Todd Bishop of the Seattle P-I has some Notes on the Xbox 360 launch. This one stopped me in my tracks:
The Xbox 360 is loud: Joystiq does a comparison of appliances and ranks the new console second only to an “old, clunky refrigerator” in fan noise.
If that’s true, it’s going to be a deal-breaker for some people (like me) who have been looking forward to using an Xbox as a Media Center Extender.
Todd also noted these amusing comments
The console is also accompanied by an extraordinarily large power supply. “It’s almost as big as the Xbox 360 itself!” exclaims the Gadgetizer. It’s a “humongous power brick that one can bludgeon a person to death with,” adds another blogger. If the 360 is an attractive woman, the power supply is “like a supermodel swinging a garbage sack,” writes Winda Benedetti in her P-I review. Microsoft’s John Porcaro offers a tongue-in-cheek Q&A about the power supply, followed by a real explanation, in this post on his blog.
I’d actually rather have a power brick than a huge adapter that plugs directly into a socket. Those adapters cause nothing but problems on power strips.
(More Xbox 360 reviews here.)
The unit is a bit loud when the DVD drive is spinning at 12X while you’re playing a game. When watching a DVD, it’s at 4X, quite a bit quieter. And when you’re using it as a MCE extender, it’s virtually noise free.
Plus, when it’s in an open space where it gets good airflow/cooling, the fans don’t kick in as often.
I’m sorry to say but the power pack is not big atall and not noisy at all unlike the ps3