Console showdown: which produces the most noise?
By Darren Murph 
posted January 15th 2007 9:15AM
posted January 15th 2007 9:15AM
As with some other recent reports concerning the trio of new consoles, we're not asserting that this decibel test is entirely accurate, as the methodology was far from scientific, but the results were interesting -- and a bit unexpected -- to say the least. While users have long since complained that the Xbox 360 kicked out an unusual amount of fan noise courtesy of the overheating problems it's been plagued with, one lucky owner of all three consoles found that Microsoft's unit actually wasn't the biggest racket-maker in the bunch, all things considered. By utilizing a standard handheld decibel meter, he measured the ambient sound output of the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 just after start-up, playing games sans an optical disc, and during disc playback to judge which console is noisiest overall. While results were noticeably mixed, it was concluded that the Xbox 360, on average, was actually the quietest of the bunch, and while the PS3 remained fairly calm initially, an extended period of play threw its fans (and consequently, the noise factor) into overdrive. Interestingly, Nintendo's Wii kept nearly silent during bootup, but after playing a few rounds of Wii Sports, it actually became the loudest of the three, clocking in at 70dB, or nearly 8dB higher than the nearest competitor. Granted, most folks won't notice the background whir when the 5.1s are thumpin' and folks are getting rowdy on the last lap of Excite Truck, but c'mon, this is the stuff we geeks are made to scrutinize, so be sure and hit the read link to make of it all what you will.[Thanks, Alex]
you friggin engadget ms fanboys.. i swear.. get paid off a little more... EVERYONE KNOWS THE 360 IS TEN TIMES LOUDER THAN THE PS3... your web blog is slowly becoming less and less important.
This test isn't correct. I have all 3 systems and I can tell you the PS3 is nowhere close to the Xbox 360 in terms of noise output. http://mysteriousgamer.1up.com
I'd be interested to find out where he placed the microphone to test. If you've ever held a mic up to a fan, you'll know that the air rushing past the mic will generate a ton of "noise" that you can't "hear".
He actually placed the meter next to the exhaust on the right. Let's not do that with the 360! We might get a fair test.
The Wii being louder is a given, it has a smaller fan so it has to spin faster to keep the air moving.
Obviously you have never heard a Wii. I've never heard a Wii and I've had one running right beside me since Nov 19.
I agree, the chart is bogus since the Wii has no HDD.
Also, the test is poorly done for isolating the source of the noise. First, NEVER use different locations to test for sound level. They should all sit in the same spot to test the noise level. Second, testing baseline by not doing anything doesn't work. Hard drives now do activity while idle, so even if you don't request stuff they still move. Plus, the motor is always spinning, so it's really a measurement of idle sound level.
Interesting, since the noise generated by the 360 is more than enough to affect my enjoyment of movies played through the HD-DVD drive. I can detect no noise while watching movies on PS3. My real world experience is exactly opposite of this graph.
He must have the quiter of the two 360 dvd drives.
There you go.
Take up space with more useless unimportant "reporting"
The Wii chart is made up or something. That thing does't make more noise than a pen lying on a table. More than 60dB is ridiculous, that would mean it makes as much noise as people talking. All I've heard from it is the disc starting to spin.
"That thing does't make more noise than a pen lying on a table."
Actually it does. I know it was a joke, but it's not THAT quiet. I have both a Wii and a Xbox 360, and although the 360 is louder (and yes it is a loud as an aircraft carrier trenching the ocean floor), it's not THAT much luoder. By an means I wouldn't describe the Wii as being whisper quiet etc., I would saw it's quiet enough, but has its louder moments, as in the fan can be heard over a game with two playing and talking, but it's bearable. I liked the 360, but the fan is soooo loud I refuse to play it regularly, and am contemplating selling it. Quite frankly it's just too loud. And one last point. If someone asked me would I get the HiDef add-on for the 360 I would reply; "no, cause the fan is so loud there's no way you could enjoy the movie".
