# Mod My Xbox 360



## g4m3rof1337

Alright.. 
I am looking into modding my Xbox 360. What I mean by that is, adding a side panel for sure, maybe a new heatsink or just adding some AS5? And any other mods that are possible. 

Here are some pictures from when I opened mine.












As you can see in the first picture, one side comes completely off, which is where I would cut the panel.


----------



## Tuffie

Cold cathodes, make that fhker glow.


----------



## g4m3rof1337

I was going to add lights, but I wouldn't know where to power them, but I've seen it done.


----------



## emac227

you just have to find a some where on the board that has enough power coming off it and then solder the wires on it and your good just search it on youtube theres alot of videos on there that will help you i was going to do it to my ps2


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Hmm, alright, I'll make the lights a later project.


----------



## Kornowski

Yeah, I say get some cathodes in there and make a window on it. Also, add some cooling, as you know what Xbox's are like, I'm sure.


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Yeah, would it be better to just add some AS5 or something on both of those Heatsinks? I don't think I'd be able to find another heatsink for it. 


Window will be added for sure, I am actually going to head out in a bit, and see if I can pick up some plexi-glass or something. 

I may even paint it.. Depends if I can find a nice color.. 


I am also going to look into adding a side panel on the DVD drive, I've seen that done as well, I may not go that far, yet.




Thanks.


----------



## Kornowski

Yeah, AS5 will definitely help! Maybe you could add a few fans in there somewhere too?


----------



## voyagerfan99

If your looking for ideas, here are some that I found:


----------



## emac227

search xboxexpert on youtube and add him as a friend on xbl he will help you hes good.


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Alright, so I bought a sheet of plexi-glass, Thermal Compound and two 4'' Green Cathodes. 

How hard would it be to power the cathodes inside the 360? 


Thanks.


----------



## m0nk3ys1ms

I would replace every fan in the console with quailty LED fans. From what I've read about 360 mods, replacing the fans helps a ton with the cooling of the console.


----------



## Sir Travis D

Make a 360 laptop.


----------



## Redbull{wings}

I would be very careful with adding fans that are directly connected to the board. Didn't some people get banned from Live because Microsoft thought it was a mod chip?


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Hmm, my bigger concern is powering the cathodes. How do I find out whats giving off enough power, then do i just cut the cathode power tip off and solder them on?


I doubt that would be 'detectable', right? 



As for cooling, I am going to apply some thermal compound on both of the Heatsinks, and add a side panel. 



Thanks.


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Bump.


----------



## G25r8cer

I say go WC'ing


----------



## 4NGU$

is an external power source a possibility ?

just a thought

might be a bit big tho ?


----------



## g4m3rof1337

I am not going to watercool it, since I move the thing around constantly.

How big of a power source are we talking? If it will save me the possibility of messing up the 360, and seeing how to current power brick is huge, dont think it makes much of a difference.


Is soldering tricky? Like can I make a fatal mistake and mess the whole board up? I just get confused when I have to 'find' the circuit giving off the most power, and just solder it on? 




Thanks.


----------



## 4NGU$

this might help ?

http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/mods/xbox-360-mod-page.htm


----------



## g4m3rof1337

I am probably going to go to my friends house tomorrow, and we're going to do the side panel, and maybe try adding a side panel on the DVD drive, add the cathodes, and probably add some fans as well, and add the thermal compound, and maybe paint the thing. 




Thanks.


----------



## m0nk3ys1ms

Redbull{wings} said:


> I would be very careful with adding fans that are directly connected to the board. Didn't some people get banned from Live because Microsoft thought it was a mod chip?



Yea, I read that as well. I would probably set up the new fans and cathodes to be setup to be powered by an external source, as someone else suggested.


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Well, we're going to solder it to the mainboard I think.


Think that'll be fine? He said it'll be undetectable.


----------



## JlCollins005

im sure its virtually undetectable since xbox live checks the kernals and stuff not power usage if that was the case people who bought the lil cooling fans that plug into the back would have got banned.. but u can change the hsf, u can get i believe its amd or intel not possitive but server hsf which are lowprofile actually fit pretty nicely


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Alright, so, we added the cathodes, applied the thermal compound, cut the side panel, and painted the Xbox. 


