As squeaky clean as your Xbox Series X may look, you may be surprised to find out that most videogame consoles are incredibly dirty. Keeping your Xbox Series X dust-free can help considerably to prolong its lifetime, so it’s important to understand what dust does to your videogame console and how you can keep it clean.
Dust can damage your Xbox Series X. When dust and debris get inside the tiny air holes and accumulate inside your videogame console, some of its internal components may become compromised. For instance, it may prevent the fan from correctly functioning and cause the entire system to overheat.
Videogame consoles are made up of many delicate components that can be pretty heat-sensitive, which is why you need to keep them clean. In this article, I’ll illustrate why and how dust may damage your Xbox Series X. I’ll also provide you with some practical tips on how to prevent dust from weakening its performance.
How Dust Affects Your Xbox Series X
Today’s video game consoles are considerably sturdier and more technologically advanced than their predecessors. Back in the early 2000s, we would walk on eggshells around our consoles for fear that the slightest scuff could damage their extremely delicate inner parts.
As sturdy as they may be, today’s videogame consoles are just as prone to dirt and dust accumulation as the first PlayStation and Xbox were. And it doesn’t matter what videogame console you have; you’ll need to keep your console in a clean and safe place that’s usually free from dust and dirt.
After all, all videogame consoles have one thing in common: they all come with small openings that serve as air vents since air needs to flow in and out of them.
If you observe your Xbox Series X, you’ll find several small holes located on the back panel of the main console unit. Flip it over to look at the bottom of the console, and you’ll see a few extra holes. Most of the air comes in through these two sets of holes and goes out of the holes located at the top of the console.
Dust can affect your Xbox Series X in two ways:
- It can limit the amount of air getting into and out of your console.
- It can accumulate all around the buttons on your controller, causing them to get stuck (this, however, is a minor problem compared to reduced air circulation).
Dust Obstructs the Airflow Inside Your Xbox Series X
First of all, it’s important to note how unrealistic and impossible it would be for you to keep all dust out of your console all of the time. Hair, dead skin, pollen, mites, bacteria, clothing fibers, and other small particles are practically everywhere, and the only countermeasure we have to prevent them from damaging our technological devices is to dust regularly.
Provided that some dust is bound to make its way into your unit’s vent holes, you won’t experience any problems unless a significant amount of dust collects inside your unit, obstructing its internal components.
Dust Causes Your Xbox Series X To Overheat and Crash
If a large amount of dust accumulates around your console’s air vents, the airflow of the entire system will be compromised, as there will be less air going in and getting out. With less air circulating inside your Xbox Series X, you may witness gradual overheating and a loud noise coming from the fan, which may, in turn, cause your console to crash.
As more dust accumulates inside your Xbox Series X, your console’s performance may gradually decline.
As Wes Fenlon from PC Gamer notes, the Xbox Series X has a relatively large fan at the top (130 mm or 5.11 in), which guarantees a good enough airflow without compromising on size. Smaller fans allow for small consoles but aren’t nearly as good as consoles equipped with more giant fans when it comes to performance.
Tips To Keep Your Xbox Series X Clean and Dust Free
Because your Xbox Series X has air holes on two sides, it’s absolutely essential that you keep your console away from any surface where dust, hair, and dirt tend to accumulate. Rule number one is to keep your Xbox Series X away from the floor, as the little air holes on its surface would end up sucking in a lot of dust.
By placing your console on a TV unit or a shelf, for instance, it’s possible to prevent a lot of dust and dirt from getting into the aforementioned air holes. Also, keep in mind that without optimal ventilation, your console’s performance may gradually decline due to excessive heating.
A few more tips worth mentioning include:
- Cover your Xbox Series X with a cloth or a dust cover when you are done using it.
- Dust your Xbox Series X on a regular basis.
- Don’t use a compressed air duster, as this will only push dust further into your console’s internal components.
- If you notice that your Xbox Series X is overheating or making too much noise, either open it up and clean each internal component thoroughly or get a professional to do it for you.
Provided you follow the tips listed in this article, it’s highly unlikely that dust will ever cause considerable damage to your Xbox Series X. The main problem with dust is that it’s all around us, and it always finds a way to get into our technological devices, no matter how hard we try to keep them clean.
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Conclusion
Some people choose to open up their videogame consoles and clean them once or even twice a year to ensure their optimal performance. And you can choose to do this with your Xbox Series X if desired. However, as long as you make sure your console doesn’t touch the floor and dust it regularly, you won’t have to go to such lengths unless you witness any of the issues mentioned in this article.