Unfortunately we know that most Gamer Notebooks have temperature issues with the factory settings which is absurd. As we have to live with this, the best way to solve the problem is to undervolt and underclock.
In the image below I made a comparison between two settings in Fortnite.
Default: CPU clock with no restriction running at ~3.9GHz and average temp 90º, GPU core clock ~1.6GHz and average temp 72º.
Custom: CPU clock limited to 3.5GHz and average temp 68º, GPU clock limited to 1.4GHz and voltage limited to 0.7v and average temp 62º.
Regarding performance, the difference is almost imperceptible, but the gain in temperature reduction is absurd.
Yes thats because intel cpus heat up like crazy and throttle like hell when on turbo boost speeds and to me the best solution its still to repaste it with kryonaut or similar and then optimize and undervol on top of it and all the issues are completely gone also the manufacturers will never limit anything because they could be sued for it as if someone would complain why the cpus do not hit turbo boost speeds but hands up to acer that was the first manufacturer to undervolt some earlier predators on stock but thats alwasy a risk of getting sued by someone so the end user is free to do whatever they want/need to to get it working as they wish thats my personal view one thing all manufaturers should improve would be stop using rubbish thermal paste and start to use proper paste like for ex kryonaut even if they had to charge a bit more for it would be really worth it and avoid 99% of the thermal issues complaints
I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can) If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:
I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can) If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:
[Last Updated - 07/2018] [Anyone at anytime may reference this guide] Please click 'Like' if this guide helped you
This Sticky goes for Intel 7th and 8th Gen laptops. AMD will be added in the future. Latest Fix:
Intel 8th Gen: BIOS 1.15 has been released to fix the screen flickering on the Intel 8th Generation laptop.
1. Common Information (CPU, GPU, Temperature Specifics)
Temperatures & Solutions
If temperatures reach the following (under intense situations), these are your options:
97-100C (Throttling below base clock speed)
Contact Acer for repair (they will re-paste your CPU/GPU)
Re-paste your CPU and GPU yourself (not advisable due to warranty complications)
90-96C (CPU turns off Turbo at 90C)
Using Predator Sense, turn fans to max speed
Undervolt the CPU (guide below)
Purchase a laptop cooling pad (paid less than $15)
Limit the CPU performance via Windows Battery Options
Re-paste your CPU and GPU yourself (not advisable due to warranty complications)
~89C
If temperatures never go above 89C, you do not have to worry about CPU throttling.
CPU Undervolting
Undervolting guide by @Red-Sand for the 7700HQ and the 7300HQ.
SUBSCRIBE!
If you would like to learn more about modifications and tweaks to our Helios and Predator laptops, please take a look at the Facebook group in the credits.
Thermal Pasting Guide
(I suggest sending it to Acer support first.)
If you are encountering high temperatures and would like to re-paste your CPU yourself, read below.
I recommend a nonmetal-based thermal paste with no electrical conductivity, such as Arctic MX-4.
Video Guide:
*Note* Re-pasting your CPU will void warranty if you damage something, so proceed at your own risk.
GPU Temperature Information
It seems that it is rarely the GPU that is the problem when it comes to overheating in these laptops. However, the GPU still has some limits that you should keep your eye on.
