Modding the perfect original Xbox

[Satoshi Matrix]

With CoinOps and a 750 GB harddrive, I really love my Xbox. It's the perfect all in one stop for me, and I find myself more and more just booting up CoinOps for console games rather than playing the original hardware.

 

But even so, there are problems I've noticed and reading around online some fixes I could possibly undertake.

 

I'd like to make my main Xbox preform as good as possible with three more mods.

 

Since this is a dedicated community of Xbox owners and hardware minded gamers, I'm hoping this will be a good place to ask.

 

subject 1:

 

80 mm fan

 

I've read that replacing the stock 40mm fan with an 80mm one will increase airflow and reduce the overall noise the fan produces. Some I've seen claim to be as quiet as 12 dB.

 

Have any of you replaced your stock fan? What is your experience? I'm thinking of going with this one: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 190674391169

 

Is there any problem with using a 12v fan?

 

Subject 2:

 

80 pin Ultra ATA Ribbon

 

Another thing I've read about is that using an 80 pin IDE ribbon instead of the stock 40 pin reduces load times by about 25%. Others claim the bus isn't fast enough to cause any difference. Can anyone tell one way from the other? I've been thinking of getting one of these:

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 370692430377

 

Is there any problem with going with this?

 

Subject 3:

 

128 MB RAM update

 

I've got a 1.3 Xbox that I've been debating about getting the 128 MB RAM upgrade done to.

 

Can the added ram be applied to any model Xbox from 1.0 to 1.5? (I know 1.6 removes the support) Once the extra RAM is soldered, is there any specific process to be done to activate the RAM or will XBMC and other programs simply recognize it right away?

 

I've heard that CoinOps uses the extra RAM. Will games like Dead or Alive arcade function with it? I'm not planning on upgrading the CPU, at least not yet. Just the RAM. What effect does it have in CoinOps?

 

Will the extra RAM have any effect - positively or negatively - on normal Xbox games?

 

Thanks in advance.