It appears that C427 and C418 are 2.5V electrolytic capacitors. Their low
voltage rating suggests that they are associated with a switch-mode
regulator that supplies power to the CPU. Notice that the inductors, L30
and L31​, are very close to the place you identified as the source of
sound. I suggest that it is far more likely that the noise is coming from
one or both of these inductors. This because the ferrite that forms the
core of these inductors is a material that exhibits magnetostriction. That
is, the material responds to changing magnetic flux by changing its
dimensions. While the dimensional changes are small, it is enough to
produce sensible levels of sound. I have never experienced this sort of
behavior from electrolytic capacitors.

At this point a question remains. Is the regulator circuit associated with
these capacitors and inductors doing something irregular that is producing
this noise? Or, is the regulator behaving properly, and this noise is
simply due to that fact that the CPU current demand is changing (CPU
current is very dynamic) and this is causing the sound? I am thinking that
the second possibility is most probable. As I don't have a schematic, or a
board to examine, I can only guess. But most likely the two inductors and
two capacitors are the output of a two-phase buck regulator that reduces
the voltage from the external power adapter to something like 1.5 Volts for
the CPU. If this is the case, one would expect the variation in CPU supply
current to cause the inductors to produce sensible sound.

If it is the inductor(s) that is producing the sound, I am not sure what
one can do about it. Perhaps some non-conductive material can be placed
over the inductors to absorb the sound. Some rubbery stuff that is
acoustically lossy might work. One thing that comes to mind is the
materials that are used to remove heat from electronic components. This
material is sort of gooey and is very soft and conformal, so it can be
applied to irregular surfaces. This stuff is referred to as "Thermally
Conductive Gap Filler Pads". One supplier of the material can be found here
<http://www.chomerics.com/index.html>. And more specifically, the HCS10
material is here
<http://vendor.parker.com/Groups/Seal/Divisions/Chomerics/Chomerics%20Product%20Library.nsf/24eb4985905ece34852569580074557a/586cf13e3b4b8ff08525729600612c6c/$FILE/THERM-A-GAP_500_Series_TB-1016-1-07.pdf>.
If you are interested in this solution you might call the company and ask
about acoustical properties. Usually suppliers will send free samples for
evaluation. Notice that the HSS10 material is very soft and is available in
up to 0.20 inch thickness.

  --  Gavrik
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