Recently, I sold my other 60GB PS3 because it kept kicking 3rd gear within 5 minutes after turning it on. Before people mention, I've already cleaned PS3 and place it on dust-free open space for smooth ventilation. Anyway, I was considering buying 40GB PS3 since I've heard so much about that 40GB is lot more silent compared to 60 and 80GB (especially) because of new 65nm chip. I'm going to miss backward compatibility, but I still have my PS2 so that's not a big problem. What does anyone think about this? Is 40GB really silent just like what people've been saying?

In my experience the noise is about the same. The heat from the 40 is substantially lower though.

I have a 40GB and when I first got it I couldn't figure out why it wasn't turning on...then I realized it was just that quiet. Of course, I was coming off owning a 360, which sounded like a rocket taking off.

I'm sure it can vary from unit to unit, but my 40GB is pretty close to silent. It was built at the end of '07.

my 40gb is dead silent, even after hours of cod4 or back to back BR movies...

I'm hoping my 60GB never bites it. I'll miss the functionality. It's the only deck in existence that does just about everything I need in an entertainment center.

I've been picking up PS3 versions of games over XBox 360 versions mainly because my 40GB is so quiet compared to my 360 (which is ridiculously loud even with the BenQ drive) . I don't have another PS3 to compare it to, but my 40GB is about as loud as my DirecTV HD-DVR HR21-700 if that helps any. I've also never heard the fan "shift gears".

Many people have done this, including me. Good luck.

My 360 is a lot quieter than my 60 GB PS3. I also sit farther away from the PS3 than the 360.

My 60GB PS3 seemed to get a little louder after the last firmware, but it's still tolerable.

Just got 40GB ps3 and is it suppose to kick in 2nd gear fan after turning it on for about 10 minutes? Although, you can hear the fan if your tv volume is above average, and it's quiet compared to my last 60GB, I'm pretty disappointed... many people described as dead silent.

instead of selling the 60 gb, use the 1 year warranty and get a refurb from Sony.

That's what I did, and the fan never comes on now.

I have the 40gb and its dead silent, I've never heard it running much less shift gears....my 360 prem on the other hand sounds like a jet taking off

I've had the 60GB since August of 2007, and she gets quite warm, but never has the sound bugged me. I primarily bought it for PS2/PSX compatibility, but I think in the future I may purchase a second model primarily for BR watching, complete with the smaller processors to reduce heat and power consumption.