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Slugworth

Loud Fan Noise - Anyone else?

Anyone else having loud fan noise? I have a 40GB and when the fan kicks in it is very loud. It really ruins quiet movies. It kicks on after 10 + minutes and when doing anything (standard DVD, gaming, music etc). It really is quite annoying and I'm trying to decide if I should return it. It sits outside entertainment cabinet vertically on tile in a room that is 72 to 80 degrees.

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107 replies
Ali

Yeah I have the 60GB one and mine also has a really loud noise, but its something i would rather put up with than to have my ps3 overheat. I wonder if the rumored ps3 slim will be quieter?
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CSchmidto

I have the same 40gig model and I get too. But it's only after playing a game for a WHILE, like two hours or something. Mines in a cabinet so that might be why but I think it's better than the xbox one. If I could quiet it down I would, but it seems pretty common
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Drayton99

it doesnt trust me
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ANTIverson

My 80 GB fan gets loud after a while, maybe an hour or so once i start playing.
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nommed

Huh I don't really notice it. Once I play a couple of hours straight I start hearing some noise but it's only as bad as my laptop's fan.
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cbiscuit505

It might just be dusty, try giving the vents a light vacuuming, nothing industrial strength but just a gentle cleaning. Also, though it sounds obvious, make sure none of the vents are obstructed cuz if they are the heats gunna build quick and the fan will increase in speed to compensate.

edit: I just read that u keep it vertical, I've seen infrared photos and studies that show it stays cooler on its side, this may help.
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ngnathan

I've found that it gets really loud when the vent on the PS3 is beside something else, which blocks ventilation. So before I had it facing a wall, which severely limited air flow. So I stuck it on top of my DVR, where there was lots of room, and its been quite quiet.
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nac

Yes, my 60GB whirs like a turbine! Clear, open space with lots of air circulation too. Silly 90nm manufacturing process. :(
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dave

Same here. The thing is ridiculous. The PS3 will be sitting idle on our entertainment center and our of nowhere, the fan spools up. It sounds like an airplane taking off.
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Inspace2020

Mine just started doing this. It has recently been really hot where I live so that might be it, or it could be a bug with the new 2.8 firmware update...I haven't figured it out yet.
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Josch

Most of the time my is quiet enough that I don't hear it over movies or games but a couple of times the fans have kicked into high gear and stayed on till I shut down. I checked the airflow and it was barely warm. I suspect it is a bug in the firmware.
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reignlight

I've read on the Playstation forums that certain models do use a different fan structure - different number of blades if I recall. You can likely order a set online and swap it yourself if you're up to the task
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goombakid

My 60GB's fan usually spins up faster when I'm playing for an extended period and I forget to open the glass doors to my cabinet. Usually I just open it up and turn on this little USB fan (that gets it power from my dormant 360, lol) and after about 5mins of venting, it quiets down.
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GIBS

My 40GB turns on the fan when I have payed for a while, never when watching a movie.
You are lucky you don't have an Xox360, it is much louder and the fan is on all the time.
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goombakid

Well, add that plus a noisy Hitachi DVD drive...well, you get a WHOLE lot of dB's there.
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dancekat1

I have an 80gb ps3 which runs quiet. Never heard the fan (cross my fingers)
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jayism

yea, never heard the fan on mine either, my 1TB external HDD's fan is super loud though, it blocks out anything else!
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brew

Yeah I have an 80 gig, it is actually my quietest console! Surprisingly even the Wii makes more noise. As for the 360, it sounds like a jet is taking off in my living room everytime it is on.
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thedrvthrubandi

I had a launch day 60GB and never had a problem with the fan and unfortunately it died on me last week. I got my refurbished unit in the mail yesterday and now the fan is excessively loud. In nearly three years, I never once heard my original system get even half as loud as this one. I actually just got off the phone with Sony and I'm sending this one back in and hopefully getting a quieter system.
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coologuy1957

I have an original 20GB model and, although it does make some noise, compared to my Xbox 360 it is non-existent. I never found it to be very loud at all and I used to put my ear to it to make sure it was working. It is so much more silent compared to the PS2, Xbox, and Xbox 360. I guess if they could eliminate all console noise (fan, disc drive, hard drive access) on the slim, that would be a worthwhile upgrade. This is assuming it was super low power, cheap, looked good, and restored all the original functionality all the PS3s were supposed to have to begin with.
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danhil2

I have a 40GB model and it is normally very quiet. The first time the fan turned on high it did scare me a little because it was very loud. It only does it for one game (GTA4) and only after several hours of gameplay and only when my room is very warm (over 80 degrees). My television is a very effective space heater that outpaces the abilities of the air conditioning.
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humedini

My 80GB is fine most of the time ... recently in the UK we had some seriously hot weather (by our usual standards) and the PS3 would spin all of its fans up for a while to compensate and then back down again ... was a bit annoying but not as annoying as having to buy another one because this one exploded.
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DLicious

I have an 80GB model (just bought it 2 months ago) and the fan kicks in about 15 minutes into playing. It seems like there are about 4 fan speeds. After 15 minutes the fan is at the 3rd or 4th gear and it's really loud. I mean, you can't ignore it. I'm concerned that a lot of people say they don't hear their fans b/c they either 1) keep their PS3's in a TV stand but behind glass doors OR 2) the volume on your speakers are so loud that you don't really hear the PS3 over the game volume OR 3) you have a gigantic TV so you sit like 20 feet away from your PS3/TV.

My PS3 sits in a TV stand with NOTHING obstructing it from the side or behind. The back wall of my TV stand is almost entirely open so it's not one of those TV stands where there are only holes in the back wall to run your cables through. I have a 40" TV so I don't sit very far from the TV, about 8 feet away (which on a side note I think is the absolute furthest distance you want to sit from a 40" TV).

