Research


 * Thesis**: The Xbox 360 has an insufficient cooling system, which leads to system failures. Microsoft should equip it with a closed loop liquid cooling system to minimize system errors.

1. “As with any computer, the CPU is the heart of the Xbox 360. Microsoft has outfitted the 360 with a 165-million transistor, multi core processor running three 3.2 GHz Power PC cores. “ (Valdes 2) 2. ‘Multi-core processors offer a combination of tremendous computing capabilities and efficient power consumption. They split heavy work loads over multiple powerful processors rather than giving all the work to one super-powerful processor.” (Valdes 2) 3. “The Xbox 360 boasts the new, custom-built 500 MHz ATI Graphics Processor card with 10 MB of embedded DRAM.” (Valdes 3) 4. “The original Xbox to a lot of criticism for how large it was. The cooling system that kept the Xbox’s rather hefty processor cool was the single greatest factor that contributed to the console’s robust size.” (Valdes 4) 5. “In order to fit all that hardware into the slim form factor of the Xbox 360, Microsoft devised a cooling system that combines a small, vacuum-sealed, liquid-cooled system with fans to maintain a comfortable temperature inside the 360” (Valdes 4) 6. “The system regulates the temperature of the cores and adjusts the flow of liquid and fan speed accordingly.” (Valdes 4) 7. “The cooling system monitors the core’s workload: If one or more cores are not needed for the job at hand then the unused cores are automatically turned off.” (Valdes 4)
 * Research-**
 * A.** **Valdes, Robert. "How PlayStation 3 Works." How Stuff Works. Discovery Channel.23 Feb. 2009 .**

1. “These electronics systems are typically cooled by forced air flow using axial fans or centrifugal blowers.” (Kang 1) 2. “When the heat loads are small and relatively diffuse, thermal conduction through aluminum plates is sufficient to spread the heat into fined heat sinks for convection from the fins into the air flow stream. “ (Kang 1) 3. “as heat loads have increased and become more concentrated, better head conductors such as copper plates and heat pipes have been used to improve the spreading of head from head sources… into the heat sink fins.” (Kang 1) 4. “the usable space for the finned heat sinks remains limited by, among other constraints,the heat collection and ransport limitations of heat pipes so higher flow rate system fans or additional local fans have to be used resulting in significant increases in sound powere emitted” (Kang 1) 5. “a more attractive solution is to use closed liquid cooling loops to efficiently spread heat finned surfaces that can be situated almost anywhere within the electronics system.” (Kang 1) 6. “may be two-phase capillary pumped systems such as looped heat pipes” (Kang 1) 7. “or single or two-phase mechanically pumped systems such as the single –phase liquid cooling system used in the apple G5 Power Mac computer.” (Kang 1) 8. “The cooling loops may even be gravity aided thermosiphon systems using dielectric fluids or vapor compression refrigeration systems such as that used in the IBM Z-series mainframe computers.” (Kang 1) 9. “the closed loop cooling systems function only as efficient heat spreaders internally within the electronics system enclosure but the electronics system is still ‘air cooled’ from an external perspective.” (Kang 2) 10. “With the efficient heat spreading within the electronics system enclosure made possible by the closed loop liquid cooling systems, the need for high speed fans is mitigated and the noise levels can be significantly lowered” (Kang 2) 11. “A cold plate is the component within the liquid cooling system that physically contacts the electronic module and enables the transfer of heat form the electronic module into the liquid coolant.” (Kang 2) 12. “The heat exchanger component of a liquid cooling system enables the transfer of head from the liquid into the stream of air that flows through it. Its function is similar to a radiator in an automobile.” (Kang 3) 13. “Three aqueous coolants were studied for use in single-phase liquid cooling systems. While the exact compositions evaluated and selected are proprietary, the coolants consist of distilled water, an antifreeze additive such as ethylene glycol, and a suitable corrosion inhibitor.” (Kang 3) 14. “The coolant composition is selected to provide high thermal performance, protection from damage in freezing environments… and long-term protection against corrosion during system operation. “ (Kang 3) 15. “As the power dissipation in high performance personal computers continues to increase, closed loop liquid cooling systems off an excellent means to provide efficient reliable cooling with high cooling capacity and low noise.” (Kang 7)
 * B. Kang, Sukhvinder, David Miller, and John Cennamo. Closed Loop Liquid Cooling for High Performance Computer Systems. Aavid Thermalloy LLC. 25 Feb. 2009. .**

