Xbox:Fan Replacement

Original Xbox consoles have reached an age where fans often begin to have issues. Fans are mechanical components they are subject to wear and should be lubricated. If your fan is noisy, this often means that it's lubrication or even it's bearings/motor are worn out.

You may 're-lube' the fan to add a second life to it or as preventive maintenance, but your results may vary depending on the fan's age/wear. If it's still noisy or you want to make it even more silent, there's a few options that you have listed below.

Do note that the noise of your Xbox could also come from it's HDD or DVD drive and that the 1.0 revision of the Xbox also has a GPU fan.

The main fan is connected to the bottom plastic shell of the Xbox by two clips.

Nexus fan
The easiest solution is a "Nexus fan replacement kit" which contains 3D printed parts to fit perfectly into the Xbox. But even the "Nexus 70mm fan" by itself can be installed into the original mount.

Nexus Fan (according to Amazon ):


 * Acoustic Noise: 19.8 dB(A)
 * Airflow: 21.1 CFM

Noctua
Another common brand for silent fans is 'Noctua'. In general, bigger fans have a lower pitched sound and displace more air for the same rotational speed.

Though, to use a 80mm fan you will need to do some work with a dremel, but it can be well worth it if you're going for absolutely silent (in combination with an SSD and no DVD).

Noctua NF-A8 ULN, 80mm (according to Tweakers.net ):


 * Acoustic Noise: 10,4 dB(A)
 * Airflow: 20,48 CFM

Another option is to use a 60mm fan with an 3D-printed adapter, though do note that the 60mm fan displaces less air and you may have to adjust the fan speed of your Xbox for it to cool properly. Thus having little audible advantage over a well maintained/lubed original fan.

Noctua NF-A6x25 FLX, 60mm (according to Tweakers.net ):


 * Acoustic Noise: 19.3 dB(A)
 * Airflow: 17,19 CFM

To replace the GPU fan, you can use a 40mm version of a Noctua with an 3D printed adapter.

Iceberq Pro 4 VGA
This fan is worth to mention as it incorporates the heatsink as part of the fan and can be used as a very low profile alternative for the big heatsink with a big fan.

However, this fan is extremely hard to find for purchase anywhere.