360 elite noise levels - normal?

[TonyDA]

Hi,

I bought a 360 Elite at the weekend. Have just had my first proper play with it, and am staggered by the noise the disc drive makes when playing a game. I played DMC4 and Lego Star Wars Complete and for the whole time it was possible to hear the noise of the drive alongside the game music.

Is this normal? I know the 360 has a noise issue, but this seems louder than it should be. If not, it's back to Game...

Thanks in advance
Tony

[tom-nook]

Difficult to say really. MS use more than one brand of drive and I think some are noisier than others.

The 360 is noisy bit of kit though. My Elite is probably slightly quieter than my old 360 but I can still hear the dvd drive running whenever I'm playing games (I don't tend to have the volume blaring though).

Have you owned a 360 before or know someone with one that you could use for comparison?

[TonyDA]

Yeah, had a launch 360 Premium, which I remember as being noisy - but, for some reason, I think the new one is louder still. Mind you, it may be my mind playing tricks one me, especially as I've got used to a virtually silent PS3....

[randombs]

yank off the faceplate and have a look at the hole that you can see beneath the '360' bit on the silver drive fascia. if you see a white wire, it's a benQ drive (quieter) and if it's red or if the hole is covered up then it's samsung or hitachi or something like that.

regarding just how much quieter the benQ drive is than the others, it depends on who you ask. personally i think it's a teeny bit quieter, but i hardly use my drive so i'm not the best person to say.

i know it OT but what i want to know is why Gears of War seems to be the only 360 game that slows down the drive when it's not being used much. are there any others?

[Friction]

Afternoon Tony

My launch machine was noisy, and my newer machine (Halo LE one) is also pretty noisy. It has a Benq drive in it too. In fairness though I do sit quite close to my desk with the machine on, where when I play on a mates, or my brothers - which are under the TV you can't hear them.

Might just be you matey, as you say you are used to the PS3 - I know when I turn mine on I wonder if it's actually on at all because it's so quiet!

[NecronomiconUK]

My new falcon Pro console (with BenQ) is much much quieter than the release window 360 I had previously when not using the drive. When it is using the drive it's slightly quieter but not by much.

[bankies]

I picked up an Elite on Friday to replace my launch day Premium and made sure it was a Falcon with 175W power supply.

Had to transfer my saves using a 64Mb memory card so I had both in same room for a fair time and could compare noise levels.

At idle they were about the same, playing The Orange Box the Elite was noticeably quieter but not at PS3 levels.

I will take a look at which model of drive is installed

[TonyDA]

Thanks guys - played it for a bit longer last night, and got used to it. It's virtually silent when idle, but as soon as a game loads...it's bloody loud. It's also a Falcon 175w, which I would have been significantly quieter than my old launch model.

[MJ]

Welcome to the 360 noise lottery, irrespective of console revision or model.

[Stuart Smith]

I had a Premium 360 from launch, and was never that bothered by the noise. Since upgrading to the Elite, I've really started to notice the noise. In particular, I've been playing Mass Effect lately, which seems to thrash the components quite a lot, and it's distractingly loud.

It's the one real issue I have with the 360, and for film watching in particular, it means that I always prefer Blu-Ray and the PS3.

[shanaleonhart]

My 360 elite is fairly noisy, it's probably almost as noisy as my PC and it's 5 whirling fans >< I usually just turn the sound up if I'm playing a games but movies can be a pain, especially ones where people talk quietly.

[elaniel]

My elite is pretty noisy as well. Pretty much compared to a blow dryer really. It is quiet when idle but as soon as you boot a game up it just revs up. Although, again I'm pretty close to my 360 when I play so that could be making me think it is louder.

360's are terrible for their noise, but they make great heaters. If you leave it on long enough I have to open the window my room gets so warm!

[sofasurfer]

My Elite is dead noisy which means late night gaming is off the cards unless I want to annoy the other half by having my amp up loud to cover the drive noise.

I am not bothered whilst playing a game but the idling noise of the fans distracts me far too much when watching a HD DVD or streaming video.

[tom-nook]

^^
Know what you mean. I had to buy a pair of headphones so I could crank up the volume late at night.....saying that I'm still worried the noise the 360 itself makes will wake the family up!

[ascender]

My Elite is just as noisy as my launch day console. Shame really. I've since put it in an AV cabinet with doors which has taken the edge off it, but it really is the most disappointing aspect of the console IMO and verges on making it unusable after a certain time of night. Of course, MS say there's not a problem and that its no more noisy than the PS3 or Wii, so they obviously don't give a stuff.