No idea why it's so crazy loud. It gets annoying. I hope they can fix this. I'd choose a quieter fan, even just a little quieter, for a little bit more heat coming from the unit.
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DLicious

So due to my 80GB PS3 fan noise I put in a request to have my unit repaired. It was still under warranty. Sony sent me a replacement unit within a few hours of receiving the unit. I received the unit and tested it out and it is DEAD SILENT. My replacement unit needed to download some software updates so I downloaded them, then I played some FIFA 09 (which usually makes the fan kick to the 2nd highest level after 15 minutes and highest level after 30 minutes) and then watched a Blu-ray for over 2 hours and not even a whisper from the PS3. My original unit DEFINTELY had something wrong with it.

I'm just glad I did something about it before the warranty expired. The fact that Sony sent me a replacement unit the same day really was the biggest tip off that my original unit had excessive fan noise issues and that it wasn't just me.
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coologuy1957

that sounds like some good support. I had a great support experience when Sony replaced my PS2 laser for free...

glad the sounds finally gone!
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Farmr

Well, I found the solution. It's at ps3fannoise.blogspot.com/

Hopefully this is some help to you guys.
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BaconPie

My fan usually whirls up after several hours of gaming. Other than that its practically silent.

One thing I do regularly though is run the fan cleaning cycle:

1) Turn off the console with the switch at the back
2) Hold the eject button
3) Turn on from the switch at the back, while still holding the eject button.

The fans will turn up to maximum and run for a few seconds. If you had a cd in there then it'll eject it first.

Once its finished the standby button will blink. Just switch it off and on again from the back.
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Slugworth

Well, I tried it horizontal with being raised off the base and still very loud and annoying as it has been since day one. Back then I was too excited playing games to care. But now when I just want to relax and watch a movie I've got to crank the audio to overcome the fan. Not a good option with a newborn in the house. I wonder if this qualifies for the Best Buy replacement plan that I bought for it. Anyone know?
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coologuy1957

my 20GB is pretty quiet and I love it!
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deinfinityx

So is mine, oh wait i don't have one yet but it is quiet in my head.
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coologuy1957

the PS3 Slim should be the quietestest PS3 ever!

it should be quite quiet! :P
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deinfinityx

Should be is the key factor there, but with the increase size they might have had to bump up the fan, no way to tell until someone starts playing.
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coologuy1957

From CNET review:

"But the fact is the PS3 Slim costs half of what the original PS3 cost when it first launched. It's also smaller, more energy efficient, quieter, and retains virtually all the impressive gaming, multimedia, and home-theater functionality of previous PS3s. In short, there's a lot of machine here for $299."
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deinfinityx

Ok you got me there, but the funny thing is once again they are losing more money on the PS3 then its worth.
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coologuy1957

I haven't seen any estimates on what the slim is costing them... hopefully the aren't being retarded about it... actually, screw them! I don't care because they way overcharged for it originally and they've made tons of dough! I just hopes this gets lots of new customers and people to spread the word... No one would talk about the PS3 like this if it wasn't a substantial piece of hardware!
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deinfinityx

They have always lost money on it, the $500 dollar one cost them $700 to makes. They have always lost money except for recently and now they are posed to lose money yet again./
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coologuy1957

everyone knows they've lost money up until now but even you have no idea how much this new model is costing them... they could be breaking even...
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deinfinityx

www.joystiq.com­/2009­/08­/25­/hirai­-ps3­-slim­-sold­-at­-...

Case in point, although the slim is going to sell at a loss, the business is still profitable more then likely due to first party games. I also read that some stores are only going to make like $8-10 dollars for every PS3 sold .
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coologuy1957

They said its a small loss and Microsoft has actually lost far more repairing their horrible hardware flaws that led a millions of Red Rings of Death and E74 errors, not to mention unintended disc scratching. Microsofts extended warranties and repairs cost them billions... the only maker coming out of HARDWARE selling alive is the Wii - which has been profitable since launch.
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deinfinityx

Oh i agree, which is why i never brought in the 360, but as a console its still the most popular for gamers, well most gamers.
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coologuy1957

360 hardware failures basically boned Microsofts game division this gen. They are lucky to have built such a healthy install base in spite of it (including me of course). And the Wii is the most popular among gamers, just not gamers who play news games every week - like what we consider gamers...
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deinfinityx

I agree there is just something about the360 that even though i know mine might break I am just going to get another one.
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coologuy1957

once you have a ps3 you will care even less if one or both 360's break, if only because you'll still have plenty to play... 360's breaking has led to lots of people exploring other consoles and has filled ebay and pawn shops. I notice gamestop and entertainmart are never short on 360's to buy... though they usually have Wii's to sell now too which is crazy!
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deinfinityx

Well everywhere i go around Csprings there is no lack of PS3's, actually they have more then the 360. I guess it is region dependent but still. With my luck if i bought a used PS3 it would YLOD or something else within a month.
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coologuy1957

if only because of all the nasty things it knew you said about it! LOL :P
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deinfinityx

Oh yes, all the horrible things about the PS3, actually i hate the fanboys and love the system.
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coologuy1957

I hate all fanboys everywhere!

That might actually make us "Fanboy hate" fanboys! LOL
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deinfinityx

Sadly i think you are right but its better then being the fanboy, defend everything without logic.
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coologuy1957

this site has an unnaturally large amount of non-idiots/non-fanboys and I still fret wondering how long it will last.... once they're on here it will be a lot less fun..
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deinfinityx

I agree, that is why i use this site so much and will dread when those types start showing up.
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