XPS 12-9Q33 high pitched noise while charging (solved!)

Question

After a couple of days with my 12-9Q33 (i7 version) I have ran into one of the problems that seems to be very common on this otherwise wonderful machine - the high-pitched noise coming from the system while charging.

Last night in a quiet room this was driving me crazy but I found the solution then that I'd like to share and possible have Dell to look at their ways of designing electronics...

Being a M.Sc.EE I have came across high-pitched sounds like this when the voltage is not high enough to keep the switching power supplies going at optimum operation. Luckily I bought my system with the "large to small adapter"-cable, allowing me to use my other Dell power-supplies with the XPS.

I thus unplugged the original power supply (45W) that was shipped with the XPS - sound stops immediately. Using the converter cable, I plugged in my 180W adapter for my Precision M4800. No sound now for more than 12 hours! System charged fully and I even pushed the system for an hour using VirtualBox running memtest (fans going top speed and CPU close to 100%) - no high-pitched whining from the system.

I have now replaced the 180W with the 90W from my old Latitude 630 to reduce travel weight and still no sound while charging ad running the system heavily.

Please Dell - stop being so cheap on the components shipped - the machine is above the "expensive"-threshold and in third generation - I thought the problems would have been ironed out...

/Mattias

Found a link to the "DC Power Dongle" (i.e. the "cable"): http://accessories.dell.com/sna/PopupProductDetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=04&sku=331-9319&price=11.69&client=config

Anonymous User · Answer

I'm really intrigued to see if this is a fix for the high pitched noise coming from my laptop. This is my 2nd xps 12. Upgraded to the 2nd gen with an i7 over my first gen i5. Love this laptop. I'm ordered the large to small adapter and now I am trying to find a charger that will work with it. I can't seem to find any higher wattage adapters that don't change from being a 2.31a to a 4.62a. I am worried about damaging my system. Is it possible? Has yours been running with no problems?

msa4711 · Answer

As you understand I can't vouch for any 3rd party adapters. The "high voltage to low voltage" adapter I think is designed for Dell adapters.

The adapter I am currently using is from my old Dell Latitude laptop and I have been using it exclusively since my post. The adapter has the following specifications printed on it:

Model: LA90PE1-01
Dell P/N: J62H3
Output: 19.5V / 4,62A

Cheers,
/Mattias

Anonymous User · Answer

I picked up some dell original parts.

Item #331-9319 Dell DC Power Dongle for Dell XPS 12/ XPS 13/ XPS 13 MLK System

and

Item # 332-1833 Dell 90w Replacement AC adapter

been using them on my xps 12 all day now, no high pitched whine. I've tested with high loads and everything else I can think of. It looks like that did the trick. Thanks for idea!! When I read all the forum posts I've seen with people and this exact problem I'm just glad to have found a solution.

msa4711 · Answer

Glad to hear it worked out for you. Cheers,/Mattias

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XPS 12-9Q33 high pitched noise while charging (solved!)

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