Inspiron 17R 5737 - weird buzzing sound when in 3D app/game

Hi,

I'm a fresh owner of the new Dell Inspiron 17R 5737 with a Core i7-4500U Haswell processor and an AMD HD 8870M GPU (and rocking Windows 8.1 64bit). Everything had seemed to be ok so far, until I tried some games...

When I launch an app that requires the dedicated GPU a strange noise appears. It sounds a little bit like a very loud HDD, but it is not. It propably also isn't speakers-related, because the noise is still there even if I mute them. And I think it has nothing to do with the fan too. But I've noticed one thing - if I unplug the power cord (e.g. when playing a game) the strange sound magically disappears.

I tried some reccomendations like uninstalling McAfee security, or Intel Matrix storage, but it didn't help (also those were recommendations for issues with speakers).

I really don't know what it could be, maybe the GPU is faulty, or the AC adapter? Well the thing is - it's very annoying and almost louder than the fan noise itself (when gaming).

Any ideas?

P.S. excuse my english, I'm Czech.

 

I think you've identified the two biggest possible sources of a buzz: fan or AC. Both oscillate, the fan at whatever RPM and the AC at 50Hz for Czech power systems. Both also experience higher demand under a load so you'd get a faster fan and potentially higher pitch. The AC would probably be pulling more power and could be louder. You should try your best to isolate the noise. Can you tell if it is coming from the computer (which requires a constant DC voltage, no oscillation) or the adapter?

 

Hi,
well I don't think it's the fan. Because, for exaple, if I run some CPU-only benchmark, the fan speeds up pretty fast, but no strange noise appears - only if it's an app that requires the dedicated graphics card.
As far as the location of the noise goes, it's definitely not the AC adapter itself. The noise seems to be coming from the centre of the laptop, where the CPU and GPU are. I tried to record it, here it is: Playing: zvuk s 3D aplikací spodní strana (1).mp3 - picosong

 

Thanks. That's almost certainly either a fan or the HDD. I've been able to replicate something close to that sound by rotating my laptop when it still had an HDD. Gyroscopic effects from the spinning platter would induce it. I would try to locate the users manual for the computer (someone's linked to it on the forum already, otherwise just google the model number and "owner's manual") and see if you can figure out the rough location on the laptop and what the most likely component is. If it is the HDD and it's making that noise for a longer length of time (past 20 seconds, say), I would call Dell with your suspicion or just replace the drive.

In any case back up your files and/or the drive asap.

 

I already contacted the Dell support yesterday and the also thinks it's the fan. But I don't agree with them. The weird sound I posted ONLY appears when there's an app that requires the dedicated GPU running and when the AC adapter is connected. When I unplug the AC adepter, the noise disappears and when I switch to the integrated Intel GPU, the noise is also not there.
Well, we'll see.

 

Thing is, the fan usually spins up when you put the system under a load. The integrated GPU won't need the fan. Unless your hard drive is slowly dying, I'm inclined to believe the fan people. Also, that sound is physical, not electrical. Even if it sounded electrical I'd have trouble identifying a location because nearly everything inside your computer is DC, which doesn't oscillate and doesn't usually produce noise of any kind. Interactions that do make a harmonic noise are tiny tiny.


edit: And speakers. Completely forgot speakers.

 

It is the problem with ATI mobile GPU's. The noise you've mentioned comes from GPU's power coil. This is the common problem in 15 and 17 inchies inspirons with ATI 8870m during 3D gaming. Try to contact with Dell Customer Service. You have noticed that the noise dissapeears when laptop is powered from battery that is becouse the GPU has lowered clocks when it works only on battery. Sorry for my english im from Poland )