Xbox 360: the price of keepin' it Kool [update 1]
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Jun 26th 2006 at 2:55PM }
Koolance has developed a pricey cooling kit for Xbox 360, which features its patented Exos-LT system. At $394.99, the kit is essentially the cost of the premium console itself. In addition, Koolance warns, "[Installation] can be a labor-intensive task that should only be attempted by experienced individuals. Any manufacturer warranty on the Xbox 360 is voided by installing or using this product."Is overheating enough of a concern to warrant an additional $395 investment? No. So who will buy the cooling kit? The unlucky few with faulty units? Maybe. Hardcore fanboys? It's possible. Paranoid geeks? Definitely. Exploiting mass hysterias with niche product solutions is what keeps these companies afloat. Can't knock the hustle.
Update: fixed price.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Josh @ Jun 26th 2006 3:00PM
Price is coming up as $394.99 for me.
What a dumb invention. It doesn't make the system any faster, and if you're having overheating problems MS will fix your machine for free...just another company trying to make some money off paranoid gamers with deep pockets.
watership @ Jun 26th 2006 3:06PM
Attention! Overheating is NOT a problem on the Xbox360! It will not make your xbox 360 any faster! The reason the device has heat coming out the back is that the heat is LEAVING THE XBOX 360! I AM A VICTIM OF INTERNET HEARSAY! GIVE ME A PLACEBO!
Huzzah.
J Ron @ Jun 26th 2006 3:12PM
If your 360 overheats it is most likely defective and you should send it back and get it fixed or replaced.
I've run my 360 for hours (up to 16 or more) in a 85 degree stuffy office. It's set between my hot 21" crt monitor and warm stereo system. The power brick is on the carpet in a semi enclosed area. It never over heated once.
I have a friend who also has his in a poorly ventilated area and he's had no issues.
I also beleive they are "Exploiting mass hysterias" of dumb gamers. Is it a coincidence that the unit in the picture is installed on a 'tard pack?
J B Cougar @ Jun 26th 2006 3:13PM
There's a wicked rumor going around the Net today that this thing was secretly released by Sony so that unsuspecting people would buy it and then think that the 360 cost as much as the PS3.
Clint @ Jun 26th 2006 3:15PM
Why doesn't M$ just come out with a console that works properly?
JimmyHACK @ Jun 26th 2006 3:19PM
rip off, save teh $350 towards your ps3 and wii purchase this fall
jc @ Jun 26th 2006 3:20PM
Clint, my X360 works great. What are you talking about?
J Ron @ Jun 26th 2006 3:24PM
Clint, it does. just becuase a handfull are defective doesn't mean the large majority don't work properly.
"Hmmm, my pen stopped working, I guess all pens made by Bic don't work." --Clint's Logic
Jeb @ Jun 26th 2006 3:28PM
What I need is a way to make my 360 hotter so I can start cooking on it. I already spend most of my day with the damn thing, but this would enable me to sit and game for even longer sessions.
Lionel @ Jun 26th 2006 3:31PM
Unless you can overcock your 360, this add-on is pretty useless.
J Ron @ Jun 26th 2006 3:32PM
Hey Jeb, I like your idea. Perhaps you should have waited and got a ps3: http://www.ps3grill.com
KineticOnline @ Jun 26th 2006 3:55PM
Anyone that is good enough to fit one of these to a 360 would be able to do it themselves for alot cheaper using an interal kit
SuicideNinja @ Jun 26th 2006 4:06PM
Clint, think of it this way.
You buy something. It works great. Do you jump on the internet and waste a bunch of time saying WOO HOO! IT'S ALIVE! or do you just enjoy your purchase?
Or...
You buy something. It's defective and has problems immediatlely or shortly after the purchase? Do you grumble about it to yourself, or jump on the internet and complain gratuitously about it. Since the internet connects millions upon millions of people...you find someone else that has the same problem. Then both of you find more people. Since all the people with problems band together, suddenly it's an epidemic, even though its a very small number of unfortunate consumers.
I don't know anyone with a failed 360. I've left mine on overnight, I've played it for hours, etc. etc. No serious problems. It's a launch console I received for my birthday as well.
r-deezy @ Jun 26th 2006 4:06PM
"Can't knock the hustle."
