New Retina Macbook Pro - strange whining Sound

Tilt rmbp vertically (and more) and the noise still there.

Turned Automatic Graphics Switching off and noise still there

Plug the power on and the noise still there.

How to lose time and money with a 2500€ laptop...

With my unit it was definitely a fan issue, but this does not seem to be the case with your unit. Also to answer another question the noise was clearly audible. Apple agreed to replace my unit and should probably do the same for yours. If it is a discharging capacitor causing the sound, rather than the fans, the cap will eventually fail completely which could lead to more serious issues. When I took my first machine into the Apple Genius Bar it was so loud in the Apple Store you were unable to hear the sound, so if you have the same issue I would reccomend they take your unit in the back somewhere where the ambient noise is low, so they can properly diagnose the issue.

These are not inexpensive machines to purchase, and as a high end product it should be treated as such my the manufacturer.

Apple stated to me one of the selling points of the Retina units is silent operation as there are no moving parts except for the fans.

I was very happy with my first unit until the noise started and following its replacement I have been very happy with the new machine, which is virtually silent, unless I am running multiple video apps and have the screen brilliance up high. Then the fans kick in but the sound is more from the air passing through the vents than from the fans themselves.

The old rule of thumb with electronics is if you make it past the first 72 hours of operation without any problem "which I have far exceeded now", unlike with the first machine where the problem became apparent after maybe 10 to 15 hours of use, you will probably not have one. My reccomendation is to push Apple for a replacement unit.

I did a Youtube video of the problem

You can find at this link http://youtu.be/eJwH_I3opcU

Hope can help me and other.

Same problem here.. I purchased the MBP retina display on November 23, 2012, noticed the whinning sound the same week.

Sent and left the mbp retina display in the genius bar on January 26, 2013, genius bar called me up on January 28, 2013 saying they have to replace the logic board!!!!!!!!

Will update this thread if problem still exists!

Also, they are not willing to replace it with a new one.. But reading this thread all the people who received a replacement still encountered the same whinning sound.

I can't hear the sound of your rMBP over the sounds my 2011 mbp makes.

I just had this sound start up today. Been using the machine about two months now, 8-10 hours a day. No sounds till now. Settings are all the same.

At first I thought it sounded like an HDD doing a lot of random seeking, but of course THAT cannot be possible.

orientation didn't seem to affect it, so probably not a fan. I tried manually upping the fans from 2000 rpm to 4000, then 5000 rpm, but that didn't make the sound better or worse.

It's gone now, but not sure what it was.

Like others, my concern is having to replace the machine. I finally, after three machines got a good one, with a samsung screen and no IR and great brightness. I don't want to do that dance again.

I had a whirring sound in the bottom left corner of my Pro Retina. Had a look at your post and reset the NVRAM and PRAM (instructions here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379) - the sound went away instantly.

Thanks for the advice!

I have the Same whining Sound like the op

A few minutes After starting the machine i could Hear it for the First

Time

When the Sound Starts and you Change brightness

The Sound goes away.. Immidietly

And When i only use the discrete grafic Card

It dosnt make This Strange Sound

Only When gc switching is enabled..

So what is the Problem? Is it a faulty grafic Card??

Is it repairable?? Do Apple know what the Problem Part

Is???

Its a brandnew Mac, 3days Old , Early 2013 retina macbook 15, 2.4, 8, 256

Grettings from Germany

Deniz

Hi

So changing the Logic Board was the Solution in your Case?

I have the exact Same sound like the Guy from the First Post

Who started This thread

Ist there anybody who knows what the Problem is??

When the sound comes, it goes away When i change the brightness of the Display

Or When i disable the intrgrated grafic Card

Please someone help me :)

I also have the same sound as the guy from the first post.
I sent it in to service and they say the cant find anything that is wrong with it and they cannot find the source of the sound either.

Same here... Comes out under the "enter" button every time I put the CPU under load. I can reproduce it every time. For testing purpose, I started zipping 10 GB of videos and the sound appears 100%. I can hear it only in a super silend room and sometimes I have to press my ear over the macbook. Interesting is that my old macbook (late 2008 switched HDD to SSD) does not make these sounds... I actually dont really care about the sound itself but about that it could be some interference in the macbook which could damage it after a while 😟. I will contact apple support and will not simply send it back since I want to know what the problem is (maybe it's not damaging at all and is normal for i7) and not to only switch to a new mashine which (as I heard in other post) doesnt change a thing...

I suppose that maybe all macbooks have this issue but only a small amount of people is sensitive enough to hear them or notice them.

Cheers,

Jakub

Found out an interesting thread about i7 CPUs, according to some guys, the sound is comming from the CPU when changing frequency whych the macbook does when put under load. It would also be the explanation why my old 2008 does not have the problem since it has a core 2 duo which doesnt support that...

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=16073036

So, read the thred and the most interesing part is this one:

Hi guys, it's not a fault - the i7 920 simply makes a whining noise when being used for anything other than max: powersaving in idle.

It's just the way the CPU works. These CPUs use a change in voltage to achieve higher speeds. As they change voltage, so does the sound/whine. To see this for yourself, load up your EPU-engine. Click 'max: power saving'. You'll hear the noise goes away. Click 'Turbo Mode' and you'll hear the whining come back.

If you set the CPU to Auto mode, it will shift modes automatically between powersaving, medium, high, and turbo, , and you'll often hear a whining sound.

I wouldn't worry that the motherboard is faulty; it's the same for everyone. As for a solution, until intel sort this out, which is unlikely as it's just the nature of the CPU, the only solution is likely going to have to be a sound-proof (or as near sound-proof as you can get) case I'm afraid.

Absolutely not true.. I had 2 units that made the noise, they were deemed defective and I now have a unit that makes no whining noise, ever.. My gf also purchased a rMBP 15' and no whining noise.

Edit:

read the post wrong.. whoever wrote that comment in "blue" is wrong, not the original poster who copy and pasted it..

noise = defective.. record the noise with your phone or a recording device and have Apple fix it/ replace it.

Try to do the same as I mentioned.

1: Put your CPU under load -> compressing 10GB of data.

2: Put your ear on the MacBook.

If your macbook does not make any noice at all I will return myne. But google is full of threads about i7 making the sound. The noice volume differs for every CPU since every CPU is differen. So maybe yours is just too quiet but its maybe still there. So I think changing your mashine made the volume go really quite but it didnt fix the problem... I just dont want to change my mashine for no reason, so I always first check the technical site...

Cheers,

Jakub