It's a 16x DVD-Drive. Those are loud.

I find it only "loud" when the system is accessing information from the disc.
The BC on the 360 is hit or miss. The only two games I've played on it run great. Halo 2 and Crimson Skies. My sister has a copy of Fable, and you're right. It is choppy. Here's a
link IGN did to evaluate all the BC XBOX games on the 360..and their take on how well (or not well) they ran.
Enko. You need more 360 games

I want to play more people online.
Here's my updated list
Xbox 360 games:
Project Gotham Racing 3
Perfect Dark: Zero
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warrior
Kameo: Elements of Power
Xbox Live Arcade games:
Bejeweled 2
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Marble Blast Ultra
Hexic
HD
SmashTV
Xbox games:
Halo 2
Crimson Skies
The games I'm going to add in the next 2-3 months are...
Major League Baseball 2K6
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Street Fighter 2 Hyper Edition (XBLA)
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (XBLA)