Is someone feeding the Joystiq crew Crunk Juice? Keepin' it gangsta as always.
Holla!
randomshagz @ Jun 26th 2006 4:18PM
That thing looks like the bomb from Counter-Stike.
~Bomb has been planted.
Rare Hare @ Jun 26th 2006 4:27PM
J Ron:
right, right.. and the logic used by most, if not all, Microsoft and Nintendo fanboys isn't "Hmmm, the laser disc reader on my PS2's disc drive appears to be delicate and might malfunction if not cleaned properly.. well, i guess all Sony consoles are pieces of shit and they only sold 100 million units because 70% of them were replacements".
riiiight. you're a hypocrit, and you know it.
GamerZero @ Jun 26th 2006 4:29PM
I tried a 20 hour burn in test with Oblivion running on the 360.I didn't play every minute but left the game running whilst I was doing something else and coming back to it to play.My 360 is in the middle of a hi-fi rack which I believe has good breathing space and the brick sits on the carpet with nothing around it.
No problems what so ever.
The only thing that annoys me is that it is as loud as my PC.Considering it has multi-core achitecture,500 Mhz ATI GPU and all in a case that's half the size of my PC,it's no wonder it's got 2 fans going full bore out the back.
My advice is to turn up the volume on that huge surround sound amp you bought and admire the excellent sound that the 360 pumps out.
Jay @ Jun 26th 2006 4:51PM
GamerZero your experiment brought 2 things to your life.
- You know your 360 works
- You got a large electricity bill.
Geist @ Jun 26th 2006 5:11PM
I can't stand the system, but from people I've known, there haven't been too many problems. A friend of mine had to get his replaced cause of some red light thing, and might be doing it again, but another has had zero problems with his, and that one is put somewhere behind his couch. Wasn't it all just a problem with the manufacturer of the power brick?
SonicRift @ Jun 26th 2006 5:40PM
I've only had 2 problems so far with my 360:
1. It locked up once in the Full Auto demo
2. Gears of War isn't out yet. Seriously, the gun is a frikken' chainsaw. That is so badass.
Smack042 @ Jun 26th 2006 5:42PM
Geez, at that price if your 360 brick's just go buy another core system and you'll get another controller too. I havent had any problems with mine at all but just to be safe i put a Chillmat under mine. 25 bucks and BAM! no worries.
Joe Smith @ Jun 26th 2006 6:03PM
ANyone with the moeny to waste on this should call me. I have some bottomland in Florida to sell you.
Bob Johnson @ Jun 26th 2006 6:06PM
It isn't just dumb gamers. My first one was a piece of crap. The replacement has never even hiccupped. So they had a few defectives at first just like should be expected and the new ones work perfectly. This is an old issue and a stupid product.
RazorElite @ Jun 26th 2006 7:54PM
This is so absolutely useless it isn't funny. It's not like PC watercooling that's actually useful 'cause PC enthusiasts will want to see how much they can overclock their system. But the 360 won't be overclocked and as it is, the fan is quite adequate. And if it weren't go buy one of those $20 ones. But a cooling system that costs as much as the premium system itself.... wonder how much of these they'd sell.
ill trooper @ Jun 26th 2006 8:09PM
I would think this was a lot funnier if my 360 had not died last week, giving me mysterious 3 red LED error signals after that damn backward-compat update.
It's out of warranty, so I'm pretty let down.
"Old issue," "stupid product" or not, if overheating has eventually overtaken my formerly flawless launch-day 360, it's something Microsoft needs to look into. Looking into this on the internet, it wasn't too hard to find sites with lots of knoweledge and experience with failing 360s.
I'm bummed, but what can I do? I guess I'll pay to get it repaired.
It's great when people NOT having problems act like "YOU'RE AN IDIOT!" if you are. Yes, it's been properly ventilated, etc., etc., etc., but an 'inherent flaw' with cooling might be the bigger problem if more and more of these things die in the field. Busted out the old xbox and that old beast is still fine.
...And nice Jay-Z quote!
