Acer Predator Helios 300 (PH315-52) lag, high temperatures. What to do? Warranty questions...

Teddyp93

Hi,

Laptop specs: Intel core i7-9750; Nvidia GTX 1660Ti with 6GB GDDR6 Dedicated VRAM; 16 GB DDR4 26666MHz Memory; 512 GBSSD

I purchased this laptop in July of this year and it has been running poorly for me ever since I got it. The only game I have played on it has been Fortnite and the main issue I am having is a great deal of input lag. I am also oftentimes getting high ping (60-70), and frame rate drops down into the 50s, although even when the FPS are at a stable 144 and ping at 30 I have pretty much the same bad input lag. The CPU and GPU heat up to 90+C and 80+C, respectively, if I do not turn on turboboost, but even with turboboost on high, which lowers the CPU and GPU temps to below 75C and 60C, the input lag is just about as bad as when the laptop is running super hot. I usually play via wifi, although with ethernet the performance is only slightly better if at all. The acer customer service people have instructed me to send the laptop in for repair due to the high temperatures and that they would fix the other problems that are causing input lag at the same time. Now I am not completely sure I want to ultimately keep this laptop because it has been wholly underwhelming in terms of performance and I am wondering if it would be best to just cut my losses and try to trade this in for a real PC that will be more reliable and better for competitive gaming. I have a one-year limited warranty and I am a little bit confused about what it all means and I am wondering: If I send this back for repair under the limited warranty, will this effect the laptop's status for a trade in with acer? Further, the warranty states: "During the Limited Warranty Period, Acer will, at its option: (i) provide replacement parts necessary to repair the Product; (ii) repair the Product or replace it with a comparable product; or (iii) refund the amount You paid for the Product, LESS DEPRECIATION, upon its return." Does this mean that I could potentially return the product for a refund or a trade in considering the high CPU and GPU temperatures ("at Acer's option", whatever that means)? Does anyone have any advice on what I should do to either diagnose the real issue with my laptop (considering that regardless of the CPU and GPU temps I experience a great deal of input lag) before sending it in for repair or insight into how the one-year limited warranty works in terms of refunds/ trade in for "comparable products"? Forgive me if these are dumb questions. I am not very knowledgeable about computers or warranties. Any insight would be welcome. And if anyone has experience with this laptop and Fortnite and can say what would be a reasonable FPS to achieve playing this game?
Thank you in advance,
Teddy Powell

Manny-Acer_Retired

Hi Teddyp93, very sorry to hear what you're experiencing with your Acer unit, unfortunately, the Acer community is not a direct portal to Customer service, many Acer employees read the various topics posted here and you will notice that some Acer employees interact with members when appropriate, but primarily we want the community to be a place where members can exchange their own advice and ideas. With that been said, if you have questions about the Acer warranty you can read the warranty policy here, let me clarify the questions for you:

• If I send this back for repair under the limited warranty, will this affect the laptop's status for a trade in with Acer?
• It will not affect it, because there is no status for trade or returns, the Acer limited warranty is for repair only, during that year period will cover any mechanical repair needed as long it applies, for the first 90 days, it will cover any software issues as long at its applies.
• how the one-year limited warranty works in terms of refunds/ trade-in for "comparable products"? 
• The one-year limited warranty does not cover any refunds/ trade-in, it is only for repair.

Have you ever contacted our Acer support lines for assistance or reporting the input lag issue? This can be due to many things and not always will be a factory setting issue, it can be due to updates, gaming or games settings, configurations, and many more....

Support Phone: 1-866-695-2237 or  Click to Chat

You can also take a look at these threads for any tips that might help you: 
 [suggestion] Please read before performing updates
FAQ - CPU, GPU, Temps, FPS, Settings, & Other Info
FAQ - Common Questions

Note: this thread will be now closed.

Thanks,
Acer-Manny

Teddyp93

I couldn't find a way to edit my first post, but I spoke with Acer and apparently you can only get a refund or exchange for a product if you buy from acer's website (I bought this laptop from Acer on Amazon). How disappointing and seemingly senseless to me. I guess I am stuck with this laptop. Any advice on what I should do to diagnose and resolve input lag is welcome.

Teddyp93

It's safe to say I will never buy anything from Acer again and I recommend anyone else not to buy the Predator Helios 300, and if you do buy from their website so you can maybe exchange or get a refund.

busu3

No. If u buy it from anywhere and have a warranty, the machine can be completely replaced(i dont think they refund). U have to give ur machine to acer to get it fixed. They will try fixing the problem for some time. In case they cant rectify the issue, they will give u a replacement of the same machine. And i feel its ur temps which are causing all these issues.

Teddyp93

Thanks for the post. I guess I'll have to just send it in to acer. I'm just confused because even when the temperatures are quite low due to using turboboost I experience the same lag. I have read elsewhere of people having problems and tracing it back to configurations with the wifi connection, both on the router end and on the PC's end. 

Thanks again..

busu3

Its their ***** job to fix ur laptop if its under warranty. Send it back and tell them u need to fix it. Its as good as giving a dummy laptop to you.

busu3

Try some other service center authorised by acer.

Manny-Acer_Retired

Hi Teddyp93, very sorry to hear what you're experiencing with your Acer unit, unfortunately, the Acer community is not a direct portal to Customer service, many Acer employees read the various topics posted here and you will notice that some Acer employees interact with members when appropriate, but primarily we want the community to be a place where members can exchange their own advice and ideas. With that been said, if you have questions about the Acer warranty you can read the warranty policy here, let me clarify the questions for you:

• If I send this back for repair under the limited warranty, will this affect the laptop's status for a trade in with Acer?
• It will not affect it, because there is no status for trade or returns, the Acer limited warranty is for repair only, during that year period will cover any mechanical repair needed as long it applies, for the first 90 days, it will cover any software issues as long at its applies.
• how the one-year limited warranty works in terms of refunds/ trade-in for "comparable products"? 
• The one-year limited warranty does not cover any refunds/ trade-in, it is only for repair.

Have you ever contacted our Acer support lines for assistance or reporting the input lag issue? This can be due to many things and not always will be a factory setting issue, it can be due to updates, gaming or games settings, configurations, and many more....

Support Phone: 1-866-695-2237 or  Click to Chat

You can also take a look at these threads for any tips that might help you: 
 [suggestion] Please read before performing updates
FAQ - CPU, GPU, Temps, FPS, Settings, & Other Info
FAQ - Common Questions

Note: this thread will be now closed.

Thanks,
Acer-Manny