Last check, my Wii didn't have a hard disk? Out of the two consoles I own (360 & Wii), the Wii is the quieter of the two (even after 24 hours worth of constant abuse).
If you notice, the Wii's HDD is the same as baseline, cause it doesn't have one...
yeah that's funny, I've never heard my Wii make noise while playing...
I have to agree with Herman, I don't know about the other consoles but I have played on the Wii extensively and even after hours of play on several different games I have never heard the optical drive make any extra noise. All you ever hear is when the drive first spins up (and that's not very loud either.) Who is this "lucky owner" with a decibel meter and can you really trust his "test"?
From my experience with the Wii and 360, the Wii is probably louder when it spins a disc up, but otherwise is quite quiet. The 360, on the other hand, has a constant drone.
Personally, I prefer the Wii's one-time spinup sound...
Who really gives a crap as long as it's fun as hell to play? We're not using the Wii to watch Hi Def movies anyway, so it's not like the fan is going to be that much of an issue. It's amazing how people just think up stupid comparisons without really stopping to think about whether they even matter or not.
Not true... I'd say the Wii is almost soundless, except the disc. X360, not even close. Never heard a PS3.
Might want to have someone else run the test next time engadget, this time with the mic a few feet away from the front of the console.
I've got all 3 systems connected to the same TV and there is NO comparison. The Wii and PS3 are extremely quiet (except the Wii when it first tries to access a disc, I get a loud click). The 360 with just its fans on is louder than either of the other 2 when they are actually doing something, and when the disc is being accessed it is so loud I often end up increasing the volume of my games so it doesn't annoy me. I actually look forward to upgrading to the 360v2 with the 65nm chip as the fan noise should be much better and they will hopefully address the ridiculous disc noise while they are at it.
This test is moronic. The way to do a dB test with the consoles would be to sit in a normal playing position, say 2 meters from the console and take a dB reading there since that's what the user is actually going to experience.
THIS IS BULL I HAVE A PS3 AND 360 AND THE 360 IS DEFINITELY LOUDER EVEN WHEN ITS IDLE COMPARED TO THE PS3, AND DONT EVEN PUT A GAME IN THE DRIVE. MOST OF THE TIME I DONT EVEN KNOW MY PS3 IS STILL ON ITS SO QUIET.
I know I can't hear any of the systems over your caps lock.
This proves once and for all that the next-gen console wars are petty. How can people bitch about a few decibels? What ever happened to the games?
There is no difference between the 360 and the PS3. All the remaining arguments are so petty, they are practically the same machine.
Yours is louder then mine.
Yours has longer loading times.
Yours gets so hot.
Yours is too expensive.
Microsoft should just freaking PARTNER with Sony to manufacture the next X-Station and they can both make money on games AND hardware!
I think Engadget must have the work experience kids in while they rest after CES
It depends where your Wii is sat, if you put it on wood (even withthe rubber feet's) it makes a bit of a racket via vibration from the disc drive - Not that youll notice, as Wiisports is usually enough to get the load of you shoutingf and whooping..
Although, my 360 is stupidly loud.. well, it was, until i watercooled it up, now its quiet as a whisper, bar that darn loud disc drive.. -_-
Ryn
People shouldn't freak out about the Wii not having a hard drive but the chart showing it. It's just a limitation of a spreadsheet's graphing function.
The hard drive sound level for the Wii is the same as the baseline for the Wii, so it doesn't affect the results.
I own both a 360 and a Wii. And I can say that at the very least the data for the 360 and Wii are reversed. Both consoles are virtually next to each other in our living room and the Wii is dead silent when using any of the channels. The only time it makes a sound is when playing a game off of a disc. And at that point it is about as noisy as the baseline noise of the 360.
The 360 on the other hand is indeed noisy when disc media is accessed. So much so that I would never watch a DVD on it. (Not that I need to)
That would be why there's no difference in data between baseline and harddrive ...
