Acer Predator Helios 300 - FPS Drops

meloandrefilipe

Hi everyone,

So i bought a laptop last month, this one Acer Predator Helios 300 15.6" PH315-51-72KT with this specs:

Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Hexa-Core

RAM 16GB (1x16GB) DDR4

Graphics : NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 6 GB GDDR5

Storage: SSD M.2 256GB + 750 hdd

Problem:

i have fps drops in all games, its not a normal thing from like 250 to 230 or so. They drop from like 250 to ~5 for 1-2 seconds then they go up to 30-60 and back to normal after some time.

This occurs in all games (fortnite, csgo, call of duty BO4, rainbow six seige) and its not a "predictable" thing, this can happen in the very start of a game session as it can happen ate the end, or not even happen at all, but its very frequent to occur.

Temps:

All normal, in gamming.

50-55ºc in GPU (NVIDIA);

70-80ºC in CPU (i get some spikes during this "breaks" and the temp go up to 95ºC for 1 sec and drop down to normal 70-80ºc);

General:

Disabled V-Sync (in nvidia panel and game);

Disabled Game Mode;

Nvidia Panel to Max Performance;

Power settings to Max Performance;

Tryed (one each time and reverted):

DDU and reinstall diferent drivers from nvidia (the ones on acer website, the last ones on nvidia and some old ones i read about in a forum);

Undervolt the CPU;

Changed Boost Power to a lower value;

Reinstaled windows 10 (using 1803);

Playing in Window or borderless;

Not tryed:

Using older version of windows 10 (ex: before creators update);
...

Notes :

This is a GTX 1060 with 6GB of VRAM and in some games like rainbow six i can see the usage of VRAM are some where around 4GB (ultra).

I also changed the game settings from ultra to high and then to low in all game and the performance is fine in all settings while i dont have this "FPS DROPS" during that time of the drops the games are unplayable, especialy CSGO, COD BO4 (really fast paced game) and rainbow six.

I installed MSI Afterburner to check the system during game sessions and i checked that the Clock from the nvidia drops from ~1400MHz to ~300MHz
Games are installed both on SSD as HDD, the problem occurs and both drives!

Did anyone of you guys had this problem?

I would like to get some help on this, please and thank you

Accepted answers

meloandrefilipe

xapim said:
Glad you had it sorted please accept the answer which solved it for any other users looking fot it to see it on top thanks

Hello everyone,
This is the best solution and most stable that I found to fix this fps drops and performance issues on the predator 300.

1 - Don't play your games while your battery is lower then40%!!!

your laptop will use power from the adapter and the battery it self, during the game session, the battery will stay at the percentage that you had when you start playing, specialy in games that demand graphic process. (in case of csgo as it is a CPU game, your battery well keep to charge).

2- Use Throttlestop (aka TS) instead of Intel XTU

Create multi profiles for your laptop on TS for diferent tasks

This settings are for the Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Hexa-Core

2.1- Battery profile

This settings are for the Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Hexa-Core

One image is for CPU core and the other for CPU cache, check both!!

2.2 - Game Profile

This settings are for the Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Hexa-Core

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/k0/u1xrnd0wbg73.png

One image is for CPU core and the other for CPU cache, check both!!

Notes:
I only have 2 profiles, you can create more as you disire (dont get a more negative value on offset voltage, I would say -141 is the limit as my laptop crashed with more negative values).

This settings are for the Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Hexa-Core

You can play on battery profile (with the charger pluged in Ofc, you will still get some decent fps, but for the sweet stuff go play on game profile

).

Hope this help's you

All comments

Jamie2468

I have the same specs apart from my screen size is the 17.3" version. I've had the laptop for little over 2 weeks now and have the exact same issues as yourself. Playing games like Overwatch, Fortnite, Battlefield 5 on the lowest settings still cause unexpected frame drops and unresponsive game controls which lasts between 5 and 15 seconds which is ruining the experience.

I have recorded CPU temperatures via predator sense registering at up to 100 degrees Celcius and usualy sit around the 95 mark which very hot imo. I have the laptop raised 5 inches from the desk so as not to restrict any airflow but this doesnt help at all.

trying to contact Acer directly so hopefully they have a solution for this problem.

Have you had anymore information regarding your issues that's helped?

meloandrefilipe

Jamie2468 said:

Have you had anymore information regarding your issues that's helped?

Hello jamie,

In case i did, i found out a solution, i dont think its the best one and i am stil testing it.