We only have estimations for the GPU limits from feedback on the forum. It seems that the GPU will near maximum, or maximum performance so long as the temperatures stay below 80C. If temperatures are above this number, these are what can be done:
Using Predator Sense, turn fans on max speed
Turn down game settings (only temporary/crappy solution, skip to next)
Re-paste the CPU and GPU (either via Acer Support or yourself)
Intel CPUs
Intel 6th Generation
i7-6700HQ
Cores: 4 Physical, 8 Logical
Base Block Speed: 2.6 GHz
Max Turbo Speed (Single Core): 3.50
Intel 7th Generation
i5-7300HQ
Cores: 4 Physical, 4 Logical
Base Block Speed: 2.5 GHz
Max Turbo Speed (Single Core): 3.5
i7-7700HQ
Cores: 4 Physical, 8 Logical
Base Block Speed: 2.8 GHz
Max Turbo Speed (Single Core): 3.8
i7-7920HK
Cores: 4 Physical, 8 Logical
Base Block Speed: 2.9 GHz
Max Turbo Speed (Single Core): 3.9
Intel 8th Generation
i7-8750H
Cores: 6 Physical, 12 Logical
Base Block Speed: 2.2 GHz
Max Turbo Speed (Single Core): 4.1
NVIDIA GPUs
GTX 1050Ti
Base Graphics Clock Frequency - 1290MHz
Boost Graphics Clock Frequency - Up to 1392MHz
Dedicated Video Memory - 4GB GDDR5
GTX 1060
Base Graphics Clock Frequency - 1404MHz
Boost Graphics Clock Frequency - Up to 1670MHz
Dedicated Video Memory - 6GB GDDR5
GTX 1070
Base Graphics Clock Frequency - 1442MHz
Boost Graphics Clock Frequency - Up to 1645MHz
Dedicated Video Memory - 8GB GDDR5
GTX 1080
Base Graphics Clock Frequency - 1556MHz
Boost Graphics Clock Frequency - Up to 1733MHz
Dedicated Video Memory - 8GB GDDR5
2. FPS Drops/Lag
Desktop Right-Click Lag
This problem is generally caused by the Intel Graphics Control Panel Desktop Context Menu option. To fix this, we will need to disable the Intel Graphics Control Panel in the desktop context menu. If you have already tried updating the Intel drivers via Device manager or installing the drivers from Acer's web site, follow these steps.
After downloading and launching the program, you will need to find the two items to disable. These both are under the Extension Name 'TheDesktopContextMenu Class' with the description 'igfxDTCM Mod' as shown in the screen shot.
Disable these two items.
Restart your computer.
Give feedback to let us know if this solved the problem.
Possible FPS Drop Solutions
These are solutions you can do to either: stop FPS drops, or improve FPS/Performance. Do one step and test until your FPS drops stop. Post below which step fixed the FPS drops.
Go to Windows Settings > Gaming, and disable Game bar, Game DVR, and Game Mode.
Update NVIDIA Drivers, and Uninstall GeForce Experience.
Update your BIOS to the latest version.
Update the Intel Graphics adapters to latest by: right-clicking the start menu, opening Device Menu, expand Display Drivers, and right-click the Intel(R) HD and update drivers.
Uninstall any 3rd-party screen recording/overlay software.
Uninstall any 3rd-party anti-virus software (e.g. Norton, McAfee, etc.) or cleaning/monitoring software (e.g. CCleaner, Glary Utilities, etc.)
Windows Update Caused Crashing
It has been found that when Windows 10 updates, it installs the latest drivers in the Windows Update Database. These drivers seems to be causing some issues.
A possible fix is reinstalling all drivers from Acer's web sitefor your device.
Windows Update Failure
The biggest reason Windows updates fail is due to an anti-virus. If your laptop fails to update. Uninstall any anti-virus you have on your machine, and retry the update.
3. Battery Gaming
It is not advisable to game while on battery for multiple reasons:
Laptop is self-throttled;
Degradation of battery;
Poor game play.
The battery throttle settings can be found/changed in the GeForce Experience Settings. As stated above, it is not advisable to game on battery.
4. Predator Sense Information & Overclocking
Predator Sense has a habit of not working correctly with the new updates to Windows 10. There are some things that you can try to get Predator Sense working again.
Uninstall Predator Sense, restart your laptop, and reinstall Predator Sense from your laptop's support page.
Right-click the Predator Sense icon and run the 'Compatibility troubleshooter.'
Uninstall or shut down MSI Afterburner if installed.
Try re-enabling hibernation/hyberfil.sys if you disabled it when GPU shows idle when being used.
@Red-Sand has found a way to enable the overclocking feature on the G3-571.
***Warning*** Will cause the laptop to run hotter. Do so at your own risk.
You can follow the video to manually enable this, or you can download the zip file from the description and go as follows: 1. Download file 2. Unzip contents 3. Run preferred .bat file as administrator 4. Restart Predator Sense
*SUBSCRIBE*
I will explain further. What this does is change the device that Predator Sense reads in the registry. Red-Sand uses the PH317 in his video. The batch file I created uses the G3-572. Both work.
