My T41 makes strange noises when manipulating graphics

Message

womble · #1 Post by **womble** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:07 pm

Hi,

I just had the motherboard on my T41 replaced under warranty. The new motherboard makes a slight but strange electronic 'squeaking' noise from the top right hand corner of the keyboard. It's only noticeable in a quiet room, and only occurs when I move stuff around on the screen (eg, dragging a window will do it).

This happened more noticeably with my first motherboard (I'm on my third!) and completely disappeared with the second. Unfortunately, the second recently failed when the graphics chip started coming loose from the motherboard.

I've found one other post that refers to a similar problem, only the noise is reported to originate from the lower right of the keyboard. Out of curiosity, does anyone know where the graphics chip is located on the system board?

Also, is this a common occurence with the T4x series? It's a minor thing, but gets pretty annoying when I'm working in a quiet room.

beeblebrox · #2 Post by **beeblebrox** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:28 pm

I have had this for a year now, noise is no problem. Had this on almost all Thinkpads. My old 570E does squeeking noises even when it is turned off, but on AC.

Sounds come from high-voltage converter coils. Nothing to worry about.

Just imagine a big transformer for AC, that humms at... 60Hz or 50Hz. Now take the frequency to 15 khz and there you go.

If the graphics are noisy it is just the voltage shift applied to the millions of transistors of the screen.

The graphics chip is under the keyboard, sorry, I mean next to the touchpad.

darkhelmet03 · #3 Post by **darkhelmet03** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:31 pm

my T41 hums too when e.g. I scroll down a window....I think this is generic

tpforever · #4 Post by **tpforever** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:39 pm

i get the 'squeaking' noise as you referred to it as well. but it only appears when i start 3d apps...for example google earth.
im relieved to read that thats normal cuz i was starting to worry about it.

hoya · #5 Post by **hoya** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:11 pm

that's very interesting - I've had the same problem on several T43's and could never figure out the problem. here are two threads discussing this same issue:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=14717

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=16438

womble · #6 Post by **womble** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 3:34 am

Hi,

I'm sitting in the Thinkpad repair center in Hong Kong as I type this. Their turnaround time was 19 hours. When I came in two weeks ago, they took 22 hours to get back to me. Thinkpad support here is simply amazing.

Anyway, I spoke to a technician on the phone this morning. He confirmed that noises are pretty normal on the motherboards, and he went through several to find one that was quieter than the one that was previously in my machine. From previous experience, I suspected this- that some degree of noise is normal but it varies across individual motherboards.

I had half expected a phone call either denying any noise at all, or a statement that I should just live with it, so I was quite impressed. I'll see how noisy it is when I get home, away from all the background chatter and the incredibly loud dot-matrix printer they have in the service center. Noise usually doesn't bother me too much, but the last motherboard was too audible for comfort.

Anyway, a big thumbs up to the Thinkpad techs out here in HK!

stkim · #7 Post by **stkim** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 3:59 am

i have this noise too on my t42p when i'm working in 3D apps like maya or rhino. i am wondering, did they replace the computer for you? is your new machine any quiter? the noise is fairly loud but as long as it doesn't affect performance i might live with it.

womble · #8 Post by **womble** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 10:37 am

Bugger- I've tried using the machine in a quieter environment, and it's now *louder* than it was before. Ah well, I'll see if I can put up with it...

They didn't replace the machine in its entirety, just the motherboard. A full replacement wouldn't make sense at all- it would't be reasonable to expect them to give me a brand new keyboard, case, etc to replace the 18 month old components.

I wouldn't even be making a big deal out of this, save for the fact that I was happy with the noise level of the machine prior to having it serviced two weeks ago.

stkim · #9 Post by **stkim** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 4:07 pm

well, in that case i think i can live with the noise. at least i know when the little critter is "thinking"

My T41 makes strange noises when manipulating graphics

My T41 makes strange noises when manipulating graphics

Update

Who is online