Titanio wrote:Some opinions and impressions of actual PS3 Test units has started to leak out, and the news is good. If you don't know, Test units are basically identical to the final retail hardware, but are used for developers testing games. They're the units we saw VF5 and VT3 being played on at that Sega event.
A GamePro writer has his impressions of the unit here:
Yesterday I went over to a Development Studio and got to see actual PS3 TEST Kits in action (Until now, all I've seen are the 3 foot bulky dev stations that look like Beta Max videotape players). It was so shiny and sleek (just like Darth Vader's Helmet). Low and behold the power supply was internal with minimal heat to the unit and no fan noises! (I'm not joking, the thing was freaking mute). Ah, I haven't wanted to dry hump an inanimate object for several years (don't ask, I'm not telling), but that PS3 Test unit was damn sexy.
Another guy has leaked shots of the kit turned on etc. onto a forum here:
Some of his thoughts on the noise etc. from the unit:
the ps3 is silent. doesnt make much noise. except in beginning a little noise when starting to boot the disc.
He also says, as of a day ago, that they had the thing turned on for about 28 hours straight, without any problems. They're using it just for Blu-ray movie playback at the moment, apparently.
Also - there are some bloody kick-arse PS3 titles being show PLAYABLE (YES SHANEUS, PLAYABLE) at TGS. GreyWizzard went to the wrong games show, seriously.
Sweet. My 360 is quiet enough for me... but i must admit if i left it on over night, it would drive me insane.
Although i'm more concerned with heat then noise. If they can keep this thing cool, i don't care if it's loud or mute. 360 is too fucking hot for my liking.
Pat wrote:Why would it be so quiet? What speed is the BD-ROM drive?
And yeah - GW will be pissed having/getting to see all the PS3 games instead of Wii
The BD-ROM drive spins a lot slower than the 360 drive, and hence is much quieter. Lestat and I went over this in another thread It spins around 5 times slower I believe.
Yeah. They're roughly the same speed, transfer rate wise (with the Xbox slower to begin with and then faster after a little bit), but the BD-ROM packs 5 times as much data on there.
This is for movie playback btw. Movie playback requires like 75% the transfer rate possible on the drive, so the drive could get slightly noisier. Also not sure how much grunt movie playback takes, there could be a bit more fan noise from the CPU or GPU, guess we'll find out later.
Edit: actually, I think someone was saying they played a game off the HDD and it was still quiet, so it's doubtful it'll get much louder.
Seriously, the ps3 is not sexy. It's a freakin George Foreman grill. If he wanted to hump it, christ he must have difficulty containing himself walking through a whitegoods section.
It is a good thing that it is quite although I never have a problem with my Xbox 360 even though it is said to be a loud machine. I know it depends on location so perhaps being close might get annoying but I still have trouble hearing it - the hum of a PC is more annoying.
mech wrote:This is for movie playback.
Not knowing much about how Blu-Ray works, I would assume that the reduced drive noise would be due to the access of the drive compared to a game. Watching a film would have the laser move less than the random access nature of streaming a game would it not?
Yes the dvd drive spinning is the source of the noise in the 360. But the 360's drive is a variable speed drive, for xbox1 games it's spins at 5x and hence the sound levels are reduced while playing xbox1 games. Same goes for dvd playback where the drive is only spinning at 1-2x so it's a lot quieter.
I still expect to hear some fan noise in the ps3 though, because it does need fans for cooling, it should be around the same noise level of a 360 when in the dash. I think they'll be using similar 80-90mm fans. But yeah while playing games it should be quieter just because of the drive noise difference. For movie playback/streaming media center both machines should be close to the same noise level.
mx wrote:
360 is too fucking hot for my liking.
Honestly my box has never gotten hot, it's pretty cool to touch actually. I can only feel some warm air comming out the back. But then again my 360 isn't cramped in an entertainment unit. If it was it probably would be cooking. Ventilation is key to keeping any component/system cool. My Amp/DVD player and hd set top box can nearly burn your hand to touch, just because they sit cramped in my entertainment unit which has poor ventilation.
5) The start up is amazingly fast. And game load times were faster than expected. In fact, PS3 does both at about the same speed of PSP.
That video only shows them getting to a game's title screen (which usually doesn't take long anyway) but they compare it to the PSP...which is also reasonably quick to reach title screens but rather slow from then on.
Is the PSP really a positive benchmark?
