Thinkpads Forum

I don't know if you will understand my entire post, because I have just started to use English and I'm surely making a lot of mistakes.
But I would be very grateful for any reply, because this case is very important to me. Thanks.

I have a brand-new T400s (2808-D5G) and got high pitch noises under AC and on battery too. It is the loudest when "Maximum CPU Speed" in the ThinkVantage Power Manager is set to Highest. And I can only get rid of this noise to some degree (it still can be heard in a quiet room) by setting "Maximum CPU Speed" to "Lowest". However this solution doesn't satisfy me, because it slows down the CPU speed to 790MHz.
I have read many threads about the famous whine CPU problem (Yes, I know it isn't directly caused by the CPU, but by inductors on the motherboard), but I think my situation is unusual, because I can't get rid of it by:
- disabling the C4 state in the ThinkVantage Power Manager ("CPU Deeper Sleep")
- turning off: CPU Power Management in the BIOS (as well as PCI and PCI-E Power Management)
- disabling USB energy saving modes in the Device Manager

So, after all I would be very grateful if I have "CPU whine" that could be solved by above mentioned methods.

RMClock doesn't support my motherboard, but I think that if disabling all CPU Power Management in BIOS didn't help then disabling the C4 Mode or Popup Mode and Popdown Mode in the RMClock won't help too. Am I right? Because I don't know if it is worth to wait for the RMClock update?

So anyone else got high pitch noises from T400s and can't get rid of them without slowing down the CPU speed to minimum?
If only my T400s is affected by this "stubborn CPU whine" I'm going to send it to Lenovo.

Or maybe somebody could suggest other solution to my problem?

I was worried about this issue when I ordered my T400s, especially since I have very sensitive hearing, and at least so far I'm not bothered by it at all. But from reading about various others' experiences, I have the impression it's primarily a problem with the solid state drives (not the drives themselves, but their interaction with other components), and I've got a conventional hard drive.

Now if only my computer wasn't warped and hadn't kept freezing up straight out of the box...

I also I've got a conventional hard drive. And I even removed my hdd and started windows from the external hard drive. But it didn't change anything with the high frequency peeps.

Does anybody else also haven't got high frequnecy peeps on his T400s?

I have a T400s (281524U) 128GB Samsung SSD and it has the whine on occasion. Also it has a pulsing low pitched buzz via the docking station audio port but not when direcly connected to the NB headset/mic port.

Seems like you are not alone. Some people report such a problem here:
http://lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/?p=259

Have another T400s model (2815-A34) with a Toshiba SSD and have not heard the "CPU whine" yet.

But the problem with the noise through the docking station audio port continues. The buzz can be reproduced consistantly by using the scroll wheel on my USB mouse and scrolling through a web page. While it may not be 100% USB related the noise also occurs when typing on my IBM USB keybaord and sometimes when no input devices are being used. Does not matter if USB devices are plugged into the NB or the dock noise still occurs. I have tried two headsets (Bose QC2 and a cheap standard Sony set) and two different USB mice (conneced through dock and direct to NB) the noise continues.

Later today I will try a new dock and power supply. If that doesn't work I will let our Lenovo tech specialst know and get his input.

EDIT: Problem occurs with another new dock and power supply plugged into a different outlet...

Thanks to everybody for answering. Now I see that even expensive laptops like T400s are sometimes affected by a whine (I paid for m my T400s 2200$).

Now I'm thinking about putting a dab of glue on the inductor as described in http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthr ... 380&page=2 Because even if I get a replace (what seems doubtful and also could take even few weeks) I still could get a new one affected by a whine and if not this problem could start after some time.

This operation looks easy and will take only a few hours but may void of warranty...

@moore101 Did you try to mute all inputs (midi, mic, cd) except for wave? Because I had a similar problem on my desktop and I solved this by doing this.

moore101 wrote:I have a T400s (281524U) 128GB Samsung SSD and it has the whine on occasion.

Is your whine on a T400s (281524U) 128GB Samsung SSD dependent on a Power Scheme in the Power Manager?

I just tried muting all inputs except for wave and dock>headphone buzz still occurs, thanks for the idea though.

I did not try a different power setting on the notebook with the CPU whine (281524U) and have already sent it back to Lenovo (it was a loaner).

fenix44 wrote:
@moore101 Did you try to mute all inputs (midi, mic, cd) except for wave? Because I had a similar problem on my desktop and I solved this by doing this.

moore101 wrote:I have a T400s (281524U) 128GB Samsung SSD and it has the whine on occasion.

Is your whine on a T400s (281524U) 128GB Samsung SSD dependent on a Power Scheme in the Power Manager?

My T61 (14") and T61P (15") both had the CPU whine (esp. the T61P!!!) but my T400s (2808-CZU, with SSD) has been quiet as a ... rock? ... so far. Guess I'm lucky...

I am running linux on it, but I don't assume that makes a difference at all.

~marc

ps. your english is great -- way better than my polish

I hadn't noticed the noise before, I think because I was in environments with a fair bit of background noise. But am traveling now and in an exceptionally quiet room, and the high-pitched whine is definitely irritating me. It seems to come from the fan location, and is semi-constant, i.e. a few times a minute it gets quieter for a split second. The noise itself is a bit "rough," i.e. it has a buzzing component.

I havent been bothered by the noise, and if i didnt already know about it from these forums then i probably would over look it. It may be that this is a laptop that oddly has less of a whine.

Does the sound also appear when the Thinkpad is used in battery mode (power adaptor disconnected)?

I remember a problem with a Thinkpad A31 in 2002. I have had a high pitch noise during high cpu load and while turning the mouse key. After the On-Site-Service replaced the mainboard, I found out that it was the power adaptor itself, that made the noise....

The whine is extremely annoying on mine.

I'm interested in this topic because considering an x201. In fact its what is holding me up from getting one as I dont wnat to deal with problems not fixed yet.

Random data points:
1) Some say the T61 also had this issue. Never heard it on mine. Have heard it on Dells and read about it on Sony Vaio and HP NBs.
2) Seems to be 540M mostly? Not sure. Some with the x201 540M have written about it but some later say its the HDD which turns out to be a Seagate. Lenovo now using Seagate? Prefer Hitachi like before.
3) I checked the T61 BIOS revision notes to see if this problem since some say they had it but I dont was fixed by a BIOS revision. The notes do indeed say it fixed some issue like it (cryptic wording in the notes). So maybe for your T410 and any other TPs there will be a BIOS fix?
4) Could be the motherboard capacitors?