xbox ultimate solid-mod

[stj]

previously, others have put polymers in xboxes,
but usually not replaced the smd electrolytics or the vrm smoothing.
the main failing caps!!
and often they used oversize caps that dont fit well.



so here is one done right, i call it the XXX-BOX because it's hardcore!

[diif]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

Looking good, are they the poly caps you got from Ali?

[stj]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

everything other than vrm was ali,
vrm came from RS.

but only because i got those first - future boxes will be 100% ali sourced.
btw, while doing this i discovered something usefull.
any FOXLINK psu's - check the 1200uf caps!!!!

[Stefan Payne]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

are that two totally different PCB revisions with some major changes?
Especially the CPU area and Power connector...

[stj]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

there is very little changed between v1 and v1.5
almost exactly the same caplist.

v1.0 has a usb hub on a riser card,
v1.1 and higher has it on the main board.
v1.0-1.1 uses a different power connector to 1.2-1.5
other than that there are 2 or 3 different video encoders used.

but if you compare them the differences are very minor.

[Blag]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

Great work but why did you use tantal caps instead of polys in some places?
Also do you've plans to do the same for the psu as well?

[stj]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

the board has pads on it for tantalum caps, but m$ cheaped out during production and only used tants on the underside.

i wont poly the psu - that usually wont work.

[Blag]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

i wont poly the psu - that usually wont work.

Ah alright. Because of the far lower esr of polys? Is this only true for higher wattage psus (xbox and newer) or basically for all psus? I was thinking about replacing the psu caps on some retro consoles, so that would be a real downer.

[stj]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

it's true for all psu's,
the most common problem is the psu see's the caps as a short-circuit at power-on and shuts down or goes into a startup-shutdown loop.

[Blag]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

Thanks I'll keep that in mind. Many retro consoles have a external psu and only a small internal power board so that could be fine.

[stj]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

yea, anything older than playstation/saturn uses external AND usually not switching but traditional transformer design.

[RoroX]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

Noooooice, did you change 10v 3300μF caps to 6.3v 1500μF

[stj]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

yes,
but notice i fitted more of them.

where m$ used 3300uf they left spaces because they had originally fitted 1500 or 1800uf caps.
so the total capacitance is actually similar - but the esr is much lower!

[RoroX]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

Awesome, can tell me the paramets of your tantalum caps?

[stj]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32370177546.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32372832101.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32983008282.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32951610902.html

[RoroX]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

Sorry for bothering you, but what are the ESRs of your 25v 22uF / 100uF caps?

[stj]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

i have no idea.
lets just say that they have to be better than the original general purpose crap i removed.
it's not critical there anyway - only for the 1500uf caps because they are smoothing power circuits.

[danielu]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

Hi all,
Just revisting this after a long time.
That poly mode(with oversized caps) is mine and yes is not done well, pro level. Did not have the experience(not that i have it now) or the tools. I ordered the wrong size also. Lost my patience and just wanted to be done already.

@stj electrolytics were replaced with 'new' ones. I did that because i have found caps with the right values atm. Also didnt want to risk it too much. The info was scarce.

I have thought to replace the smd ones too but they were ok .

Completed Forza Motorsport and Splinter cell on that xbox board.
100h+ i have played, i think.
It doesnt look nice but it works right even now , in 2020. (wow).PC PSU mod also.

Anyway glad someone did the right and full job. Hope it helps others.

Stay healthy.

[stj]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

thanks,

[KnightNZ]

Re: xbox ultimate solid-mod

Looking at ordering a bunch of those caps off Ali as per the links above as it looks like a really nice solution. No gotchas that you can think of?

Thankfully there's nothing anywhere near where the modchip sits to have to deal with!