Building a better Xbox: Introduction

I'm not generally a fan of many Microsoft products. Most seem rushed, buggy, and more concerned with keeping trade secrets than working well with other technologies. However, I do like my Xbox 360, for what it does: providing a fairly stable platform to game with friends remotely, a very good Netflix interface, and decent video and audio output overall. However, I have some problems with my 360. It's loud, generates enough BTUs to keep my room a toasty 80 degrees F, and it will probably die if I don't address the airflow problems with the case design.

My solution to this problem?

Gut an old PowerMac G5 I have lying around that I'm not using for anything and put my Xbox innards inside its roomy case with silent, but decent CFM fans.

Potential issues:



Form factor incompatibility

I doubt the motherboard for either is ATX standard, so I'll have to engineer a solution for this. Maybe involving sheet metal.



Power distribution (i.e How will I run my case fans off of the puny power supply from my 360?)

There are options here ranging from using the rails from the PowerMac and splicing the 12V to work with the fans, possibly with a rheostat to control fan speed. Another possibility is to run them from an AC/DC converter, and to mount a surge protector in the case to provide AC to all the components.



Front button and LED operation and ports

The power button can probably be wired via splicing the current Mac power button into the leads from the switch on the front of the Xbox. The synch button also needs to be replicated, as well as the eject button. The LED system either needs to be replicated and fabricated from new components spliced into the leads on the Xbox, or the current system needs to be grafted in some cohesive way onto the front of the case. Also, the front USB ports should be integrated into the final solution, as well as the rear USB port. It is possible that I could mount the Xbox board in such a way that the rear ports are accessible without port extensions.



As I progress through this project, I will include photos of various stages, and document any problems that present themselves. This should be interesting!