RPGfan Posted August 17, 2008 Posted August 17, 2008 I have recently been considering to buy another xbox360 for the simple reason that there is so many great games coming out for it in the next several months. But I have the one and persistent problem of the damn noise coming from that thing. I used to own a HALO 3 version xbox360 which I sold shortly after finding out that the much touted new Falcon chip had done nothing to deal with the noise from the machine during playing sessions. I quite literally couldn´t enjoy playing on it for reasons of the noise, as I don´t own a surround system and had to use headphones turned up quite high to deal with the background noise from the machine. Over on extremetech.com they did a test to see how much noise it puts out with a gamedisc in it, and it is 60db which is too much noise. They tried to quiet down the noise by installing sound dampening materials inside the cabinet but it only made a difference of 5db. Especially the high pitched whirring/whining part of the noise was reported to be troublesome. I have now contacted Microsoft to ask them if they have done something about the problem with the new 60GB version coming out in a few days. I have yet to receive a reply which I think will come eventually after some days. Otherwise I will call them. I have pointed out to them that if they don´t do something about the problem they can forget about ever beating the other two consolemakers since both the Wii and PS3 are far quiter in operation than theirs is. I namely believe that other people than me deselect the xbox360 for reasons of the noise it makes. It is very painfull and outright detracting. Meanwhile waiting for their answer, I would like to ask if there is there anybody in this forum who have any clues as to what can be done about this annoying problem? A solution has got to come, unless we wait until a new xboxcomes out in some years from now. I have read too many other complaints related to annoyances over the background noise coming from what extremetech.com say are the fans going into overdrive during heated gaming sessions, but also the optical drive. Newer version, repudetly the ones launched to market after Winter 2006 are supposed to be more quiet (the one I used to own wasn´t, and I bought that Summer 2007). The fan-noise seems to be related to a cabinet that is too tiny and which naturally produces more internal heat faster which is registered by the onboard thermostats which tell the fans to work harder at cooling the cabinet producing more noise. There are reports of people who can heat their rooms in the cold of winter thanks to the heat emissions coming from the xbox360. So I can´t be the only person who thinks it is a problem. How about taking the electronic innards and move them over into another, larger cabinet custom made for that? I think it would help the problem some of the way and I think many would be willing to pay for it even. Other than that, there exists an add-on type of fan adapter which clicks onto the back of the machine which helps to cool down the machine a little more so that it doesn´t have to do it all by itself which should take of a chunk of the fan noise. But it has been said to make the problem worse by some and the opposite by others. Does any of the forum members have any experience with that add-on found on sale at GAME? It is no less than scandalous to launch such a machine to market without first solving the issue of operational noise. Could that be the very reason why they are lagging behind in the console race currently? Ironically, right now the best of the games are found on the xbox360 which many people including GAME agrees with me in. Too bad is it like torture to play them if one happens to not own a surround system to drown out the nuissance.
Daft Posted August 17, 2008 Posted August 17, 2008 You'll soon be able to install games on the HDD, which means no disk spinning, which means a lot less noise.
Dan_Dare Posted August 17, 2008 Posted August 17, 2008 Here's my method. sit far away from the machine.
LegoMan1031 Posted August 17, 2008 Posted August 17, 2008 Simple solution: Don't turn it on! lol, sorry i know... poor joke.
Daft Posted August 17, 2008 Posted August 17, 2008 Get a PS3. You can take that as a joke, but that's what I did.
Skitter2.9 Posted August 17, 2008 Posted August 17, 2008 You can also flash your dvd drive's firmware and make the disk spin at a lower speed, it supposedly makes it alot quieter. This however involves taking apart your 360, voiding warranty, crossing your fingers hoping that you have a drive that can be flashed, inserting the drive in a pc, flashing, reinserting it in the 360 and pray Microsoft doesn't suddenly decide to ban everyone with a flashed drive. (omg what a sentence xD) I myself are looking forward to the fall update :p
Nintenchris Posted August 17, 2008 Posted August 17, 2008 Surround sound.. one thats gonna shake your house while playing games and drown the sound of the 360 out
Noodleman Posted August 17, 2008 Posted August 17, 2008 I must be lucky. Mine is very quiet. This, I can only really hear mine at quiet points during films. It's certainly inaudible playing games and my rooms quite small so it's not like I'm sitting far away from it. Actualy I think it might because mine is at the bottom of my entertainment cabinet whereas most people who complain about the noise tend to have it out in the open on a work surface or something.
Wesley Posted August 17, 2008 Posted August 17, 2008 http://kotaku.com/5037341/make-your-xbox-360-bigger
LegoMan1031 Posted August 17, 2008 Posted August 17, 2008 Overall i forget my 360 is making a noise at all. Granded it is the loudest i have but i wouldn't say mine is that bad.
That Guy Posted August 17, 2008 Posted August 17, 2008 They're all loud but I can't imagine it being a problem. It's only loud at night when the sound on the TV is low, so I'm not really bothered.
Hellfire Posted August 17, 2008 Posted August 17, 2008 You'll soon be able to install games on the HDD, which means no disk spinning, which means a lot less noise. You'll actually need the disk in the drive, so it'll access the disk sometimes I suppose. Still, yeah
Solo Posted August 18, 2008 Posted August 18, 2008 Well when I play late at night I sandwich the console between two pillows, reduces the noise quite effectively.
LegoMan1031 Posted August 18, 2008 Posted August 18, 2008 Well when I play late at night I sandwich the console between two pillows, reduces the noise quite effectively. Would that not cause problems of heating up the console?
Guest Jordan Posted August 18, 2008 Posted August 18, 2008 I (hope) he's kidding. The 360 suffers for the following reasons: A 16X (and in some models 24X) DVD-ROM drive. It has to spin extremely fast to get data off the disc. Its two fans have to spin very fast to keep the cooling going and to keep the components within acceptable limits. And remember the longer the console is on the louder it gets. The older consoles really suffer from this, especially the ones with 90nm Xenon boards. One way to stop the noise is to put the 360 on top of a material that will reduce the noise (since alot of it is from the vibration of what its on) that doesn't conduct heat well.
tapedeck Posted August 18, 2008 Posted August 18, 2008 Would that not cause problems of heating up the console? Or burning down your house? Or your head being on fire when you then use said pillows to go to sleep? One way to stop the noise is to put the 360 on top of a material that will reduce the noise (since alot of it is from the vibration of what its on) that doesn't conduct heat well. Like a pillow! :p
Jimbob Posted August 18, 2008 Posted August 18, 2008 Mine seems to be a lot quieter than my old Premium model, due to the fact that i got the better DVD-Drives and smaller chipset inside the console and a third fan (yes, the elites come with 3 fans). Still, gets a little noisy though when i play a quiet game or a quiet DVD. But nothing that my sound system can't drown out.
Choze Posted August 18, 2008 Posted August 18, 2008 Sell your 360 and get a PS3. Say no to bad quality and customer service. Also if you have a pc go buy a Mac next time.
Guest Jordan Posted August 18, 2008 Posted August 18, 2008 *sniff* *sniff* Oh whats that, i smell fanboy.
Mundi Posted August 18, 2008 Posted August 18, 2008 Mine is much more quieter after my old one that RROD. It was completely silent for the first 4 days but then it started a low humming sound barely noticeable. I love it.
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