[BIGMAX]

After having the console over a week now and watching a few DVD's, I can't help but feel very let down by the noise of the fans once they kick in after a few minutes. On quiet scenes I can hear the loud whirring a mile off, I think even worse than when I first had the PS2. All is quiet for about 10 mins then whoosh.

Some people have reported that theirs are silent so I am thinking about trying to get an exchange and try a new one. I have it placed horizontally on a shelf in an av unit but while the space is limited it has enough ventilation I would say. I have tried it out in the open on its end but the fans remain at full pelt.

It is about 3 times as loud as my skyHD box and it is really spoiling my DVD viewing which was a reason for getting the thing in the first place.

Anyone else have any thoughts as it seems not too many comments on this recently?

[smooth750]

My PS3 is a little noisy when the fans kick in, but not anywhere as loud as my Xbox360! Compared to that, the PS3 is very quiet!

[jamie110]

hmmm i must admit, whilst the unit is by no means silent i can hardly hear mine from 8ft away, mine is in a cabinet, and whilst on i keep the door open to aid air flow, only once has it been on full tilt, and yes it was loud!

As smooth750 says though, no where near as loud as my 360

[BIGMAX]

I cant believe a 360 would be much louder than my ps3, that would really make it impossibe to watch a film.

I think I'm gonna exchange it, mine is obviously one of the louder ones.

[2scoops]

mines really quiet, much quieter than my 360 was and my SKY HD box, i can hardly hear it really

[caz2005]

My PS3 is quieter than (shock) my Wii. Seriously. Thing is aswell, I've noticed the PS3 manages to go on a lot longer without the fan kicking in if the console's standing upright. Well, just through my experience anyway.

[Tejstar]

After being used to the loud fan noise of the Xbox and 360, I can't say it bothers me. I can hear it but it's certainly quieter than those two.

[frazzle121180]

I sit about 8ft from mine which is in my AV unit vertically, have never heard a peep from it

[giz1495]

Mines quiet too, there is a noticeable difference when the second stage fan comes into play, but i cant here it sat in my normal viewing posisition ( 7 foot away ). Compared to my 360 it is very quiet.

[BIGMAX]

Once my fans start up they seem to be at the high level and they remain whirring away even when I stop the DVD or game and the unit is just idle in the XMB, it only stops when the unit is switched off. People have been reporting that the fans up a level when a game is being played or dvd being watched but in idle mode the fans should calm down again but mine just seem to be on full blast no matter whats going on.

There are definitley units out there that work how they are supposed to and ones that dont.

[psikey]

Originally Posted by BIGMAX

Once my fans start up they seem to be at the high level and they remain whirring away even when I stop the DVD or game and the unit is just idle in the XMB, it only stops when the unit is switched off. People have been reporting that the fans up a level when a game is being played or dvd being watched but in idle mode the fans should calm down again but mine just seem to be on full blast no matter whats going on.

There are definitley units out there that work how they are supposed to and ones that dont.

See if you can exchange it. You won't be happy unless you do. Mines fine by the way with little fan noise.

[beowulf]

i guess it's all relative

personally i'm surprised by the amount of noise it makes

until i put the 360 on as a frame of reference



then i realise it's not that noisy after all..

[BIGMAX]

mmmmm. I understand that what seems loud to me would be quiet to another but what I cant get my head around is the fact that most people are saying that when the fans do kick in they are still not full pelt and when there is less activity with the machine the noise drops to almost silent. My fans seems to blast away then remain loud whatever is going on, surely they should drop down to basic level when there is no activity.

[Tony Hoyle]

On idle unless I've got my head next to mine I can't hear it. Once it's doing something there is a little fan noise but I can't hear it from the chair about 8 feet away (unless I really listen hard in a very quiet environment).

There is another level (I believe there are 4 in fact) where it really goes full pelt - then it's noticable, but I haven't managed to get that to kick in since I moved it to vertical - and that's even in a fairly hot room.

It runs F@H 24/7 at the moment and it's easy to forget that it's switched on.

If your fan is on max all the time either you've got it where there's no airflow, you live inside a blast furnace, or your PS3 is faulty and you need to exchange it.

[bishman]

My PS3 makes more noise than my 360 when I'm watching movies. I can improve it by standing it on its end but it is still more annoying than the 360. As I've said before, it's not so much the volume as the pitch.

Obviously the 360 is louder when it's spinning a game.

[WhiteHartMart]

As someone has said, I guess its all relative.

Compared to my 360, my PS3 is incredibly quiet. Even when the fan has kicked in, it is still much quieter than my 360 when it is just sitting on the dash!

In fact, I can't go back to watching HD DVDs on my 360 after watching some BDs on the PS3. My 360 is just too noisy - so much so its convinced me to sell my HD DVD drive now!

