bought this for my Xbox 360 Elite but never ended up using it as there are many reports of this taking some of the power intended for use by the console causing hardware failure. As it turns out, I didn't need it after all as my console doesn't actually get that hot. I would recommend against purchasing this product.
  
  

• The Official Xbox Magazine [1-year]
• Electronic Gaming Monthly

• Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Black
• Xbox 360 Black Play & Charge Kit
• Xbox 360 Elite System Console Includes 120GB Hard Drive
• Halo 3
• Xbox 360 Elite Bundle