Buzzing video card and CPU Whine on T420

[YOTR]

I am on my second T420 after the first one arrived with scratches on the case (and frankly looked used). Well the second one arrive and I have some issues and wondered if they were normal or not. I have the T420 with the dedicated Nvidia graphics. I noticed that the fan always seems to run. It isn't horrible loud but definitely noticeable. I assume this is normal but thought I would ask. I also noticed some CPU Whine that is definitely audible if I am in a quiet room or if I get closet to the laptop. It isn't super loud but I was hoping lenovo had solved this from the T410 issues.

Finally last night I installed Half Life 2 and noticed a strange buzzing sound coming from what I believe is the Nvidia video card. I can hear this buzzing on the right side under the keyboard right after the game starts up. It seemd to quiet down a bit but there is still a distinct buzzing. Whenever I exited out of Half Life 2, the buzzing would stop immediately. If I changed the resolution in game, the screen normally goes black for a second to resize. Once the screen goes black the buzzing stops and then comes back immediately when the game returns.

Anyone else notice these issues on their T420? Hopefully someone can chime in that has the dedicated graphics option but any comments are welcome. Am I being to picky? I know nothing is perfect and honestly I have learned to deal with the CPU whine but the buzzing of the video card really worries me. It doesn't sound like a chainsaw but at laptop level or in a quiet room it is pretty noticeable.

Thanks in advance!

[Q-Ball]

Does the whine sound like this?

http://www.empyrealis.net/archive/t510whine.wav

[Colonel O'Neill]

Wow. This is the first time I've actually heard a recording of CPU whine. I'd imagined it to be a much higher pitch and consistent. The recording sounds more like one of those receipt printing things.

[craigmontHunter]

In my experience the cpu wine occurs when the processor goes from max speed to the C4 sleep level - for example running at max performance scheme in powermanager. I believe (from my experience and experimentation) that it happens when the processor switches into or out of the sleep mode - I hear it all the time in max performance on battery, but when I plug it in (disable C4) or use a diffrent power plan (not locked on max performance) I don't have the issue. It all depends on what the processor is doing and for how long.

[Q-Ball]

That's what the CPU whine on a T510 sounds like. That's actually not my recording since a.) I didn't make that and b.) I copied that link from the "T510- Terrible Whine Noise" thread on the Lenovo forums. I can attest to its accuracy though.

EDIT: Also, that's just the form of whine that happens to a T510.

Other ones are higher-pitched and constant- my main machine has one.
That one does get quieter with load though it's still very annoying.

And, you guessed it, it's an Intel Core i3-530-based machine with a Biostar T5XE motherboard.
RMA'd it once for the whine, replacement whines too.
Ugh.

[blackomegax]

I've had CPU whine in every laptop i've ever owned except my T420. cheap acer pentium-m, X40, T61, X61s, X200, to a degree in an acer 1410 netbook, but its ULV cpu was better about it.
I can say though, my T420 does not produce any noticible whine. cpu load, no load, intel gpu load, nvidia gpu load, or any state of the LCD backlight.

They will replace it for such an issue, they did on my T61, but it failed to fix it. Something about it effecting ALL of them.


Fan is normal except on battery with passive profile.

[YOTR]

Thanks for the replies everyone. My friends new T420 CPU whine is quieter than mine but still there. I think there is a good chance regardless that I will have to deal with that to a certain extent. As for the GPU buzzing, that is something I can't live with. The seller was being very difficult when I wanted to swap it. My first one came with a huge scratch on the top. This replacement one also came with scratches on the top (way worse) but I was going to deal with it until I noticed the CPU Whine and GPU noise. The whine I can deal with as long as it isn't to loud but the GPU noise is way more noticeable. The seller and I came to agreement to just part ways so I returned it for a full refund. It has been a horrible experience to be honest.

I will be ordering my new thinkpad from lenovo directly this time. I am honestly thinking about just going with the integrated graphics option because I am somewhat turned off by the nvidia card now. I worry I will get another buzzing one plus I honestly won't be gaming much at all on it (have a PS3 for that).

[YOTR]

I've had CPU whine in every laptop i've ever owned except my T420. cheap acer pentium-m, X40, T61, X61s, X200, to a degree in an acer 1410 netbook, but its ULV cpu was better about it.
I can say though, my T420 does not produce any noticible whine. cpu load, no load, intel gpu load, nvidia gpu load, or any state of the LCD backlight.

They will replace it for such an issue, they did on my T61, but it failed to fix it. Something about it effecting ALL of them.


Fan is normal except on battery with passive profile.

So you don't have any buzzing or noise from the laptop whenever you are playing a game or doing something graphically intensive? I know with mine, it would kick in once I started playing Half Life 2 and would immediately stop once I exited out. I had to lower my head at times toward the keyboard to hear it but it was definitely audible and seemed to be coming from the video card. It sounds like you have the same model as I had with the dedicated graphics option.

[Colonel O'Neill]

Could it be the AC adapter? My 90W adapter makes buzzing noises when the laptop. The more idle the machine is, the louder the buzz.

[blackomegax]

So you don't have any buzzing or noise from the laptop whenever you are playing a game or doing something graphically intensive? I know with mine, it would kick in once I started playing Half Life 2 and would immediately stop once I exited out. I had to lower my head at times toward the keyboard to hear it but it was definitely audible and seemed to be coming from the video card. It sounds like you have the same model as I had with the dedicated graphics option.

Ive ran it through half life 2(on intel and nvidia), portal (nvidia), and gta4(nvidia only, wouldn't even run until i installed stock verde drivers). it's been silent.
Worst case? the buzz in mine is lower than the ambient fan noise, which is more than acceptable, being that i can't notice it.