I have put all my a/v equipment into a new entertainment center. The usual problem is that no one designs an entertainment center that is actually designed to hold a/v equipment. They make the cabinet area big enough but they never include any kind of cooling. You cannot cram a/v equipment into a small wooden box and expect it to stay at a safe operating temperature.
Previously I had case fans powered by AC that I mounted to the back of the entertainment center. These worked okay but they were loud and you had to figure out how to run them only when you wanted them on. There are improved versions of these that look interesting since they use a preset temperature sensor to control when they run. The problem with these is that they do require more AC outlets which is just more cable running out the back of the entertainment center. Still I may give these a try.
For now I decided that I could best keep my XBox 360 cool by using something that powered off the XBox. I found many places where you could build your own USB Fan (Make A Cheap USB Powered Fan). So I decided to adapt this idea. You can pick up inexpensive 5v Case fans at several places online. Then take an old USB cable and wire the power and ground to the case fans. Cut holes in the back of the entertainment center cabinet and drill holes for the mounting screws. You will need 1 1/2 screws and wing nuts to secure the fans. The back of most entertainment centers if very thin so trying to put screws into the back doesn’t work very well.
Here is what mine turned out looking like:
Plug the USB cable into the Xbox and you have powered cooling fans. The only downside here is that they will run all the time. The Xbox 360 powers the USB port all the time (thanks to Chris for pointing this out to me before I went ahead with the project). Still these fans are rated to run for some time. I have both fans pushing air out of the cabinet. They are very quiet (you can’t hear them at all). And it works. Check out my temperature measurements before and after the fans were installed:
Before install:
0 minutes 74 F (turned on XBox 360)
1 minute 80 F
6 minutes 92 F
11 minutes 100 F (turned off XBox)
2 minutes 89 F
5 minutes 84 F
After Cooler Install:
0 minutes 74 F (turned on Xbox 360)
1 minutes 77 F
6 minutes 82 F
11 minutes 84 F (turned off XBox)
2 minutes 79 F
5 minutes 78 F
So as you can see the fans make a huge difference. Bring the operating temperature in the cabinet down to 84F from 100F. I may experiment with turning one fan to pull air in and see if there is any difference.
