Helios 500 battery not charging while in gameplay??

xRamRodx

Recently bought the Helios Predator 500 i7 8th gen gtx 1070 and very disapointed it has the same battery issues as the helios 300. The battery dosen't charge while in game and actually loses a charge! After playing 2 hours in game, battery goes from 100 to 40 percent which then drops fps and game performance. I changed my battery settings on the laptop and in NVIDIA to battery optimal settings and that still gives me only another 30 to 60 mins at best of game play before performance drops. Has anyone else had the same issues? And if so, any fixes??

xapim

you already posted in the other thread (https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/407860/predator-17-g9-971-drains-battery-whilst-gaming-on-power#latest) and it was already explained by me an many other ppl including @Acer-Cory that this is not an issue it as it is supposed to be if someone feels it shoudn't be like this please i suggest het a desktop instead or a regular daily use less powerfull laptop al all your so called issues are gone i do not see the need to spam the community with the same thing all over again

sri369

xRamRodx said:

Recently bought the Helios Predator 500 i7 8th gen gtx 1070 and very disapointed it has the same battery issues as the helios 300. The battery dosen't charge while in game and actually loses a charge! After playing 2 hours in game, battery goes from 100 to 40 percent which then drops fps and game performance. I changed my battery settings on the laptop and in NVIDIA to battery optimal settings and that still gives me only another 30 to 60 mins at best of game play before performance drops. Has anyone else had the same issues? And if so, any fixes??

Kinda getting inquisitive why you opened this thread in spite of people explaining so well in the earlier one... let us take a second look. And this time I'd like you to do some home work too.

Before you say anything, check the links in my signature for optimizing CPU and GPU. And also see my system performance on one of those links. To add, I have a G3-572 with 7700 and 1060 and my battery never falls below 90 even if I gamed heavy the whole day.
Changes I did:
CPU optimization
GPU optimization
Windows optimization and fine tuning
Windows power plan customized
Games optimization myself (and not letting some software like GE Experience do it for me based off some standard guidelines)

You mentioned you did some settings changes and all... please list out all those here. Also mention the power output of your charger. And the game settings you normally play at. Also the major services running the background, including those of windows and any software you may have installed.

Follow the links in my signature and post the outcome. Also list out the windows version you have and any/all optimizations you made to your windows (Acer nor any manufacturer would do this, and this is up to the user to keep their system optimized).
I would also like to know about your power plan changes.

V4RM4

xRamRodx said:

Recently bought the Helios Predator 500 i7 8th gen gtx 1070 and very disapointed it has the same battery issues as the helios 300. The battery dosen't charge while in game and actually loses a charge! After playing 2 hours in game, battery goes from 100 to 40 percent which then drops fps and game performance. I changed my battery settings on the laptop and in NVIDIA to battery optimal settings and that still gives me only another 30 to 60 mins at best of game play before performance drops. Has anyone else had the same issues? And if so, any fixes??

You have every right to be worried my friend. After buying a laptop you expect things to go well, we all do, but problems can occur to electronic items no matter how expensive,cheap,big or small. A fellow H500 user here.
On with your question, I've read somewhere the same problem and things like these can be fixed almost all the time within the software. Monitor the device during gameplay and check if any other applications are hogging on system resources. Turn off any/all unwanted applications that run all the time.

Does the system eventually turn off with the battery drain while gaming?

Also, there is a 330W adapter available as well for the Helios 500 laptops, which provides more power.
If things don't turn out well in a couple of weeks, take it to your nearest Acer Predator service center and convey them the problem(within warranty).

Good luck!

bobzdar

There’s no way a gaming laptop should do this, and my amd version doesn’t, but it also ships with a 330w power supply.

I’d suggest getting the upgraded power supply, but acer shouldn't market this as a gaming laptop if it can’t game indefinitely.  It’s fine if the battery doesn’t charge, but it definitely shouldn’t discharge while plugged in.

V4RM4

bobzdar said:

There’s no way a gaming laptop should do this, and my amd version doesn’t, but it also ships with a 330w power supply.

I’d suggest getting the upgraded power supply, but acer shouldn't market this as a gaming laptop if it can’t game indefinitely.  It’s fine if the battery doesn’t charge, but it definitely shouldn’t discharge while plugged in.

