• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

My PS4 is noisy, yours?

I would say it's noticeable, but not loud

This. I literally went through at least five units with Amazon throughout that fiasco of theirs with bricked systems and such. All the systems I tried had an audible fan going. It's impossible for something that generates heat to be "whisper quiet"; the fans are gonna fuckin' spin to move the heat out.
 

breakfuss

Member
This. I literally went through at least five units with Amazon throughout that fiasco of theirs with bricked systems and such. All the systems I tried had an audible fan going. It's impossible for something that generates heat to be "whisper quiet"; the fans are gonna fuckin' spin to move the heat out.

Hahaha, that's what I figured. It's by no means distracting or a constant thing but inaudible it is not. Never hear my ps3, though.
 

SZips

Member
I've had the fans kick on a few times with Infamous and the disc drive spin up to very audible levels when installing Ground Zeroes, but nothing much else besides that.

However, I do hear a faint clicks when I start the system up, when I shut down, and periodically while it's in operation. I'm guessing the startup and shutdown clicks are the fan turning on/off and the ones during operation are just the plastic expanding/contracting due to heat? Or maybe it's the hard drive?
 

Philippo

Member
I noticed a difference when I had mine vertical with no stand. because there are no rubber feet to dampen vibrations, I think. I put it horizontal and the noise went down appreciably.

Gotcha.
But if i don't mind that noise, can i keep it vertical with no stand (don't have the money for it atm), or do i risk to compromise it's functioning (i fear that keeping it like this will eventually damage it)?
 
I have a launch PS4 that I got from GameStop. Mine is whisper quiet, can't even tell its on. The only noise I ever hear is the drive spinning up or down. I guess I am one of the lucky ones.
 

mintylurb

Member
I usually game about 6 feet away from my ps4/TV and fan noise is quite audible.
If I game from about 10 feet then it's not all that audible though.
 

Maximus.

Member
Yes mine is louder than my ps3 slim especially with a disc inside. It gets hot too from anything. It sits on my desk so it is out in the open. I just figure it's normal due to the power and small fan inside.
 

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
Don't keep it vertical, even if with the stand/ I've tested and retested this, and the fan makes more noise when the console if placed vertically, even when you use the official stand. If you want to keep it vertical without creating extra heat/extra fan noise, you have to place it on some kind of custom made holder that leaves about an inch of clear open space between the vents and the surface you're placing it onto.
 

Devil

Member
Mine is horizontaly, should get enough air but gets quite noisy after 10 minutes of playing Trials Fusion, digital version so no disc.. It's about as loud as playing Infamous with a disc, no big sifference.

It's not terrible but louder than my fat PS3 and enough so that I was a little disappointed. Thought it would be much quieter.
 
Physically speaking (i.e. the case), I don't think the PS4 is a good design. If they were dead set on making it as small as possible (a mistake that prioritizes "gee whiz" over functionality), intake vents should be on the front of the console instead of the sides. In any normal shelf or open-front entertainment center this is the source of cool air. The exhaust is okay on the back because it will either be blown out the back of the entertainment center or on a shelf it will swirl around and rise to the top of the enclosure and escape out the front. The console sits low so the front-facing intake vents will still be pulling in cool air.

With the PS4, the intake vents seem to be along the sides, so unless you've got no back to your shelf that hot swirling air is going to circulate to a degree. This essentially forces users to a) have a backless entertainment center where all the ugly cords are hard to hide, or b) set the console out on a table or desk. That might be okay with kids and college students but it's not to me (or the wife).
 
Physically speaking (i.e. the case), I don't think the PS4 is a good design. If they were dead set on making it as small as possible (a mistake that prioritizes "gee whiz" over functionality), intake vents should be on the front of the console instead of the sides. In any normal shelf or open-front entertainment center this is the source of cool air. The exhaust is okay on the back because it will either be blown out the back of the entertainment center or on a shelf it will swirl around and rise to the top of the enclosure and escape out the front. The console sits low so the front-facing intake vents will still be pulling in cool air.

With the PS4, the intake vents seem to be along the sides, so unless you've got no back to your shelf that hot swirling air is going to circulate to a degree. This essentially forces users to a) have a backless entertainment center where all the ugly cords are hard to hide, or b) set the console out on a table or desk. That might be okay with kids and college students but it's not to me (or the wife).

did you know that the PS4 also has intake vents at the back? it does, its one of the reasons why it gets loud in a closed backed cabins. the only exhaust vent at the back is just below the connectors. try feeling the air with your hand, and you will come to the same conclusion.
 

GavinUK86

Member
Mine's pretty noisey when playing any game. On the XMB it's silent. Can't really determine if it's just the disc drive or fans because I don't own anything digitally to test it out. Probably just the same as most people here. Fans need to kick in to keep it cool so I never expected it to be dead silent like my PC which is kitted out specifically to be silent.

I have it vertically by the way. Currently without a stand but going to buy one pretty soon. Nearly had multiple heart attacks seeing it wobble.
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
It's a lottery with the PS4, too? I remember getting unlucky and getting one of the loud as fuck ps3s. God, that thing was awful.
 
