High Pitched Whining

Its driving me insane. From what I gathered, it occurs when the CPU is idle, which seems to be the case, as when its on full load, the whine stops. However, it is primarily in an idle state.

How do I make it stop?

AHHHHH

 

Does no one else notice this? Is there no fix? Its silly, but its something I would return the laptop over.

 

it happens to my R2 unit, also.

Nothing I can do about it

 

I noticed this as well. It's normal on cpus that lower their voltage. But my computer goes ones step farther. When my machine is OFF and unplugged it makes that noise aswell. I think it may be due to the USB power share option I turned on in the BIOS, I haven't turned the machine off yet today to check as see if disabling it makes it go away. Back on topic, I do really wish there was a fix for this, the sound actually makes me sick, like physically nauseous. I have to take Dramamine just to use my computer on battery power lol.

 

Try downloading ThrottleStop. It has a few settings that let you play around with the various C State options. You might be able to find a combination that gets rid of the whine. Some Core 2 owners have had some success by doing this.

On the main screen on the left side you can toggle the C1E sleep state on and off. There is also a button that lets you toggle between C1, C3, C6, C7. A setting of C1 can limit the CPU package from entering the deepest sleep states. A slight change in power consumption can sometimes get rid of the whine.

I added another option yesterday that you can add to the ThrottleStop.ini configuration file.

CStateDemotion=

Setting this is explained in the ThrottleStop Guide thread.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...531329-throttlestop-guide-37.html#post7231834

Some users have reported that a setting of 3 has increased their SSD 4K Write performance by over 100%. Definitely worth checking out for that reason alone and maybe you will cure your whine at the same time.

 

Or you can call a dell tech since you paid for the warranty anyway.

 

Unfortunately, I have this as well, and yes, it tends to be frustrating. I chose to ignore the issue though - I don't think there is much to be done about it, apart from motherboard replacement.

But then if the situation allows you to perform a quick and convenient exchange of the faulty model - I think you should do it. Be sure to check the hinges very closely though - personally, I would consider a whining laptop with hinges intact to be far superior to perfectly silent laptop with its display lid falling off.

 

The problem with CPU whining usually comes from using cheap parts on the motherboard that resonate with high frequencies that you hear (like capacitors). Usually happens when power draw is idle/low.

Some motherboards are better than others, but in general you'll hear this on many laptops unless higher quality parts are used. I guess manufacturers and designers usually don't care much about this, since it's all about making laptops as cheap as possible.

If I had high pitched whine, the laptop would be returned immediately. Can't stand it.

 

Same here. Why settle for crap when there's so much competition for your money?

 

Unfortunately, replacing motherboard will not really gurantee that you will not have the same high pitched sound with the new one...
I have it too by the way but very faint.

 

Yes, very true.

But then one can have Dell replacing the motherboard 20 times, one after another, until they cough up a silent one. If one is so inclined .

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I will most likely return it ~ or ask for a new replacement. Every time onsite technicians opened up the laptop, the body would become looser, and everything becomes more scuffled. I've had it for two weeks, and its been repaired twice (screen issues), and it already looks 6 months old (one of them even lost a screw). I can't imagine how a motherboard replacement will fare.

 

Thanks uncle. I actually played with most of the settings already in desperation, but did not know about the CStateDemotion. I will most likely attempt that next.

I just got off the phone with Alienware support. I really like this machine, so I am rather relunctant on returning it. For some reason, after explaining the situation, the rep insisted that he can only submit a ticket after he's remoted into my laptop for diagnosis. Unfortunately, I am not in an area where I can do that, but I found it weird nevertheless. I swear if he just toggles the power management settings...

 

Just tested it out ~ CStateDemotion set to 3 will reduce the high pitched whining into a low buzz. Annoying yes, but much more preferrable to the high pitched alternative.

Thanks!

I will still pursue Dell for a replacement, just to see if it can be eliminated all together.

 

You can set that variable to any number between 0 and 15. A value of 3 was useful for the SSD 4K Write issue but there might be a better value for the whine issue. Did you also try toggling C1E and the C1/C3/C6/C7 button. Setting this button to C1 might help too.

 

WOW! thank you so much Uncle. I was also experiencing a high pitched noise coming from the left side of the laptop. It was driving me crazy. Changed the button on TS to C1 and it worked. I can still hear the sound but only when I put my ear directly next to the keyboard.

 

When I saw this post listed, my first thought was - "Oh damn, now she's dating you?"

But no... no high pitched noises coming from my M11X.

 

Sorry for resurrecting the thread, but just wanted to give a big thanks to Uncle. The whine was driving me crazy, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I came across this thread, and tried the C1 setting on ThrottleStop. That completely eliminated the whine. Thanks again!