xbox 360 mod
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Ben Heck crafts Atari-styled Xbox-360, takes us back to the '70s
Our man Ben Heck has done it again -- this time, he's taken modding to a new, retro level. Atari requested that Heck create a modded system as a promo for its new games, so our man teamed up with element14 and did what he does best. The master of mods has gutted an Xbox 360 and shoved it into a one-of-a-kind Atari 2600-esque case that he calls 'Xbox 360 1977 Edition.' The system's got switches from old Atari systems had that control disc-ejection and controller synchronization. Just like the classic Ataris, Heck's portable gaming laptop's got wood panels and a black finish -- and it's huge. The best part of this mod? Well, playing Street Fighter on Xbox 360 hidden inside of what would be a modern version of a classic like Atari is pretty cool, in our opinion. As cool a classic like the Virtual Boy though? We'll leave that for you to decide. Oh, and be sure to hit the source link to watch the mod get formed in 23 glorious minutes.
Master Chief's bullet-riddled Xbox 360 case mod auctioned off for charity
Sure, Kim Kardashian and Russell Crowe signed airbrushed Xbox 360s bearing their likeness for the David Peachy Foundation's "Konsoles for Kids" charity auction, but Weta Workshop co-founder Richard Taylor built his donation into a badass diorama. That's Halo's Master Chief venting the console with his trusty assault rifle, sending chunks of circuit board, capacitors and LEDs out the other side. According to its eBay seller, the PAL system's still fully functional, and ships with controller, cables and a full warranty. Auction lasts till April 24th; bidding is presently at $810 AUD.
Student-made Xbox 360 laptop channels the Heck out of... well, you know
Few can build 'em like Benjamin Heckendorn. Fewer still bother to try. Two college kids managed to do a bang-up job anyhow building this fully loaded, Jasper-juiced Xbox 360 laptop. With a built-in 17-inch Gateway monitor, keyboard, functioning Xbox Live camera and Wireless Network Adapter, this brick hits all the right notes -- yet remains remarkably stylish for a learn-as-you-go student project. If you agree, you can read a remarkably detailed account of how they built it at the source link, see a proof-of-completion video after the break, or even further their education by purchasing the mean machine on eBay for your very own.
Ben Heck's latest portable Xbox 360 adds sleek white finish, Jasper motherboard
Even after five iterations, Ben Heck's portable Xbox 360 models are still a spectacle to behold -- he seems to keep outdoing himself every time, both in functionality and style. This latest model has the appearance of an oversized plastic polycarbonate Macbook when closed, and packs a 17-inch Gateway LCD panel. The big improvements here include the Jasper motherboard, a flush-mount DVD door and side panels, digital potentiometer / button volume controls, and an ethernet port in addition to WiFi. Not everything's been kept, as Heck says he ditched the camera, not seeing a point for it -- but hey, there's still two USB ports if any of his (already spoken for) customers want to add it. Impressive work, indeed. See it for yourself in the video after the break. [Via TechEBlog]
NES Advantage joystick modded for Xbox 360 use
This mod won't exactly help you much with Street Fighter IV or other button intensive games, but those that prefer to pass the time with the likes of Galaga or Xevious may want to strongly consider following the lead of our friend Mr. Pepsi Pants, and breath some new life into that NES Advantage controller collecting dust in your closet. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a complete how-to available just yet, but the video after the break does demonstrate that this bridging of consoles is indeed possible, and no doubt simple enough for anyone with the necessary skills. What's more, it looks like an SNES Advantage mod is already on tap as a followup project, which should offer a bit more practicality while still maintaining some retro flavor. [Via Nowhere Else]
Zoozen's rather sexy 360 case mod
Xbox 360 mods are a dime a dozen, but truly amazing case mods are rare. Insert Zoozen's re-styled, re-hashed, and re-shaped custom Xbox 360 housing above. Their little case mod not only gets rid of the traditional inhale gesture that we all know and love, but makes it into a flat curvaceous oval of sexiness. Though, we're a bit torn between their vision of what the 360 should look like and what Microsoft has already created for us. But it's not like we have a choice, because we won't be seeing any official Xbox 360s looking like this anytime soon. Zoozen, we have to give you guys props. You created one pretty case mod indeed.
Xbox 360 quieting mod
While there's no shortage of useful and not-so-useful solutions to keep your Xbox 360 from overheating, there's far fewer options at your disposal to keep the console's loudness down. And for good reason, while the 360's fan isn't the quietest one around, the biggest decibel culprit is the system's irreplaceable DVD-ROM drive, especially when it gets up to full speed in the heat of gameplay. Well, it seems that the folks at Extreme Tech apparently couldn't put up with the racket any longer and cracked open their system in search of a solution. While swapping the drive out for a quieter model wasn't an option, they did find some degree of success by squeezing some rubber washers in between the drive and the motherboard, and padding the whole works in Dynamat sound-dampening material. Obviously, with the same drive in there it's still not going to be whisper quiet, but Extreme Tech did achieve a small but noticeable drop in decibels (about 4 to 5dB). You'll have to decide for yourself if that relative peace and quiet is worth the risk of voiding your warranty.
Xbox 360 gutted and cooled
Case mods are certainly all the rage nowadays. I only wish I had a smidgen of the skill necessary to pull one of these jobs off, but sadly my talents lie far away from anything scientific. Ever since the Xbox 360 came out, many have griped at the amount of nuclear-plant like heat generated by our white next-gen machine. We've all seen the external cooling mods, but now, thanks to Xbox-scene, someone has actually gutted their 360 and installed an internal water cooling system. The brave modder -- who goes by the alias Dano2k0 -- gives hope for those who thought this internal project was impossible: "It has proven to be quite a challenge doing a complete internal water cooling build with such space restrictions, the whole project was well thought through before being started, and as can be seen through the progress photos it shows quite clearly the steps I took so it may be possible for some people to replicate a similar modification as the parts are mentioned in my thread."I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone try this at home, but it's lovely to live through the bravery of others.[Thanks, anonymous & Revadarth]
