Never have I had as faulty a system as Microsoft's Xbox line. Of course the original NES needed some blowing into once and a while to get things working properly, but my SNES, Genesis, Dreamcast, Gameboy, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, and PS3 have all worked fine and never needed replacing. For that matter, even my PS2 losing several disc grips still managed to function more than not, but I've gone through two Xbox systems and am working on my second 360. Microsoft won't say what causes those dreaded Red Rings of Death, but many speculate it is a heating issue. Nyko came out with the Intercooler around that time to combat problems, but did the machine really work and cool the system down? Were there enough faulty Intercooler units to really cause some widespread damage? With the Intercooler EX, Nyko is once again sticking their feet in the waters of system coolers, this time creating a black unit to go with the new Xbox 360 Elite model. However, it's not just a new paint scheme, as several things have been tweaked to make it an overall better product too.

When it comes to numbers, we've got to go with what Nyko promises, since we don't have a digital thermometer to beam at the system, but if Nyko's facts are to be trusted, the Intercooler EX certainly does drop the heat of the system in every area, with changes going from 101 to 79, 111 to 95, and 80 to 74 just to name a few numbers. It's still hard to say whether it's a heat issue causing the 360 problems, but the idea is sound, since you apply the same heat versus cooling formula to high-speed gaming PCs, and so, hey, a little extra cooling can't hurt matters. Hey, I know I'd rather be chilly than sweating any day.

A gripe we had last time was the installation and removal of the system, which proved to be difficult, and even left a tiny scratch on our system. Though still not flawless, we did find the installation much more forgiving, as there wasn't much initial resistance from the pegged feet that fit in the little holes on the back of the 360, as they firmly slid into place easier than the original Intercooler. Removal still proved a bit difficult, but not as bad. The pegged feet come out easy enough, and the button near the power supply makes taking it out an easier affair as well. Also, no scratches while yanking like last time, so that's always a plus in our book. Another nice feature is that if you have a Wi-Fi adaptor for your 360, the Intercooler EX now has space so it should fit with no problems.

We rocked out some Guitar Hero 3 for a while to test out the Intercooler EX, and there wasn't anything like extra noise added, as the 360 itself already makes too much noise as it is. Usually, even after just like a half an hour of play, the 360 will get pretty hot, including both the disc playing and the system itself. After checking on the system after the same amount of time, but with the Intercooler EX on it, there was barely any heat to be really felt anywhere, making us think Nyko's numbers are probably pretty accurate.

The Intercooler EX is still a bit of a mystery product in terms of if it will really keep your system from receiving those Red Rings, and you'd probably need some multi-year long study with an Intercooler EX system and a regular 360 running at the same time for the same amount of hours, and then see which dies first. That said, the idea behind the system is a sound one, and there were enough tweaks to the EX over the last Intercooler to impress us with how much easier it is to remove and install them, that we find ourselves willing to recommend it more than we did the last generation of Intercoolers. And with my current system seemingly already on its deathbed (it wants to keep popping discs out instead of accepting them), I'm pretty much content with leaving the Intercooler EX remain on my system and hopefully work some magic.

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