SeNiLe911 @ Jun 27th 2006 4:09AM
Fix your overheating headache by buying your Xbox 360 at Costco where you get a life time warranty. If it burns up, take it back and get a new one. END OF STORY!
Waccoon @ Jun 27th 2006 5:55AM
Anyone seriously considering this device is the kind of person who will buy the redesigned, cooler XBox 360 in 2007. Hell, just get yourself a backup 360 for the same money, and it takes less space.
The PC Mod Market should die horribly.
Ben Hobbs @ Jun 27th 2006 6:45AM
I'm sure that half the people complaining of broken xbox360's have been doing daft things with them, trying to hack them, leaving them on radiators or next to a fire etc...
The other half, well its a modern piece of consumer electronics, I doubt the failure rate is any higher than any other piece of modern electronics.
Andrew @ Jun 27th 2006 1:35PM
Yea, my 350 is under my TV, next to my radio, and basically surrounded by the useless crap of my room that I have yet to truly identify as mine. That little corner under the desk that my TV is on gets really hot. I've got like...everything I have that puts out heat in that corner. My 360 does just fine there. Also, the guys at OXM have like 16 360's that they've had from launch, and they've never had a single problem with any of theirs. I agree with Ben on this one. My cell phone has sooo many issues. I'll turn it on and the screen will randomly be on upside down. That's a $200 dollar phone. Though, I do find the upside down screen kinda funny...
I'll admit that I've had one problem with my 360. One time my house got struck by lightning while I was playing it. Yea...I had isolated myself in my room and turned my sound system up rather loudly, so I never heard the storm come. All of a sudden, my screen goes dead and the lights around my power button go all red. I just clicked the power button twice, system zinged to life, and all I had to do was redownload some backwards compatibility stuff from Live. Still, I love that system.
matt @ Jun 27th 2006 6:26PM
All you people complaining about the Xbox 360 being defective are idiots.
History lesson:
In 1995 the PS1 was launched in North America. It was a piece of shit.
In 2000 the PS2 was launched in North America. It too was a piece of shit.
In 2005 the Xbox 360 was launched in North America. The shittiness continues.
Anyone notice a pattern? New technology is always riddled with problems and I will eat my stool if the PS3 doesn't suffer from the crap factor as well. Here's some helpful advice: BUY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY and shut the hell up.
Thanks.
kevin @ Jun 27th 2006 9:06PM
although its kool and all, who would pay 350 buck for a cooling system that voids all you warrentys? i would actually get another core system or buy a lotta games.... can you say "STUPID RIP-OFF"???!?!?
Matt @ Jun 28th 2006 3:12AM
The PS3 has already proven to be shit at E3. This thing is a waste of money, with that contraption stuffed in your machine producing its own heat it'll probably cause the 360 to overheat faster. If you just handle the thing like you should you won't have problems.
drewman @ Jul 27th 2006 11:07AM
well lets see you have to open up your xbox 360 and place cooling tubes inside of it, breaking the warentee. its a nice invention but alittle pricey
Tom @ Jul 27th 2006 7:52PM
People keep talking shit on PS3 when it hasn't even been launched.If its worse than 360 at launch then go ahead and talk shit but wether the system is good or not,Sony still has the best games and Mircrosoft can't contend.Wether the graphics are better on 360 or whatever the over quality of Playstation games definetly overules any microsoft product and I can bet a lot of people can back me up to.Sony has many long running series that aren't even being played out because fans keep asking for more and the games are jam packed with storylines and actually give you a reason to play them so stop whining and comparing your shitty 360's to a system thats not even involved with this and hasn't been launched yet.Just because your system sucks and has problems your trying to make another system look bad to make youself feel better.Good job your very mature.
Deatonis-CrimsonStriker @ Jul 27th 2006 10:33PM
Having a cool system can be important though it doesnt normally cause it to run better but a cool 360 doesnt turn a room into a sauna in the middle of summer. Here's what I did I went out and bought an antec laptop cooler fits perfectly to the 360 its only like 60 with tax, looks nice uses a usb and you can also use it for your laptop to me its worth every penny especially when i use my laptop for gaming overclocked.