5. Sound Modifications (EqualizerAPO)
EqualizerAPO
-*-WARNING - READ BEFORE CHANGING PREAMP-*- Always keep volume at middle range (50%) when changing the Preamp, as high Preamp could damage your speakers, headphones, earbuds and/or ears. By default, the Preamp is lowered to -3. Increasing it until +3 is relatively safe but be cautious of increasing it more than that without taking the previous precautions mentioned. High Preamp may also distort sound quality.
-*-The drivers must be reinstalled after every major Windows update.-*-
This is the first posting. Details and screenshots will be added and refined in the future. We will be able to post our own equalizer profiles for best audio settings as well, as we mess with it. The settings are stores in *\EqualizerAPO\config\config.txt.
Basic Device Setup:
1. Make sure the audio device you want to use/modify/test is connected. 2. Download Equalizer APO a. https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/ 3. During installation, I set the location to C:\EqualizerAPO because they do not give you desktop shortcuts. 4. After the installation, you will be prompted for which audio devices you wish to use Equalizer APO for. You can choose one, or all. This can be changed later. 5. When you choose the device(s), it may require a restart, and all Windows will disappear. 6. Configuration: a. To modify the equalizer and Preamp settings, launch C:\EqualizerAPO\Editor.exe b. To change what devices use Equalizer, launch C:\EqualizerAPO\Configurator.exe
Laptop Speakers (includes headphone jack):
I had some difficulty getting it to change my Helios 300 (G3-571) speakers, but I found out how. Follow below:
1. After Equalizer APO installs, open the Configuration.exe. 2. Highlight Speakers, and check the 'Troubleshooting options' button. 3. Uncheck both 'Use original APO' buttons, and change Install as to 'Install as SFX/EFX (experimental)' 4. Restart and it should work. 5. Feedback is appreciated.
Questions, please let me know.
Frequency Table (to help with tweaking the equalizer):
On Intel CPUs and any CPU with Speculative Execution (Apple CPUs)
Meltdown is probably the most serious of the three vulnerabilities. It allows processes to bypass security checks and execute code/read data stored in the CPU's memory.
Fix: Microsoft Windows patch KB4056892 (OS Build 16299.192 on Windows 10 Version 1709 or later)
Running Windows without this patch makes your system vulnerable to Meltdown (and some of Spectre).
To check if you have this update, navigate to Settings > Update & Security > View installed update history.
*Note* Some Anti-virus can conflict with the update.
Please keep in mind that if your product is under warranty, re-pasting your CPU or any of the following will void warranty. Proceed at your own risk:
• repair of antenna systems outside of the product;
• damages caused by misuse, abuse, accidents, fire, power surges, viruses, malware, reckless, willful, or intentional conduct;
• servicing not authorized by Acer;
• usage that is not in accordance with product instructions or manuals by a product or part that has been modified to alter functionality or capability without the written permission of Acer etc.
So, as I see this thread still running in 2021 that has to mean something. I bought my Acer Predator Helios 300 back in 2018 and it was a very good time, right now, after 3 years of using it, I have to say that I will probably never buy another gaming laptop. When trying to run anything that just remotely resembles a game, my laptop runs hotter than Megan Fox in the first Transformers movie. We're talking here about 98 degrees with max fan speed and a cooling pad set to max. When I just have Firefox open with 8% CPU load it runs over 50 degrees. When running a game CPU and GPU loads aren't even that high something like 30-40% and my laptop is having a meltdown like a teenage girl that got a pimple on her forehead on Prom night. I've already re-pasted my CPU and GPU, undervolted the ever living hell outta my CPU and still results are the same thermal throttling when something more is happening on the screen. I'm at a loss and I would buy a desktop if the bloody GPU's wouldn't require me getting a loan or selling my kidney on the black market.
DCasualG clean your fans properly repaste it with kryonaut or similar and undervolt/optimize thats the proper solution because only undervolting/optimizing wont do anything if its not properly cleaned/repasted also keep the back lifted 2/3" at all times for a proper airflow
I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can) If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:
I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can) If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:
I have found that my Predator Helios 300 hits 97c CPU temp only while charging and playing games. If I play those same games on battery power alone, temps will only hit 60c. My question is, can I run my Helios 300 without the battery and solely AC power?
Customer Support +1 .8.5.5 ...3.6.9__ 8,5..6,5 I have found that my Predator Helios 300 hits 97c CPU temps only while charging and playing games. If I play those same games on battery power alone, temps will only hit 60c. My question is, can I run my Helios 300 without the battery and solely AC power
No. Battery is meant to complement the AC Adaptor during GPU intensive tasks.