My Wii get's very loud when the disc is spinning, I don't know what you guys are talking about. And my 360 is quiet when playing HD-DVD's, it's only loud if a disc is in the 360's DVD drive. When it's spinning a disc at high speed it gets very loud. Maybe it depend on the system. I don't know about the PS3, but I don't care enough to buy one.
So how much MS pay for this piece? :rolleyes:
I've got all three consoles, and while this may be the case for this specific testing methodology, it clearly wasn't a valid real world test.
All three of my consoles are roughly the same distance from my seating location in my media room. The Xbox 360 is by far the loudest, especially when reading from the disc. The fans really aren't that loud, but the DVD drive is insanely loud compared to any other device I have. I actually have to turn up the sound on games by about 5dB on my sound system to overcome the disc read noise from the 360. In second place is the Wii. The Wii makes no noticeable noise when booting up or when in the menus, but when it reads a disc, you can (slightly) hear the drive. This sound is no more than what I hear from a typical DVD drive though. In first place is the PS3. As much as people like to slam on Sony, the PS3 is just better designed hardware than the Xbox 360. Build quality is better, it makes NO perceivable noise, even when reading a disc, and it's never overheated regardless of how long I play it. The same can't be said for either of the two Xbox 360's I've owned.
That all said, the PS3 has virtually no good games for it yet, so I consider it an investment in the future. The Wii is fun for party games, and the Xbox 360 has the best library of current-gen games and the best online experience, so I'm willing to put up with the noise.
That said, if Microsoft decides to actually release an updated 360 with: a) less noise; b) cooler cpu; c) hdmi output; d) bigger hard drive and e)perhaps a built-in hd dvd drive, I'd gladly upgrade.
I love engadget and I would of thought they would have done a similar test of their own and compared their results to this test before allowing it to be posted. I own all 3 systems and I can tell you for a fact that these results are completely wrong. The Wii was on all day when I had family over and it never got louder than a whisper. The PS3 does in fact get a little louder after being played for an hour or so, but it's never noticeable during gameplay and can only be heard during quiet moments. The 360 on the other hand, is loud immediately when turned on, and distracts from HD-DVD movie watching and gameplay unless you I turn the volume up loud. The 360 is fun and has good games, but it is annoyingly loud! Whoever did this test is full of it.
me
To those saying "oh, that's why baseline and hdd are the same" in regards to the Wii:
Then the 360 doesn't have an HDD either, right?
WOW... those numbers aren't even remotely accurate. My 360 sounds like a freaking hover craft. My Wii is fairly quiet, but definitely has a noticeable high-pitched whine to it. The PS3 is very quiet. If everything else is off, you can hear the fan blowing, but it doesn't have the same high-pitch whine that the Wii does. Overall, the PS3 is easily makes the least objectionable noise. Yes, I have all three systems in the same entertainment center.
Having a 360/PS3/Wii, I can say that my experience does not reflect these findings. The 360 is waaaaaay louder compared to the PS3/Wii. I've played them all for hours, and there is no contest, the 360 wins the loudness category by a landslide.
I am a proud owner of all three systems and I would have to say that the PS3 is by far the most quiet. The 360 gets loud enough where it ticks me off, and the Wii's disk drive or something is very loud because you can hear a spinning or buzzing noise the whole time it is in operation. Plus doesn't the Wii not have a hard drive? If I was a Microsoft fan boy I might make something like this too.
Engadget, remove this article of you want to retain any kind of creditability. The "test" is completely worthless.
You could get a pair of headphones to measure anywhere from 120 to 0 dB depending on where you place the meter.
It's all about placement and surroundings, they have to be exactly the same for all test-subjects for the test to be of *any* worth.
I have a wii and I have to say most of the time it is quiet but like the article said, after playing awhile it does get pretty loud. Granted I don't have an xbox 360 or PS3 but still the wii isn't noiseless.
This test is so against standard testing procedures I am not even sure where to begin invalidating it.
