Xbox 360 PC (but on hard mode)

[ShadowChaser]

LMG uploaded a very timely (exclusive) video that prompted me to show off this little gaming workstation I built inside an Xbox 360 E chassis. I've worked on this on and off for the last few months but it's currently in a state that I think is good enough to share!

 

The Xbox 360 E was the final and smallest model of Xbox 360 released - it's even smaller than the 360 Slim (albeit only by a cm or so) and that presented a fairly large challenge to me.

This was also the 360 model that I used a lot as a kid so I'm rather fond of it - this old beat up specimen was picked up off of ebay as not working so I don't feel too terrible about gutting it.

The last time I did an Xbox 360 E build it was an APU only build. This time I wanted to add a dGPU but still keep the power supply internal. If I were to go with an APU only build again the Ryzen AI Max boards look like good candidates to me.

 

Internal view of the layout:

Spoiler

 

Parts list:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600
• Mobo: MSI B450i
• Cooler: Thermalright AXP90-X36 + Reeven 8010 fan
• RAM: Silicon Power 16GB DDR4
• GPU: Nvidia RTX A2000
• PSU: HDPlex 250W GaN ATX
• Add'l cooling provided by Noctua NF-A4x20 fans

 

It's a nice compact build made possible by designing a custom backplate for the motherboard that screws into the original mounting holes for the Xbox's internals. The GPU is supported by a small anti-sag bracket, the PCIe slot, and the rear cover. The AC input lies in between the GPU and motherboard. Close up shot included below:

Spoiler

 

Cooling was a challenge. The A2000 runs hot by design so I elected to leave its exhaust open. The rear cover has openings next to the VRM heatsink in an effort to allow some passive airflow as the overall air pressure situation is slightly negative. One 40mm fan directly intakes towards the PSU and GPU while the other is squeezed between the CPU cooler and the side of the Xbox as an exhaust. This was necessary to prevent hot air from recirculating around the CPU cooler, something the blower style GPU does not run afoul of.

 

The intake required a shroud to minimize noise. Spacing the fan away and ducting airflow over a larger surface helped greatly with an unpleasant resonance. The exhaust fan did not suffer from this issue, thankfully, as there was no room to space it from the side of the chassis. Close ups of the fans are here:

Spoiler

 

 

While the original disk tray cover is merely tacked in place, the buttons on the front fascia are fully functional. The power button is (perhaps unsurprisingly) the power button and the disk eject button is the reset button. The standard green power LED retains its original purpose, and while I would have liked to have the HDD LED use the red LED, due to how they are grounded it was impossible to use without this specific motherboard throwing a fit. Therefore I had to resort to using the P1/P2 LED for my HDD activity indicator.

Despite this change, the two are still very distinguishable, even from a distance:

Spoiler

 

Performance is as expected for these lower mid-range components. Under load the CPU and GPU fans are audible but the tones are not particularly harsh, and temperatures are quite reasonable.

I used Fan Control to set custom fan curves that only ramp up once under load. I also used PBO curve optimizer on the CPU which helped boost performance in multicore applications.

In a 76F/24.5C room the GPU tops out at 73C and the CPU tops out at 88C. I consider this to be acceptable given the constraints of the build and the less than ideal airflow path.

Some unoptimized benchmark scores are as follows:

• Steel Nomad: 1412
• Time Spy: 6311 Total | 6089 Graphics | 7958 CPU
• Fire Strike: 15244 Total | 16375 Graphics | 23414 CPU
• Cinebench: 1533 (single) | 11299 (multi)

 

With new LP GPUs on the market I can envision myself turning this into a capable little LAN box. A 4060/5060LP would be a drop in upgrade as there's room for the extra PCIe power cable, but in keeping with the theme of a mobile workstation I'm personally very intrigued by the Arc Pro B50. That appears to be the perfect upgrade from an A2000 and should also bring with it a nice bump in gaming performance!

 

Some other improvements I'd like to make are to add USB ports under the front flap just like the original, and designing a better rear cover that doesn't require heat forming and gluing a 3D printed piece. As it stands currently it is perfectly usable as is and I'm not bothered by the lack of ports or the slightly malformed rear. I don't poke around back that frequently anyway.

[TheCamba]

Super cool build.  I don't think I have seen anyone modding the E model.

[ShadowChaser]

7 hours ago, TheCamba said:

Super cool build.  I don't think I have seen anyone modding the E model.

It's the hardest to build in of the 360 family for sure and pretty similar to building in an Xbox One S. Main difference is you can't really fit a full height gpu in a 360 E without some creativeness whereas the longest dimension in a One S will let you slot in a mITX board and a full height GPU with just a short pcie extension.