Microsoft has always denied that the incidents of faulty Xbox 360s have been exaggerated.
They also deny that the dreaded red ring of death is a widespread issue. However, Xbox 360 owners have often wondered why the cooling fan is so loud and noisy in their machines. Some have concluded that this was due to potential overheating.
There maybe evidence that overheating is at the core of what causes some incidents of unit failure. A reader on maxconsole.com sent in his Xbox 360 for repairs to Microsoft and saw something inside the returned unit that surprised him…a new heat sink and what looks like a heat pipe.
Reports of these new cooling parts found in repaired 360s originated in France and have now been confirmed in other locations around the world.
Whether this is an indication that the "Big M" is addressing the problem of excess heat by installing these devices in future Xbox 360 isn’t clear, but the mere addition of the cooling part seems to say, "Yes, the 360 gets hot and we’re fixing it."
