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[EGM1966]

It's power cannot be silenced!

More seriously it depends on a heck of a lot of factors including your PS4. Your room could just be hotter than mine on average for example - hotter room = hotter console = more chance of fans kicking in more often and more noticeably.

All I can say is mine is mostly quiet unless it's been hammered for many hours and the room is hot in which case the fans do kick in noticeably (although not enough to really matter much) so it's either your PS4, the conditions in which you use it (orientation, ventilation, room heat, room ventilation) or a combination of both.

 

[TomcatTheLion]

I have yet to hear mine since launch.

It probably also helps that it is always in a cool room and not in an enclosed space.

 

[Peltz]

Isn't it just the disc drive that is loud? I can't hear the console for the most part because most of my games are digital. But I did notice that the disc drive is pretty noisy when I played the only 2 discs I own for the system.

 

[spacemonkeynation]

180 more "p."

Seriously though its mostly the disk drive right? Also, if its in a poorly ventilated area the fans will run harder.

 

[Slixshot]

Maybe you got a fault console, cuz I got mine almost a year ago and it's silent like a charm =)

1 year owner checking in: silent as a sleeping pup

 

[Superflat]

1 year owner checking in: silent as a sleeping pup

I feel lucky that mine is still very very quiet... even when it's on!

The optical drive remains the only outwardly audible sound.

I have it go into sleep mode automatically after an hour of no activity, compared to my PS3 which i had running for days at a time and sounded like a jet taking off.

 

[Birbo]

My PS4 sits on top of my cable box in an open shelf in my entertainment center. Kinda like this one:

Even though the space is open, my system starts to sound like a jet engine after a while. The drawer under that space is full of games, so I've taken to pulling the system out and setting it onto the drawer for long gaming sessions. When I do that, the PS4 remains whisper quiet.

 

[DarkJC]

I use my PS4 over my PS3 whenever I can for movies because it's so much quieter, and in gaming the only time I hear it is when I put a disc in and it spins up the disc to do the install.

It's so weird seeing the wildly varying experiences here. Someone earlier posted that they can hear their PS4 over the Gold Headset which is just mindblowing to me. I can't really imagine it being that loud.

edit: Launch PS4, FWIW

 

[AgentOtaku]

Debating on calling Sony today because this just doesn't seem right. Pretty confident that it was nowhere this loud when I got it last month
My black system that I traded in towards the white wasn't this loud...

 

[tmac456]

definitely weird that there isn't a real consensus on this

besides when i boot it up and it makes a couple clicking type sounds, it's pretty much quiet for me

 

[Owzers]

Debating on calling Sony today because this just doesn't seem right. Pretty confident that it was nowhere this loud when I got it last month
My black system that I traded in towards the white wasn't this loud...

If it's hairdryer loud, exchange it. I've had two now and both were similar, and neither were as crazy as those killzone or mgs ground zero youtube videos where it sounds like a hairdryer. I'm going to take some decibel readings tonight, but mine were around 55 decibels at the loudest in a normally quiet room at night that is about 35 decibels with nothing on. Room temp around 80 degrees, central air is louder than my ps4. I consider this "loud", without being crazy loud. I'm debating sending mine in and going for a third try for these mythical silent units, but i believe it's people who don't pay attention to a little noise.

 

[TheZink]

If it's hairdryer loud, exchange it. I've had two now and both were similar, and neither were as crazy as those killzone or mgs ground zero youtube videos where it sounds like a hairdryer. I'm going to take some decibel readings tonight, but mine were around 55 decibels at the loudest in a normally quiet room at night that is about 35 decibels with nothing on. Room temp around 80 degrees, central air is louder than my ps4. I consider this "loud", without being crazy loud. I'm debating sending mine in and going for a third try for these mythical silent units, but i believe it's people who don't pay attention to a little noise.

When I use a Decibel app on mine and just lay it on top of my PS4 while running a graphic intensive game like last of us mind peaks it around 53db

 

[score01]

New Destiny PS4 owner here. Rocking the black model.

I find the PS4 a lot noisier and noticeable than my PS3 slim (not super slim).

My OG PS3 phat was a jet tribune. After YLOD I couldn't believe how silent the slim is and stays - even playing through summer.

The PS4 in the same position as my slim is a noisier beast. Not Phat levels but definately more audible.

Quite disappointed in this aspect - would have preferred a slightly bigger unit if it was a bit more silent. Will defo be trading in for PS4 slim when they release.

