Processor Whine on the Newest MBPs (hate to beat a dead horse, but...)

Question

I was curious as to whether the infamous CPU whine (which I experience extensively on my Blackbook) still exists on the newest MBPs (i.e., Santa Rosa). My Blackbook has featured no less than three of the major known (or "unknown" if you are Apple) issues--the whine, the screwed-up trackpad, and persistent difficulties awaking from sleep--and I need to find another option. I suspect that the whine is still there on Santa Rosa MBPs, but I figure that it may be drastically reduced. I also hear that the trackpad is much better on MBPs than on Macbooks. Thanks.

Answer 1

It is definitely the processor. I have had the exact same problem (as stated above) and I am sure that it is the processor (I know because I used a program to modulate the processor load with a slider and you could hear the noise change pitch until--finally--it went away). My hypothesis is that when the MagSafe adapter is plugged in, the computer switches over to a more high performance mode in which the computer uses more of the available resources, meaning that the processor has to do less work, and thus goes into an idle state more often. And yes, I think that frequency=intensity here. Another hypothesis might be that the adapter somehow amplifies the noise electromagnetically (this might make sense since the MagSafe both--obviously--conducts electricity and is secured by a magnet). At any rate, I didn't think that the noise was the processor at first, either, but as it turns out it is. And despite what others say, I think it's an Intel screw-up and not Apple, although Apple should take responsibility (more responsibility, that is). Indeed, I have had all sorts of problems with my Intel Macs, whereas I never, not once, had a problem my PPC Macs.