[Wretnuh]

I bought a 80GB PS3 to use with my 5080. I went for the 80GB because I wanted access to SACD. I'm waiting on install of the 5080 (Friday), so I haven't opened the PS3 box yet.


Reading these forums have made me reconsider the 40GB due to heat and noise from the 80GB. However even that seems uncertain to prevent the potential problem of fan noise.


I know the theoretical reason that the 80GB would run hotter and louder, but I'd like to hear from those of you with (relatively) silent 80GBs so I can get an idea about my chances of getting a quieter unit.


I know I can open it up and take it for a test drive, then return it if it is too loud, but that just seems wasteful to me.


I've read most of the pertinent threads on this board. I know you are probably more likely to report a problem, than talk about what works right, so that may have influenced previous threads.


Thanks in advance.

 

[Donnie Eldridge]

Best asked in the official PS3 thread.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&highlight=PS3

 

[JonW747]

I think it really depends what you do with it. When the fan is in low gear it's reasonably quiet. If you make the CPU do a lot of work, it'll crank it up. The nice thing is the fan makes a low whoosh sound, not a high pitched whine.

 

[Mr. Hanky]

My 80 GB model is quiet to the point where I could not tell it is even on (running FaH) with the tv/stereo on at low volume, aside from seeing the green lit indicator. Of course, it is also set up in an open setting, with vents oriented sideways (instead of front to back), near the floor to where the coolest air is, and the airflow pattern is favorably orchestrated such that the warm exhaust has to literally travel all the way to a window surface (approx. 2 ft away) before it has even a chance of it circling around to the front intakes.


I have an older model (but not launch) ps2 that is definitely louder than the ps3, but not overly obstrusive, itself. It definitely does not pass the "can I tell it is on by sound while the tv is playing at low volume" test.


That said, I have to say a normally functioning ps3 is suitably quiet for a CE device (though certainly not completely silent), let alone a computer device that burns off 200-300 W (which is not a trivial amount of heat output). If you are watching tv, playing a videogame, playing a movie, you aren't going to notice it.


Now if you expect to run it in your bedroom while you sleep and not hear it, it is just not going to be "quiet" to that extent. In a completely quiet room, sure you are going to hear it...just like you would hear the muffled hum of any high performance PC burning 300 W. Can't break the physics there.

 

[Sam S]

My 80GB definitely did make noise, would run on fan level 2 after 10 minutes.


Took it back for a 40GB unit that has never made a peep! Dead silent from 6 inches away.


Missing SACD is a drag, but I already have a Denon player that does that, so I wasn't giving up too much.

 

[Wretnuh]

Thanks for your replies up 'til now.


I might go ahead and open up the 80 and take my chances.

 

[jpmst3]

My 80 can get loud with no other singnificant sources of noise present, but it is in an open back cabinet and I never hear it during any movies.

 

[Captante]

I got an 80 GB as a birthday gift 2 weeks ago & while its not absolutely silent, if I have the TV sound on even at a very low level it isn't noticable to me even after watching 2 BD movies in a row & playing Virtua-Fighter 5 for a couple hours, although it does pump out substantial amounts of heat.


Note however that I also have a very quiet PC in the same room running 24/7 so slight amounts of fan noise don't bother me ... it is a bit louder then my A30 HD-DVD player fan with everything else turned off including said PC.


I have it standing vertical on a low shelf maybe 1.5ft above floor level with at least four inchs of airflow space on all sides & about 3 feet from a large sliding glass door.