So the problem came to my mind while i was writing the post, and i foud out it is a real Temp problem, but how? i only had it at 70-80ªc (CPU), the problem can be other, maybe a sensor i dont know, but when i got the drops, i checked the temps in the same time with predator sence and i found out there was a spike (to 95-99ºC) then the "breaks" happen.

So i followed this guide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLywuILhtp0 and disabling the turbo boost was the solution, at least for now.

I was playing Rainbow Six Seige and the fps (with the fps counter on the game) were in the 40-50 but the game was smooth as butter, felt like i was playing with 120 fps.

NOTE: I did not test this on all games and i am still finding the best undervolt value for this CPU (Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Hexa-Core) Now i have -0.120V.

Temps:

Now i am getting temp around 44-56ºC while gaming both on CPU and GPU.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/0g/entd8w3zhbqn.png

I will be posting updates here if i found out anymore info!

xapim

You are having this issue because your cpu/gpu are throttling due to high temps follow @HotelHero videos on his youtube channel or FB page optimize windows and undervolt which u seem to have already done i would use TS instead of xtu (there is a pinned post about fps) last resort if everything fail's its repaste (by acer tech) and if even after still the same send it back for replacement as it would not be normal and regading disabling the turbo isn't an option to me in my view that's killing (cutting it's head off lol) the cpu lol same as having an i3

meloandrefilipe

xapim said:

You are having this issue because your cpu/gpu are throttling due to high temps follow @HotelHero videos on his youtube channel or FB page optimize windows and undervolt which u seem to have already done i would use TS instead of xtu (there is a pinned post about fps) last resort if everything fail's its repaste (by acer tech) and if even after still the same send it back for replacement as it would not be normal and regading disabling the turbo isn't an option to me in my view that's killing (cutting it's head off lol) the cpu lol same as having an i3

Hello xapim,

Thank you for your answer!

As you said it really is a temp problem, but it is not normal, the temps are were always at 70-80ºC then they spike to 95ºC (the max safe temp for this CPU) for only a second then they drop to the normal 70-80ºC and that spike made my GPU "Reboot".

Yeah, nice tip on the throttlestop i am using it now.

Like i said, disable the turbo was a test to see if it really was a temp problem, i did undervolted the CPU and now i am checking the clock speeds, getting it from 4.0 to a 3.6-3.7 so the temps are in a constant 55-65ºC.

Almost getting that sweet spot for this Laptop

Melo_H

I have the same problem, there might be a solution to be found that is better than mine but what I did was set the gpu clock to "faster" while capping the frames to 72-90 as well as lowering graphical settings. seems to be stable and I hope this helps someone out there.
*I also undervolted my cpu to about -110V.

xapim

meloandrefilipe said:

xapim said:

You are having this issue because your cpu/gpu are throttling due to high temps follow @HotelHero videos on his youtube channel or FB page optimize windows and undervolt which u seem to have already done i would use TS instead of xtu (there is a pinned post about fps) last resort if everything fail's its repaste (by acer tech) and if even after still the same send it back for replacement as it would not be normal and regading disabling the turbo isn't an option to me in my view that's killing (cutting it's head off lol) the cpu lol same as having an i3

Hello xapim,

Thank you for your answer!

As you said it really is a temp problem, but it is not normal, the temps are were always at 70-80ºC then they spike to 95ºC (the max safe temp for this CPU) for only a second then they drop to the normal 70-80ºC and that spike made my GPU "Reboot".

Yeah, nice tip on the throttlestop i am using it now.
Like i said, disable the turbo was a test to see if it really was a temp problem, i did undervolted the CPU and now i am checking the clock speeds, getting it from 4.0 to a 3.6-3.7 so the temps are in a constant 55-65ºC.

Almost getting that sweet spot for this Laptop

Glad you had it sorted please accept the answer which solved it for any other users looking fot it to see it on top

thanks

meloandrefilipe

xapim said:
Glad you had it sorted please accept the answer which solved it for any other users looking fot it to see it on top thanks

Hello everyone,
This is the best solution and most stable that I found to fix this fps drops and performance issues on the predator 300.

1 - Don't play your games while your battery is lower then40%!!!

your laptop will use power from the adapter and the battery it self, during the game session, the battery will stay at the percentage that you had when you start playing, specialy in games that demand graphic process. (in case of csgo as it is a CPU game, your battery well keep to charge).