1. “Computers are built out of many digital circuits. These circuits are constantly switching state; i.e.’ when doing calculations. Heat is a byproduct of these calculations.” (Davis 1) 2. “Without proper heat dissipation, your CPU can be damaged beyond repair” (Davis 1) 3. “The first line of defense in this war against heat is a heat sink. It’s just a big chunk of metal that dissipates heat from your CPU and spreads it out across its surface.” (Davis 1) 4. “The surface area of a heat sink is created by many fins. The traditional heat sink is made of aluminum and has many parallel fins.” (Davis 1) 5. “Aluminum can be easily extruded with straight parallel fins. The problem with this design is that air can only move through the fins in one direction, creating a problem for air flow within a computer case.” (Davis 1) 6. “The majority of CPU coolers use a simple aluminum heat sink because it is inexpensive and a good conductor of heat. It is imperative that the heat sink be seated properly on the CPU.” (Davis 2) 7. “A copper heat spreader for that critical center part of the heat sink is a good choice to aid in CPU cooling. “ (Davis 2) 8. “If we just let it sit there, the air around the heat sink gets hot and won’t let any more heat escape. The answer to that problem is… a fan to blow the hot air away from the heat sink” (Davis 2)
 * C. Davis, Roy. "Computer Cooling Tips, Part I." Tech-Tips. 25 Feb. 2009 .**

1. “The most noticeable fault of the system, the one you’d be most likely to hear about from the largest number of users, is how loud it is” (Cross 2). 2. “The ATA DVD-ROM drive attaches to the unit via four plastic posts. These sit right on the motherboard, and I bet that transfers a lot of vibration through the case.” (Cross 2). 3. “In the end, we have to call the operation a moderate success.” (Cross 3)
 * D. Cross, Jason. Quiet Your Xbox 360; Build-It. ExtremeTech.com. 5 Dec. 2006. 4 Mar. 2009. .**

1. “Reports of new heat sinks appearing in repaired consoles would seem to point to inadequate cooling as the source of the problem, which is indicated by three flashing red lights around the console’s power button.” (Gohring 1) 2. “Microsoft has admitted significant problems with its Xbox 360 game console and pledged-at an estimated cost of $1 billion-to extend the console’s warranty for any customers who have experienced the phenomenon that gamers have termed ‘the Red Ring of Death.’” (Gohring 1). 3. “Microsoft refuses to describe its exact nature. ‘We understand the issues and have made changes to dramatically reduce the problem going forward,’ says Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices group.” (Gohring 1) 4. “Customers have been reporting hardware problems since the consoles first hit stores in 2005, according to IDC analyst Billy Pidgeon.” (Gohring 1) 5. “For the first year plus, this was something that was not on our radar,’ says Bach. ‘In the last couple of months we started to see significant increase in repair requests… so we geared up to respond to that appropriately.”
 * E. Gohring, Nancy. "Xbox 360 Repair Bill to Hit $1 Billion." PC World Sept. 2007:32. 4 Mar. 2009 .**

1. “Electronic equipment manufacturers almost always suggest your equipment be kept on open shelving with 6 to 8 inches of space all around.” (Hartfelder 1) 2. “Believe it or not, in certain circumstances with properly designed furniture, adequate ventilation can come from natural air flow.” (Hartfelder 1) 3. “All of our furniture systems feature space behind the shelving and gererous notches in the back panel. This channel of space creates an ‘air chimney’ that allows rising warm air to escape.” (Hartfelder 1) 4. “This natural ventilation can work if, your equipment does not run constantly, the amplification is modest, and the equipment can be loosely spaced” (Hartfelder 1) 5. “Your hottest components should be placed at the top of the cabinet and should not be stacked upon. This way the hottest air will not rise up through your other components.” (Hartfelder 1) 6. “Xbox 360 runs very hot. This aftermarket cooler easily attachs to the system and increases ventilation through three internal fans.” (Hartfelder 4)
 * F. Hartfelder, Dave. Proper Ventilation is Critical to the Longevity and Performance of your Electronics. Diamond Case Designs Inc. 5 Mar. 2009. .**

