Refurb or New System

[slick_j_2002]

Hey guys. I currently have a V1.1 system with a Xenium ICE modchip installed with the solderless adapter and am using the factory HDD. Everything works fine, so don't worry about a dumb question in that respect.

I just won an Xecuter3 chip from a competition on www.xbox-hq.com, and it'll be shipped tomorrow. I originally went with the Xenium because it looked noob-friendly and yet still more powerful than most of what was out there. However, I want to use the X3 for my system now and give the Xenium to a friend.

The system I have is a 1.1 with a Phillips drive and has never been a problem for me. However there's solder in the LPC ports, and I heard somewhere that it's easier to do a wire install with a soldered LPC. I want to do the pin header install, as soldering doesn't scare me anymore (I'll be getting the gear tomorrow), but I'd have to get rid of the solder first.

Is it a difficult task to clear the solder away using just the iron and copper braid, or would I need other tools to clear it?

Also, I have decals and a bit of painting done to the case (which I want to change now from red/white to blue/something.


Anyway, would I be better off getting a whole new system for the X3 and risk getting another 1.1 or a crappy Thompson drive (and selling my system, of course), or should I rip mine apart and desolder it?


I appreciate the input.

 

[Sufferance]

Hey Slick,

What I would do if i were you is hit up a pawnshop and get another Xbox and sell the one you have. You can get one for a pretty good price and you can find a box with a Samsung drive (or at least a Phillips). This is what I did a couple of weeks ago. I sold my V1.0 modded box to a friend and went to a Gamestop to see if they had a box with a Samsung drive. They had one for $130 bucks used but I found one that is just a couple of months old at a pawnshop for $100. I even talked the guy into going lower on the price and including a game. Since it's used and not quite so pricey, it won't seem like such a big loss if something goes wrong. Plus, the shop I went to had a 30 day return policy, so if something did go wrong, take it back and say it was defective and get your money back.

Hope this helps you make a decision,
Suff.

 

[Sufferance]

Oh yeah... forgot something. If you do buy another Xbox to mod instead of using your old one, you could just swap the cases. Take the case off your old box that you painted, put it on the new one you mod and put the plain case on the old box. It'll save you the time of painting it again if you decide not to paint your case blue like you want.

 

[slick_j_2002]

Thanks, Sufferance. I didn't think to check with a pawn shop as there aren't too many of them in the town where I live.


I also considered ordering a new case, but it seems goofy to pay $35 for something that will be more work from tearing apart the old system and transferring the guts over... Plus I'd still have to desolder the LPC anyway.


I think I'll follow your advice and hunt down a used system. It's just going to be hard resisting using my new X3 and 200 GB HDD until then...


Thanks for the response.

 

[badazz74]

you can find brand new xbox cases on ebay for about $20.00

 

[halomaster7777]

Umm desoldering the LPC is not that hard just get a good desolder braid, and a nice solder sucker.

 

[nwolsten]

why not swap boxes & lids with your friend and install the x3 in the non modded box?

Fair trade for your friend for free I'd say

 

[pauldy]

Beware of trading xbox internals that you unlock the drives on each system prior to the transfer and relock them afterwards. Otherwise it wont work and you will be scratching your head.

 

[sank99]

New here, explaining what i've done.

I'm new to the modding community. I've never actually tried it for myself until last night.

I have an older 360 from 06, non HDMI type. Anyway, I've had the RROD a few tiems and have had it repaired no problem. Recently i've been having drive problems, not opening was pretty much the main problem. Then my drive crapped out completely, stopped reading disks, both back ups and original.

I went to a guy who charged me $50 for a drive replacement, he did so, but wouldnt give me the drive that he took out of the 360, alsmot like a core charge or something. I eventually got it from him, though. So i get home and NO games work, he tells me that i need to have it modded.

I guess the guy took me for a fool, because i do know that the drive board should be swapped over from the old drive, to whatever current drive i have, as long as its the same brand.

I got everything modded to 1.61, because i have a Samsung. I still wasnt able to read anything. So i took it upon myself to change out the laser, and also the piece which actually spins the disk. Then i did a POT adjustment that i set at 3.05.

Everything works fine now, and i will no longer send my 360 out for repairs. Also, is there a tutorial for the ROOD?

 

[zapco]

Re: New here, explaining what i've done.

You did well m8. There are loads of rrod guides all pretty much the same, just google it and you will see what I mean. From past repairs its a little hit and miss to fix the rrod. it may work for a few hours , days or weeks but it will go bad again. I would if I were you get a new arcade 360 if and when yours does go bad again, or get a console only from ebay that hasnt been flashed or fixed in the past.