By golly it's loud!

[.Melchiah.]

I bought the 60GB PS3 Starter Pack yesterday, and I've got a question I desperately need an answer to. Here it goes...

I was unpleasantly surprised how loud the system is, it seems to be louder than my 7-year old PS2 was. And the fan volume level stayed the same all the time, whether I played a game or not. I'd think that isn't normal, or is it?
The thing is, it's even noisier than my old Nokia digital recorder, and it's pretty loud. They're side by side, and the digital recorder's fan noise is completely drowned by the PS3.

I should probably mention, that the devices are not stacked in a closed space. There's definitely enough room for ventilation for the PS3.

I let the system cool for few hours. When I turned it on again, I heard the fan start to spin (not that loud), after a second or two it became quiet. Really quiet. I could only hear the fan when I went close to the system. It stayed quiet for some time, until I launched Super Rub 'a' Dub. When the game was loading the fan noise suddenly increased to a level, which I'd describe as annoying when watching a movie.

Should it be like this, or was I just unlucky enough to get a system as noisy as this is? If it's the latter, I'm wondering whether I can bring it back to the store and exhange it for another? I really, really hate it when something like this happens.

 

[Limanima]

Hum.. that's strange.
Mine is totally silent.
I don't even remember of listening the fan.

I heard the fan start to spin (not that loud), after a second or two it became quiet. Really quiet.

This is how I would describe mine. All the time...
I also have the 60gb model.

 

[macabre]

There are loud PS3s out there. I had one as well. I used the official RM service company here in Germany and got it replaced within 3 days .
New one is much better.

I would try to ask the store first, if they won`t exchange it look for your local official Playstation service.

 

[Nesh]

Yeah weird. The only time mine got loud was after I ve left it on for hours in an enclosed space. And even that wasnt too loud.

Do you have it on a carpet or something? Is it sitting on another device?

 

[macabre]

Yeah weird. The only time mine got loud was after I ve left it on for hours in an enclosed space. And even that wasnt too loud.

Do you have it on a carpet or something? Is it sitting on another device?

There are really PS3s that are louder than normal, we had a thread here as well some time ago.
If he has a chance to get it replaced he should do it ASAP. Here in Germany you get a new one when your old one is <1 month. If its older you might get a refurbished one.

 

[inefficient]

Get it replaced ASAP. It is not a good sign.

PS3s are not supposed to be loud. In the rare cases they are, you can be pretty sure there is some flaw in the build.

 

[.Melchiah.]

Thanks for all the replies.

Get it replaced ASAP. It is not a good sign.

PS3s are not supposed to be loud. In the rare cases they are, you can be pretty sure there is some flaw in the build.

I think I'm going to do as adviced, and call Sony's customer service and the store today, immediately when I get off from work.

Do you have it on a carpet or something? Is it sitting on another device?

No, I don't. It sits on open shelf with a digital recorder by its right. There is about 10cm of space for ventilation in the back and on the right side (where the ventilation holes are), and about 30cm space on the top, and the left side is completely open. Perhaps I should try to switch their places, so there would be more room for ventilation on PS3's right side. Would that make any difference?

 

[Arwin]

No, I don't. It sits on open shelf with a digital recorder by its right. There is about 10cm of space for ventilation in the back and on the right side (where the ventilation holes are), and about 30cm space on the top, and the left side is completely open. Perhaps I should try to switch their places, so there would be more room for ventilation on PS3's right side. Would that make any difference?

Right side and right rear are definitely the most important areas when it comes to ventilation, so it could help a bit. Folding@Home has so far been one of the best applications to make the PS3 break into somewhat of a sweat, so you could try running that and see if the fans go up further ... if not, then your PS3's fans could be stuck in highest gear.

 

[.Melchiah.]

Right side and right rear are definitely the most important areas when it comes to ventilation, so it could help a bit. Folding@Home has so far been one of the best applications to make the PS3 break into somewhat of a sweat, so you could try running that and see if the fans go up further ... if not, then your PS3's fans could be stuck in highest gear.

Will have to try both. I just called Sony's customer service, they'll get back at me within a couple of hours. I was somewhat annoyed by the condescending tone I was replied with, when I said it's really loud compared to the 7-year old PS2 I had; "Well, it has a fan and it tends to make some noise."

