20 Posts
0
5042
m15 R1, making a faint noise
Hey all,
Recently received my M15 and its an absolute belter of a machine.
As far as I can tell, everything is working fine, but I've noticed a really feint noise and just wondering if it's 'normal'.
My internet is incredibly poor, so the last few days while I've had the laptop it's mainly just been left on downloading updates and games, so it's pretty much been running silently with no fans on.
When it's all quiet, what I can hear is a really feint chirping sound, very much like a mechanical hard drive (and no, I don't have a mechanical hard drive before you ask!!). It isn't the fans, as I can hear this sound when they're not spinning at all. When I put my ear up to the back of the laptop, it sounds like it's coming from around the middle, sort of in between where the cpu and gpu are located.
Main thing I wondered is if this is just the heat pipes/vapor chamber I'm hearing, or just the random electrical noise that things sometimes make.
The only similar device I have is a 10 year old MacBook Pro, and I haven't heard a similar sound in that.
It doesn't seem to be affecting anything as far as I can tell, like I say, just really wondered if this was a normal sound to be hearing.
Regards
Alienware-Eimy
3 Apprentice
3 Apprentice
•
4.4K Posts
1
December 18th, 2018 13:00
@Whokam,
Seems like normal electronic noise from the CPU.
But, if by any chance it gets louder, just let us know.
JOcean
7 Technologist
7 Technologist
•
12K Posts
0
December 17th, 2018 13:00
Best guess would be coil whine. If it is that faint, I would not be concerned but if it gets to the annoying stage, you could call Dell tech support and let them determine the course of action.
Alienware-Eimy
3 Apprentice
3 Apprentice
•
4.4K Posts
0
December 17th, 2018 15:00
Hi @Whokam,
Can you open the bottom cover and isolate the sound, so you can tell us where it comes from?
Whokam
20 Posts
0
December 17th, 2018 16:00
@Alienware-Eimy
Hi Eimy,
Just tried that, and it's hard to pin point exactly, but it does sound loudest around the section of the heatsink where there are 4 screws securing it, and some square grey components just visible under the heat pipes. I think that's the CPU isn't it? (its the section of the cooling assembly that's just above the ram slots).
Have to really listen out to hear it. If the fans come on then it isn't really audible over them, even when they are only spinning really slowly. It does seem to sound a tad louder when doing something on the laptop, prior to the fans kicking in. For example just launching EA Origin, theres a moment where I can hear the chirping/fizzing a little more just before the fans kick in. It then settles back down once Origin has loaded.
It isn't really a high pitched whine or anything. It really is like a fizzing noise, or like if you'd just initiated a file search on a mechanical hard drive.
I tried recording it, but it really is quite quiet. I have a mechanical heart valve, and that sounds louder on the recordings that the sound I can hear!
I've seen a few things spread round the t'interweb suggesting that this may be quite a common sound that the current crop of core i5's and i7's make.
Definitely not something that bothers me at the current volume it's doing it, I was more curious if this was normal or a potential indicator of an issue. With the laptop being brand new, I'm just trying to be thorough in making sure its ok.
Whokam
20 Posts
0
December 18th, 2018 13:00
@Alienware-Eimy
Thanks for the response Eimy. I was going to drop an update as a little while ago I found a video on YouTube of someone showing coil whine on an XPS13, and it was exactly the same sound I'm hearing (though theirs was far worse).
At least I know it's fairly normal, and it's nothing I'm worried about now.
Cheers @JOcean for initially mentioning coil whine too.
Regards
Alienware-Eimy
3 Apprentice
3 Apprentice
•
4.4K Posts
0
December 18th, 2018 14:00
@Whokam you're welcome!
JOcean
7 Technologist
7 Technologist
•
12K Posts
0
December 18th, 2018 15:00
Glad that I could be of help! Take care!