The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    P170EM Power brick making high pitch noises

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by hellrazor, Jul 11, 2012.

  1. hellrazor

    hellrazor Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    7
    Messages:
    84
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Hi
    My P170EM's Power brick is making high pitch noises it comes and goes and sometimes it goes quiet for a second when i click the mouse or something loads then it squeals again.
    I looked this up on google and people say it means its nearly dead, this one is only a month old, and as far as i remember its always done it.
    any one else had this problem?
     
    hellrazor, Jul 11, 2012
    #1
  2. b0b1man

    b0b1man Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    597
    Messages:
    1,092
    Likes Received:
    29
    Trophy Points:
    66
    This is nonsense.

    The power brick makes noises and its normal. When powering up, I sometimes hear it too. It never failed me. Not once.

    I keep on gaming at max and no problems. Noises should be quiet, though. You should only be able to hear it when its absolutely quiet in your room.
     
    b0b1man, Jul 11, 2012
    #2
  3. Play3r

    Play3r Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    15
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    yeah mine makes crazy awesome noises too. But i have lots of power bricks and phone charges etc that make some funk noises. they all still work so i wouldnt worry about it.
     
    Play3r, Jul 11, 2012
    #3
  4. Blauwhelmpje

    Blauwhelmpje Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    71
    Messages:
    56
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I have mine for a couple of days now, and it's not making any noticable noise whatsoever.
     
    Blauwhelmpje, Jul 11, 2012
    #4
  5. Maverick1987

    Maverick1987 Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    28
    Messages:
    80
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15

    Just because your brick is trouble free does not preclude the fact that his might be having issues. A high pitched squeal is usually indicative of capacitor issues, and as a result imminent failure. I have two of these bricks which make no noise at all, fwiw, but a sample size of 2 is pretty small. I would suggest he contact Sager or his Reseller for support.
     
    Maverick1987, Jul 11, 2012
    #5
  6. Support.3@XOTIC PC

    Support.3@XOTIC PC Company Representative

    Reputations:
    1,268
    Messages:
    7,186
    Likes Received:
    1,002
    Trophy Points:
    331
    Try plugging it into a different wall outlet. A different part of the house would be best as that would be running on a different size amp fuse.
     
    Support.3@XOTIC PC, Jul 11, 2012
    #6
  7. Maverick1987

    Maverick1987 Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    28
    Messages:
    80
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    What Hutsady said. Keep in mind most circuits are 15A, but a lot of kitchen outlets now are 20A, you'd have to check your panel. However, if this is a permanent condition, I'd definitely look at contacting your reseller.
     
    Maverick1987, Jul 11, 2012
    #7
  8. arg8

    arg8 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    93
    Messages:
    210
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    This is a plague in cheap electronics nowadays. Cheap capacitors and noisy coils, or underspect power supply components for load demand.

    If it gets louder, there there is a good chance one or a few capacitors are indeed failing. You'll either hear a nice "pop" at some point, or your PC might start to experience instabilities (BSODs, freezes...).

    The frustrating part is, its rare the capacitors will pop early nowadays, and the power supplies can take a very long time to completely fail. It can squeal for years, and that is "normal behavior" as far as manufaturers are concerned, so it might be very hard to get a replacement.

    Make sure there is sufficient space around the brick to allow cooling. I would not rest in on carpet or in a small enclosed space.

    For the record, mine is completely silent under any load condition to date.
     
    arg8, Jul 11, 2012
    #8
  9. aggie113

    aggie113 Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    63
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Try an UPS as your power source, I know it's redundant but it does a good job of filtering out the crap on the line, or a quality surge protector. I have a few converters that make noise.
     
    aggie113, Jul 11, 2012
    #9
  10. Maverick1987

    Maverick1987 Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    28
    Messages:
    80
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    That can be both a good and bad suggestion, not all UPS's are created equal. some PSU's are really finicky if the UPS only puts out a simulated sinusoidal AC rather than true sinusoidal.
     
    Maverick1987, Jul 11, 2012
    #10
  11. Cloudfire

    Cloudfire (Really odd person)

    Reputations:
    7,279
    Messages:
    10,304
    Likes Received:
    2,878
    Trophy Points:
    581
    Oh man how I hate that high frequency sound. I have owned many brands over the years, and based on my experience some brands have it, some don`t. Perhaps some use very cheap power bricks while some don`t?

    HP was plagued with this. Toshiba wasn`t. My two Asus notebooks doesn`t have it either.
    I guess worst case scenario if its bugging you, is to head out to a hardware store and buy a new power supply
     
    Cloudfire, Jul 11, 2012
    #11