Forked Thread: PS3 v. X-Box 360 - How Loud is Too Loud?"

[Steel_Wind]

I've never heard a 360 that didn't sound like a chainsaw. Those that can't tell there's a significant noise difference I suspect are in a tiny minority. (Lucky them, in a way.)

Just a quick note: we've talked a fair bit here and in a few other threads over the years about the noise issue and the Xbox 360.

I have a release model 360 which, to paraphrase Arnwyn, does, indeed, sound like a chainsaw when it is on. I'm a big fan of the 360, but the noise issue has grown increasingly tiresome over the years - to the point where I really don't like playing with it anymore for that reason.

Enworld user John Chrichton has mentioned over the course of time the advantages that come with purchasing a newer version of the 360. In partcular, the 360 Elite, manufactured after August of 2007 includes both a HDMI port and a "Falcon" 360 system mobo/GPU design which uses a 65nm fabrication process for the GPU. This smaller fabrication process of the GPU results in significantly less heat; this, in turn, leads to supposedly far quieter operation during normal idle mode on the 360.

Odd as it may seem given my recent acquisition of a PS3, just playing more console games on the PS3 lately has reminded me that I don't play with my 360 nearly enough due to the noise issue. And yes, there are a helluva lot of 360 games that I have which are otherwise worth playing.

And perhaps more ot the point, there are a LOT of used games for the 360 which are dirt cheap that I might want to play if I found it more convenient and comfortable to play them.

So, long story short, I picked up a used 360 today. With some swapping of parts and a very helpful game shop owner (who is a client of mine) I effectively picked up a 360 Elite for under $300 CDN, inclulding three used games and a controller, all-in.

The 120 gig HD on the Elite makes installing a game to the drive for reportedly much quieter play using the Fall 2008 dashboard, "360 Experience" a practical option; whereas my release model 20 gig HD just does not give me the space to do this for more that one or two games at a time + accomodate my saved games and XBL downloads.

I intend to hook my new Elite up via HDMI, compare the relative noise levels during play - and the sound during idle of each - and I'll report back.

 

[Mallus]

I recently borrowed my friends Elite and was rather surprised to find the noise issue was not, in fact, hyperbole and actually a sizable pain in the as ears. When accessing a disk the Elite sounded like the paper shredder in my office. When not spinning a disk it was okay.

 

[Arnwyn]

So, long story short, I picked up a used 360 today. With some swapping of parts and a very helpful game shop owner (who is a client of mine) I effectively picked up a 360 Elite for under $300 CDN, inclulding three used games and a controller, all-in.

Sweet.

The 120 gig HD on the Elite makes installing a game to the drive for reportedly much quieter play using the Fall 2008 dashboard, "360 Experience" a practical option;

As an aside: While I haven't looked hard, where is the option to do this? It's not obvious when I play around with the dashboard. (And, as a further aside, how the heck do I delete other profiles I 'accidentally' created, thanks to one poorly-designed 360 game that forced it on me when I tried a multiplayer game...?)

 

[Felon]

The 360's fan doesn't catch my attention any more than my PC's fan does. Less, I suppose, since the box is situated off to the side of my TV stand. To those who really find the noise that unacceptable, I gotta wonder where there's is situated and what ambient noise is usually going on (or not going on) in their TV room.

 

[Felon]

As an aside: While I haven't looked hard, where is the option to do this? It's not obvious when I play around with the dashboard.

When you're on the dashboard and there's an option to play the game by hitting the A (green) button, there should also be (displayed at the bottom) the option to bring up more options by hitting either the X or Y buttons (I forget which at the moment). Therein lies the "install to hard drive" option. Takes about 10 minutes.

 

[Redrobes]

Said before say again - CD/DVD drive on 360 loud, DL game to HDD, 360 goes near silent. Nuff said.

 

[Simplicity]

I recently borrowed my friends Elite and was rather surprised to find the noise issue was not, in fact, hyperbole and actually a sizable pain in the as ears. When accessing a disk the Elite sounded like the paper shredder in my office. When not spinning a disk it was okay.

You think the Elite is bad? Ooooh boy. The OP is talking about the release version 360. Let me put it this way... When I replaced my release version 360 with an Elite and turned it on, I almost thought it was broken because it was so quiet.

The XBox 360 on release was like a leafblower under your television. It's the sound you'd imagine hearing in those classic Memorex ads. It's like my Xbox360 is telling my PS3, "I'm sorry, but I can't hear you over how awesome I am and my large cooling fans." When I turned it on, I expected to see Bill Paxton and flying cows is all I'm saying.

On the plus side, it has games on it. Which is more than I can say for the Wii or the PS3.

 

[Steel_Wind]

You think the Elite is bad? Ooooh boy. The OP is talking about the release version 360. Let me put it this way... When I replaced my release version 360 with an Elite and turned it on, I almost thought it was broken because it was so quiet.

The XBox 360 on release was like a leafblower under your television.

Yes. Exactly. At least, I am sure as hell hoping that's my reaction.

The release version of the 360 is exceedingly loud.

 

[Mallus]

On the plus side, it has games on it. Which is more than I can say for the Wii or the PS3.

There have been games for the PS3 for a while now. Haven't you heard the news? It's not just an excellent Blu-Ray player anymore...

 

[John Crichton]

So, long story short, I picked up a used 360 today. With some swapping of parts and a very helpful game shop owner (who is a client of mine) I effectively picked up a 360 Elite for under $300 CDN, inclulding three used games and a controller, all-in.

Nice price!

Enworld user John Chrichton has mentioned over the course of time the advantages that come with purchasing a newer version of the 360. In partcular, the 360 Elite, manufactured after August of 2007 includes both a HDMI port and a "Falcon" 360 system mobo/GPU design which uses a 65nm fabrication process for the GPU. This smaller fabrication process of the GPU results in significantly less heat; this, in turn, leads to supposedly far quieter operation during normal idle mode on the 360.

The 120 gig HD on the Elite makes installing a game to the drive for reportedly much quieter play using the Fall 2008 dashboard, "360 Experience" a practical option; whereas my release model 20 gig HD just does not give me the space to do this for more that one or two games at a time + accomodate my saved games and XBL downloads.

Yup, the installs to the Hard Drive have made me play my 360 more. Since the disc no longer has to spin, the noise accompanying it is nearly gone. Coupled with the Elite model it's worked out really well. I had a release model 360 for a while and it drove me crazy to the point of not playing it very often, like yourself.

I've only run into one game so far (DOAX2) that wouldn't install to the HD. There may be more as I don't have a very large 360 game collection. It also bears mentioning that I think load times are decreased a tiny bit on a few games. I noticed it in Fable II and Tales of Vesperia. Not a big deal and it may all be in my mind.