Aspire A515 -54G CPU Issues?

CK85

Hello, I bought my acer laptop a few months ago.  It has had problems from the outset.

1)     Fan issues, the fan seems to go on very loud sometimes even randomly for prolonged periods. 

2)     Some websites seem to cause the fan issue more than others, for example news websites with a lot of pop up videos etc

3)     A clicking/popping noise occurs when loading a website particulary ones with pop ups.  Or even when a youtube video is played, at the start, the popping sound occurs.

I read somewhere online that adjusting the maximum processor state to less than 100 per cent (to around 65 per cent) could resolve the issues.  This worked quite well (not 100 per cent of the time) for the fan issues but not for the clicking.

The main reason I bought the Acer was for music production with my Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).  The DAW has third party plugins and with one of the plugins the new power setting of 65 per cent seems to not let it work very well at all.  There is a lot of clicking, popping and freezing in the DAW and the CPU graph in the DAW goes through the roof.  Putting the maximum processor state back to 100 per cent allows the plugin to work better but then I have the previous issues I had before, fan etc and when I am using the DAW at this setting the fan kicks in especially if I have chrome open.

I understand there is an update for BIOS fan issues but I read of someone’s fan issue being worse after the update.  Some people suggested and tried downgrading the BIOS instead and this seemed to work. 

All I know is that the CPU is through the roof at times and I can’t carry on working with these issues, it’s making it extremely difficult and frustrating.  It’s nothing to do with the specs of the ACER as my old laptop which is a massive step down from the ACER never had any of these issues with my DAW.

Should I upgrade or downgrade the BIOS?  If so, can someone point me towards how I can do this? Or maybe there is something else I can do?

I would really appreciate some advice and guidance on where to go from here please.  I’m at my wits end.    

Thanks a lot

JackE

>>>There is a lot of clicking, popping and freezing in the DAW and the CPU graph in the DAW goes through the roof.  >>>

High power load applications demand that  the battery be near 100% charged and plugged in BEFORE starting this applications for maximum work time. At times the charger may not be able to keep up with the power demands so the battery kicks in to help and starts to drain. When battery levels drop to about 50%, you may start to notice throttling behavior (freezing) to reduce power demand so your battery can start charging again. The A515 laptop is not considered  as a workstation or gaming machine for high power applications or 3D games that are better run on a desktop. Jack E/NJ

CK85

JackE said:

>>>There is a lot of clicking, popping and freezing in the DAW and the CPU graph in the DAW goes through the roof.  >>>

High power load applications demand that  the battery be near 100% charged and plugged in BEFORE starting this applications for maximum work time. At times the charger may not be able to keep up with the power demands so the battery kicks in to help and starts to drain. When battery levels drop to about 50%, you may start to notice throttling behavior (freezing) to reduce power demand so your battery can start charging again. The A515 laptop is not considered  as a workstation or gaming machine for high power applications or 3D games that are better run on a desktop. Jack E/NJ

Hi Jack,

My battery is charged all the time still doesn't make a difference.  

The specs I needed for my DAW in terms of a laptop were well below what the A515 is.  My DAW worked fine on my old laptop which is less powerful than the A515.  So I don't think this is the issue.

Has anyone got any other thoughts plz?

I am guessing the fan and the CPU issues are related?  I've read a few cases of the types of issues I am having but there does not seem to be a consistent fix.

JackE

>>>My battery is charged all the time still doesn't make a difference.  >>>

It must start at 100% charged, plugged in and ControlPanel power plan set to performance mode. The battery will drain even though plugged in because the charger may not be able to keep up with the load. If it starts throttling before 50%, then it's possible the CPU is overheating. Is the DAW set to using the discrete GPU, not the CPU integrated GPU?   Jack E/NJ

CK85

JackE said:

>>>My battery is charged all the time still doesn't make a difference.  >>>

It must start at 100% charged, plugged in and ControlPanel power plan set to performance mode. The battery will drain even though plugged in because the charger may not be able to keep up with the load. If it starts throttling before 50%, then it's possible the CPU is overheating. Is the DAW set to using the discrete GPU, not the CPU integrated GPU?   Jack E/NJ

Yes it's throttling at 100 per cent.  CPU definitely seems to be overheating.

I'm not sure how to check the discrete GPU issue.  What should I be using.....the discrete or the CPU integrated GPU?

Thanks

JackE

You definitely should be using the discrete GPU to take the graphics load off the CPU. The software usually does this automatically but there may be a manual setting  inside your DAW? If not, right click on a empty desktop area and see if you can open an nvidia control panel to set it. Jack E/NJ