Nyko announces Intercooler TS for Xbox 360 / PS3

Never has one company mooched off of poor design like Nyko. Okay, so maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but according to the peripheral maker, the original Xbox 360 Intercooler is the top selling third-party accessory for the Xbox 360 -- despite the fact that it's known for torching consoles and leaving bits of carpet hot and bothered. Nevertheless, the long, long overdue Intercooler TS (for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) features a built-in temperature sensor and its own dedicated AC adapter, which will hopefully solve the aforesaid issues experienced with the original. This new, non-hazardous version will sell for $25, while the old, potentially hazardous iteration will somehow remain on store shelves for $20. Spend the extra $5 -- it's cheaper than a new house.

Update: Nyko pinged us to say that the original Intercooler is no longer being sold; the $20 version will be the Intercooler EX.

[telepheedian @ Jul 15th 2008 6:41PM]

...according to the peripheral maker, the original Xbox 360 Intercooler is the top selling third-party accessory for the Xbox 360 -- despite the fact that it's known for torching consoles and leaving bits of carpet hot and bothered...

If this is true, the 360 might be a little more resilient than we all thought, this thing could be torching a lot of them.

[nerdtalker @ Jul 15th 2008 6:44PM]

If anything, I'd rather _not_ use one if I was interested in keeping my Xbox 360 cool after how many things the last generation torched. Bad line-through power supplies, crappy airflow, everything is bad.

You can't fix overheating by slapping fans on top of more fans. Especially fans that the Xbox 360 throttles in the first place.

[MRCUR @ Jul 15th 2008 6:47PM]

Yes, this is 100% true. I still don't think it accounts for many 360 failures... And the people getting consoles torched from Intercoolers seem to get treated pretty well by Nyko. Usually you get the Intercooler and 360 replaced with brand new models of each.

[John @ Jul 15th 2008 6:54PM]

friend of mine bought one of these for her Elite last year. Fried the console within 15 minutes of using it.

[telepheedian @ Jul 15th 2008 7:15PM]

Nyko might be treating them nicely, but how many average consumers call nyko when their 360 breaks?

[Anthony @ Jul 15th 2008 6:41PM]

Yeah, but if it's like the other intercoolers it'll probably void your warranty. At least with Sony.

[Tom G @ Jul 15th 2008 6:42PM]

Whats the point if it cant say the third item for heating? Without the second example of such a brilliant device being used for no idea upon its own purpose! So funny, you should mention this within its own right.

[TheGeektoriousBIG @ Jul 15th 2008 6:44PM]

I don't understand why MS won't make these type of Accessories themselves. Offer different products for hardcore 16 hour gamers.

[Shadowise @ Jul 15th 2008 6:51PM]

Probably because they don't want to admit there is anything wrong with the console. That's just good marketing.

If microsoft released their own type of 'intercooler' no doubt people would start saying "there should be no need for this, microsoft should include it or build a better console" etc etc.

But don't get me wrong, I love my xboxen.

[Guzzie @ Jul 15th 2008 7:15PM]

Microsoft already admitted fault when they took the 1.2$ billion hit to extend the warranty for RROD to 3 years. The consoles that you buy in stores are absolutely fine and run alot cooler than the launch bunch.

[MRCUR @ Jul 15th 2008 6:45PM]

If you have a Falcon or Opus console (360), this isn't needed. The fans built into the 360 hardly change speed with the latest revisions because of how cool the chips stay. The CPU being 65nm, as well as the huge ass heatsink on it, stays pretty cool on it's own.

The GPU is still 80nm, so yes it still runs very hot. But with the redesigned heatsink with the heatpipe, it works out pretty well.

I've never recommended the Intercooler since I saw the first torched console...

[Lowest Ranked @ Jul 15th 2008 7:28PM]

The GPU's size will shrink with the new Jasper line.

[Ethan @ Jul 15th 2008 7:03PM]

It's far more important that the 360 is in a well-ventilated space.

[Malikye @ Jul 15th 2008 7:26PM]

Actually the Nyko Intercooler EX version has metal instead of plastic in the power port, so that prevents the plastic on the xbox 360 to melt. i've been using my EX version for almost a year and i had no problems with it yet.

[diode3diode @ Jul 15th 2008 7:44PM]

If it was made of kryptonite, I think you might have a problem there buddy.

[computer.dude.28 @ Jul 15th 2008 7:27PM]

To put a long story short, the fans stopped working in my 360. The most they'll do on their own is twitch. The result is that about 30 seconds of rock band = 2 red rings overheat. I've been using the original intercooler as the main and only cooling source for about 6 months now, and I haven't had any problems with it. This one probably wouldn't work on mine anyway since the temperature sensor would measure air coming out of the console.. and none comes of out mine.. damn.