1. “Since the product’s introduction in November, 2005, a significant quantity of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game consoles have experienced a field malfunction that is indicated by three flashing red LEDs on the front of the console” (“Repair” 1) 2. “Discussions with independent electronic repair shops and an evaluation of the extensive information available on internet user forums and bulletin boards quickly pointed toward the eleven BGA and CSP devices on the Xbox 360 motherboard as the likely source of the problem.” (“Repair” 1) 3. “The solder joints that connect BGA and CSP devices to the contacts on the PCB are made when arrays of dozens, or even hundreds, of tiny spheres of solder attached to the bottom of the device are melted during the reflow soldering process.” (“Repair” 1) 4. “When we subjected several motherboards (from Xbox 360 consoles that suffered the "Red Ring of Death" failure) to microscopic X-ray inspection, it was determined that a substantial number of the solder joints beneath the BGA and CSP devices appeared to be of questionable quality.” (“Repair” 1) 5. “The additional mass of the main chip on the top of the plastic BGAs appears to have prevented sufficient heat from reaching the solder joints closest to the center of each device. This phenomenon is usually an indication that the time and temperature parameters, used for reflow soldering of the motherboard at the point of original manufacture, did not provide a thermal profile sufficient for complete and thorough reflow at all points beneath the BGAs and CSPs on the PCB. This is quite consistent with our X-ray analysis, which also shows that most of the flaws observed (cracking, voids, etc.) are symptomatic of "cold" solder joints with a poor grain structure.” (“Repair” 2) 6. “While a "cold" solder joint may initially provide an adequate electrical connection, long term reliability is jeopardized, especially in applications where the solder bonds are subject to wide temperature fluctuations. In such an environment, continuous expansion and contraction of materials with varying thermal coefficients will quickly destroy the integrity of a "cold" solder joint, creating intermittent problems or even complete failure.” (“Repair” 2) 7. “This is precisely the environment of the Xbox 360 motherboard, due to the high amounts of heat generated by the CPU, GPU and memory components when running graphics-intensive gaming applications” (“Repair 2”)
 * G. Repair Solution for Xbox 360 "Red Ring of Death" Hardware Failure. Manncorp. 10 July 2007. 18 Mar. 2009 .**

Findings- Support: D1, D2, D3, E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, G1
 * 1. Millions of Xbox 360’s fail because of an error referred to as the “Red Ring of Death”**

Support: A1, A2, A3, E1,E5, G1, G2, G3
 * 2. The Xbox 360 gives off a lot of heat**

Support: D1, D2, D3, E3, G1, G2, G3, G4
 * 3. This error is caused in part by the system overheating**

Support: B1-B15, C1-C8, E1-E5, G1-G7
 * 4. It would have been better for Microsoft to outfit the Xbox 360 with a closed loop liquid cooling system.**

Intro In society today, Video Game console and program creation is a multi-million dollar business. The three Giant companies for Video Game consoles at this time are Sony with the PlayStation 3; Nintendo with the Wii; and Microsoft with the Xbox 360. The most popular of these three is the Xbox 360 because of its great game selection and the amazing online play provided by Xbox Live. This is not to say that the Xbox 360 is without problems. Thousands of Xbox 360 consoles have been sent back to be fixed because of the infamous “Red Ring of Death” error. This is caused by the inside components of the Xbox 360 overheating. Microsoft should have outfitted the Xbox 360 with a closed loop liquid cooling system to prevent overheating and save them the cost of fixing all the broken Xbox’s.

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