How loud is the Xbox 360?

TM2 Rampage

I've heard that it's... loud? Does the fan make a loud grinding/whirring noise all the time, or is that just on problematic 360s? Is the 360 as loud as your average desktop PC? How is it compared to the PS2's (fat one) noise? Eh? Eh?

Drez

Not loud enough that it matters.

You just need to worry if it stops being audible. That's how you know it's broken.

I have my Xbox 360 literally a foot and a half in front of me and I don't notice it at all while gaming.

Marlor

A friend of mine has one, and I personally don't think it is too loud. But he is absolutely driven crazy by the noise.

He went to the trouble of setting up Windows MCE to XBox 360 streaming, but ended up so fed up with the fan noise that he went back to his XBox with XBox Media Center. He has his XBox 360 set up in a small room, though, hooked up to an old TV that isn't very loud.

So, it all depends on your setup, and how annoyed you are by fan noise. I'm fairly picky, and it wouldn't bother me... but if you are totally OCD about fan noise, then it might be an issue.

Lezta

If you game with the volume up to even a decent level then you won't hear it at all.

If for whatever reason you don't like loud volume or can't have it up loud because of sleeping people or irate neighbours or whatever then it might, if you are a very picky person, annoy you.

There is only one way to find out really.

Drez

"OCD about fan noise" doesn't mean anything. People need to stop using the phrase "OCD about <blank>."

Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine. I have OCD, and...that doesn't mean anything.

It can get under anybody's skin. Something getting irrationally under your skin doesn't mean you have acute or temporary OCD. It just means it got under your skin.

edit: You can also be obsessed about something without having OCD. Compulsion to act isn't a necessary side-effect of obsession, which is something most people go through at one time or another.

Mastervastere

It's reassuringly loud.

ins0mniac

When not gaming and just having the system idle in a quiet room, it's pretty fuckin' loud. But when you're playing a game and/or listening to music, it's really pretty unnoticeable.

I shut it off when I'm not playing though. It almost a little bit louder than most PC towers.

Marlor

Drez wrote:

"OCD about fan noise" doesn't mean anything. People need to stop using the phrase "OCD about <blank>."

Yeah, sorry. I was trying to think of a description beyond "picky", and that just popped into my head. There are plenty of people who are obsessive about silencing PC/console noise though... to the point of spending hundreds of dollars to make their machine a few decibels quieter. If this is the case, then the XBox 360 may well annoy you.

darleysam

Drez wrote:

"OCD about fan noise" doesn't mean anything. People need to stop using the phrase "OCD about <blank>."

Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine. I have OCD, and...that doesn't mean anything.

It can get under anybody's skin. Something getting irrationally under your skin doesn't mean you have acute or temporary OCD. It just means it got under your skin.

edit: You can also be obsessed about something without having OCD. Compulsion to act isn't a necessary side-effect of obsession, which is something most people go through at one time or another.

so you're OCD about people using..

i kid,

yeah, i first thought my 360 was being loud, but once you get a game going with the volume at an audible level, you really don't notice it or care about it. It's not something to worry about at all.

cdneger

I dread the day that I don't hear my 360... I remember once when I was playing some PC game and I had the volume way down, and I could easily hear my pc fans blowing and then... they stopped. I had one very WTFWTFWTFWTF moment and then the crash came. This must never happen to my 360, ever.

Gaming-Module

If you can hear it you need a surround sound system. This was actually a design choice by Microsoft. Also, if you don't own Dead Rising, you get the aids in your sleep.

Cherrn

I definitely think it's the loudest console made so far, but you won't notice it when playing. I do tend to notice it when something's loading, though.

ROFISH

I'm with the you can hear it but I don't care crowd. The fans are OK, but beware when the disc drive, which is louder than the fans, just magically stop making noise. (You then get a DDE and lose everything since your last save.)

bongi

Cherrn wrote:

I definitely think it's the loudest console made so far, but you won't notice it when playing. I do tend to notice it when something's loading, though.

did you never own a dreamcast?

