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    New X220 Intel 320 160GB SSD making noise

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by Schmitty, Apr 12, 2012.

  1. Schmitty

    Schmitty Notebook Consultant

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    Hi all - I just received my shiny (or should that be matte? ;-) new X220 and I love it (specs in my sig).

    However, I have noticed when my SSD is being accessed a lot, like during boot, I can actually hear squeaking sounds that correspond to the blinking on the HD indicator light and are coming from that side of the computer. This kind of worries me as SSDs are 'supposed' to be silent. Anybody experience this?


    I also have the apparently infamous high-pitched whine that people talk about...it is quiet, but loud enough to be annoying while in a quiet room. Doesn't seem to be much I can do about that.


    Thanks!
     
    Schmitty, Apr 12, 2012
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  2. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    If the room is quiet, I hear those sounds from my Intel X-25M G2 as well. It's perfectly normal, don't worry about it.
     
    MidnightSun, Apr 12, 2012
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  3. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    Of all the SSDs I have owned, NEVER have I heard an SSD whine, probably the CPU fan. Have you tried tpfancontrol and try manually setting the fan to 0to rule out the fan vs SSD?
     
    Tsunade_Hime, Apr 12, 2012
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  4. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    It's definitely the SSD. My fan is entirely silent, and if CPU usage is low but disk activity is high, there is a very faintly audible high-pitched noise if your head is close to where the SSD is installed. Disk activity has to be very high, though, and it's so faint that any ambient noise will probably overpower it.
     
    MidnightSun, Apr 12, 2012
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  5. brian5

    brian5 Notebook Evangelist

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    Schmitty,

    Sorry to hear that.

    1. I hear no sounds from my Intel SSD at all (as it should be).

    2. I have never heard any high-pitched whine. My home office is VERY quiet and I hear every fan or other noise that any of PCs or laptops make.

    My X220 is a really quiet machine...
     
    brian5, Apr 12, 2012
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  6. Schmitty

    Schmitty Notebook Consultant

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    Yeah, that sucks for me then!

    It is definitely the SSD...my fan/CPU has the high pitch whine, but I turned it off using TPfanctrl and it is most defintely the SSD when it is being accessed a lot.

    Well, at least I have a 3 year warranty!

    The fan whine is much more annoying though
     
    Schmitty, Apr 12, 2012
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  7. vinuneuro

    vinuneuro Notebook Virtuoso

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    It could be the part of the chipset related to the sata controller. I've heard it on my Intel 310, Samsung 830 and Intel X25-M depending on the power state, and it's not that loud. Only developed the slight sound in the last few months. If you're convinced it's the ssd, see if Lenovo will replace it.
     
    vinuneuro, Apr 12, 2012
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  8. Schmitty

    Schmitty Notebook Consultant

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    Well, if it isn't the SSD, it is something directly tied to the SSD activity for sure. I'm not really bothered by the sound per se...I am just concerned that something is wrong because everybody always says SSDs are silent.
     
    Schmitty, Apr 12, 2012
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  9. davv

    davv Notebook Enthusiast

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    the range of audible frequencies is different for every human.

    if you can hear your tv when it's in sleep mode, you can hear your ssd when it's working ;)
     
    davv, Apr 13, 2012
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  10. Schmitty

    Schmitty Notebook Consultant

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    The sounds are definitely not outside the normal hearing frequency. In fact, when I put my ear next to my computer when the SSD is being accessed, it kinda sounds like the old dial-up modem dialing up sounds. It's kind of concerning, but at least I am not the only one and the performance is still great.
     
    Schmitty, Apr 13, 2012
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  11. ConnectDon

    ConnectDon Notebook Consultant

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    Not the only one:

    SSD 320 (160GB) generates noises when getting accessed

    Couldn't NBR hire these technology professionals and deploy a pdf feature:

    http://communities.intel.com/thread/28003.pdf
     
    ConnectDon, Apr 13, 2012
    #11
  12. seiyafan

    seiyafan Notebook Evangelist

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    The crucial M4 on my T60p also makes a whine noise during activity.
     
    seiyafan, Apr 13, 2012
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  13. davv

    davv Notebook Enthusiast

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    wrap it in foam ? hehe
     
    davv, Apr 17, 2012
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  14. Thors.Hammer

    Thors.Hammer Notebook Enthusiast

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    It's whining because it's in a SATA I T60p and wants out of its chains. :D
     
    Thors.Hammer, Apr 17, 2012
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  15. PresidentK

    PresidentK Notebook Guru

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    i had a whine issue with my brand new w520/corsair ssd. Till this day i don't know which one was whining.

    but, after a month it went away on its own.
     
    PresidentK, Apr 17, 2012
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