The first and most notable reason that this test is invalid is the meter. It appears to me that he is either using C-weighting or no weighting for this test. A-weighting should be used in all noise/sound testing involving human hearing. Without going into too much detail, know that this is what should have been used. If this was not used, the test does not have any real world value, because it is not testing for human hearing, and that is a reason (but probably not) that the levels he recorded were higher for the Wii and lower for the 360.
The meter is at least a Type II but probably a Type III or worse (if that even exists), which means the range of error is something like +- 3-4 dB. That would mean that his results have no real merit anyway.
The meter is uncalibrated. Meters must be calibrated to insure accurate results.
The position of the meter, as others have noted, is incorrect. The source should be in the same position for all 3 tests. The meter's microphone also needs to be in the same position from the same distance, and should not be lying directly next to the console due to probable data pollution via vibrations from the console. A tri-pod is preferable for any noise tests.
Duration. It seems to me like he didn't use a standard duration for his tests. I don't think that particular meter, being incredibly cheap, can perform any duration tests. This is necessary to get an accurate picture of the average noise that is output by the source.
This test can be done at a house, but probably shouldn't be for accuracy's sake.
I would be willing to redo these tests using a real meter from the office with standard testing procedures if someone would just donate a PS3 and an Xbox 360 (I already have a Wii)...
i have the 360, it is loud but nothing to bad. when i was at gamespot i noticed that the ps3 was very loud, louder than the 360 in my oppinion. when i played the wii i didnt notice anything. but the casing must have been thick. or i was having to much fun
It's apparent no one likes to read that their console is noisy, but all the consoles do make noise.
What I know to be true...
The 360 is consistently noisy if you have a game disc in the drive, but quieter if you're watching a movie or playing a game off the HD
The PS3 becomes noisier after playing a game disc for a while
The Wii is noisy upon loading a game from disc
I would love to see another test conducted, especially since so many people are passionate about this.
>>Then the 360 doesn't have an HDD either, right?
Exactly right. The 360 tested was the core version
uh oh, fan boys with charts!
Funny, I can hear my 360 extremely well while sitting on my couch. But I can't hear my Wii at all while standing directly in front of it. Something's very wrong with this test.
errr.... the only reason that the Wii makes more noise is because of all the crap being hit with the Wiimote. I am absolutely dissapointed with the 360, I mean that thing makes so much noise I cannot ignore it while watching a movie or playing a game. I returned two and will wait for a fix that I can live with.
lol :) it was early in the morning my bad.
Someone is really smoking the crack.
maybe they have their PS3 in small box that barely fits it. My XBOX 360 is DRAMATICALLY louder than I have ever heard my PS3. The XBOX 360 is so loud when a disc is spinning, kind of annoying!
This guy who did these tests needs to get examined himself.
Caught this on Digg yesterday, so I'm not surprised to see it here. This kind of article should appear on the blogs for further discussion in my opinion.
Although not admitted by some, the Wii does make noise under certain conditions. It's noticable when certain games are played, or when first loading a disc, or if the console is not properly in the base.
The PS3 makes some noise too, but it's not initially apparent, as the noise level builds after the system has been on a while, mostly due to the fans.
I don't think anyone disagrees the 360 makes noise. Although when not playing a disc game, the 360 does become quieter. It's noticably quieter when playing a movie, or game off the HD or memory unit. Of all the systems, this is the one console that could certainly use a quieter disc drive.
In my experience, the Wii is quite a bit louder than Xbox 360, after significant gameplay. The chart seems to be about right -- the Xbox is usually less than a dull roar consistently (which is alright, you get used to it and block it out) but the Wii has a different gear and starts really hopping after a bit of Zelda has been on the tube.
Facts:
1) The PS3 is quieter reading the Blu-ray discs because it doesn't spin the discs as fast (2x - 9 MB/s). I think the Xbox 360 DVD drive is 12x - 15.85 MB/s.
2) The Xbox 360 reads more data in any one unit of time
3) Playing DVD's in the Xbox 360 is quieter than playing games since the drive only has to spin at 1x