WHIIIIR CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK WHIRRRRRRR WHIRRRRRRR

my friend's mum actually commented that she thought it was broken

IShallRiseAgain

you never will notice it while playing a game or watching a movie unless your easily annoyed by such things.

LCDXX

Not loud enough to be a problem.

Edit: edited out the snarkiness.

fragglefart

You can hear it when sitting right next to it, but it isn't a problem if you have your TV turned on with decent volume of sound.

And compared to gaming next to an an average PC rig, which continually batters one ear with a multitude of whirring fans, well, it is much better/easier to mask, especially when you consider the amount of hi-tech gubbins inside that little white box.

Samphis

I can hear it when I run a DVD and it's at the menus, but not while the movie itself is playing. Not an issue.

Sanius

If it's loading most games you can hear it, for sure, but if you are just playing the game, all you can hear at the fans, which are not that loud.

Elessar Elfstone

People act like its a jet engine but I think lots of people just like to nitpick Microsoft. It makes noise but as others have said you will not notice it while you are playing any game.

darleysam

bongi wrote:

Cherrn wrote:

I definitely think it's the loudest console made so far, but you won't notice it when playing. I do tend to notice it when something's loading, though.

did you never own a dreamcast?

WHIIIIR CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK WHIRRRRRRR WHIRRRRRRR

my friend's mum actually commented that she thought it was broken

that's the sound my 360 makes before i get a DRE in Dead Rising.

Cript

darleysam wrote:

bongi wrote:

Cherrn wrote:

I definitely think it's the loudest console made so far, but you won't notice it when playing. I do tend to notice it when something's loading, though.

did you never own a dreamcast?

WHIIIIR CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK WHIRRRRRRR WHIRRRRRRR

my friend's mum actually commented that she thought it was broken

that's the sound my 360 makes before i get a DRE in Dead Rising.

Mine too. I think theres a problem with Dead Rising. Its the only game that gives my box DREs.

And is the 360 loud? Yeah, its the loudest console ever.

Will you notice it while playing a game or watching a movie? No.

Viscountalpha

TM2 Rampage wrote:

I've heard that it's... loud? Does the fan make a loud grinding/whirring noise all the time, or is that just on problematic 360s? Is the 360 as loud as your average desktop PC? How is it compared to the PS2's (fat one) noise? Eh? Eh?

Too loud when the disc is spinning.

JerikTelorian

Cript wrote:

darleysam wrote:

bongi wrote:

Cherrn wrote:

I definitely think it's the loudest console made so far, but you won't notice it when playing. I do tend to notice it when something's loading, though.

did you never own a dreamcast?

WHIIIIR CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK WHIRRRRRRR WHIRRRRRRR

my friend's mum actually commented that she thought it was broken

that's the sound my 360 makes before i get a DRE in Dead Rising.

Mine too. I think theres a problem with Dead Rising. Its the only game that gives my box DREs.

And is the 360 loud? Yeah, its the loudest console ever.

Will you notice it while playing a game or watching a movie? No.

I've never got a DRE in Dead Rising. Oblivion, however.....

Mine is literally at my feet, not more than a yard from my head when sitting, and it doesn't bug me even in the least. However, I can understand why some people might be upset with it.

Backlash

The heat bothers me more than the noise.

Rydark

It's not the fan noise, but the disk drive noise that is extremely loud.

Whenever I play Gears of War or Lost Planet, the disk drive spins so much, that my xbox360 literally shakes. It doesn't help that I use my xbox360 in vertical position due to lack of room.

My kingdom for a quiet xbox360!

bruin

I only notice it when there's a quiet section of a game or movie. It's really not a big deal though, you really shouldn't even think about it if you're considering getting a 360.

gneGne

Depends on where you put it I think. I've played an xbox360, but I didn't hear any noise. Didn't grab my attention atleast.

