The Intercooler is a 3-fan venting system that attaches to the back of the Xbox 360, keeping the console cool and improving console performance. Seeing as how my Xbox 360 has never given me any problems (and it’s from the first batch of consoles), I haven’t gotten a chance to use the Intercooler myself, which turns out to be a good thing. Nyko’s Intercooler has been named a cause for Xbox 360’s “rings of death” (red lights that flash on your Xbox 360 console telling you that you’re screwed). Once these lights come on, owners usually have to contact Xbox support and send their consoles back in for repair.
Game World Industries contacted a couple different Microsoft customer service representatives to talk about the issue, both reps stated that the Intercooler causes problems for the Xbox 360. The first representatives stated that Nyko’s Intercooler drains too much power from the Xbox 360, which was manufactured with enough power to support only itself. The Intercooler drains a large amount of power when the console starts up, which causes certain components to not get the power they need to run correctly, which can then lead to the death of the console. The second rep stated that they had seen “scorch marks” on the console from the Intercooler – probably just dust. If you send in your Xbox 360 and these scorch marks are present, Microsoft will send you your console back untouched (The Intercooler is not a licensed Microsoft product). They did, however, recommend switching to Pelican’s fan stand, which connects to the console via USB.
When Aaron, from Gaming World Industries, bought the Intercooler himself to test out the product, it only worked for 2 months before it killed his Xbox 360. He called Nyko for an explanation, it stated that like most products on the market, the Intercooler has a small defect rate and is a reliable product. Now, no one really knows who to blame. Is Microsoft using the Nyko’s Intercooler as a scapegoat? Or is Nyko essentially responsible for Xbox 360 deaths? Perhaps, with the rise of the Wii, the point will be moot.
Nyko’s Intercooler Causes Problems For Xbox 360 [Gaming World Industries]