My friend is currently finishing everything up, he's going to pick up some trim, since I couldn't find any when I picked the other stuff up.


He's going to drop it off later tonight, pictures will be posted of before, during and after.


----------



## voyagerfan99

Can't wait to see it!


----------



## sho95

I hope you know you voided your warranty.  I would love to mod mine but with all the heating issues that it still has I rater not mod to keep my warranty. In fact I have one next to me that got to go back to microsoft for repair.  This will make it my 5th one going back in two yrs.


----------



## g4m3rof1337

I know I voided my warranty.. I thought I had mentioned that in the first post, guess not. I originally opened my Xbox cause the DVD tray wouldn't close. I opened the Xbox and the DVD drive, and couldn't find anything. So I took it to a repair shop, and they fixed it. Before I opened it, I called Microsoft to see if they would fix it. The guy said I could ship it out to them for $100 plus shipping. And I've heard numerous horrific stories about sending it in, so I opted not to.


And since it's already been open, why not mod it out? 


Pictures will be up soon.


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Warning, lots of pictures.









































Added: 
Two 4'' Green Cathodes.
Applied Thermal Compound to both of the Heatsinks. 
Installed a Clear Side Panel, with Trim.
Painted the Outside of the case, Air Duct, and the top of the DVD Burner, a Hammered Silver. 


All in a days work.


----------



## shenry

Very nice job on that side panel you got there. 

IMO you should go over the writing with black or something so you can read it better. Otherwise it's pretty much perfect I'd say.


----------



## houseofbugs

Yup. looks great. Thanks for letting me help mod that!


----------



## voyagerfan99

Looks great! I like the color selectin for the paint, but I would have done blue cathodes. (I'm not much of a green fan )


----------



## Kornowski

Looks awesome, man! Nice job!


----------



## m0nk3ys1ms

Nice, Derek! Looks awesome.


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Thanks, my friend who posted here, HousofBugs, helped me do everything. 




Thanks again.


Later today, I'll post before and after pictures.


----------



## emac227

m0nk3ys1ms said:


> Nice, Derek! Looks awesome.


cool your from a different hanover then me lol im from hanover ontario canada lol     any ways good job man


----------



## Shane

Looks great,nice paint job aswell  

was it hard finding somewhere to wire the Cathodes to?


----------



## houseofbugs

I wired the cathodes off of the 12V line coming from the XBOX 360 power pack. We are getting the negative from the chassis as it is the negative/ground. I wasnt that hard but we did a good deal of wire hiding. Hotglue is a GREAT invention along with the dremel.


----------



## JlCollins005

nice work, im not a fan of the color but it did turn out nice.. im change in power ring from green to blue and doin a blue and black theme,  ill see if i can find some pics of the one i did i did a chameleon paint on it its looks sweet


----------



## houseofbugs

I uploaded the pictures of during the mod:

Click the picture to view the gallery.


----------



## codeman0013

That looks sweet just hope it doesnt RROD on you or you are screwed becuase there is no way in heck they would take it back now lol... I only say this becuase mine ships back to me and this is the 3rd 360 i have had in less then a year tehy all keep dying...


----------



## g4m3rof1337

I've had mine since December of 2006, and the only problem I've ever had was the DVD tray wouldn't stay closed, simple fix, but that has been the only problem I've ever had with it. And the warranty was void when I opened it to fix the DVD tray.


----------



## just a noob

change all the lights in it too, change all the lights under the front panel, and do it to the controllers too  just to let you know if you do decide to do it to the controllers, you need a security t8 bit


----------



## Ramodkk

Haha very nice man! Welcome to the modding community! Lol


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Hah, yeah, this project motivated me to want to get into Modding. 



Expect more 'crazy' projects.


----------



## epidemik

Looks amazing. 
Nice job.