Flesh Into Gear

Almost as loud as the Dreamcast

Karf

Flesh Into Gear wrote:

Almost as loud as the Dreamcast

Well, it is the Dreamcast 2.0: Now with better ending.

Flesh Into Gear

Karf wrote:

Flesh Into Gear wrote:

Almost as loud as the Dreamcast

Well, it is the Dreamcast 2.0: Now with better ending.

That...thats beautiful

Seagoon

Mine sounds like a bird is trapped in it while playing games, which sucks because I sit pretty close to mine (it's on my computer desk).

Apparently some Xbox 360's have different drives so YMMV, but I am disappointed with the noise mine makes. I have 3 computers in my relatively small computer room, and it's loudest thing in here - which is saying something.

Zoolander

When I first got mine, I was pretty dissapointed at the loudness. It was louder than my computer, which I thought was pretty damn loud. But eventually I got used to it. It's not a huge deal when you're playing a game or something, but I like leaving it on even if I'm not using it, and in a perfect world I would really like it to be quieter.

Malvient

Loud. Louder than my PC, by a long shot. :?

It sounds like a computer with a 120mm fan on high, with the side open.

Epyon9283

My 360 is annoyingly loud. I didn't realize just how loud it was until I got a ps3.

ToadTheMushroom

Anyone who complains about 360 noise has either a faulty 360 (mine is hardly noisy at all, evne under load) or didnt own a Dreamcast. I put up with that thing for 3 years so I could play a 360 inside a 747 engine and not notice the sound.

TM2 Rampage

Sooo, I have a Dreamcast. Is a 360 definitely louder than that? Or it seems it may be YMMV eh...

TexiKen

TM2 Rampage wrote:

Sooo, I have a Dreamcast. Is a 360 definitely louder than that? Or it seems it may be YMMV eh...

The DC was only loud when it was loading certain games, like that South Park Chef's trivia game.

The 360 kind of has this hum to it the whole time that, while making loading sounds not seem so loud, will make you turn up the volume to drown it out.

Be concerned about the heat the 360 creates more than anything. That and it has a really funky smell when you play it for the first couple of days.

Seagoon

ToadTheMushroom wrote:

Anyone who complains about 360 noise has either a faulty 360 (mine is hardly noisy at all, evne under load) or didnt own a Dreamcast. I put up with that thing for 3 years so I could play a 360 inside a 747 engine and not notice the sound.

My 360 is fine, I have had no DREs, no crashes or anything. The DVD drive is just noisy when it's working, there is no grinding noises, no rattling - just noisy operation.

There are two different types of 360 drive. Toshiba and Hitachi. I have a Hitachi drive and it's crazy loud. I can't vouch for the Dreamcast but I figured in 2007, a quiet dvd drive wouldn't be too much to ask for. I have an ancient slot loading Pioneer drive for my PC, and even at full speed is miles quieter than my 360. Even the first generation Blu-Ray drive in the PS3 is quieter reportedly.

TM2 Rampage

Thanks for the advice, guys. I decided to just take the plunge and hope I can put up with any noise. Plus the thought of playing over Live and stuff seems to outweigh any fan noise.

So, I just got an Xbox 360. It's sitting here unopened... I couldn't pass up Microcenter's deal on it, so I had to just get it at least before the deal expired, and now I can sit and think if I do want to open it... Eh heh.


Well. I have a couple questions.

1) So the 360 seems to have 3 diff DVD drive manufacturers now... Toshiba, Hitachi, and Phillips. Are there really any pros and cons among those in terms of noise, speed, etc?

2) Is the Xbox 360 moddable to put in a generic PC hard drive? I kinda was hoping to get a Core... but I had to get the Premium since the hard drive alone was a lovely 100 bucks by itself.

TM2 Rampage

Ah... got one more...

3) So, Xbox 360 Live. Could I play, say, Halo 2, an original Xbox game, with an Xbox 360 Live subscription on my Xbox 360?