[Christian Walters @ Jul 15th 2008 7:29PM]

Meh, in the end I still think that this is what killed my 360...I put my amp probe on my 360 with the older version of the Intercooler connected, and was getting like 6-9 amps off that damn thing...take it off, and it drops to 3-5...I dunno, but my 360 did indeed need to be sent back for repair...meh

[Yipcanjo @ Jul 15th 2008 7:44PM]

I don't know if this is fixed in the 'latest rev' of X360s, but WHY does the 360 have to be so friggin' loud during something basic like watching a DVD? Seriously...the thing HOWLS!!! I can understand the fans ramping up during gameplay, but why during a simple 1x speed DVD lo-fi effort movie session? Don't make sense. It does, however, make watching a movie with the 360 an aggravating experience!

My $.02.

[telepheedian @ Jul 15th 2008 9:31PM]

The problem is not the fans, but the DVD drive itself.

[jhilla @ Jul 15th 2008 7:51PM]

My PS3 runs cooler than a polar bears toe nails, although when I owned Xbox360, Nyko Intercooler did a decent job of cooling down my 2nd unit. (The 1st being able to cook bacon). None the less it brutally intensified the weedwacker noise that my Xbox360 already made. Buyer beware... of MS and Nyko.

[Adam @ Jul 15th 2008 8:21PM]

On the plus side, it's always nice to have a delicious home-cooked breakfast after a hearty session of gaming, isn't it?

[Jon S. @ Jul 15th 2008 9:51PM]

hmm an adapter for this, the 360 power unit, HD DVD drive, 360 wheel, PS3, Wii and your TV sounds like it makes for a wonderful fireproof home. lol

[Ed @ Jul 15th 2008 10:42PM]

Poor design? I never heard of their cooler products for the PS3 and XBOX, but that case they have for the PSP is one solid product.

I don't know about the other products, but the PSP case has worked out very well for me.

Solid metal, internal battery to charge your PSP, works with the same power cables that come with the PSP as well, and you can hold it in your hands and play the PSP with it.

So to make it sound like they have no good products at all is kinda of a stretch.

[V Langs @ Jul 16th 2008 12:09AM]

this thing is the devil.


sure, it worked for a while and then u'd get the red rings.


i don't know many who've had "favorable" experiences. i sure didn't

[Bones3D @ Jul 16th 2008 1:22AM]

As mentioned above, keeping the 360 in a clean, well-ventilated area is a far more intelligent solution than trying these questionable add-on cooling units. I'm still running a launch date 360 here and have yet to experience any red-ringing, simply by keeping the area clean and clear of debris.

Besides, any hardware manufacturer who is serious about their product's long term use already takes air flow into consideration when they design the casing and motherboard layout. When you introduce one of these "coolers" into the equation, it alters the air flow path, potentially creating "pockets" of air that act more like an insulator, rather than a conductor for the heat energy generated by the hardware. Within minutes, it pushes the physical limits of the hardware (not unlike like the filament of an incandescent light bulb) until one or more areas finally burn out under the strain.

While it's true the 360 has its flaws, the problems were likely an innocent oversight of the fact that someone would actually put their brand new, $400+ video game console into a dusty, confined space along-side their other heat-generating electronics.

These after market "cooler" manufacturers, on the other hand, are probably well aware that their seemingly harmless fans are actually quite harmful to the hardware they're intended to protect, but overlook this fact to make a quick buck off anyone dumb enough to buy one. (After all, who would believe a mere fan could fry brand new hardware when all it does is blow air?)

[Dan Davis @ Jul 16th 2008 10:48AM]

If you MUST put your console(s) into a dusty, confined space, I HIGHLY recommend one of these for the back of said space:

http://www.coolerguys.com/840556082910.html

I installed one about a month ago and the temp. in my cabinet dropped from about 95 degrees (sometimes over 100 on hot days) to ambient room temperature (sometimes ever lower).

[richard @ Jul 16th 2008 2:31AM]

this xbox has an HDMI port.. so it must be the new 60gb version coz its not black it cant be the elite

[Dead_Rebel @ Jul 16th 2008 8:36AM]

The new pro models have had HDMI for a while now.

[YeahWhatever @ Jul 16th 2008 8:20AM]

Dont see the point in intercoolers. I have to buy my console and then buy something else to keep it cool? Consoles are designed to run at certain temperatures and cool themselves.

Granted MS might of made a "mistake" with regard to RRoD's! But still, why do people buy them for other consoles that dont over heat!

They're stupid.

[Rick @ Jul 16th 2008 10:50AM]

I find proper ventilation to be much cheaper and a lot less hideous.

[MrHobo @ Jul 16th 2008 11:06AM]

Personally I like using my PS3 as a space heater for my dorm room, thank you very much.

[heart-bit @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:35AM]

"the original Xbox 360 Intercooler is the top selling third-party accessory for the Xbox 360 "

If the first version of the intercooler was the top selling item for the 360 console, I'm sure everyone else had a problem with the console over heating. So now that they have all of the bad reviews, its time to test out what Nyko did to resolve this problem, perhaps topping what they've topped?

[ColorblindMonk @ Sep 1st 2008 12:12PM]

Well, at least this will put a stop to the negative feedback about the intercoolers burning out 360s. The only thing I'm wondering about is how well the 360's fans will blow out air when blocked by standing by fans.