Have only played (a lot of) Diablo 3 RoS so far.

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

If it's hairdryer loud, exchange it. I've had two now and both were similar, and neither were as crazy as those killzone or mgs ground zero youtube videos where it sounds like a hairdryer. I'm going to take some decibel readings tonight, but mine were around 55 decibels at the loudest in a normally quiet room at night that is about 35 decibels with nothing on. Room temp around 80 degrees, central air is louder than my ps4. I consider this "loud", without being crazy loud. I'm debating sending mine in and going for a third try for these mythical silent units, but i believe it's people who don't pay attention to a little noise.

The one I got now is literally no louder than a slight breeze on an autumn day.

 

[John Rabbit]

white PS4 owner here (Destiny bundle) thing is as quiet as a mouse for me.

 

[Gestault]

Mine is about as loud as my 60 gig PS3 when it's working at load, which I don't like, but also isn't really a "problem," per-se.

 

[Salsa]

people forget consoles are just PCs

my 680 does a high pitched whine on unlocked framerates. Some don't. Consoles have GPUs.

it is what it is and you gotta deal. It's not faulty, and the idea of everyone having the same experience with a console is kinda dumb once you think about it. It's not a magic machine. It's parts.

 

[Facism]

spunked out an hour of the last of us earlier, console remained deadly quiet. the sweat on my balls was louder.

 

[Owzers]

measured Mordor with my ipad app....resting ontop of 49 decibels, to the right 51 and pointed towards the back, 53. Quiet room, probably about 82 degrees in here. The fan is fairly loud and makes a slight whine whirl like a laptop fan.

In scientific terms, it's louder than ball sweat.

 

[John Bender]

White Glacier PS4 owner reporting in...

Yeah, why the hell is it so loud with content that isn't locked at 30fps like Metro Redux, First Light, etc.?
I mean, I know why in the sense the system is working harder to pump out more frames, but how the hell did Sony think a CONSTANT high-pitched whirl was acceptable as soon as the system actually had to work somewhat?

I'm getting a White XboxOne at the end of the month. Is it anywhere near this loud?

I have a white and a black one.
Both are quiet.
My buddies PS4's -> quiet

 

[majik13]

mine doesnt seem loud, I remember my launch 360 being incredible loud though.

 

[Schrade]

measured Mordor with my ipad app....resting ontop of 49 decibels, to the right 51 and pointed towards the back, 53. Quiet room, probably about 82 degrees in here. The fan is fairly loud and makes a slight whine whirl like a laptop fan.

In scientific terms, it's louder than ball sweat.

82 degrees is fucking hot. I start to melt when the temperature reaches 76 degrees in my house

Do you feel an air temperature difference when you go near the PS4?

 

[Freezasaurus]

Mine isn't loud. The only time I even hear it is if it's reading a disc.

 

[ZaCH3000]

I've put about 250 hours of gaming into mine since July and she only acted up once for 15 minutes during BF4.

 

[Owzers]

82 degrees is fucking hot. I start to melt when the temperature reaches 76 degrees in my house

Do you feel an air temperature difference when you go near the PS4?

my ps3 fat model was a mini space heater, PS4 isn't similar, it blows out some warm air but nothing terribly hot or as much.

 

[satterfield]

What I've found is that the people who say their PS4 is quiet don't have anything near the console to reflect its sound. If you have it, say, in a cubby in an entertainment center it will be loud. If the Xbox One and PS4 are in the same enclosure, the Xbox One is far more quiet. This isn't about one person's machine over another. They all have the same components. It's how it's positioned/enclosed that makes the difference.

 

[ethomaz]

I live in Brazil.

My PS4 make way less noise than my PS3... I think inFAMOUS make the fan runs at high speeds but it was not that loud too.

It less loud than my mother PC too even playing inFAMOUS.

 

[Markitron]

The initial disc load is quite loud on mine, but after that I can't hear it at all. Battlefield 4 was the only game where the fan seems to kick in, even then it's still fairly quite.

 

[rapid32.5]

Got a Destiny PS4 it is a bit louder than my PS3 slim and X360 slim but the fan pitch noise is less irritating than on the 360. When I play Destiny it is quiter but on less intensive game like Outlast it's louder (weird). Haven't played Infamous yet to compare better. On Netflix, it is dead silent.

 

[koryuken]

bought it at launch, silent as death.

 

[orochi91]

Send it in for replacement or repairs. It shouldn't be that loud.