Trying to do my best here - Your happy Predator owner !
@apkshu no you cant remove the battery the laptop will never work properly if you do so and make sure youre always on AC while gaming or performing high demanding tasks only use it on battery for really low workloads and on emergency optimize your windows undervolt and if needed repaste it with kryonaut or similar if youre able to without voiding your battery and make user the fans and exit airflow are properly cleaned and the back lifted 2/3" for a proper airflow
I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can) If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:
FAQ & Answers
https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/11532543
UserBenchmarks: Game 43%, Desk 61%, Work 40%
CPU: Intel Core i5-7300HQ - 63.5%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile) - 41.9%
SSD: WDC WDS200T2B0B-00YS70 2TB - 71.4%
HDD: WD WD10SPZX-00HKTT0 1TB - 93.7%
RAM: Kingston HyperX DDR4 2666 C15 2x16GB - 76.8%
MBD: Acer Predator G3-572
I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can)
If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks
If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:
Owner/Admin (HOTEL HERO/Red-Sand/Opoka Opoka)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/PredatorHelios300
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJwGUHxSJ8FKqAhnOqQuAw
Acer support:
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/service-contact
http://www.acer.com/worldwide/support/
https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/11532543
UserBenchmarks: Game 43%, Desk 61%, Work 40%
CPU: Intel Core i5-7300HQ - 63.5%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile) - 41.9%
SSD: WDC WDS200T2B0B-00YS70 2TB - 71.4%
HDD: WD WD10SPZX-00HKTT0 1TB - 93.7%
RAM: Kingston HyperX DDR4 2666 C15 2x16GB - 76.8%
MBD: Acer Predator G3-572
I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can)
If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks
If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:
Owner/Admin (HOTEL HERO/Red-Sand/Opoka Opoka)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/PredatorHelios300
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJwGUHxSJ8FKqAhnOqQuAw
Acer support:
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/service-contact
http://www.acer.com/worldwide/support/
https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/11532543
UserBenchmarks: Game 43%, Desk 61%, Work 40%
CPU: Intel Core i5-7300HQ - 63.5%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile) - 41.9%
SSD: WDC WDS200T2B0B-00YS70 2TB - 71.4%
HDD: WD WD10SPZX-00HKTT0 1TB - 93.7%
RAM: Kingston HyperX DDR4 2666 C15 2x16GB - 76.8%
MBD: Acer Predator G3-572
I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can)
If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks
If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:
Owner/Admin (HOTEL HERO/Red-Sand/Opoka Opoka)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/PredatorHelios300
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJwGUHxSJ8FKqAhnOqQuAw
Acer support:
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/service-contact
http://www.acer.com/worldwide/support/
https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/11532543
UserBenchmarks: Game 43%, Desk 61%, Work 40%
CPU: Intel Core i5-7300HQ - 63.5%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile) - 41.9%
SSD: WDC WDS200T2B0B-00YS70 2TB - 71.4%
HDD: WD WD10SPZX-00HKTT0 1TB - 93.7%
RAM: Kingston HyperX DDR4 2666 C15 2x16GB - 76.8%
MBD: Acer Predator G3-572
I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can)
If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks
If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:
Owner/Admin (HOTEL HERO/Red-Sand/Opoka Opoka)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/PredatorHelios300
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJwGUHxSJ8FKqAhnOqQuAw
Acer support:
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/service-contact
http://www.acer.com/worldwide/support/
https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/11532543
UserBenchmarks: Game 43%, Desk 61%, Work 40%
CPU: Intel Core i5-7300HQ - 63.5%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile) - 41.9%
SSD: WDC WDS200T2B0B-00YS70 2TB - 71.4%
HDD: WD WD10SPZX-00HKTT0 1TB - 93.7%
RAM: Kingston HyperX DDR4 2666 C15 2x16GB - 76.8%
MBD: Acer Predator G3-572
I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can)
If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks
If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:
Owner/Admin (HOTEL HERO/Red-Sand/Opoka Opoka)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/PredatorHelios300
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJwGUHxSJ8FKqAhnOqQuAw
Acer support:
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/service-contact
http://www.acer.com/worldwide/support/