T410 CPU whine

[birthdaymonkey]

I just bought a T410 when they were on sale for 35% off a couple weeks ago. It's my first Thinkpad, and I must say that I'm impressed with the system's ergonomics, construction and performance. In those categories, it's miles beyond the ASUS UL80 it's replacing. The LCD is kinda crappy (washed out colour, poor contrast), but since this is primarily a browsing/office computer, I have gotten used to it and it doesn't bother me. In fact I find it less fatiguing on the eyes than my old laptop, which had better contrast and colour.

However, there is one problem--one terrible, unignorable problem. Apparently it's called CPU whine, a very high pitched squeal coming from the CPU region of the chassis, related to the Core arch's power saving features. It goes completely away if I run a program that taxes the CPU (say Prime95). At other times, it's faintly audible. I've managed to reduce the severity of the whine by frigging with the power settings--turning off "CPU deeper sleep" and setting the Intel graphics chip to "maximum performance." These two settings cut the intensity of the noise in half, but it's still there, and my battery life is reduced.

Now that I've noticed it, I can't un-notice it. It drives me insane. Apparently this can happen with any make and model of computer. I could send it back, which would mean making do without my primary work computer for however long it takes, but I'm concerned that if I do that they won't fix the problem and I'll just get this same machine back, or another machine with the same issue.

Should I send it in? How good is Lenovo's support? Is this a problem that a lot of people have and don't notice? Am I likely to just get the computer back without the issue fixed?

It's a shame to spend the extra money to get a premium laptop only to have one fatal flaw basically ruin my enjoyment of my new system. Frustrating.

[Colonel O'Neill]

It's not a Lenovo issue, but rather a general Intel issue. There's a whole thread on it here:
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T400-T500-a ... d-p/219822

Some have it, some don't. There are some workarounds but usually sacrifice battery life.

[birthdaymonkey]

Ugh, I just finished reading through that whole thread. Very disappointing that Lenovo has apparently known about this issue for a while and haven't been able (or willing) to do anything about it. I'm pretty tempted to return the laptop, as I just received it a week ago and should still be able to get a refund. The T420 seems to be available now, but of course it's pricier.

[Colonel O'Neill]

It's an issue that's with the production of the CPU's itself. Lenovo just happens to be affected. You can ask for a replacement and see if it fixes the issue. Some chips suffer from it, some don't.

[birthdaymonkey]

I decided to return the T410, which is a shame because I really like every other aspect of the system.

Does anyone know if the Sandy Bridge mobile CPUs are affected? At this point, it seems like the only sure course of action is to go Sandy Bridge or AMD... I've wanted to try the new Bobcat netbooks/ultraportables and for the price of a T410 I can get an X120e and an IPS display to go with it...

[Q-Ball]

Nobody seems to know if the Sandy Bridge processors are affected (that's why I'm holding off replacing my whiny T510 (I'm Q-Ball there, as well)).
Actually, I'm trying to figure out if the problem is as prevalent with the 410 as it is with the 510 (I've got 2 for 2 whiny 510 boards).

Also, the X120e doesn't have an IPS screen. The X220 does, though.

The thing is, though, is that the whine has been reported on the X201, and also the W510 as well.

I'm not sure if the boards were refreshed and the crappy power regulators maintained, or if they started from scratch so that they don't whine.

[birthdaymonkey]

Nobody seems to know if the Sandy Bridge processors are affected (that's why I'm holding off replacing my whiny T510 (I'm Q-Ball there, as well)).
Actually, I'm trying to figure out if the problem is as prevalent with the 410 as it is with the 510 (I've got 2 for 2 whiny 510 boards).

Also, the X120e doesn't have an IPS screen. The X220 does, though.

The thing is, though, is that the whine has been reported on the X201, and also the W510 as well.

I'm not sure if the boards were refreshed and the crappy power regulators maintained, or if they started from scratch so that they don't whine.

Oh, I realize the x120e doesn't have an IPS screen... I meant I could afford to buy a separate IPS display to go with it for the price difference between the x120e, which is AMD Fusion-based and thus (hopefully) doesn't make the noise, and the T410 I'm sending back.

[Colonel O'Neill]

Not trying to burst your bubble, but my X100e occasionally makes CPU whine noise. Don't think it's as widespread because of the lack of forum threads, but it's there rarely, but barely perceptible.

[birthdaymonkey]

Not trying to burst your bubble, but my X100e occasionally makes CPU whine noise. Don't think it's as widespread because of the lack of forum threads, but it's there rarely, but barely perceptible.

That does burst my bubble a little bit. I'm going to wait until I can find a decent coupon at Lenovo Canada before I order anything anyway--my T410 should be headed back for a refund as soon as they send me the RMA and shipping label.

The SB T420 would be an amazing grab if I could get any discount on it: better performance and better thermals/power consumption. Now if only someone would confirm whether or not it has the CPU noise...

Apparently some people who ordered the X-120e a while ago are still waiting on shipment, so it would seem there's no rush to make up my mind.

In the mean time, I ordered a Dell IPS panel to make using my desktop a bit more pleasant while I wait for a new portable.