Xbox Series X gamer opens up overheating console and good lord my eyes

Roll up, gather around. This is an important public service announcement.

I should hope this goes without saying but I’m afraid that may not be the case. You should regularly be treating your consoles to some TLC.

At the very least, I’m hoping you all wipe a quick duster across the top to remove any surface level build-up.

Every now and then though, it’s important to dive a tad deeper. In fact, it was just the other day that I removed my PlayStation 5’s side plates to give the fans a quick clear out.

They weren’t all that bad much to my delight. Naturally, keeping your console in a well-ventilated spot will cut down on a plethora of issues.

If you’re sitting there reading this right now with a bead of sweat developing on your forehead because in your three years of ownership, you’ve never contemplated cleaning your console, you’re going to want to make note of this cautionary tale.

Cleaning is important. If your Xbox goes kaput, you won’t be able to enjoy Indiana Jones and the Great Circle when it launches later this year.

Reddit user DarthLigMaul took to the r/XboxSeriesX subreddit to declare, “Clean your boxes at least once a year guys,” accompanied by a rather distressing image.

My god. Just look at the dust caked on that thing. I’m surprised it could even run.

What I would say is that as much as consoles do need cleaning, you also don’t want to damage any internal components.

Removing a PlayStation 5’s sideplates is easy and doesn’t grant access to any major internal parts. Instead, you just gain slightly better access to the fan’s covers, making cleaning an accessible job.

Venturing into an Xbox in the way pictured above is a tad more risky and complex, so you’re best either following a tutorial or taking your console to an expert to complete the job.

This is quite an extreme case so I’m going to circle back to a very important point. Keep your console in a dust-free ventilated area and it’ll need very little tending to.