Well after a few weeks and a replacement system I have returned my XPS M1330. The system was great, it had some minor build quality problems that I could live with, but it also had a severe CPU buzzing problem. Whenever the computer is idle the CPU goes into the C3 and C4 power saving states. When it does this the computer started to emit a high pitched whining sound.

I spent a lot of money on my desktop system to make it a close to silent as possible, so in my office the whine really stood out. Also due to the frequency of the sound it was still audible even over loud music.

So after talking with technical support I was offered a replacement system, and was assured that it would not suffer from the same problem. Two weeks later I got my replacement and it did the exact same thing. Plus when the laptop was powered off and charging, the battery made a whining sound too. So even turning the new system off would offer no relief.

Dell offered me a third system, but if I accepted I would be past my 30 day return time, and would be forced to keep the systems even if the whole line is defective. This was not a good solution for me, because I believe the systems would just keep coming in with either the same problem, or whole new problems.

It is really frustrating because the system was perfect for my needs, and if it were not for this problem I would have been perfectly happy with the system.

After reading up on the problem a little more I have determined that this seems to be a very widespread problem with all Intel based systems dating back several years. Some people hear it other do not, but there have been reported cases of it in laptops and desktop system from several different brands. But they all seem to have Intel in common.

Right now I am looking for a decent 14.1 or 13.3in laptop, that uses the AMD Turion X2 chips. That will be perfect for Linux, and should not have this problem. The only problem is that many makers are targeting the Turion at budget systems, so they often come with very cheap low res displays, and not all of the features I would like in a system.