Is this how your ps3s fan operates?

How does your ps3's fan operate?

  • Whir @on, go quiet 5+ mins step up, 10+ gam/foldg then step up, never steps dwn if ps3 is left idle

    Votes: 36 37.9%
  • Whir @on, go quiet, 5+ mins step up, 10+ gaming/folding then step up, steps down if ps3 is left idle

    Votes: 24 25.3%
  • Whir @ power on, fans go quiet, then never step up?

    Votes: 30 31.6%
  • Something else?

    Votes: 5 5.3%

  • Total voters
    95

micks_address

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Hi folks,

i want to try and suss out how peoples ps3 fans are stepping up and down in relation to temperature. This is related to the noise thread, but i've yet to get a clear picture on how the thing is supposed to operate. So I'm running this poll to see if we can get any closer to it. It should be an easy test to run. Just power on your ps3 and stand close to it and listen over a period of 10-15 minutes.

Couple of points for the test, if you can, have your ps3 out standing in the open well ventilated. When i say idle in the poll options i mean the ps3 is left on the xmb interface with no activity, say on the settings menu


Cheers,
Mick
 
I selected the first option but I need to do more testing (I'm on my second PS3 and have only had it for a day but it appears to be identical to the first).

Certainly within the first 10 minutes of operation my PS3 makes some noise and I'm pretty sure that the fan is in operation, however I would say that the volume is of an acceptable level.
After the first 10 minutes irrespective of what I'm doing (basically leave it in the menu) it steps up a level.
Due to the number of comments circulating this forum about sound being subjective I sat in the living room this evening with the PS3 in the menu and kept an open mind on whether the fan noise that I was hearing after 10 minutes was acceptable.
As much as I would like to say yes, I have to say no.
Playing Motorstorm this would be fine however watching a movie on blu-ray or listening to an SACD it would vastly affect the enjoyment of whatever I was watching/listening too.
I do not believe for one moment that the noise that I hear could possibly be described by anybody as silent or quiet as a mouse/slimline PS2, and I am firm in the belief that there are 2 totally different types of PS3 out there.

This console has been a rather large investment and will probably need to last me for the next 6 years so I'm determined to get things sorted sooner rather than later.
We need to keep this up until everybody is happy with their PS3. :thumbsup:
 
Forgot to mention that I have NEVER heard the fan step down.
 
I voted something else. Mine does the whir and is pretty much silent on fan level 1 for between 40-50 minutes. Level 2 kicks in after that and stays there no matter what I do, doesn't go up or down.

0=off
1=at startup after the whir
2=first step up
3=2nd step up
 
fan noise!

i must be deaf

when i was looking into getting my denon dvd player/home cinema system i was warned on here about the fan noise

now ive never noticed it

and when i play my ps3 i run the sound optically through the home cinema system and have it wacked up alot so i cant hear the cat break dancing let alone either of the fans

as for it being so bad it affects the enjoyment ill give it a go tommorow with no am on
 
Mine is ultra quiet *touch wood* and is like a breath of fresh air compared to my 360.
 
i know its a pretty boring subject but what i'm really trying to figure out is the correct operation of the fans, never mind the noise element, a few people have indicated that theirs does drop down after going up a few levels, mine doesnt which might indicate that there's a problem with the temp controller.. its not going to affect how the things work, but if its suppose to work in a certain way and doesnt then its a fault and as such i'd like mine sorted :)

This has got to be a poll too far:boring:
 
mines super silent, tbh ive never even heard a fan kickin in, played RFOM last night for about 4hrs straight an i cudnt hear a thing :clap:
 
I had to go with the last answer, as when i switch my ps3 on I dont hear the fan kick in as it is silent and it only goes on high revs after an hour or so maybe a little sooner while playing resistance.

But all in all i tend to not notice any noise this is also the case with my 360 as when iam playing a game i tend to focus on it and ignore anything else around me ... it is called selective hearing ;)
 
mine's like the second one, but folding is step up, and the step up after 10 mins. then takes about 5 mins to go near silent on XMB.
 