2- Use Throttlestop (aka TS) instead of Intel XTU

Create multi profiles for your laptop on TS for diferent tasks

This settings are for the Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Hexa-Core

2.1- Battery profile

This settings are for the Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Hexa-Core

One image is for CPU core and the other for CPU cache, check both!!

2.2 - Game Profile

This settings are for the Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Hexa-Core

One image is for CPU core and the other for CPU cache, check both!!

Notes:
I only have 2 profiles, you can create more as you disire (dont get a more negative value on offset voltage, I would say -141 is the limit as my laptop crashed with more negative values).

This settings are for the Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Hexa-Core

You can play on battery profile (with the charger pluged in Ofc, you will still get some decent fps, but for the sweet stuff go play on game profile

).

Hope this help's you

meloandrefilipe

Melo_H said:

I have the same problem, there might be a solution to be found that is better than mine but what I did was set the gpu clock to "faster" while capping the frames to 72-90 as well as lowering graphical settings. seems to be stable and I hope this helps someone out there.
*I also undervolted my cpu to about -110V.

Check the solution i put

Melo_H

meloandrefilipe said:

Melo_H said:

I have the same problem, there might be a solution to be found that is better than mine but what I did was set the gpu clock to "faster" while capping the frames to 72-90 as well as lowering graphical settings. seems to be stable and I hope this helps someone out there.
*I also undervolted my cpu to about -110V.

Check the solution i put

Oh thats great news, but i actually have a i7-8750H but still have the same issue. Should i still do your solution?

Melo_H

Oh nevermind i thought your solution was for one of the HQ CPU's.

Melo_H

Question: Do you still have your intel IXU voltage for cpu set to -120V?

meloandrefilipe

Melo_H said:

Question: Do you still have your intel IXU voltage for cpu set to -120V?

No, you have to set Intel xtu to defaults before changing to TS

Melo_H

I did it it works perfectly, you got no idea how thankful I am. Glad to see a solution come out of this Thank you!

STK

meloandrefilipe said:

xapim said:
Glad you had it sorted please accept the answer which solved it for any other users looking fot it to see it on top thanks

Hello everyone,
This is the best solution and most stable that I found to fix this fps drops and performance issues on the predator 300.

1 - Don't play your games while your battery is lower then40%!!!

your laptop will use power from the adapter and the battery it self, during the game session, the battery will stay at the percentage that you had when you start playing, specialy in games that demand graphic process. (in case of csgo as it is a CPU game, your battery well keep to charge).

2- Use Throttlestop (aka TS) instead of Intel XTU

Create multi profiles for your laptop on TS for diferent tasks

This settings are for the Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Hexa-Core

2.1- Battery profile

This settings are for the Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Hexa-Core

One image is for CPU core and the other for CPU cache, check both!!

2.2 - Game Profile

This settings are for the Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Hexa-Core

One image is for CPU core and the other for CPU cache, check both!!

Notes:
I only have 2 profiles, you can create more as you disire (dont get a more negative value on offset voltage, I would say -141 is the limit as my laptop crashed with more negative values).

This settings are for the Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Hexa-Core

You can play on battery profile (with the charger pluged in Ofc, you will still get some decent fps, but for the sweet stuff go play on game profile ).

Hope this help's you

Hello! I got the same problem on my Acer predator helios 300.I tried your solution and the games works perfectly now, but i have a problem, the battery descharges faster than it charges.I started the game with 60% battery percent and after 2 hours of playing, my battery was 31%. Any solutions?I don t want to set the default settings because i was very happy when i saw that i got rid of frame drops.

xapim

@STK Firstly you shouldnt in any way start any game with the battery under 100% and always on AC because the battery main purpose its to aid the adapter with more power when this one cant provide enough to the cpu/gpu to keep the performance, secondly if you have many usb devices using the usb ports the battery will drain much faster when gaming only use it on battery in emergency cases or really light work if you use it for high demanding tasks you will damage it the cells will not hold power anymore and it will die in time, thirdly when the battery reaches 40% under the adapter will start to try to charge back the battery to compensate and you will loose all performance as it cant do both stop what youre doing and let the battery recharge to 100% also check you battery wear percentage with hwinfo/battery bar pro/battery report if more than 15/20%++ wear if this is the case consider replacing it because the laptop needs a healthy battery to provide the best performance will not work properly neither with a faulty battery neither without any and lastly have you downloaded the correct TS profile for your cpu from here if not please do so

meloandrefilipe

xapim said:

lastly have you downloaded the correct TS profile for your cpu from here if not please do so

