PS3 Fan Noise

[Sareth]

I think my PS3 has a fault.


When starting the fan begins at full power then drops right down to virtually unnoticeable, after about five or ten minutes it then kicks up another level, at this point I seem to be able to let it idle in the xmb for a length of time and nothing changes, good. But when I play a DVD/Blu Ray/ Game it rapidly steps up another level, this level 3 is twice as loud (if not more) than level 2.
At this point the only way the fan speed can be reduced is by shutting off the console, no length of idling on the xmb will reduce the fan speed from this level.
Why I think its a fault:

1) It never steps down from this level
2) It can be any length of time after it has gotten to level 3 and if I shut down the console and restart it it goes back to level 1, if the console was hot enough to justify level 3 should it not step back up to level 3 or 2 rapidly after being restarted ?

So, PS3 owners, how does your fan behave ?


P.s. I have refrained from making comparisons with the X word, please dont.

 

[Sareth]

It's normal, the PS3 fans never step down a level once it's reached a level. The same thing happens on all PS3's when you restart the console.

It's a poor design and seems to be based on time and activity type rather than CPU load or temperature.

That said it's still very quiet even when the fans are at tier 3 for me.

Actually the reason I posted this is because I'd read several accounts of peoples PS3s that do step down the fan speed (to the extent that I believe that should be normal) after playing games/ folding so I thought I'd see what all your experiences have been like.

 

[Sareth]

Really? The 2 PS3's I've been in contact with (one being my own) have never slowed their fans down, even after idling in the xmb for more than an hour.

Edit: i'm trying not to speculate, just gather first hand reports so got rid of the theories of others I'd put here.

 

[Sareth]

mine doesnt always ramp up, but when it does it stays there when doing wheatever you are doing. it does turn back down though. either way, mines a quiet model. i suppose it would bug me if i was sitting on it, but im not

Gah, I think mines definately faulty, the noise it gets to is pretty distracting and it wont turn down, I did just discover something else though, if I *immediately* turn it off after a game and then restart it it ramps up to the second level of fan noise within seconds, so the fans increase in speed is thermally controlled, it just doesnt decrease when it should.

 

[Sareth]

If PS3 fan speeds alter depending on the activity the console is doing, I'm surprised just watching a movie is enough to make the console loud. Gaming I can see doing it, But just a movie. Any movies I've watched I've hardly noticed the console.

Gets as loud as it does in a game with DVDS for me.

 

[Sareth]

Just did another test, five minutes of Ninja Gaiden Sigma demo and whoosh, off it goes, let it idle at xmb for ten minutes, stayed on hoover level, restart and its back to just a low whirr. Its the not stepping down thats driving me mad.

 

[Sareth]

When I had my PS3 under the telly, I think it took longer than 10 mins to cool down enough for the fans to go back to Level 2 on their own.

V1N.

This morning I put Casino Royale in at 11:25am, it reached hoover level at 11:30, I stopped it at 11:35 then let it dile on the xmb till 12:10, it stayed on the high level all that time. Yesterday I left it for an hour on the xmb after playing Heavenly Sword and got the same result.

Putting it into perspective though I ran my twin 80mm fans in a vhs cassette box next to it and they drowned out its noise.

 

[Sareth]

Have you tried moving the PS3?

One thing that did help, while I had it under the telly, was spinning it around 90 degrees.

When "speed 3" kicks in, it starts blowing heat out of the right hand side of the console, rather than just out of the rear.

I span the console around, so the right hand side was facing into the room.

This helped, though not as much as moving it out altogether.

V1N.

Trouble is, I first noticed it when it when I ran it straight out of the box, it was sat in front of the tv stand on a wooden floor with the nearest obstruction 3 feet away (if you dont count the cables hanging out of the back)

 

[Sareth]

Fair enough.

Obviously in your case, I'm not sure what the problem is, and I can't see where your PS3 is now, with regards to ventilation.

All I can do is tell of my own experience.

When mine started going to level 3, and staying there, I was reading various PS3 forums, and convinced there was something wrong with it, and you could read other posts of other people with the same problem.

You've already posted that if you turn it off, and turn it on again, when it's already warm, the fans immediately start at a higher level, so I'd take that to mean they're working depending on the temp. If the fans are spinning up, it's getting hot, so try using it in a better ventilated area? Even just in a temp location, as a test, so you can rule out whether it's a fault or not?

V1N.

I have a plan now, but i cant put it into action today as the living room has been taken over and the 360 is in use as an extender, I'm going to sit the PS3 on top of the laptop cooler I have the 360 sat on to give the side vents some clearance from the stand and see if that helps.

 

[Sareth]

You've already posted that if you turn it off, and turn it on again, when it's already warm, the fans immediately start at a higher level, so I'd take that to mean they're working depending on the temp.

But they never reduce in speed unless I reset it, so its only half working....

 

[Sareth]

I'm trying to remember how long it took my fans to spin down from level 3, as I generally used to turn the PS3 off for a bit, and back on to get them to spin down, rather than wait.

Now I think about it, I wonder if they didn't stay at level 3... maybe a safety feature, if the fans get that high, to prevent overheating?

Maybe the fans only spin down from level 2 to level 1.
Not sure.

V1N.