Fortunately, it is not a common case. All laptops are designed in a way that the components of the laptop, say GPU, can utilize/draw power from both the battery and adapter at the same time, because battery alone is not adequate. It could have happened because his battery might not be working as expected or, there is something internally wrong with adapter itself, either by the way are very common for laptops.

sri369

bobzdar said:

There’s no way a gaming laptop should do this, and my amd version doesn’t, but it also ships with a 330w power supply.

I’d suggest getting the upgraded power supply, but acer shouldn't market this as a gaming laptop if it can’t game indefinitely.  It’s fine if the battery doesn’t charge, but it definitely shouldn’t discharge while plugged in.

When the power supply can't supply all necessary power, power is pulled from battery - this is called hybrid utilization of power, and is normal in gaming laptops. Very few people use it to an extent where it constantly pulls from battery too; such people can always get a larger power supply.

V4RM4

sri369 said:

bobzdar said:

There’s no way a gaming laptop should do this, and my amd version doesn’t, but it also ships with a 330w power supply.

I’d suggest getting the upgraded power supply, but acer shouldn't market this as a gaming laptop if it can’t game indefinitely.  It’s fine if the battery doesn’t charge, but it definitely shouldn’t discharge while plugged in.

When the power supply can't supply all necessary power, power is pulled from battery - this is called hybrid utilization of power, and is normal in gaming laptops. Very few people use it to an extent where it constantly pulls from battery too; such people can always get a larger power supply.

But it would've been nice though if a higher wattage PS had come with the device.

xapim

V4RM4 said:

sri369 said:

bobzdar said:

There’s no way a gaming laptop should do this, and my amd version doesn’t, but it also ships with a 330w power supply.

I’d suggest getting the upgraded power supply, but acer shouldn't market this as a gaming laptop if it can’t game indefinitely.  It’s fine if the battery doesn’t charge, but it definitely shouldn’t discharge while plugged in.

When the power supply can't supply all necessary power, power is pulled from battery - this is called hybrid utilization of power, and is normal in gaming laptops. Very few people use it to an extent where it constantly pulls from battery too; such people can always get a larger power supply.

But it would've been nice though if a higher wattage PS had come with the device.

For the H300 the 1050ti ship with a 135w and the 1060 with a 180w for the H500 the i7 ship with 230w and the i9 and ryzen with 330w and regarding you statement you can look at the Predator x21 would you be willing to carry 2 or 3 massive adapters with you all the time just to power the laptop for u to be able to play something ? because i wouldn't i think Acer and all other manufacturers who decided to have the battery to aid the adapter was a good decision for portability or else everyone should be much better with a fixed gaming desktop instead

xRamRodx

xapim said:

you already posted in the other thread (https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/407860/predator-17-g9-971-drains-battery-whilst-gaming-on-power#latest) and it was already explained by me an many other ppl including @Acer-Cory that this is not an issue it as it is supposed to be if someone feels it shoudn't be like this please i suggest het a desktop instead or a regular daily use less powerfull laptop al all your so called issues are gone i do not see the need to spam the community with the same thing all over again

Sorry, had no intentions spamming the community with the same question. First time posting on this site. Wanted to start a new thread under the helios 500 instead of the 300 which I first posted a comment in. I didn't know how to delete my first post. The answer was explained in the first thread, just wanted a detailed answer on ways to fix or improve this problem. 

sri369

xRamRodx said:

Sorry, had no intentions spamming the community with the same question. First time posting on this site. Wanted to start a new thread under the helios 500 instead of the 300 which I first posted a comment in. I didn't know how to delete my first post. The answer was explained in the first thread, just wanted a detailed answer on ways to fix or improve this problem. 

Let us start with the few pointers and questions i had asked in my post above this.

bobzdar

xapim said:

V4RM4 said:

sri369 said:

bobzdar said:

There’s no way a gaming laptop should do this, and my amd version doesn’t, but it also ships with a 330w power supply.

I’d suggest getting the upgraded power supply, but acer shouldn't market this as a gaming laptop if it can’t game indefinitely.  It’s fine if the battery doesn’t charge, but it definitely shouldn’t discharge while plugged in.

When the power supply can't supply all necessary power, power is pulled from battery - this is called hybrid utilization of power, and is normal in gaming laptops. Very few people use it to an extent where it constantly pulls from battery too; such people can always get a larger power supply.

But it would've been nice though if a higher wattage PS had come with the device.

