A few issues with new T500...

Received my new T500 yesterday (ordered 3/16). A few issues with it right off the bat:

High-pitched whine- I assume this is from CPU. Anyone else have this? Really, really annoying. Causes me to turn away and curse aloud at times because I want the <explicative> sound out of my <explicative> head. Quick google suggests turning off C4 w/RMClock, but there seems to be Vista issues + doesn't detect my chipset. Suggestions?

Keyboard- this was ordered after the issue was supposedly fixed. However, there is a noticeable amount of flex on the keyboard (the whole thing, really, not any one side), and the spacebar "clacks" rather annoyingly (loud & distinctive from the other keys, pretty jarring when typing anything that requires spaces).

Screen also flashes off/on briefly when windows starts but I assume that has something to do with the switchable graphics. Really the main issues are the top two. Anyone notice the same things/have any suggestions? I guess I should post this on Lenovo forums as well...

Edit: Also, is there supposed to be so much wiggle-room between the LCD panel & rest of laptop when it is closed? The other laptops I've owned tended to close firmly shut.

 

CPU whine - This is unfortunately quite common with the newer Penryn CPUs. You can try and adjust settings (e.g. turn Bluetooth on, enable/disable "CPU Deeper Sleep" when plugged in [Power Manager, Advanced options, System Settings], different CPU speeds [adaptive vs. max]).

Keyboard - give it a few days and see if you adjust to it. If not, remove the keyboard, find the model number, and take pictures. It's possible that you have the weight reduced keyboard. If so, you should get it replaced.

Display flash - I think this is actually the system polling an external display. It happened on my x200T as well (integrated only) with the Lenovo Vista preload. However, it doesn't happen on my clean install of Windows 7. If it really bothers you, the best bet would be to perform a clean OS install (Vista or 7).

Wiggle room - I'm not 100% certain what you mean. There should be a fair amount of space between the display and body (display cover bows up in the middle). This is actually a feature as the display cover will become stronger when pressure is applied to it. A picture of your exact case would help.

 

I'll give the CPU "Deeper Sleep" a try.

Regarding the Display Flash-- the first thing I did was clean install Vista, actually. I do see under Display that the currently selected monitor is "3. Generic PnP monitor on Radeon HD 3650". There are also three grayed-out monitors, one of them being "4. (Default monitor) on Radeon HD 3650". I can't seem to switch between them though (the "this is my main monitor" option is grayed out for all displays, and checked for #3.)

As far as wiggle room-- I meant on the sides. That is, looking at it from the side with the laptop closed, is there a clear space between the LCD & body?

Edit: seems that when I switch from on-board graphics to the radeon hd 3650, it flashes a few time (cycling through the displays?) until it hits monitor 3. If that's the case, that's fine. Prob not a way around it.

 

Display Flash: There is a way to disable the auto-monitor detecting, but then you'll have to use Fn+F7 to manually select an external display. But that's fine if you aren't planning to use external monitors frequently.

Go to Control Panel, and search for "Schedule Tasks." Then, click "Schedule Tasks" in the results (under "Administrative Tools").

In the Task Scheduler left side panel, expand Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows and choose the "MobilePC" folder. Select the TMM task, right-click, and choose "Disable". That should disable the display flashing at boot and the excessive flashing when using switchable graphics.

Wiggle Room: Yes, there is a tiny gap between the monitor and the body when closed - this is because the locks do not hold the monitor so tight that it touches the body, but don't worry - if pressure is applied, the plastic bumpers at the edge of the display will make contact with the body's small dips. The screen will not touch the keyboard.

Keyboard: I thought the spacebar was rather loud as well, but the rest of it feels quite good. Give yourself a week or so to get a feel for the keyboard.

Hope that helped.

 

Unfortunately jonlumpkin, the myth of Core 2 Duo whine has been dispelled by this knowledgable poster on Thinkpad forum. Take a look:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?p=484908#p484908