For the record, both my old and replacement PS3 *never* step down.
 
it's only a fan......
 
lets have another poll. One that says "I can hear my fans" and "Mine is super silent". Then we can stop all the posts in the threads that say just that. :clap: :rolleyes: :boring:

Can we have a poll to ask `should we stop having polls`:rotfl:
 
one of the earlier posts mentioned '...i don't notice'. reckon that's the key to this whole PS3 noise issue - some people are distracted by the fan noise, other's aren't (me being one of the former unfortunately!). those who aren't, are playing their games, watching their DVDS etc totally focused on the job at hand and don't notice any noise at all, hence my "PS3 doesn't make any noise".

there do seem to be legitimate noise issues with some units but overall all i've got to do is compare it to my PC and it's nowhere near as noisy...and i never thought of my PC as being noisy. It's just (well it was when I bought it at least) a high-end piece of tech and these things need those fans to perform optimally - noise was never an issue with my PC...and didn't stop me spendign 100s on games etc!

sorry for the rant but just wanted to put my point forward. i have always been one of those people who are over fussy about whether my gadgets etc. are working as they should but even I have now stopped fussing about the PS3 (well until the next problem/issue I discover!).

at least this whole topic has made me realise i'm not the only one who wrecks my head worrying about such things - "paranoia...how are ya?!?"
 
btw those selecting option three (fans never step up)...i think you're fans may be broken :devil:
 
one of the earlier posts mentioned '...i don't notice'. reckon that's the key to this whole PS3 noise issue - some people are distracted by the fan noise, other's aren't (me being one of the former unfortunately!). those who aren't, are playing their games, watching their DVDS etc totally focused on the job at hand and don't notice any noise at all, hence my "PS3 doesn't make any noise".

there do seem to be legitimate noise issues with some units but overall all i've got to do is compare it to my PC and it's nowhere near as noisy...and i never thought of my PC as being noisy. It's just (well it was when I bought it at least) a high-end piece of tech and these things need those fans to perform optimally - noise was never an issue with my PC...and didn't stop me spendign 100s on games etc!

sorry for the rant but just wanted to put my point forward. i have always been one of those people who are over fussy about whether my gadgets etc. are working as they should but even I have now stopped fussing about the PS3 (well until the next problem/issue I discover!).

at least this whole topic has made me realise i'm not the only one who wrecks my head worrying about such things - "paranoia...how are ya?!?"

The point isn't what you 'feel' is noisy it's about what's happening to your fan as per the topic. Does yours step down?
 
For what its worth chosen something else because mine goes to 3 doing absolutely nothing and never steps down.
Regarding comments on airflow etc. Ive tried this thing everywhere to the point its getting silly.
For the peeps saying that this is normal and 'deal with it' I ask you, why on earth would sony tease us with steps 1 and 2 ie: virtually silent then very very quiet, then after 15 minutes of doing nothing have the bloody thing explode to level 3. If its normal why not just start out at this level. Or do they think that after quarter of an hour we'd be so absorbed with what we were doing we wouldnt notice? anyone?
 
apologies dvv34 and everyone else....this was the wrong place to post my rant! actually still thought i was on the original topic before i hyperlinked to this poll! :oops:

and no, my fan doesn't step down (so it was the first option for me). has never went above the second level -probably because i haven't had the chance to run folding yet though!
 
I was absolutely shocked to notice that I could not hear my PS3 from 2-3m away. It is absolutely quite, whether playing games or Blue-Ray films.

"btw those selecting option three (fans never step up)...i think you're fans may be broken"

is the fans are broken, believe me it would make twice as much noise as a working xbox360.
 
my point exactly...just shows how subjective the whole thing is!

don't think we're comparing like for like here. some people are listening from a few inches away without any ambient sounds whatsover, whereas others are a couple of metres away with monitor/tv volume levels 'as normal', saying that the PS3 is 'as quiet as a mouse'.

sorry, didn't mean to sound like a smart-ass with the fans not making noise thing!
 
thanks for answering the poll folks, i know noise is subjective, but at least some people have replied saying their ps3 fan steps down again once the system is idle. i'd be happy with that. we watched world trade centre on blue ray last night and fans quickly went to level 3 and stayed there. they were pretty distracting especially in the quieter scenes., i'm getting back onto sony ireland and asking them to test a replacement before they send it out to me.. i wouldnt bother if i used it solely for games, but blue ray is a big reason why i purchased the machine and the fan noise is spoiling that slightly at the moment.. well sure i'll see how i get on

thanks,
mick
 
thanks for answering the poll folks, i know noise is subjective, but at least some people have replied saying their ps3 fan steps down again once the system is idle. i'd be happy with that. we watched world trade centre on blue ray last night and fans quickly went to level 3 and stayed there. they were pretty distracting especially in the quieter scenes., i'm getting back onto sony ireland and asking them to test a replacement before they send it out to me.. i wouldnt bother if i used it solely for games, but blue ray is a big reason why i purchased the machine and the fan noise is spoiling that slightly at the moment.. well sure i'll see how i get on

thanks,
mick

Can you let us know how you get on, it's difficult to get a decent answer on this subject.
Cheers
 

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