My OG Crystal Xbox Upgrades! Internal HDMI With XboxHD+, OpenXenium, SSD & Noctua Fan

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Bringing my OG Crystal Xbox into the 21st Century with an internal HDMI mod from MakeMHz (XboxHD+) with support for 720P upscaling, a stealth SSD upgrade, and OpenXenium to make it all work happily together. I've also added a silent Noctua fan using a 3D printed bracket from RetroFrog, and I'm running the XBMC4Gamers dashboard which adds loads of cool functionality including DLC, homebrew, emulators and all the media playback features you'd expect from XBMC.

Big thanks to @WhatHoSnorkers for your amazing voice acting skills!

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Chapters:
00:00 OG Xbox Mod Project Overview
01:13 Teardown - Crystal Xbox
01:52 Recap With ZedLabz Capacitor Kit & Note On Clock Capacitor
02:59 OpenXenium & LPC Rebuild / Debug Header & Note On MakeMHz LPC QSB
04:00 SSD Upgrade - Software Setup With FATXplorer / Formatting / Backup
05:15 M8+ EvoX Kernel / BIOS & XboxHD+ Patch
05:48 SSD StarTech Retro Drive Caddy
06:06 OpenXenium XboxHD+ Firmware Update From MakeMHz
07:04 Using DVD2Xbox To Backup My Games To The New SSD / Thoughts On Capacity
07:57 Region Settings / Testing The Kernel Patch & Official XboxHD+ App
08:33 MakeMHz XboxHD+ Internal Xbox HDMI Mod Installation - AV Connector & Ribbon Cable
10:39 Installation Part 2 - Reassembling The CPU & GPU Heatsinks / Final Connections
11:16 Silent Noctua Fan Upgrade With RetroFrog Xbox Fan Shroud
11:58 First Boot
12:11 XboxHD+ Firmware Update Process Using The Official MakeMHz App
13:16 MakeMHz XboxHD+ App Settings & Upscaling Features, 480P, 720P, Widescreen etc.
13:42 Game Demos / Before & After - Doom 3 & OutRun 2
15:08 Xbox 80-Pin IDE Cable Mod - Moving The Connector / Folding
15:50 Final Reassembly
16:14 XBMC4Gamers Dashboard Features & Official XboxHD+ Support

Forever Sunset - City Lights, City Dreams
Cornelio - Feriado
Lonov - Closing Circles
Future Joust - Powerwalkin'
Gavin Luke - Feeling Alright
Outro: Yomoti - Before Chill

[stevemcknelly]

She didn't just buy you an O.G. Xbox -- She bought you the clear crystal one. Definitely love, for real.

[ctrlaltrees]

As always I've put some links to other videos that I found useful as well as the parts / software used in the description. I also wanted to mention that MakeMHz have their own modchip coming out soon - called Stellar - and I have one on order. I'll be upgrading and comparing the two once it arrives, but it looks like it'll allow XboxHD+ owners to get even more out of their consoles!

[jasonbrody]

God i miss the O.G Xbox, i need to get me one & a 360 slim & get me a collection of some of my fave games from when i was kid.

[billcar]

Great video. I absolutely love how you strategically failed to include the thermal paste application!

[bluetonic]

Great video.
My crystal Xbox decided to release the magic smoke last year.
I like the idea of the hdmi mod, but $140 plus the inevitable import duty and my poor eyesight I'll stick with RGB on my plasma TV for as long as I can.

[Renk]

Great video, thanks! I recently upgraded my Translucent Green Xbox with almost similiar setup minus the HDMI mod. OpenXenium, 2 TB SSD, new thermal paste etc. I mainly use it with RGB Scart and a JVC studio monitor or with Retrotink 5X on newer displays. Maybe I’ll switch the fan at some point like you did. I love the Xbox, so many great games that look and play amazing even today. And it’s not that expensive to collect for.

[GarthBeagle]

Nicely done! Soldering that works is a good job nonetheless!

[BottIsNotABot]

Might be time to dig out my original XBOX, one for fun and two to check for leaky caps! Great video Rees.

[kryan]

Sunk a huge amount of time in to KOTR and KOTR 2, my Crystal then did serious duty as a media center with XBMC for years.

[RetroBytesUK]

I nice to see how well the hdmi mod works. Its not a dramatic difference compared to the upscaller as you said, but its definitely and improvement and does not tie up your upscaller.

[AimingAtYou]

The explanation of how much cooling paste to use earned you a thumbs up!

[davefigore]

Very Nice Mate ... A Fine Presentation. Been toying around with my Halo xbox to bring it up to date. You've done the things I've gone through.

[winstonsmith]

I have hand clamps like that and never thought of that great idea to use one on ribbon cable connectors.

[Willowspov]

I always wanted to mod my xbox in early 2000's..Few weeks ago i found an OG Xbox at a thrift store for $35.. disc drive doesnt open but everything works... opened it up and found it was version 1.6 made in 2004.. waiting for the rubber belt to fix disc drive in the mail.. i regret getting rid of my xbox in 2009 but glad i found this one and knew right away how to fix the disc drive.. i will be adding a mod chip and hdd upgrade.. im gonnna make a custom circuit run off the usb ports on the mother board to add green led's under the console to give it a glow and paint the 'X' on the console a metallic green.. Happy Modding!!!

[slaine]

Big effort for a big reward. Fair play to you. Now, I'm dreading looking at my xbox capacitors.

[DavidAddis]

This is awesome, you went above and beyond!

[PixelPipes]

The difference definitely didn't look subtle to me. It goes from looking like an early 2000s fake HD output to looking like a native PC. Much improved! Hmmmm.... _stares contemplatively at Xbox across the room_

[DosGamerMan]

It would be my Burnout 3 saves.... great video. Looks like i have another project to add to my todo list.

[Rxmedic]

Aftermarket transparent console shells are very much still a thing. Just no oem ones. Look at any retro modding scene

[djm]

Love this video! would love an Xbox like this !