Edit - also, why the hell do they insist on that weird cutout look. The thing looks like it's perched on it's own insufficient little stand. It's asthetically distracting to me.
"Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion" - L. Ron Hubbard
But you can't run that turbo without an intercooler, mate
Nyko Technologies, a premier peripherals manufacturer, announced that they will be releasing the Intercooler for Sony’s PlayStation3 this holiday season. This device easily connects to the PlayStation 3 using patent-pending technology that works with the systems power port and vent system. Once attached, the high-efficiency external fan placement dramatically increases internal air flow and allows the console to run at optimal temperature levels. The Intercooler for the PlayStation 3 will be available between $19.99 and $29.99 at major retailers.
“The Intercooler for the Xbox 360 is a hit with gamers and critics, providing piece of mind that their state-of-the-art next generation console is running at optimal performance levels,” said Chris Arbogast, Marketing Manager at Nyko Technologies. “We are confident that the Intercooler for the PlayStation 3 will deliver equally impressive results for consumers that demand the most from their console while protecting their investment.”
More information about Nyko Technologies is available at http://www.nyko.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.
PlayStation 3 units on display at the Tokyo Game Show about 10 days ago operated erratically and had to be repeatedly reset, according to a report released Monday by Macquarie Equities analyst David Gibson in Tokyo.
"While the reason for this is unknown, we suspect it may be due to overheating as a result of enclosing the units and the high temperatures at the venue," Gibson wrote. "We are concerned that such a problem has occurred so close to full production and is clearly negative news for the company."
Sony spokeswoman Nanako Kato said any problems at the Tokyo Game Show, where Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo showed off rival offerings under the same roof, were likely caused by one-of-a-kind temperature irregularities.
About 200 PlayStation 3 units were clustered together in close proximity and housed in kiosks that concentrated the heat generated by their processors and provided poor ventilation, Kato said. Overheating under such circumstances is a common affliction at trade shows, afflicting not just Sony products but those of its competitors, she said.
"It's not a problem with the PlayStation 3 unit itself," Kato said. "For a normal player at home, there shouldn't be any problem."
Looks like the cooling solution may not be adequate enough when the going gets tough. Heat is a big problem for next gen machines, when i hear the machine is wisper quiet it does raise some alarm bells.
well I can understand how they would heat up at at trade show, but not so much that in the living room of your own home, and to the point where you need an external cooling device. I mean "piece of mind"....wtf?
I didn't know this Nyko company did these intercoolers for the X360, that's why I asked if anybody has one.
Your'e right though, the fact that a console is that quiet is a worry.
but I don't know why people would pay money for an optional intercooler...
Jahooly, you'd be surprised mate, a lot of people will have these things cramped in home theatre units next to other quipment that generates heat with poor ventilation.
The best one was on GAF, where a guy had it on top of his "wine cooler" and had to have it returned 5 times. Turns out the "wine cooler" was actually his subwoofer
In short, people are idiots and don't know how they're meant to treat new technology.
Looks like the cooling solution may not be adequate enough when the going gets tough. Heat is a big problem for next gen machines, when i hear the machine is wisper quiet it does raise some alarm bells.
Same dramas happened at TGS with the PS2.
360 had lots and lots of problems of this nature.
It's par for the course now. They'll sort it out.
Edit: as the quoted article said, it was a problem with the nature of the trade show, and that's probably true. For home use it should be fine. Remember the solutions for the 360, like tying up the power brick to hang in the air with string? As long as we don't have anything crazy like that I'll be happy
lestat wrote:Jahooly, you'd be surprised mate, a lot of people will have these things cramped in home theatre units next to other quipment that generates heat with poor ventilation. We're talking systems that are using 200-300watts vs 35w of the old ps2. So cooling is very important in these consoles. Well until they get a die shrink to 65nm which is supposed to reduce the power/heat used.
Like me. Except I have the 360 sitting next to the PSU in my cabinet and more often than not (well, not anymore) will have the heater going in my living room. Only ever crashed/had issues once in PGR3 (that texture issue people were complaining about ages ago) and the first time I ran the TD:U demo. Even then, I don't think the heater was on.
It would be great if it was practically silent. The Xbox360 is quite loud (from my limited exeprience). Not sure about how hot it gets, but I was shocked at the size of the power brick. When I get mine it will probably be sitting on top of my entertainment unit.. which will look pretty ugly because it's white and everything else is black or silver (or both).
It spins around 5 times slower I believe.
