21.5" High Pitch Whine

[KillersKiss]

I'm going on my second Imac, the first one I was happy with until the airport card issues (I would restart and receive No Airport Detected Message)

My replacement Imac has a high-pitch whine coming from the upper top left of the screen. The sound gets louder I beleive when CPU utilization is higher, especially when running a game I have. I can change the pitch and intensity of the sound by playing with the brightness setting, getting it to go away almost completely although at that point the screen is too dim.

I can't believe I may have to return another Imac. I read that this program called shades will make it go away but it hasn't helped me at all. Anybody else experiencing this and have any suggestions to get it fixed?

 

[kazmac]

I'm going on my second Imac, the first one I was happy with until the airport card issues (I would restart and receive No Airport Detected Message)

My replacement Imac has a high-pitch whine coming from the upper top left of the screen. The sound gets louder I beleive when CPU utilization is higher, especially when running a game I have. I can change the pitch and intensity of the sound by playing with the brightness setting, getting it to go away almost completely although at that point the screen is too dim.

I can't believe I may have to return another Imac. I read that this program called shades will make it go away but it hasn't helped me at all. Anybody else experiencing this and have any suggestions to get it fixed?

I had sound issues on my 21.5 iMac, but I think it might have been the speakers. Because no matter what I did (playing songs, restart and anything it was almost constant). It could have been the same whine as yours KillerKiss but I don't remember as I prepped it for return within 4 hours of opening it.

Maybe this thread at Apple.com will help you one person said it sounded like the capacitor in the screen.

 

[Charliebird]

I have been through that same issue with the 21.5" iMac. Trust me they all have that same issue. You have a couple options. Option A is to turn the brightness all the way up to full brightness. The high pitch whistle is almost non-existance at that level. Option B is to return your iMac for a refund. I'm sorry to say that Apple knows about the issue however there is no fix in sight. I tried replacement machines and I had one machine serviced and the noise never went away. Eventually Apple gave me my money back. It's too bad since otherwise it's a great system.

I should say that some machines might be worse then others.

I'm going on my second Imac, the first one I was happy with until the airport card issues (I would restart and receive No Airport Detected Message)

My replacement Imac has a high-pitch whine coming from the upper top left of the screen. The sound gets louder I beleive when CPU utilization is higher, especially when running a game I have. I can change the pitch and intensity of the sound by playing with the brightness setting, getting it to go away almost completely although at that point the screen is too dim.

I can't believe I may have to return another Imac. I read that this program called shades will make it go away but it hasn't helped me at all. Anybody else experiencing this and have any suggestions to get it fixed?

 

[KillersKiss]

I have been through that same issue with the 21.5" iMac. Trust me they all have that same issue. You have a couple options. Option A is to turn the brightness all the way up to full brightness. The high pitch whistle is almost non-existance at that level. Option B is to return your iMac for a refund. I'm sorry to say that Apple knows about the issue however there is no fix in sight. I tried replacement machines and I had one machine serviced and the noise never went away. Eventually Apple gave me my money back. It's too bad since otherwise it's a great system.

I should say that some machines might be worse then others.

I think I noticed it on my previous 21.5" but it must've been much more faint because it wasn't anything memorable.

Now you are telling me something I have been starting to feel for a while, that either I deal with it or get a full refund. I want a full refund, which is too bad, I would much rather have this computer without the whine issues. Unlike your, the sound from mine doesn't really go away at full brightness, only very low brightness.

Any suggestions on how to get the full refund? I don't need Applecare do I, at the moment I'm within the one year warranty period, purchased in November. What is worse is Apple doesn't make anything else I want.

 

[Charliebird]

I guess start with Apple care and see where things go. I eventually wrote a letter to sjobs@apple.com and someone from Apple executive customer relations called me. It sounds like some machine are worse then other. I can believe it since I was at an Apple store and one of the machines nearly blew my ears out when the brightness was dimmed. Good luck either way.

I think I noticed it on my previous 21.5" but it must've been much more faint because it wasn't anything memorable.

Now you are telling me something I have been starting to feel for a while, that either I deal with it or get a full refund. I want a full refund, which is too bad, I would much rather have this computer without the whine issues. Unlike your, the sound from mine doesn't really go away at full brightness, only very low brightness.

Any suggestions on how to get the full refund? I don't need Applecare do I, at the moment I'm within the one year warranty period, purchased in November. What is worse is Apple doesn't make anything else I want.

 

[hectigol]

Just to share a personal experience.

My I5 started buzzing when it was two days old and it got worst after a week. It only happens when machine is hot and when screen is dimmed or in sleep mode.

The people at AppleCare were puzzled and they were able to hear whine over the phone; according to them its was clearly hardware related.

Since the machine was barely a week old, the friendly people from AppleCare arranged for a brand new replacement unit and told me to pack up the problematic unit; DHL took care of the logistics.

My replacement arrived in 10 days and its totally silent, a stark contrast from the previous unit.

 

[hectigol]

I noticed the replacement unit is running cooler than the original that was sent to me, temperature readings taken from iStat Pro.

The original unit running hot and I could literally feel the radiated heat.

 

[dirkvidor]

Intermitted High Pitch Noise Imac

I pulled out the plug at the rear once shut down, apparently this resets the fan and power setting or something. Keep it un plugged for a minute. Any way this worked for me!

No more high pitch noise, I think mine was associated with the fans.

Regards