Should I install a cooling fan in the box or should I not worry bout it. Some say I should and others say don't bother. Whats your opinion on the issue. Thank you for the help
its real easy to mod the fan that already in there is 2 wires for the retail xbox fan, a red and a black, smip the black wire and solder it to the metal surrounding the motherboard this allows the fan to run at a much better 12volts the fan is actually a higher voltage fan than is used for in the xbox, so it wont damage it in any way. Also I cut a hole at the back of the hdd tray, just behind the ide socket of the hd, all the width of the tray, this allows for better flow , as the fan doesnt cool the hdd much , DUE to the tray that is there. Remember a fan works not by blowing cool air in, but by sucking hot air out, therefore creating a continual flow. I get temperatures of 43c (cpu) 39c (mo/bo) they rarely change, if so its minimal I have a seagate 80gb hd , although it is a 5400, if you mod the fan as I said, and also the hdd tray, Im sure you will be fine.
7200rpm drives dont typically get excessively hot unless you run them with a lot of disk activity for 10+ hours nonstop at a time. If you are concerned about heat but dont want to get a fan, get a 5400 rpm drive as they run a lot cooler and Xbox's dont require that much in terms of transfer speed
Im with pra on this one, I never actually bother with 7200rpm drives, no real need for em. But Id still increased the voltage of the fan on a bigger hdd. anyone want a jolly rancher?