Sunday, March 11, 2012

Four Simple Practices That Lengthen The Lifetime Of Your Xbox 360

By Don Sullivan


Is your Xbox treating you right? An affirmative answer to the above question means it been smooth sailing so far. But you should understand that you can't take this for granted.

Unless you're a complete newbie to the world of the Xbox or a hermit, you must have heard about the red ring of death. If you care about the long term health of your Xbox, proper care and maintenance is a must. The Xbox was not designed well and is quite frail, so give this advice some serious thought.

You could be facing the ring of death or severe overheating if the console is abused in certain ways. It should go without saying that any mechanical device requires care and maintenance, this includes your Xbox. Here are four tips that will keep your Xbox humming along:

1.) Just like a car engine that overheats too often, chronic heat exposure of your Xbox will shorten its life. Heat warps the motherboard and damages it's components. Heat attacks the solder joints in the console causing them to weaken and crack.

Pay close attention to where your gaming is done. It should be in a cool space with plenty of ventilation. Otherwise the cooling system inside the Xbox will be blowing hot air across the internal components.

At the end of your session, let the console idle for twenty minutes before shut down. Doing this prevents heat spikes from occurring.

2.) Dust is second only to heat in its destructiveness to electronics. Dust reduces and changes the cooling air that is blown across the motherboard.

Dust can also build up into insulating layers that trap the internal heat of the console. This will inevitably lead to overheating.

3.) Believe it or not, cigarette smoke is harmful to your Xbox. When cigarette smoke comes into contact with the motherboard, it leaves a coating of sticky tar.

This provides a sticky surface for dust to adhere to. This glued on dust is resistant to easy cleaning methods such as blowing air or vacuuming.

4.) Be very careful when buying an external fan for your Xbox. The selection of these types of fans is huge. Some work well while others should be avoided entirely.

You should also understand that Microsoft doesn't approve of any external cooling fan. Pick the wrong one and you will end up with a damaged console and a voided warranty. You should make an informed purchase by reading the customer reviews for each fan model.




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