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I have a new Xbox One, and I'm very worried about the temperature it's reaching.

After only 30 minutes of playing Forza 5 or Titanfall, the top ventilation grid is at 50ºC (122ºF). I'm measuring it by placing a tiny thermometer on the top grid, which means that the actual temperature may be a little higher. It even smells a bit like burnt plastic. Well, not exactly burnt, but... it reminds me of a hair drier, when the plastic gets hot.

The console is placed horizontally in a well ventilated spot: nothing on the top, nothing on the sides; there is a wall on the rear side, but it has a 6 cm (2.4 inches) margin.

Also, I've read that if the Xbox One overheats, it will automatically shutdown itself to prevent damage to the system. That has not happened to me. So, my guess is that the temperature, despite being high, is not too high. In fact, the only part of the console getting hot is the top ventilation grid, the rest of it is warm, even cold... which seems to be normal, too.

Anyway, I'm very worried. Is it normal? Is it too hot? Should I return it to the store?

PS: funny side note - I've contacted with the always wonderful Xbox online support team. They have told me to try plugging the console in a different wall socket. You know... in case the electric current in this one is too hot? :)

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  • Not sure this is really related to gaming, even if it is a games console - it's not about the games, more related to hardware, which would be better over at superuser.com
    – Jasarien
    Aug 29, 2014 at 10:07
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    According to gaming.stackexchange.com/tour, we can ask about "Game-specific hardware and utilities", among other topics. Besides, Superuser is about software users
    – AJPerez
    Aug 29, 2014 at 10:10
  • Game-specific hardware would be something like the Kinect peripheral for a Kinect-specific game, or the Wii-balance board, not the console as a whole. Also, Super User's help centre cites computer hardware specifically as on-topic.
    – Jasarien
    Aug 29, 2014 at 10:14
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    @Jasarien Also, are you saying an Xbox 360 isn't game-specific or isn't hardware?
    – Comic Sans Seraphim
    Aug 29, 2014 at 14:12
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    The distinction between on-topic and off-topic does not exist for bureaucratic reasons, it serves a purpose. I'd argue the pragmatic test is whether this question could be answered better with the expertise of super users or with the expertise of gamers. Frankly, I think it's the first.
    – Marcks Thomas
    Aug 29, 2014 at 18:18

4 Answers 4

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First of all, don't worry; 50 degrees is perfectly normal.

For future reference, the temperature of the air surrounding your console's main outlet vent is not necessarily reflective of the temperature of the CPU or graphics card(the primary generators of heat in a game console). As far as I know, there are no diagnostic tools to show you more precise information on an Xbox One, but modern CPUs and graphics cards will usually reach temperatures of 70-80 degrees under a reasonable amount of load without damaging the hardware.

The other thing to note is that the top vent of and Xbox One is the outlet vent. There are also 3 inlet vents on the sides and rear panel. If any or all of these vents are blocked by anything, be it paper or the cases of video games, the whole system may be experiencing sub-optimal air flow, which would reduce the effectiveness of your Xbox's cooling system.

Also,the CPU and GPU both have embedded electronic thermometers which are constantly monitored by the Xbox itself. If temperatures ever get abnormally high on the actual hardware components, the Xbox will give you a warning with ample time to clear the air vents or turn off the console. If they ever get dangerously high, it will turn itself off immediately(I would estimate that dangerously high is greater than 80 degrees).

Happy gaming ;)

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    I think dangerously high is greater than 80 degrees. On my desktop at least, I get heat going up to 90+ sometimes(around 90-95 I lag because the processor slows itself down). It shuts off to prevent daamge at around 95-100. I would suspect that an xbox should be able to take comparable heat to PC. That being said, after what happened with the original xbox release, they can't be too careful ;)
    – Cruncher
    Aug 29, 2014 at 13:01
  • @Cruncher: for reference, my laptop's GPU starts throttling at 93 ºC.
    – bwDraco
    Aug 29, 2014 at 17:10
  • @DragonLord I actually have problems that I need to fix. When running even graphics intensive games, my CPU hits 90+ while my GPU is still around 50. I think I need to refasten my cpu fan
    – Cruncher
    Aug 29, 2014 at 17:12
  • @5Volt thanks. I know the One has heat protection and will shutdown before anything happens. What troubles me is that every forum, webpage, whatever I find, the people say that the console should not get hot, only warm. Even the tech support guy at Microsoft said that. So, even if it's not dangerous for the console, I'm not quite sure it's normal :( - On the other hand, if it were a computer instead of a gaming console, yes, 50ºC is quite low if I'm playing... I had not thought about that...
    – AJPerez
    Aug 29, 2014 at 22:05
  • @AJPerez Game consoles are basically just high tier computers in custom cases ;].
    – 5Volt
    Aug 30, 2014 at 8:46
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That isn't exactly abnormal.

I've seen temperatures exceed 60 ºC at the exhaust ports on my gaming laptop, so I highly doubt the temperatures you're measuring indicate a genuine issue. The Xbox One is designed to be well-ventilated internally and should not overheat that easily. Just make sure none of the airflow ports are blocked.

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Get a small piece of marble or granite about an inch thick, set the console on the stone,the marble or granite will always stay cool, no overheating. this has worked for me for ten years. Give it a shot, what harm can it do.

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These boxes compute lots of information the normal operating temperature is always over 120°

Computer engineer

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