The Neowin Forums has a fascinating interview with some PS3 software developers. One of the most interesting things for me was the following exchange:

Q. PS3 is a very powerful hardware, but as more processing power is used, electricity consumption and fan noise increases. For AV equipment, noise is a big factor.

K2 So far, we are not worried too much since we have plenty of processing power left even at peak usage. On the other hand, from a software programming point of view, we have arrived to a stage where things work as they should. But there are plenty of optimization left to do. We have to balance function with load and noise.

K1 Nothing yet comes close to the load that Folding@Home applies. And I can see the possiblity of a fanless PS3 in the future, just like there was for the PS2.

While he’s not promising anything, or even saying that it’s being worked on, it’s comforting to know that a fanless PS3 is possible. I don’t like all the noise my PS3 puts out, and a fanless one would be awesome!

Interview with PS3 system software engineers – Neowin Forums

Thanks Liar and Sporty!