Sager NP8150 Speakers Emit Very High Pitch Loud Noise + Constant Graphics Card Crashes

I purchased my laptop in the summer of 2011. It seems like i've always been getting intermittent issues with the graphics card / drivers. I've seen many others with this same issue. I am using the stock Sager graphics drivers. Every 3-4 weeks the screen will start to have lots of jagged marks and crash multiple times. This usually happens nearly constantly for a few days then stops again until the next month.

A few weeks ago my speakers started emitting a very high pitch noise whenever they are not muted. However, if I use my headphones the high pitch noise is gone but the volume is way lower than normal and there is a lot of static / low humming. When a headset is plugged in, if I touch anything on the laptop it makes a sound like sandpaper. For example, rubbing my finger lightly across the keyboard sounds exactly like I'm sanding something. I was told this might be an issue with the motherboard or the graphics card.

Is there anything else that it could be since replacing either of those would likely cost more than the laptop is worth at this point?

Here are the specifics of my laptop. The only upgrade made was installing a 512 GB Crucial SSD a year ago. Thanks.

1 x Sager NP8150 / Clevo P150HM
Notebook Cooler No Notebook Cooler
Mouse / Keyboard Accessories No External Keyboard or Mouse
Fingerprint Reader Integrated Fingerprint Reader
Port Replicator / Dock / Adapters No Dock/Hub/Adapter
Spare AC Adapter None Standard*
Car Adapter No Car Adapter
Battery Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
Case No Carrying Case
Xotic Gear No Xotic PC Gear
Warranty 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime -24/7 DOMESTIC Based- Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Warranty Repairs
Software Bundle (Not Installed) No Software Bundle
Microsoft Office Software No Office Software
Operating System ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's + Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included with OS Purchase
XOTIC PC Redline Boost™ Extreme Performance No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system (Overclocking will add 3-6 business days to build time)
Sound Card Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
TV Tuner No TV Tuner
Camera Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
Wireless Network Accessories No Network Accessory
Wireless Network Intel® Advanced-N 6230 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module + Bluetooth
Bluetooth None Standard--
Back Up Software No Back Up Software
Memory Card Reader Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
Floppy Drive No Floppy Drive
External USB Optical Drive NO External USB Optical Drive
External Hard Drive (Back Up) No Back Up Hard Drive
Optical Drive Bay Hard Drive Caddy No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
Optical Drive Bay ~ Remove DVDRW Drive and Install Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy Only
Primary Hard Drive ~ 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
Exterior Finish Standard Finish
Ram -- Contact us on Special non advertised RAM Promotions/Discounts (Will add to build time) --
External Display Video Adapters No Video Adapter
Graphics Video Card nVidia GeForce GTX 485M 2,048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 (User Upgradeable)-
Thermal Compound -Stock OEM Thermal Compound
Processor - 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)

 

Have you tried other drivers? Of all drivers, those from Sager should work - but then again, if you've installed other updates, there could be a conflict if you haven't also installed more recent updates for the video drivers.

The only way I could think to attribute this to the video card is if it's pulling a lot of power and over taxing the power supply - or the power supply is failing. Something like this typically points to interference or a grounding problem. And other times, it's as simple as reloading the audio driver.

 

The speaker cable could be coming loose from the plug and picking up interference.