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[Kurto2021]

I found the 12mm to be too long for the GPU.  I don't have any washers on the bottom because I would have had to cut on the metal plate.  I had to take the washers off the CPU heatsink.  I will swing by Ace Hardware on my way home and get the exact measurements of the fiber washers.

[alucard_xs]

mine is working now, thanks a lot

[SnufftheCrimeDog]

So correct me if I'm wrong, but alls you are doing it replacing those "X" clamps at the bottom of the GPU with washers, or am I missing something?

[sirsmooth]

Thats pretty much it

My xbox is fine but Im still doing this mod because its my 3rd xbox and the refurbs ms give you back are just as shite :/

[SnufftheCrimeDog]

Whoo! Thats awesome! Mine actually working fine as of right now, it still under warranty so I don't wanna fool with it, I bought a vertical cooler which runs on its own power source instead of the 360's so hopefully that will prevent the red light error, but if I does happen i know what to do. Now if I just removed the x clamps and reassembled the xbox 360 would it be ok, or do I need the washers to prevent problems?

[RDC]

QUOTE(SnufftheCrimeDog @ Mar 26 2007, 03:40 PM)

Whoo! Thats awesome! Mine actually working fine as of right now, it still under warranty so I don't wanna fool with it, I bought a vertical cooler which runs on its own power source instead of the 360's so hopefully that will prevent the red light error, but if I does happen i know what to do. Now if I just removed the x clamps and reassembled the xbox 360 would it be ok, or do I need the washers to prevent problems?

Removing the X-clamps without putting back some type of bracing is BAD. As crappy as the X-clamps are the do pull the heatsink down on the chip and without them or something in place of them the board will "float" (more than it does now) and you'll be lucky if the heatsink even touches the GPU at all.

[dokworm]

You would think so, but it ends up a much tighter fit and the thing actually runs cooler, side by side running the same demos the stock 360 ramps its fans up much earlier and stays louder than the reclamped one.

I agree that the back should be braced for a total solution, but the ones where we haven't braced seem to be going just as strong as the ones that we have.

I'd still recommend bracing the back though.

QUOTE(SnufftheCrimeDog @ Mar 26 2007, 09:40 PM)

Whoo! Thats awesome! Mine actually working fine as of right now, it still under warranty so I don't wanna fool with it, I bought a vertical cooler which runs on its own power source instead of the 360's so hopefully that will prevent the red light error, but if I does happen i know what to do. Now if I just removed the x clamps and reassembled the xbox 360 would it be ok, or do I need the washers to prevent problems?

I thought about this before and figured that just taking the clamps off (but still using the black screws on the bottom of the case to hold the heatsinks down) would allow the board to flex back upwards and all would be well, but then I realised that the board would still be free to move and the problems could easily re-occur, and the clamping pressure on the heatsinks would not be what is desired.


Oh I see what you were saying now RDC, I thought you meant without bracing the rear of the mobo in some way, but I see you now mean what Snuff did would be BAD.  

I agree

QUOTE(SnufftheCrimeDog @ Mar 26 2007, 08:37 PM)

So correct me if I'm wrong, but alls you are doing it replacing those "X" clamps at the bottom of the GPU with washers, or am I missing something?

We are taking the xclamps off and replacing them with washers and new bolts.

Lawdawg0931 has kindly written up a tutorial here:

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=594487

[Kurto2021]

QUOTE(SnufftheCrimeDog @ Mar 26 2007, 07:37 PM)

So correct me if I'm wrong, but alls you are doing it replacing those "X" clamps at the bottom of the GPU with washers, or am I missing something?

you are wrong .... read the thread....then ask the question.....specifically the part where everyone speaks of M5 10mm screws

[ferrari_rulz_02]

mirror added for the tutorial

[sirsmooth]

Im worried about it running cooler,  surely it should run hotter because the contact between the chip and heatsink is better?

If its running cooler maybe the heat is staying on the chip?

Probably wrong but thought id mention it

[RBJTech]

Hmmm - I'm not convinced ... first time I've read this thread in detail.

I bought the hardware to do this today without reading this thread but my design is totally different.

I planned to use the countersunk bolts and FIX then to the case (with a nut) - then use the appropriate washers to pack to the normal PCB height, add a washer then put a second nut on the bolt.  ie the PCB is now held tightly onto the case - it's not moving (which is the whole design flaw I though dokworm was alluding to..).

Now the tricky bit - I'm using 4mm bolts which allow the h/s to float (ie the bolt does NOT hold the h/s now), so I then use a spring washer (to provide the DOWNWARD presure), another washer and a nylon locking nut on top of it all.  For the CPU this is easy, but for the GPU you'll need to hack out a bit of the fins to make it work.

So, we get a fixed board but floating/moveable (but with downward pressure to allow for thermal expansion) on the heatsinks - ie like PC heatsink designs.

I'll post some pics tonight - have I got the wrong end of the stick ?

Cheers,

Richard.

[RBJTech]

QUOTE(sirsmooth @ Mar 27 2007, 04:35 PM)

Im worried about it running cooler,  surely it should run hotter because the contact between the chip and heatsink is better?

If its running cooler maybe the heat is staying on the chip?

Probably wrong but thought id mention it

spot on - the heat transfer was never in question on the X-clamps despite what people say - the problem is believed to be the single pressure point.  By moving it to the four corners, heat transfer should not change, but the pressure points obviously do.

Without temperature readings saying things 'are cooler' means diddly squat IMO - as you correctly say if the heatsinks are getting hotter then that's good - as discussed in my AS5 comparison test with accurate(ish) temperature readings.

[sirsmooth]

Question...

What is the size of the gap between the bottom of the motherbored and the bottom of the case?
My screwhead with washer comes to 5mm(1mm washer)
I have tried looking to see if the screwhead is touching the case but its to hard to tell.

[sirsmooth]

Fook.
Just had a decent look and I can see its touching the bottom of the case, just. :/

[RDC]

@ dokworm - Yeah, I was referring to waht SnufftheCrimeDog asked and for anyone really, removing the X-clamps and replacing the board is NOT something you want to do, there needs to be somthing back tehre to keep the board and sinks together.

@ sirsmooth - The distance between the bottom of the board and the cage is roughly 4mm, provided the center part there is flatened back into place a little bit. It's a little off from where it was punched out for the X-clamps recess, so it's not exactly 4mm or 5mm, but somewhere in between and different at every spot and from cage to cage. If you're doing it with the heatsinks screwed to the board and then installing the board, you want the screwheads to touch the cage, BUT at the same time the rest of the board does, so if you ditch the washers you should be OK.

@ RBJTech - Yes the design that dokworm has is only bracing the bottom of the board, not holding the board in place. That, as ya already found out, has the crappy side effect of the GPU needing to be hacked on to get to work correctly. With just the bottom of the board braced and then screws from underneath the center of the chip is pulled down and the rest of the pressure of the entire chip spreads it out over the board pretty well, so it's  a lot better clamping setup than the stock blunder is, someone at M$ should have their arse removed for this setup. I do agree that a solid setup and a heatsink that clamped on later, more like a PC and similar to what you're doing, would also be a much better solution than the stock setup is, but that hacking into the GPU sink sux and the board bracing alone seems to work pretty well, it's just getting the thickness of what you're using right.


A tad off topic, has anyone else lapped their sinks and found the GPU one to be REALLY bad? as in not one freaking bit near flat at all? The CPU sink wasn't too bad, but the GPU sink was in awful shape.