Hello @xapim,

In fact i did download that version of TS profile (for the I7-8750h) and tested it since you posted it here, i noticed some temperatures problems, going all the way up to 99ºC. One thing people need to know is that a TS profile is made for 1 cpu model in 1 specific laptop case. The one on that link can be good for a certain laptop, but not that good for this one (Acer Predator helios 300 PH315-51-72KT).

xapim

@meloandrefilipe sorry but your completely wrong here ts profiles are made for each cpu model nothing to do with the laptop models works on any model any brand with the same cpu if ts didn't improve your temps thats because your thermal paste is dry or you have a bad application your only option here it's to repaste it yourselft with kryonaut or similar if you can yourself without voiding your warranty if not send it back to get it repasted with stock paste

Ps if you were previously using xtu and you haven't defaulted the settings completely uninstalled it and shutdown not restart also reset bios to defaults ts settings won't stick they will just not work xtu has major issues with conflicting and compatibility anyway just warning anyone

meloandrefilipe

xapim said:

@meloandrefilipe sorry but your completely wrong here ts profiles are made for each cpu model nothing to do with the laptop models works on any model any brand with the same cpu if ts didn't improve your temps thats because your thermal paste is dry or you have a bad application your only option here it's to repaste it yourselft with kryonaut or similar if you can yourself without voiding your warranty if not send it back to get it repasted with stock paste

Ps if you were previously using xtu and you haven't defaulted the settings completely uninstalled it and shutdown not restart also reset bios to defaults ts settings won't stick they will just not work xtu has major issues with conflicting and compatibility anyway just warning anyone

@xapim, i will tell you why you are wrong and i am not, 1st thing, you have an laptop (some brand) that uses this CPU (I7-8750h) and you have another laptop that is from another brand with the exact same CPU, they can have the same CPU, but surely they will not have the same case, in that case the airflow, thermal resistance, even the built material are different , yes, it can be a thermal paste problem, but you need to have in mind that the airflow capacity of your PC to cold your CPU is the most important thing on a gaming laptop. In the example that i give you, you can undervolt both CPU with the same mv, and have different results, you can't think on this as a CPU only thing, you need to think on it as a whole. In fact i have a friend with this same laptop as mine and he cannot go under the -125mv undervolt, he will have blue screen now and them, in this case he had to find the best config for his TS profile.

2nd thing, no, the CPU'S are not the same in all laptops, just because they have the same version !

XTU is not a problem here, in fact i did reset the XTU, and i did reinstalled windows and other systems on my laptop.

And by the way, take some caution when you tell some one to repaste the thermal paste, some people can avoid there laptop warranty.

xapim

meloandrefilipe doesnt matter what explanation u just tried to give above its all chinese to me i still completely disagree and you can ask the author of all the confs (he is the expert on this and tested it himself) @Red-Sand all the Ts profiles create by him work on any cpu no matter which manufacturer with the exact same cpu model the profile it was made for, there was a lot of work and effort by him to bring this publicly for everyone to be able to use it so are you also trying to say that he's a liar and doesnt know anything about it either ???

One thing its saying you dunno how to work with it (which its completely normal) the other its saying it doesnt work neither has any use and who took the time to make/test/configure it is wrong.

PS: Also have you ever saw me advising someone to repaste it without also advising if they can themselves without voiding the warranty first ???? i dont think so i think you better read all my 4.5k+ posts/replies first before youre accusing me of that (firstly i wont tolerate false accusations from anyone also i dont work for acer neither anyone here apart from the staff/mods we are here voluntary on our own time to help those who need and its mainly because ppl with your kind i of know it all behavior that sometimes we just step back from helping as were not appreciated and theres ppl who dont even deserve it )

As it seems youre more expert/know it all than anyone else in here you probably should apply to work for a manufacturer who knows.

And sorry but repasting its the only solution for everyone (if TS doesnt work at all to lower the temps) its either get it done as i already stated above or stay as you are.

Bassili

Hello everyone,
I have a Helios 300 laptop
specs: i7-7700HQ CPU
16GB RAM
64 bit
GTX 1060
The problem is facing instant fps drops while playing pubg (from 80 to 30 an I don't know why it is 80 I think I should) and cs go (from 180 to 50).
Video graphics are set to the lowest possible.
Integrity of game file are verified on steam.
Graphic drivers are updated.
PLZ can anyone help me with the solution???
Thank you in advance:)

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