for all xbox360 owner, 3rrod is a curse and for me who takes a lot of times to save money just to enjoy playing this platform, wasting a console over permanently is something that is the worst nightmare.
actually i already got once 3rrod and it scare the hell out of me as i am enjoying playing mass effect right now,
so, using my old gadget from good old PC modding knowledge back at university time, i dont care how terrible the looks as long as i don't get the curse fell into my beloved 360...
well, i upload it for all of you, just FYI...

overall view of my 360...

upper fan for HDD

3 fan on lower casing provide enough air flow...

2 powerful fan to suck out hot air from inside 360...

before modding this set-up,playing games for 30minutes already makes this part very hot and when u eject the disc, u can feel it hot too. laser form the reader WONT make that kind of heat, only hot air trapped inside can make it hot. and that is the main cause of 3rrod.
after i make this freak set-up, this area ain't feeling any heat at all.
and now i can enjoy with peace of mind playing mass effect hehe...

i'm using external power supply.
i bought a power converter from 240v to 12v to supply the fans.
this can be bought at any electric shop. even giant sell this one. cheap only, around rm10.
i didn't use the usb as it only 5v, not enough power.
yes, the design do look sluggish but then with limited budget, thats d best i can do right now.
looking forward to make water cooled system

and bro, opening everything aint good as the air need to be flowed.
by opening, yes there are more surface area but for heat to dissipate through air, you need air flow.
air flow is not as good as water, keep in mind of this...

there are built in blow out fan through the back of 360 but it not enough.
and when i add the external fan at the back, between the built in fan and the external, the setup will create some sort of vacuum space so whatever the external fan speed are, it will inflict better airflow to the internal fan(external fan need to be higher air flow rate!)
the heat sink just to support the fan though hehe no particular usage hehe

i've been using this set-up for more than a month already and so far so good:)

it's not about in aircond room or not.
what important is the air flow.
if you supply enough airflow, then you can see the improvement.
two area you can monitor is the air flowing out at the back and the DVD disc. as i mention earlier, dvd cannot be heated by the reading laser from the dvdrom bay. it heat up by trapped hot air inside the console.
the analogy is like driving your car in traffic jam, if your aircond fan not on, your aircond will turn to oven. your car need to move in order to get airflow pushing hot air from the radiator and cool air to the hot surface.
my method only have one main issue i've foreseen and that is dust accumulation. this one u can minimize by placing the console high from the floor like on top of a mini cabinet (u can see how i put) and clean the fan and external console periodically.
as i said earlier, water cooled is the best option but warranty wise... u noe...
right now i'm still under warranty so my set-up is d best for my current situation as i don't open anything.

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Added on December 27, 2007, 2:48 pmmentioning about the dvd, my dvd disc still not too cool but then compared before i did this set-up, it is much worse! i can't hold the dvd for long, just insert my finger in the middle hole and at the side. maybe can cook egg at the top
anyhow, my main target is the temperature of the disc as that is my benchmark of best airflow. the lower the heat, much faster the lens can read from the disc and translate to faster loading time. but u can't be much less heat as the laser need certain heat to operate.
u see, u can cool down the gpu and cpu and ram to the lowest but the disc is another matter. there is where u get the data to play the game. u damage the disc, u need to buy a new disc. and heat can detoriate disc over time...

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Added on December 27, 2007, 2:52 pmand i put both blow in and suck out just to maximize the airflow. and u cannot just simply put the strongest suck out fan cause heat need time to transfer from one material to another kind of material. and heat transfer of radiation is the slowest (there are three kind of heat transfer)

This post has been edited by lewmoker: Dec 27 2007, 02:52 PM

u can buy it at any IT shop. actually all that is for PC. i wired back to use external power as for PC it have it's own power supply outlet.
only at the back i use more than average fan. the blue one, awkward in design do suck out a lot of air without too noisy and if i remember correctly it cost me RM60 with copper heatsink. that heatsink i still use for my PC though.
when you want to install the fan please take note the direction the air is flowing. as a general rule, the one with the crossing(with the sticker showing how many voltage/ampere) is where the air will blow to.

hehe warranty really didnt cover 3rrod but for evrything else like manufacturer warranty? i don't want to void that...
anyhow by opening your case, it's prone to other danger like electrocution, dust, bugs even water leakage. u never noe what will happen ryt?
anyway, it's up to u guys on how u want to cooldown ur 360 and reduce the 3rrod possibility.
fyi i'm giving out how to assemble fans like what i've done...

1st things u need:
240v to 12v coverter (look up to ampere rating, 600mA and above should suffice)
some wires
tapes
screws to fasten to xbox casing.
fans (in my case i use 6 fans)

ok step by step
1. cut the converter wire to expose positive and negative terminal. usually the converter can be both as it have switch to change polarity.
2. screw the fan according o your arrangements but as general rule, back fans is to suck out and others to blow in.
3. make sure u put ur console a bit elevated to promote good air flow from beneath.
4. connect fans wire to converter terminals.
5. u should on the fans before on 360 and shut it off around 5 minutes after u shutdown 360.
if u have experienced in modding PC then u have no problems. anyway dudes, good luck to avoid 3rrod

haha wcliang, ur method are very true haha... ;p
what u've done is better than what i've done and a lot easier haha
only i dont have table fan like urs... and that halo helmet, cool man...