This is a quick question on something I couldn't find on google so hopefully somebody here knows.

 

When playing a game, if my screen (in whatever game I'm playing) faces something bright like a wall or a snowy field, the xbox will make a whirring noise much louder than the regular noise it makes. It isn't enough for it to go past the games volume when playing normally, but If I have the volume off it is very noticeable. So far I've noticed this in a few different games, for example Mass effect and Oblivion. It is worth noting that it isn't me moving around and the game loading something, as I can leave my screen facing said bright wall for as long as I want and it will still make the noise.

 

It isn't anything overly important, but a curiosity of what it actually is.

It might be because, on games like Oblivion, there's HDR/Bloom lighting which makes the walls more detailed. Maybe it's just that causing the processor to run a bit more, which makes the fan speed up.

 

I've never actually noticed it though on my Xbox while playing Oblivion or Halo in snowy maps.

The noise itself is made by the fan in your system, so it's most probably in response to your processor being more demanding and so requiring the fan to remove more heat.

This will happen regardless if you have the cooling tower things or whatnot as it's the machine itself running as it should, and the fact that instead of regular fans, microsoft installed jet engines - to cut down costs.

 

What you can do is open up your machine and clean the fan blades with a damp cloth, and if you're looking for that extra rush, take the fan itself out, strip it, clean it and re-oil it, it'll help for it to run smoother.

 

I'd also reccomend having it lieing down on a hard surface (not carpet) or two thin strips of wood at each end so there's room for air circulation underneath it, this should help the heat sinks to work properly and stop it falling over and scratching your disks.

 

 

As much as I love my Xbox, I'm dissappointed when I write stuff like this that it could of been so much better if Microsoft used better hardware, and i'd be happy to pay more for it...

Depends on your 360 model. If its older than 2 years or so then its probably built like crap.

Depends on your 360 model. If its older than 2 years or so then its probably built like crap.

This is true. Mine was the first model and got 3 RROD twice. But Microsoft gave us a new(er) one, so it's all good. :)