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[Shareef187]

Just wondering if anyone has tried a combination of the x-clamp replacement and 12 penny fix, since they both have had great results.

The x-clamp fix, though, has been reported to not always be a permanent solution, and the penny fix sounds a little ghetto, and is also a little concerning since it calls for leaving the x-clamps on, and not screwing the heatsinks to the casing. I started reading the penny fix thread to see if anyone had tried both, and I noticed a few people were inquiring about this as well, but I ran out of time (and patience) after reading about 10 pages.

If anyone can answer this question, or provide thoughts, it would be appreciated.

This post has been edited by Shareef187: Mar 1 2008, 07:59 AM

[GamestationOH]

I have never needed the 12 penny fix. I would never use erasers or rubber because it is an insulator and holds heat, causing trouble!

Here is my experience at the x-clamp subject:
We all know or should know by now that the 3RROD #0102 is caused by the GPU losing contact at some point/points with the motherboard. We know that this is caused by a combination of Lead free solder and temperature changes between the motherboard and the GPU and the heat sink. Different materials contact and expand at different rates when heated or cooled. This is the primary cause of the problem. Also maybe movement of the GPU heat sink by moving your system around (be careful when doing DVD Drive work) could cause solder cracks.

The X-Clamp does not fix the problem, it only hold the GPU tight to the contact points. When you over heat your system with the fans unplugged you soften the contact points and surrounding circuit board and this can allow contact to be made again. Tightening the screws next helps maintain contact.

To extend this "fix" you need to stop the rapid heating and cooling of the 360. Do a fan hood mod, splitting the fans for each GPU/CPU. Also, after the 360 has been playing games and reached it's normal operating temperature it is around 146 degrees at the core of the CPU. The fans are running at high speed and all is fine. When you stop playing and turn the 360 off, the fans stop running and the CPU/GPU is still at its high temperature, by now has no fan cooling it. The temperature will now rise at the core and the heat sink rapidly. I believe this is the moment that the 3RROD happens.

The preventive measure is to either eject the disc and leave the system running for 10 more minutes to keep cooling fans running till the systems cools to around 95/105 degrees.

Turning your system off immediately after game play with the disc still inserted is almost the equivalent of doing the over-heating trick with the fans unplugged to fix the 3RROD.

[GamestationOH]

Did you see the you tube video about the guy that submerged a 360 into a tub of water with vinegar in it? That illustrates the voodooism that permeates the message boards on many web sites.

The video was making fun of the wack ideas some people come up with and the logic applied to some "fixes".

Some people even debated the conductivity of WATER?

Of course water conducts electricity! Dah!

Oh ya... plugging in any electrical device with water in it will cause shock and smoke to rise!

This post has been edited by GamestationOH: Mar 1 2008, 07:00 PM

[Wheezy13]

I've done both, neither have worked for longer than 2/3 weeks. I'm going to try using 12 pennies total, however, as I only used 8 last time. Not sure if that'll really make a difference or not, but I've got nothing to lose...  (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Shareef187]

Thanks GamestationOH, this is the 2nd time you've answered my question (and quite knowledgeably, if I may add) where no one else had (at least not prior to yours). It's very much appreciated. I'll definitely be advising any clients whom get their 360 repaired by me to let their systems cool down before shutting down, and taking that into practice myself.

Wheezy, that sucks man, I sure hope that you get lasting results. Have you tried replacing the thermal compound yet?

[GamestationOH]

QUOTE(Shareef187 @ Mar 1 2008, 08:13 PM)

Thanks GamestationOH, this is the 2nd time you've answered my question (and quite knowledgeably, if I may add) where no one else had (at least not prior to yours). It's very much appreciated. I'll definitely be advising any clients whom get their 360 repaired by me to let their systems cool down before shutting down, and taking that into practice myself.

Wheezy, that sucks man, I sure hope that you get lasting results. Have you tried replacing the thermal compound yet?

Arctic Silver 5 is about the best out there... but the compound that Microsoft uses look identical to Arctic Silver and most likely is... Still no harm in replacing it... it you do it correctly. If you do a dirty job doing it you could make things much worst! Oils from your skin draw heat the points were the are on microchips, so always clean ALL the chips on the motherboard after handling.

Her is a great buy on Arctic Silver with cleaner and purifier on Ebay...
Item number: 350029727054

You can use a citrus based cleaner to get rid of the old compound and a credit card of gift card to help scap it off. Then purify the chips with 90%+ rubbing alcohol and wipe with a clean paper towel or lint free cloth. Apply new compund (rice grain size) and spread with clean credit card so that it paper thin and cover all the sliver on the chips.

[Wheezy13]

QUOTE(Shareef187 @ Mar 1 2008, 02:13 PM)

Wheezy, that sucks man, I sure hope that you get lasting results. Have you tried replacing the thermal compound yet?

Yep, I replaced the old stuff with Arctic Silver 5. I'm beginning to think I might have too much paste on both chips though, as I definitely have more than a "rice grain" size.

[VanydotK]

I've done the penny fix + x-clamp fix together on a few machines and it does not work.. it dies after a month or so. Either one or the other, don't do both.

[Scan-C]

QUOTE(GamestationOH @ Mar 1 2008, 06:17 PM)

When you stop playing and turn the 360 off, the fans stop running and the CPU/GPU is still at its high temperature, by now has no fan cooling it. The temperature will now rise at the core and the heat sink rapidly. I believe this is the moment that the 3RROD happens.

Could you explain this in more detail? How can the temperature rise when there's no power going to the cpu and no heat is produced? The heatsink is at the highest temperature the system will reach while playing and it can only cool down when you shut the xbox off. It cools slower as if the fans were running but that shouldn't be a problem since the cpu temperature can only be as high as it was while playing and that didn't cause any damage.
Also cooling solder slower is a good thing. if you rapidly cool it down (e.g. putting it in the freezer) it will crack pretty fast. Of course this doesn't matter when you just leave the 360 sitting at the dashboard.
I don't want to make you sound stupid or anything but I can't see how the temperature is rising when there's no heat produced anymore.

[GamestationOH]

I don't have and RF Temp gauge (getting one next week). I do have a wired digital thermometer. I can only read the outer edges f the heat sinks. I am not saying the processor core gets hotter, it doesn't. But by RBJTech reading and another test in the link listed below... the temperature reading do not even come close to matching.  

http://console.hardocp.com/article.html?ar...CxoY29uc29sZQ==
http://rbjtech.bulldoghome.com/pages/rbjte...re_Readings.htm

Neither of these tests show the difference in temp. from non game play to gameplay temps... They are very different! That is why the 2 SPEED FAN runs faster when you put a disc in the 360. Now consider that when you "cook" your system to over heat it to fix the 3RROD, you do this with the fans unplugged. The core temps reach  the threshold set my the manufacture and turn off causing 2 red lights. The CPU/GPU have a high temperature that they can reach and then go no higher. That CPU/GPU IS generating that amount of heat all the time it is on, it just gets carried away by the fans. So, the point is... if you turn the fans off at a moment that the CPU/GPU is generating the most quantity of heat (during gameplay) you are essentially doing a "cooking
" of the CPU/GPU of a few seconds.

This post has been edited by GamestationOH: Yesterday, 05:50 PM