We all try to take care of our devices (particularly if it costs $500), but we all make mistakes, maybe we play too long, or we block the vents, etc. As such, overheating is a risk we run that can seriously damage consoles. Because of such oversights, Microsoft is taking steps to ensure that if the Xbox One does seem like it's about to overheat, it will shut down to avoid damage.
Speaking with Gizmodo, General manager of console development Leo del Castillo explained that the console has the ability to monitor heat levels, and shut down if they get too high. "The way we designed the box, we don't actually intend it to ever have to go to maximum speed under normal environmental conditions," he said.
"But there is overhead. So we'll allow the fan to go all the way up to its maximum speed and if that solves the condition without the user having to do anything."
While talking about the console's ability to sit in standby mode for ten years, Microsoft described the console's heat reduction system, saying that a not-so-silent fan is kept on standby. Reportedly, the fan will only be noticeable when the system is running a game that requires higher processing.
However, if the fans aren't up to snuff, the console can power down to protect itself. "Xbox One can actually dial it back to a lower power state, so low in fact that it can be in a mode that uses virtually no air flow," said del Castillo.
"One thing that we have more flexibility with is that we can dial back the power of the box considerably. We had a little less flexibility with the 360. And so basically, if we couldn't dissipate the heat, there wasn't a whole lot of leverage we could pull to keep the heat from being generated, so we had a limited amount of time before it just shut down."