----------



## JlCollins005

so with the heat from the lights, and the module box for the lights u havent had ne probs i was thinkin of addin blue ones to mine but was unsure if id need to swap out the fans for better cooling, or add one or two.. i seen a case a guy did he fiberglassed  2 80mm fans on the top it look pretty neat ill see if i can find the pic.. if u go to 360mods.net u can see what some other people have done as far as 360 customization


----------



## g4m3rof1337

I dont think the lights add very much heat if any at all, their computer cathodes, soldered onto the Xbox Mobo. And its been a week, and haven't had a problem, or anything close to something that could be a potential problem.


We're talking yesterday, about putting the Xbox 360 Mobo in my Computer Case. Like actually mounting it all in there, and having it work as an Xbox.


----------



## JlCollins005

yea lol i read a post on that 360 site and a guy was talkin about it so im gunna give it a shot.. also what case were u thinkin?


----------



## g4m3rof1337

I'd put it in like a Micro ATX if it would be by itself, but I have the CM Stacker Case, so I could put it in there, but the Micro ATX case would be better.


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Should I mod the 360 into a Micro ATX case?


----------



## theasian100

Which case?


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Maybe something like this, 





http://www.xoxide.com/aspire-x-qpack-case-green.html


----------



## Vizy

http://www.xoxide.com/thermaltake-lanbox-lite-window.html

with the blue leds inside...

IDk, i just thought you would rather go for the blue/black theme


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Yeah, the cathodes are already Green inside the Xbox, but the case color isn't decided yet.



Thanks.


----------



## theasian100

Vizy93 said:


> http://www.xoxide.com/thermaltake-lanbox-lite-window.html
> 
> with the blue leds inside...
> 
> IDk, i just thought you would rather go for the blue/black theme



Yeah go with that one ^^


----------



## JlCollins005

i was thinkin of tryin it with the antec 900 the cooling possibilities would be great


----------



## JlCollins005

oops another thing that would be a neat idea gettin a large enough case to have both ur reg pc and 360 in, maybe modifying a server case of some sort would be a neat idea


----------



## Vizy

JlCollins005 said:


> oops another thing that would be a neat idea gettin a large enough case to have both ur reg pc and 360 in, maybe modifying a server case of some sort would be a neat idea



That's a really great idea. That's be crazy!!!

I don't think it's been done before. That's be a great show at your LAN party's, gamer,


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Yeah, I originally wanted to put it in my current PC case, with my PC in it. My case is the CM Stacker.


Heres a picture:


----------



## theasian100

Nice idea!

are you gonna strip the 360 and make a mobo mounting plate?


----------



## g4m3rof1337

theasian100 said:


> Nice idea!
> 
> are you gonna strip the 360 and make a mobo mounting plate?



Yup, I'll work on some drafts tomorrow, but I measured the 360 and it pretty much fits within that Circle Vent, so it can fit in there. I am also going to consider watercooling the 360 or just getting a dedicated power supply for fans for the whole case.


----------



## theasian100

Omg i was just thinking about water cooling! i think you should go for it!


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Yeah, I really want to do it as well. 


I'll work on some stuff tomorrow.


----------



## JlCollins005

Yea im gunna get ahold of some local pc repair places and see if they have any empty server cased


----------



## g4m3rof1337

My current case can handle the 360 as well as my PC.


I am still deciding on going through with this or not.


----------



## RRA_Incognito

g4m3rof1337 said:


> My current case can handle the 360 as well as my PC.
> 
> 
> I am still deciding on going through with this or not.


Do it...I might have to steal your plans, but i wanna know if it works first, lol.


----------



## Kornowski

You're putting your 360 in a computer case? That'd be so cool!


----------



## g4m3rof1337

I'll do it for shits and giggles, as well as for the Cool factor.


I'll see if I can get some drafts going.



I was just about to make a 'Project' thread, about getting ideas for a month or longer project, so I think I found it. 



I'll probably make a new thread for the new mod, so I don't confuse things.


----------



## just a noob

if you dont make a turbo controller for the xbox too, a little piece of you will die inside, i can link you a guide to making one of them


----------



## g4m3rof1337

just a noob said:


> if you dont make a turbo controller for the xbox too, a little piece of you will die inside, i can link you a guide to making one of them



I'll look into it, I originally wasn't going to, but I'll put some thought into it. 