EDIT: Anyway, if you get it into a better ventilated area, hopefully they'll never reach level 3. If, as you say, you need to move it to give the side vents some clearance from your stand, maybe that's it? Can you not just pull the PS3 out and put it on its side for a short amount of time, to see if it still does it? (Making sure to put it on its left side ie with the Bluray drive at the top)

I'm going to try the lot, when I regain control of the lounge.

 

[Sareth]

I have another question, for those of you that have a unit that reduces its fan speed can you feel the air being emitted from the side (top when its on its side) vents ? On mine you can feel the air being pushed out of the back vents but the side vents you can barely feel it.

 

[Sareth]

the ps3 has a fan??

[sticks head on top of case]

well you learn something new every day, very quite on mine, had to turn my pc off and shut the windows to hear anything from it.

Mines as loud as the X word fans just without the high pitch whining.

 

[Sareth]

I stop whining for five minutes and look what happens to the thread....

 

[Sareth]

Bet you wish your fans would stop whining for 5 minutes

 

[Sareth]

I can hear a ticking noise when its on its lowest and second lowest fan speed. Anyone else able to hear this ? I cant capture in on my (admittedly cheapo) microphone.

Aaaah !

Now though I'm forced to question my own reliability as a judge of its noise, I can hear the electrical buzz of the burglar alarm control panel from 15 foot away for instance, maybe its me thats not normal.

I mean, I know this isnt a quiet unit, but is it defective or am I ?

One mans decent into madness brought about by a piece of consumer electronics.


( Also I have this feeling of deja-vu after writing that bit about maybe its me thats not normal )

 

[Sareth]

Hard drive seek noise you mean? that's perfectly normal if so.

Its a constant fast ticking. I'm beginning to think It's me though, if I can get it to step down its fans later today by moving it off the shelf its on I think itll be me, if not its going back as it making the same noise as an 80mm fan most of the time and this ticking when its on low cant be right (unless its me)

 

[Sareth]

Thanks V1N, I was going to post later thanking everyone in this thread for their patience after doing some more tests, especially yourself, but I may as well do it now.

 

[Sareth]

As per V1N's suggestion I had a go at moving it around yesterday and have found that the fans step up to level 3 while folding but step down to level 2 after folding has finished when the PS3 is sat in the open, it takes two minutes for it to step down when its sat upright and four minutes for it to step down when its on its side, wether its propped up off the floor or not.

Now this puzzled me as the room was no colder than when it didnt step down while playing games, so still propped up on its side I played the Ninja Gaiden Sigma demo and it stayed at level 2. Now thoroughly perplexed I put Heavenly Sword in and let it sit at the titles for ten minutes then played through two sections, the fan had stepped up to level 3, I exited from Heavenly Sword and let it idle, no step down. I removed the disc, no step down. I eventually reset the PS3 and repeated the folding test and it stepped down again !

I put it back in the cabinet and ran the folding test and found it did step down from folding while it was in the cabinet shelf, just after a much longer period (I cant say exactly when as I was interrupted at this point, maybe eight to ten minutes).

So my PS3 does step down but it seems to behave differently if a disc has been in the drive, not stepping down despite having cooled down (my measurement being an entirely unscientific hand to the back vents approach).

The only other oddity I noticed was that when I had it out on its side I shined a torch into the side vent and could see the fan running and it doesnt look to be particularly well balanced. you can see it wobbling as it spins when its on the low speed.


So is my PS3 loud ? I think so, at level 3 the fan makes a very loud whooshing noise along with a whine that is audible from about twelve feet and a buzzing that is audible from about six inches (theyre probably the same noise) the buzzing is distinct and seperate from the high pitched noise that the cell makes when folding (that is only audible if you stick your ear right up to the unit) the only thing I can compare it to in the lving room is the 360, at level 3 the noise through air being pushed through the PS3 is comparable with the 360 but the 360s delta fans have the PS3 beaten hands down on the whining front.

Could my PS3 be quieter ? there are two different models of fan in the PS3, I'm pretty sure that one is quiter than the other and I have the loud one based off peoples accounts here and elsewhere

Could I get a quiter one ? based off other peoples accounts, yes, but it might take me four or more returns to get one.

Am I mad ? most probably

Is my PS3 faulty ? I have no idea, the fan does step down after folding but it also does wobble and make a buzzing noise, the overall noise is hard to compare to others as we are all comparing our subjective experiences and this applies also to the buzzing noise from the fan, the only other thing I think could be measured by anyone else at this point for comparison is wether your PS3 fan wobbles as it turns at low speed.

What the hell is going on with the fans not stepping down after a disc has been in the drive ? I dont know, I didnt get a chance to do another check on this, when I get the chance I'm going to play for an hour, remove disc, idle for an hour, if it hasnt stepped down I'm going to start Folding and see if it steps down after folding.

edit: Its a shame Sony didnt think to have the fan accessible through a faceplate on the bottom of the PS3, then people could clean their fans without ripping their PS3s apart and voiding their warranties, this would seem especially prudent if they intend to keep the PS3 supported as long as they have the PS2. It would also allow nosey so and so like me to go prod their fan and make sure nothing was wrong with it.

 

[Sareth]

Maybe the BR drive produces a lot of extra heat?

The discs are cool when they come out, unlike the box that shall not be named.