Xbox 360 fan noise ranked

You know those car freaks that can identify the make and model of a vehicle simply by listening to the rumble of the engine? The Xbox 360 makes such aural feats easy for us gamefreaks because, well, the sucker is loud.

Here's how the Xbox 360 ranks in terms of noise output versus the other fan-cooled devices in the apartment.

1. Old, clunky refrigerator

2. Xbox 360

3. PlayStation 2 (fat version, not slim-line)

4. Panasonic PT-AE700U projector

5. GameCube

6. Xbox 360 power supply

7. IBM T42p (Laptop)

8. Dell Latitude C610 (Laptop)

9. iBook G4 (Laptop)

So why should anyone care about sound output? For one, if you're trying to sneak in some late-night gaming with headphones on while a significant other sleeps, stealth is key. For another, it can interfere with the enjoyment of a game's quieter moments.

We don't have an original Xbox to test it against (it's on loan to a buddy), or we would, however reader comments below provide some additional comparison points. Water-cooling mod, anyone?