Would the turbo button have the same effect if I plugged it into the Computer and played the games?


----------



## just a noob

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=643928&st=0 heres the link, it just acts as though the trigger was being pressed 7 times a second or so, dunno what the deal is, when i last went there, there were pictures, you can turn it into a business, i spend about 7 dollars on parts, and i charge 20 dollars to install it into a controller


----------



## Respital

Good job man. 
Maybe you should make some sort of a tutorial?
I think a lot of people want to start moding once they seen this, i know i want to!  To bad i don't have much to mod... lol


----------



## g4m3rof1337

I'll most likely go through with it, I am glad people can be inspired by this.


----------



## WhatsMyUserName

WOW Nice project man. Will be watching this closely.

Also, first post for me yay!

*WhatsMyUserName*


----------



## Hyper_Kagome

Really liking the 360 mod, g4m3r. Keep it up.

I almost want to mod something now.

_Oh no.. another username signer... WHY?!_


----------



## WhatsMyUserName

Hyper_Kagome said:


> _Oh no.. another username signer... WHY?!_


Erm..........Why NOT?

*WhatsMyUserName*


----------



## 4NGU$

god yeah its sooo silly


4NGU$


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Thanks, I'll start working on some drafts.


----------



## Ramodkk

Hyper_Kagome said:


> _Oh no.. another username signer... WHY?!_



^ I know right? Oh my god I hate them! 




*Ramodkk*


----------



## WhatsMyUserName

OK To make everyone happy I will put it in my sig


----------



## g4m3rof1337

I've been asked if I will be going through with my second mod a few times recently, and I want to say that I will be making a new thread, a Part II to this, probably this weekend, to organize my thoughts and get some feedback.


----------



## g4m3rof1337

I postponed putting the 360 in my PC, since it would be a hassle to take out for just an Xbox 360 LAN, but I'll think of something else to do.


Also, I might plan on mounting a 45mm fan onto the heatsink, in the 360, and powering it like I did with the cathodes. 



Stay posted.


----------



## voyagerfan99

Ya know, I forgot that you did this! I still think it looks amazing!


----------



## laznz1

wow some of those case mods are awesome


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Thanks, I ended up getting a new 360, since my other DVD drive stopped working.. 


I'm debating on whether to reapply better thermal paste on the 360, it runs cooler than my other one already though, so.. 




I may go back an do another case mod, but go all out on it.


----------



## epidemik

Id say dont worry about it cause putting it on will void your warranty wont it?
And if you dont put it on and it dies from overheating...its under warranty.


----------



## Vizy

Like gamer cares about his warranty. I heard he goes to the display xBox's at gamestop, opens it up, takes the sticker, rips it, and then mails it to Microsoft with a picture of his middle finger.


Pshhh.....warranties.


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Vizy93 said:


> Like gamer cares about his warranty. I heard he goes to the display xBox's at gamestop, opens it up, takes the sticker, rips it, and then mails it to Microsoft with a picture of his middle finger.
> 
> 
> Pshhh.....warranties.



Haha, reading my blog?


----------



## epidemik

g4m3rof1337 said:


> Haha, reading my blog?



lol thats not a true story...

...is it?

HAHAHA


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Haha, no.


----------



## laznz1

installig lights is eays just follow the power of the circut bored and add it it


----------



## g4m3rof1337

laznz1 said:


> installig lights is eays just follow the power of the circut bored and add it it



Hmm?

I've added two 4'' green cathodes in the 360, I may do that again with my new 360.


----------



## g4m3rof1337

Alright, I'm going to mod my 360 again, since I picked up another one, I'm going to add green cathodes, add a side panel, try and get a laser etching on the side panel, add a side panel to the DVD drive, and if possible, add a bigger external hard drive, and try and put some sort of clear panel on that, and then reapplying better thermal paste, I also don't plan on painting it, I'm going to keep it stock white, that way the green cathodes will look better.


----------

