DV4000 CPU(?) Noise

New DV4000 owner here. I've had the machine for one week, and am quite happy with it except for the following issue:

When dragging / resizing / rendering windows, I hear a very faint chirping / static noise coming from underneath the upper left portion of the keyboard. It's clearly not coming from the speakers or hard drive. It's also not the CPU fan. In fact, when the fan turns on, it is loud enough to drown out the noise.

I'm curious if this is a common characteristic of these machines. Can any other DV4000 owners chime in with their experience, especially those with Intel graphics? I'd really appreciate it.

I've checked all drivers and the BIOS to make sure everything is up-to-date. My configuration is as follows:

Pentium M Processor 740 (1.73 GHz)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900
256MB DDR2 SDRAM (1x256MB)
80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
DVD+/-RW/R CD-RW Combo
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG & Bluetooth(TM)
6 Cell Battery

 

It's probably not the CPU itself - if it wanted to make an audible sound, it would make a loud, clear beep. If its sounds like running electricity or static electricity, its probably the Motherboard, which is perfectly normal. Are you hearing the sound when the laptop is under heavy strain from running apps., or when it is idle?

 

Thanks for the reply.

The noise does not appear to be related to CPU load. I don't hear it while running "Super PI" as long as I don't drag / resize a window. Dragging / resizing the contents of a window produces the same noise, whether "Super PI" is running or not.

 

do you hear it when playing some game? Dragging windows pushesh the cpu and the gpu

also., are you sure that the noise is still there if you mute the sound?

 

Thanks for the reply.

I haven't played any games on the system, so I can't comment on that. I do not hear the noise when playing HD WMV / Quicktime video clips (which put about a 75% CPU load on my system) unless I drag the contents of those windows.

I have muted the speakers, and can confirm that the noise originates from the upper left portion of the keyboard, which is well away from the speakers on this system.

 

Is your hand resting/pressing on the computer when you're dragging and resizing these windows? There might be a physical explanation - you're pressing on the palm rest area when you use the touchpad, perhaps?

 

The sound is the same, regardless of whether I'm using the touchpad or a USB mouse.

I recently stumbled across this thread describing a very similar problem. I would be curious to know if "rich8473" or "Warhammer999" ever got any resolution.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=29075

 

I too think it is static electricity, or something similar to that as posted...I notice a faint noise like that when I drag windows. I believe it comes from the GPU. Nothing to worry about.

 

I just returned from a trip to a couple of local computer stores. Both places had DV4000 machines on display (one with a 725 processor, another with a 760 processor), and both made the exact same noise mine does. Seems like a consistent design "feature" to me. Probably wouldn't even be noticed by 99% of the people out there.

The noise doesn't bother me... I just wanted to make sure my new toy wasn't a lemon!