 

[Limanima]

; "Well, it has a fan and it tends to make some noise."

You should have replied: "Well, this thing is in the warranty, I can always return it and get a XBox...".

 

[Arwin]

You should have replied: "Well, this thing is in the warranty, I can always return it and get a XBox...".

In that case I would have said a Wii, for more impact. Even a broken PS3 is probably still quieter than a 360 ... (fan speed level 3 on my PS3 is quieter than my idling 360 anyway)

 

[.Melchiah.]

You should have replied: "Well, this thing is in the warranty, I can always return it and get a XBox...".

I got an interesting and worrying reply to my question about the noisy PS3 at E-mpire PS3 forum;

The problem is that you live in Finland.
Your 60GB comes from Denmark via Nordisk Film AB and we Scandinavians got one of the worst batch(a huge one) from a factory in China. From what I have heard in our forums, the problem is big here. And NF AB does all repairs very slowly,(had to wait one month for mine, but I got a new, the first one was really fried) so try to get your money back and go for the 40GB.

The chance of getting a quiet 60GB is very slim here, and if it's not broken in any other way, you will get your's back untouched with a bill for waisting their time. Some guys have tried to replace it 3-5 times without luck...

As for the backwards compatibility, buy the new(*) slimmer PS2 instead or keep the old one. Paired with the 40GB it's cheaper and fixes your dilemma as no one here(Scandinavia) seems to complain at all about the 40 GB noise level.


I do use the card reader, so I will keep mine. It's a bit quieter than my first, but those 60 GB version from that batch will not ever be as quiet as the 40 GB. But I can't hear no fan noice when playing, I have the volume up to a level that is very close to what my neighbors can accept without calling the cops, so the problem is not so big for me...

It's odd though, Scandinavians pays the most for PS3 and gets the worst batch and NF AB does not represent the good service Sony stands for at all. I hope Sony would replace them. Some retailers are at war with them, ELgiganten AB for an example. Customers don't want to wait, they want a quiet PS3 or money back, but what can retailers do when NF says no?
So Elgiganten just stopped selling PS3 for a while...

 

[patsu]

If true, that s*cks ! I sent you a PM with a suggestion .Melchiah.
It probably won't work, but I would give it a try.

 

[-tkf-]

I got an interesting and worrying reply to my question about the noisy PS3 at E-mpire PS3 forum;

Just to throw in my 3 cents, i know 3 people that own a PS3 bought more or less at launch day. Of those one of them also bought a 360 recently (20GB + HDMI).

He literally laughed out loud when he first heard his 360, he can not understand how any could accept that level of noise.

My point?, he never thought the PS3 to be "noiseless" but after hearing the 360 he understands completely why those that have heard or owns a 360 might consider the PS3 "noiseless".

 

[.Melchiah.]

If true, that s*cks ! I sent you a PM with a suggestion .Melchiah.
It probably won't work, but I would give it a try.

Thanks. Might have to try that.

They called me back from Sony's customer service, and adviced to swap places with the PS3 and digital recorder, so the latter wouldn't be next to the right side ventilation holes. I'm going to check out now whether that makes any difference. I doubt it will.

 

[scooby_dooby]

In that case I would have said a Wii, for more impact. Even a broken PS3 is probably still quieter than a 360 ... (fan speed level 3 on my PS3 is quieter than my idling 360 anyway)

Have you ever considered your 360 is abnormally loud?

At idle, mine is virtually silent.

 

[Strange]

Have you ever considered your 360 is abnormally loud?

At idle, mine is virtually silent.

With the disk inside it running or without?
That's one of the major differences.

 

[scooby_dooby]

With the disk inside it running or without?
That's one of the major differences.

The disc spins down right after it boots up anyways...

 

[22psi]

my 40gb is pretty quiet, i can hear it up close but it's very tiny. you unit maybe defective.

 

[Arwin]

Have you ever considered your 360 is abnormally loud?

At idle, mine is virtually silent.

Doesn't that depend largely on what you're used to? Obviously though, my 360 isn't the quietest ... it's a non-HDMI Premium, after all.