[gadjetnige]

Mine is virtually silent make my 360 sound like a jumbo on take off. I sit around 6-8 ft away and can honestly say can not here it at all, I have it stood vertically. May be that’s the answer.

[BIGMAX]

Originally Posted by Tony Hoyle

If your fan is on max all the time either you've got it where there's no airflow, you live inside a blast furnace, or your PS3 is faulty and you need to exchange it.

It must be faulty, it also gets ridiculously hot after say about half an hour, obviously this is why the fans are screeming but its positioned on the bottom shelf of my av unit with nothing else next to it, there is a gap at the back of the unit and its pulled out a bit at the front. No way should it be building up that kind of heat.

Bet it gets tricky dealing with Currys

[Darth_terra]

Originally Posted by BIGMAX

It must be faulty, it also gets ridiculously hot after say about half an hour, obviously this is why the fans are screeming but its positioned on the bottom shelf of my av unit with nothing else next to it, there is a gap at the back of the unit and its pulled out a bit at the front. No way should it be building up that kind of heat.

Bet it gets tricky dealing with Currys

What about the right hand side of the Av unit is there room there the PS3 has vents at the back and the right hand side if lying down, you need to make sure that heat can get away there, mine is on the bottom shelf of my AV unit and has nothing behind or on the right hand side and while it does get a little warm it's not hot to the touch other than the vent where the heat is coming out of, as for the fan it's not something i notice that much i do hear the fan kick in but it's not loud or anything certainly not enough to distract from watching movies or playing games etc.

[BIGMAX]

In the AV unit there is about a gap of 10cm from the right side of the ps3 to the middle strut of the unit, open at front and same 10cm distance to back of unit which has an opening on the left. The noise is really noticeable when dialogue parts of dvd's are on from about 10-12 feet away.

I'll take the ps3 out of the unit, stand it on its end from the word go and see if much less heat is built up, if its the same it must be faulty. Should'nt have to do this mind you, if I want it in an av unit flat then it should work well enough at a much quieter level.

[harrisuk]

The fan on mine is very noisy. This has been discussed in another thread but the ps3 fan seems to be much more noisy when the console is flat opposed to standing up.

Mine is well ventilated but the fan still runs in hi mode most of the time. I would say its putting out the same sort of noise as the 360 cooling fan on the power brick, possibly more in my opinion. However the drive mechanism does make less noise on the ps3.

[MarVell]

I sit about 3 feet away from my PS3 and it's always silent whether playing games, DVDs or Blu-rays

[Monkeyspoon]

My fans must be broken because I've never heard them. I wouldnt be surprised if i get a X360 overheating problem.

[rebelpj24205]

had mine in a cabinet with door open laid down 20 mins in and te fans kicked in took it out stud it upright next to the tv after an hour of playing resistance not much louder then when its first swiched on . only moved it because got a few blurays to watch and the silenter the better

[bishman]

Originally Posted by BIGMAX

In the AV unit there is about a gap of 10cm from the right side of the ps3 to the middle strut of the unit.

That doesn't sound like enough. I have a similar gap between my PS3 and my centre speaker and it gets very hot if left there. I have to stand it vertical to watch movies to make sure it doesn't get so hot. My stand is also not enclosed at all, with glass shelves and support poles running through each corner.

It might be worth getting an exchange as I'm pretty sure they aren't all made equal. Certainly all 360's aren't made equal and I'm lucky enough to have a couple of the quieter ones. My mates got a loud one that is much noisier than mine, even under dashboard conditions.

Judging by peoples comments here, there must be differences between PS3's. There is no way people could have one the same as mine or yours and claim it to be silent. I don't doubt theirs are much quieter.

[sofasurfer]

It would be good if people could say what region their PS3 is from. Mine is a US machine and I have yet to hear the fan kick in at all. I have watched movies a played games for a few hours and never had any real fan noise.

I'm interested if the PAL machines are noisier.

[DeanTheDon]

Mine is PAL and it is as quiet as a mouse.....

[bishman]

Originally Posted by sofasurfer

It would be good if people could say what region their PS3 is from. Mine is a US machine and I have yet to hear the fan kick in at all. I have watched movies a played games for a few hours and never had any real fan noise.

I'm interested if the PAL machines are noisier.

I think the region is irrelevant. Some have noisy PAL ones, some have quiet ones. Mine is Japanese and noisy, other have Japanese which are quiet. I'm pretty sure it comes down to manufacturing differences as they are surely built as cheaply as they can manage. Some fans from different batches might just make a different noise.

[BIGMAX]

Agreed with Currys to do an exchange, it does seem its pot luck if you get a quiet one or not. Knowing my luck I will get one the same but worth the try.

[Anotherlimey]

After owning a 360 for over a year no im not bothered with the little noise the PS3 makes