For the H300 the 1050ti ship with a 135w and the 1060 with a 180w for the H500 the i7 ship with 230w and the i9 and ryzen with 330w and regarding you statement you can look at the Predator x21 would you be willing to carry 2 or 3 massive adapters with you all the time just to power the laptop for u to be able to play something ? because i wouldn't i think Acer and all other manufacturers who decided to have the battery to aid the adapter was a good decision for portability or else everyone should be much better with a fixed gaming desktop instead

I didn't pay $500 extra for a laptop over a desktop so that I could only game for 2 hours while plugged in, that's ridiculous.  If mine did that I'd have immediately returned it for being defective. Acer either designed that version incorrectly or packaged it with an incorrectly sized power adapter (or it's defective).

If overclocked or running some kind of unrealistic stress test, sure, but running a game at stock?  It should be able to do that plugged in all day. 

xapim

bobzdar said:

xapim said:

V4RM4 said:

sri369 said:

bobzdar said:

There’s no way a gaming laptop should do this, and my amd version doesn’t, but it also ships with a 330w power supply.

I’d suggest getting the upgraded power supply, but acer shouldn't market this as a gaming laptop if it can’t game indefinitely.  It’s fine if the battery doesn’t charge, but it definitely shouldn’t discharge while plugged in.

When the power supply can't supply all necessary power, power is pulled from battery - this is called hybrid utilization of power, and is normal in gaming laptops. Very few people use it to an extent where it constantly pulls from battery too; such people can always get a larger power supply.

But it would've been nice though if a higher wattage PS had come with the device.

For the H300 the 1050ti ship with a 135w and the 1060 with a 180w for the H500 the i7 ship with 230w and the i9 and ryzen with 330w and regarding you statement you can look at the Predator x21 would you be willing to carry 2 or 3 massive adapters with you all the time just to power the laptop for u to be able to play something ? because i wouldn't i think Acer and all other manufacturers who decided to have the battery to aid the adapter was a good decision for portability or else everyone should be much better with a fixed gaming desktop instead

I didn't pay $500 extra for a laptop over a desktop so that I could only game for 2 hours while plugged in, that's ridiculous.  If mine did that I'd have immediately returned it for being defective. Acer either designed that version incorrectly or packaged it with an incorrectly sized power adapter (or it's defective).

If overclocked or running some kind of unrealistic stress test, sure, but running a game at stock?  It should be able to do that plugged in all day. 

I rarely play (no free time) but when i play i play 10h+ non stop for anything never had any issues with mine

Anumaan

I do not understand why people are talking about this issues over and over again. The simple question to ask is, "Did Acer clearly defined their Customers that there is a feature called "Hybrid utilization of power"? Is it a part of a feature list? If not, people have the right to return the laptop and get on with their lives and not keep spamming about the same problem in different ways! I too bought this on 20-Jan-19 and I am not comfortable with this "feature". This is not my first Gaming Laptop so I can very clearly state "never head of this feature" so, return my money! I would go for a different BRAD or a desktop is my personal choice and no one has the right to tell me or someone on what I or someone should have done or should do.

sri369

Anumaan said:

I do not understand why people are talking about this issues over and over again. The simple question to ask is, "Did Acer clearly defined their Customers that there is a feature called "Hybrid utilization of power"? Is it a part of a feature list? If not, people have the right to return the laptop and get on with their lives and not keep spamming about the same problem in different ways! I too bought this on 20-Jan-19 and I am not comfortable with this "feature". This is not my first Gaming Laptop so I can very clearly state "never head of this feature" so, return my money! I would go for a different BRAD or a desktop is my personal choice and no one has the right to tell me or someone on what I or someone should have done or should do.

Even if Acer mentioned how many users might have read it... chances are less than 1%. You can try switching to another laptop, but pretty much all gaming laptops do this - unless you got one that pulls absurd amount of power killing the whole point of owning a laptop.
Also, not sure how you optimized your system, but after playing a whole day, my battery rarely goes down below 95%.

surratus

It seems to me that the OP raises a legitimate question. If the solution is to purchase a higher wattage power supply as sri369 suggested on Jan 14, then the fix is relatively easy one, if a little disingenuous on the part of ACER.  Like an advertised gas-mileage rating that sounds great (but only applies when going downhill).  But I'm fine with that solution and I'm old enough to understand how marketing works.  The 330W PS is offered as an option for the 240W PS and I've purchased a 330W version for use in a different location, just in case.  If I experience reduced performance with the 240W, and not with the 330W, then great, I'll pick up two more and dump the 240W to avoid lugging power supplies around on a daily basis.  That's certainly cheaper than buying three desktops no matter how you slice it.