specwarGP2
Regular
Yes it makes a fairly noticeable snapping/cracking sound randomly when it's on. It's very strange. So is the consensus that it's nothing to be worried about, right?
PS3 Slim build quality
- Thread starter specwarGP2
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Yes it makes a fairly noticeable snapping/cracking sound randomly when it's on. It's very strange. So is the consensus that it's nothing to be worried about, right?
Both of my 60s did that from day 1. I only have 1 60 left and it still does it. My slim doesn't do it at all.
I wouldn't be worried, as I said my launch PS2 has made similar sounds, and is still going strong after nine years of heavy use! (well, since I bought the PS3 I have only used it a couple of times, so that maybe makes it about seven years of heavy use
)Could be a cold joint i guess (contact area not heated up enough when soldered and thus "working" when heating up/down). I got some strong crackling from my PCs motherboard (originated somewhere around the voltage regulators), particularly after switching on/off. It stopped doing that after a few weeks use.
One source of mechanical noise is the harddrive; a few seconds after powering up and the platters having reached full velocity the drive will unlock the head assembly from the parking ramp; this can be heard as an audible click on some drives, particulary as the heads tend to be held in place while parked by a permanent magnet to prevent them from being shaken loose during transport for example. Thus, extra force is needed to release the heads, making more noise... I assume there's some tolerance from unit to unit here, also, not all PS3 Slims may ship with the same model of drive (particulary if the capacity differs).
Also, certain errors with harddrives cause them to click more than usual. If the drive encounters tracking problems or repeated read/write errors they often exercise the head actuator a bit, which may create more noise. However, unless you experience weird behavior from your PS3 such as slowness when loading software or menus etc (that may be intermittent, coming and going randomly) I wouldn't worry.
Wether the sound you hear is harddrive noise or thermal expansion is hard to say without hearing the sound in question! I'd venture a guess and say it's either of these two sources, and will add that thermal expansion noise can be quite loud! If a plastic case is screwed on tightly to either side of a circuit board, the expansion will be held at bay for a while until the friction between the case and the circuit board suddenly "breaks" like a mini earth quake. The result is a snapping or popping sound. I heard such noise quite a lot from my surround receiver/amp when it was new, and my PS3 launch unit and flatscreen TV also make these sounds every now and then.
I wouldn't be concerned. Your issue is most likely completely benign.
Also, certain errors with harddrives cause them to click more than usual. If the drive encounters tracking problems or repeated read/write errors they often exercise the head actuator a bit, which may create more noise. However, unless you experience weird behavior from your PS3 such as slowness when loading software or menus etc (that may be intermittent, coming and going randomly) I wouldn't worry.
Wether the sound you hear is harddrive noise or thermal expansion is hard to say without hearing the sound in question! I'd venture a guess and say it's either of these two sources, and will add that thermal expansion noise can be quite loud! If a plastic case is screwed on tightly to either side of a circuit board, the expansion will be held at bay for a while until the friction between the case and the circuit board suddenly "breaks" like a mini earth quake.
The result is a snapping or popping sound. I heard such noise quite a lot from my surround receiver/amp when it was new, and my PS3 launch unit and flatscreen TV also make these sounds every now and then.I wouldn't be concerned. Your issue is most likely completely benign.
djskribbles
Legend
I've heard Hard Drive clinking (I had a faulty Seagate) and it's not nearly as loud as the cracking sound the Slim causes, nor is the sound the same. I'm almost certain the OP is experiencing the same thing I as well as many others (just google PS3 Slim cracking noise) are experiencing. Whether it's a cause for concern is another question, but personally, I think it's nothing to worry about.
Just got me a new 320GB PS3 Slim to replace my old, EU launch PS3.
The XMB is much slower in this! Not the scrolling of XMB (though that too seems more sluggish when brought up in-game), but the time it takes to populate those rotating arrows with icons seems to take longer than on my old machine, even though I don't have much data yet on the Slim. Even the XMB themes list loads the names on the bottom of the list slower, whereas in the old one they were there instantly.
I had replaced the original 60GB HD in the old PS3 with a WD 320GB 8MB 5400 rpm HDD, but as I believe the Slim also has some 5400rpm 8MB HDD inside, it shouldn't be that much slower.
I know some flash memory was removed in the Slim, where the OS was stored, and now part of the firmware is actually on the HDD, but have the Slims always been slower in the XMB, or has there been some more cost cutting in these latest Slims. Or is my unit somehow faulty.
The slowness isn't such a new user who hasn't used a fat PS3 before would necessarily notice, but to me the difference was clear.
The XMB is much slower in this! Not the scrolling of XMB (though that too seems more sluggish when brought up in-game), but the time it takes to populate those rotating arrows with icons seems to take longer than on my old machine, even though I don't have much data yet on the Slim. Even the XMB themes list loads the names on the bottom of the list slower, whereas in the old one they were there instantly.
I had replaced the original 60GB HD in the old PS3 with a WD 320GB 8MB 5400 rpm HDD, but as I believe the Slim also has some 5400rpm 8MB HDD inside, it shouldn't be that much slower.
I know some flash memory was removed in the Slim, where the OS was stored, and now part of the firmware is actually on the HDD, but have the Slims always been slower in the XMB, or has there been some more cost cutting in these latest Slims. Or is my unit somehow faulty.
The slowness isn't such a new user who hasn't used a fat PS3 before would necessarily notice, but to me the difference was clear.
Last thing I read about it, it had to do with some mechanical bits around the BD drive, and I also saw a video on how when one got slightly misaligned this could cause clicking and how it could be fixed.
I get the feeling my PS3 slim harddrive has been going notably slow lately, and I've had it for a year. Maybe one of the recent firmware updates had something to do with it. Same symptoms as you noticed, slow icon loading, slow store, and particularly slow installs (the type you do for PSN downloads). I could swear it was a lot zippier earlier in the year.
I have around 30GB free on the stock 120GB drive.
That's ecxactly what I'm experiencing. Doesn't seem to affect the old fat one, it's still fast and smooth.
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