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

What I've found is that the people who say their PS4 is quiet don't have anything near the console to reflect its sound. If you have it, say, in a cubby in an entertainment center it will be loud. If the Xbox One and PS4 are in the same enclosure, the Xbox One is far more quiet. This isn't about one person's machine over another. They all have the same components. It's how it's positioned/enclosed that makes the difference.

lol no.

 

[fedexpeon]

I sit about 8-10ft away, and I can't hear the console except on start up or loading the game for the first time.

 

[Marceles]

Only time I ever hear mine is when I launch a disc based game, I hear it spin up the disc for about 5 seconds. After that it's dead quiet. Launch PS4 FWIW.

Pretty much my experience, I don't hear it unless it's right after I insert a disc

 

[memo_rx]

Mine is pretty quiet, I have never notice any noise.

 

[petethepanda]

I was #teamvertical at first but I'm shocked at just how much quieter the system is when horizontal. Standing up it's damn near as loud as my PS3.

 

[Shane86]

Duck tape the vents

 

[the3ye]

Glacier White here. Pretty quiet, nothing seriously loud. My cable PVR is lauder than PS4

 

[Deadstar]

I would pay $100 extra for a console that is completely silent. I hate hearing the fans.

 

[rapid32.5]

Can a digital game technically cause more noise than disc-based with partial HDD install ? Disc drive only spins at the beginning and silent, thus less strain on the PS4 v.s. constant access to the HDD while playing ?

 

[Michael F. Assbender]

Mine is pretty damn quiet.

 

[Owzers]

Even watching netflix, the fan kicks in justttttt enough to hear in quiet scenes.

 

[BlockheadBrown]

Ours gets loud. Loudest of current consoles by far.

 

[AgentOtaku]

Ran through some games today

Loudest:

Killzone
Metro 2033 (kicks in almost immediately, more so under heavy lighting set pieces)
Knack
First Light

Most quiet:

Strider
Trials
Wolfenstein

So yeah, just reconfirming that the system hates certain games. I can cope with that. Just got spoiled by all quiet systems we got over the last few years.
Definitely looking forward to my XBoxOne tho...

 

[Facism]

measured Mordor with my ipad app....resting ontop of 49 decibels, to the right 51 and pointed towards the back, 53. Quiet room, probably about 82 degrees in here. The fan is fairly loud and makes a slight whine whirl like a laptop fan.

In scientific terms, it's louder than ball sweat.

Love it, thanks for that

 

[Ramza]

My PS4 sits on top of my cable box in an open shelf in my entertainment center. Kinda like this one:

Even though the space is open, my system starts to sound like a jet engine after a while. The drawer under that space is full of games, so I've taken to pulling the system out and setting it onto the drawer for long gaming sessions. When I do that, the PS4 remains whisper quiet.

Cable boxes can get very hot, so that heat is transferring to the PS4, that's why.

 

[mcz117chief]

bought it at launch, silent as death.

same. You really can't hear it unless the whole room is completely silent.

 

[GribbleGrunger]

Mine is so quiet I can't hear it. Could this be a matter of what surface you have it on or how close to the TV you sit, although in regards to the latter, I sit 4' away from my PS4 when I play. Perhaps weather conditions, country and in door heating also play a part?

 

[Vestal]

My PS4 sits on top of my cable box in an open shelf in my entertainment center. Kinda like this one:

Even though the space is open, my system starts to sound like a jet engine after a while. The drawer under that space is full of games, so I've taken to pulling the system out and setting it onto the drawer for long gaming sessions. When I do that, the PS4 remains whisper quiet.

You are stacking electronics, thats your problem. Cable boxes get hot as hell, all that hot air is then being sucked by your PS4 and used to cool the system.

 

[Derpcrawler]

Different games give different stress. Also some people are either deaf or have high tolerance for noise. Friend of mine was claiming his PS4 is dead silent, when I was visiting his place it was as loud as mine, when I pointed it to him he was confused, telling that it's "tolerable" fan sound and it's nowhere near being noticeable for him, unless he "pays attention" and that he can't hear it anyway over TV sound.

Killzone SF is VERY LOUD, also it seems sometimes it's completely random. AC4 and Battlefield 4 are barely noticeable (but still audible), Killzone and Resogun sound like a jet engine, almost Xbox 360 levels, ignoring the loud drive, I am talking about fan noise, i.e. if you run games from HDD.