So why is this noise problem considered a non issue? It seems like it's around 50/50. Some people experience the pure bliss of the most powerful system on earth being whisper quiet and others experience a disgusting loud putrid noise spewing from their once loved system. It seems like quality control is all over the place. Sure, failure rate might be below 1% but what about the noise. All the noise noise noise. For me, it's extremely annoying but I didn't want to go to the trouble of replacing it. Well when it died I had no choice. So I better get a whisper quiet PS4 or else I'm going to crack the system over my knee and throw it off a boat.

i consider it a non-issue because it seems normal to me. the fans kick in when the system is being stressed. running a game like bf4 and then going out to the dash with the game still running taxes the system. the temp rises and the fans kick in. if i close the xmb and go back to the game i hear them wind down after 15 seconds or so. from my perspective, it seems like everything is operating as it should.
 
It's a lottery with the PS4, too? I remember getting unlucky and getting one of the loud as fuck ps3s. God, that thing was awful.

not exactly, i think it's more related to room temperature and if its well ventilated. as we just entered summer some PS4s will struggle to cool down, anything above 25c and system will start to kick up it's fans.
 
No, but it gets really hot. When I only have Netflix running. And it's literally at the title selection, just there.

Anybody elses get really hot?
 
I've had my PS4 for about three months now sitting vertically with a stand and it runs whisper quiet most of the time. With certain games like Infamous the fans will kick in, but even then it's not that loud. All of my games are digital btw.
 
Mine is extremely silent. The only time I can hear it is when I boot up the system, or when a disc is spinning.

I actually have a laptop fan under it, it's pretty much all I can hear, and even that is very quiet.
 
Mine gets noisy when i'm playing something like Infamous: SS, it's pretty quiet when I play a game like Don't Starve or Outlast. I'm sure TLoU: Remastered will make it scream.

My PS4 is in a fairly cramped area underneath my TV
 
did you know that the PS4 also has intake vents at the back? it does

If so then that seems like an even worse design than I had imagined. Completely form over function which always annoys me.

i consider it a non-issue because it seems normal to me. the fans kick in when the system is being stressed...it seems like everything is operating as it should.

It's not the fan noise per se but how loud it is. I think we all expect it to make some noise, but not as much as it does for some of us. I've owned every major console and numerous PCs and, drive-noise aside, the PS4's fans during graphically intense games are possibly the loudest I've dealt with.
 

Dr.brain64

Member
I have a ps4 and it really gets warm and the fan is a bit noisy, but you never know maybe the fan runs faster that the typical one so in a way it is a good thing.
 
It's as loud as my PS3 Slim. Not annoying....but yes, you can hear it definitely. I expected it not to be this loud tbh. When compared to my X1, the PS4 is much louder. The X1 doesn't have the looks, but it's whisper quiet.
 

joecanada

Member
Some people have loud ones it seems, I can't even tell mines on. Of course hearing it when surrounded by speakers is pretty tough... I recommend headsets too. I picked up a 20 dollar backup headphone with mic (like the sports type for your phone) and they actually sound ok ( they are my backups only but it is rather hilarious in bf4 you can see me spinning to find tanks, choppers can't tell where they are)
 

Z3M0G

Member
Depends on the game... when I run FFXIV, or Infameous, it sounds like a jet engine after 15-20 min.

There could even be game bugs that lead to it. In a past version of Warframe, if you leave it on the "Press X" title screen, the fan would go crazy loud... press "X", and it would go quiet again.

Edit: Mine sits on a shelf with no door. Horizontal, not vertical.
 

hesido

Member
I can't quote the original messages, but here goes:

  • It's definitely not a vibration problem with my unit.
  • The room temp is 22-23 celcius degrees currently.
  • This situation cannot be explained by perception difference alone (tho it's also a very important aspect), there are people who has this problem solved with replacement units, meaning PS4's act differently in the same environments with similar uses. But this doesn't mean that all noise problems can be attributed to this variation, the environment is important too.
  • I'm hoping in my instance, the problem can be fixed by moving the unit to a more open spot, just hoping that it's not some sort of lousy application of thermal grease. (Thanks Foxconn Obama!)
 

GetemMa

Member
Quiet as a church mouse.

on the other hand, my PC sounds like a jet engine.

But I have an R290 with the fan speeds turned up to max.
 

rhoq

Member
My PS4 is nearly silent. If the room is quiet I might hear the dull hum of the fan or a disc spinning in the BD drive, but that's about it.
 

Pimpbaa

Member
On Don't Starve, really? That seems odd since it's completely digital. My PS4 only ever gets somewhat loud when I insert a disc for the first time, then it quiets down.

Why would digital games be quieter? They may be quieter than a game on disc but once it's finished installing, they are just as quiet. Resogun gives the ps4 a workout, especially when you finish a level.
 

Rocket786

Member
Mine sounds like a plane taking off. It's quite ridiculous. I can almost hear it even while wearing my gaming headphones.
 
Top Bottom