T450s - cpu whine [ Edited ]

[veno77]

Hello,

I am experiencing cpu/coil whine issue in my brand new T450s. Any ideas? I read the issue is caused by low quality capacitors on the motherboard. Does anyone else experience this issue on the new T450s? Should I contact the Repair center? Noise is definitely related to the cpu power consumption, because when the cpu is working it is not noticeable, I have to put my ear on the keyboard to hear it, but when the cpu is idle the buzzing is very annoying. 

[aasfsfdf]

I can hear this too, but only when the fan is not running. Seems to have something to do with the voltage.

[veno77]

according to me, it is more obvious when the fan is not running, not because of the fan-noise missing, but because the cpu is going in deep idle state and the whine noise become more persistent. 

[gyb]

It is very sad to hear that Lenovo still refuses to solve this whine problem and the quality of motherboard is not improved in  new line of products.

Nobody knows why they still use bad board design and crappy capacitors/parts on premium products. I had the same problem on my T440p and I was close to selling it and buying new T450 instead. Thank you very much!!

I created a thread about T440p whine, but with no official response from Lenovo. They know the problem, but they ignore us, the customers and fans of the brand! Such a shame!!

[veno77]

Hi gyb,

Did you contacted the technical support for your laptop? I am now located in Europe and I am afraid if I bring my laptop to Lenovo Service center, they will tell me this is normal behaviour... I read over internet that replacing the motherboard could fix the issue, but also could not...

Edit: I found that disabling the "USB Selective Suspend Setting" in the Advanced Power Options of my profile, partially, reduces the "hissing". Any idea how this will impact the battery life?

[gyb]

Hi veno77,

yes, I did and my motherboard was replaced. It was useless, the problem still persists. Service man told me exactly it is normal behavior and escalation to higher level of service cant solve this problem. It is design flaw, but without impact on service life, so lenovo refuses to solve this problem.

USB selective suspend is the less-affecting method to solve whine I think. But everything is about CPU power consumtion. But I dont believe it can help.

Here is my previous post from my own thread:

Hello, I have a problem with my 3 months old Thinkpad T440p. There is buzzing/beeping coil whine issue. If you work at night, that sound makes you really CRAZY. The problem is described on the internet pretty well and i spent dozens of hours by trying to find a sollution. It isnt only Lenovo problem, users of Dell XPS series have it too in a high number of cases.

Problem appears when:

• processor is in higher C-State
• all applications are minimized and you see only desktop background
• internet browser is opened

Possible sollution is disabling CPU DeeperSleep in Lenovo PowerManager or disabling Intel SpeedStep in BIOS, but it is not the sollution we want. Laptop get really hot then, especially in left half of keyboard, and battery life is decreased. This is useless and I wonder how Lenovo can recommend this solution as a fix. I tis workaround, not fix. You only trade something for something else.

A lot of people on internet forums says there is problem in power adapter. Yes, there can be a problem too, but adapter  can whine separately, just try if whine persists in battery mode. Another useless sollution.

Next try, configuring USB/Bluetooth/PCI-E sleep modes or power settings: not T440p case. The same with playing sound loop, changing memory modules, disks, etc..  Useless sollutions.

We all know, where is the problem: coil core vibration or power circuit piezoelectric effect. In most cases, using more expensive, higher quality noise free coils and other parts can reduce this issue to minimum. With better board design it can solve this problem forever. Why Lenovo is refusing to solve this?

I am very surprised that Dell, after a lot of XPS13 and XPS15 users claimed, announced hardware fix for all affected systems by replacing motherboard with new, noise-free revision!! Why Lenovo cant make the same for ThinkPad users? I always thought Lenovo ThinkPad is something „better“ for professional use, or not? Maybe Mark_Lenovo can tell us more!

There is no need to say how much Im disappointed, frustrated and sad with this laptop. I really like Lenovo, I used ThinkPads for years, and I see the product quality is getting down. I am no one with a broken heart, so we will be happy Lenovo can hear our claims.

[veno77]

Hi,

I read already your reply in the other thread. I found disabling the C2 and C3 deep sleep states help a lot more than the USB. Though it is not real solution, cause we are compromising less or more the battery life. 

So even motherboard replacement is not 100% solving the issue. So pity...

I will wait a little to see eventually if Lenovo will try to solve the problem, and if it continues to bother me before any real solution I will try to sell the laptop, though it is wonderful machine beside this nasty issue. 

Said that I will not ever buy Thinkpad again. I will try to stick to the Apple Macbook portfolio....

[gyb]

Hi,

Ya, selling the laptop is only permanent fix

I looked at HP EliteBook or ZBook, maybe it will be my next machine

[veno77]

I have HP Elitebootk 850 G1 at my office. No coil whine, absolutely silent! Though I prefer the T450s look and feel, but this coil whine issue is killing me....

[aasfsfdf]

Based on gyb's post I tried some BIOS settings to get rid of the noise..I use the 2.18 version in my T540p.

Things, that did not work:
- disable Bluetooth in BIOS
- disable Intel Speed Step Technology
- set both settings in Adaptive Thermal Management to "Balanced"

When I disabled "CPU Power Management", the noise was gone.
The fan behavior is nearly the same as before. It starts running at about 50 degrees and stops after a short time..

Are their any reasons (besides a higher energy consumption) why not to run the computer with a disabled CPU power management?