Sudden FPS drop (utilization graph spike) in ACER Nitro 5 AN515-43 Ryzen 5 3550H

ZenithalizeOG
ZenithalizeOG Member Posts: 5

Tinkerer

-- My laptop info. --

Laptop spec: ACER Nitro 5 AN515-43 AMD Ryzen 5 3550H with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx (4 cores) 2.10 GHz, operating on Windows 10.

RAM: Installed RAM is 16.0 GB (13.9 GB useable)

Usage: roughly 2 years.

GPU1: AMD Radeon(TM) Vega 8 Graphics [Integrated/Primary]

GPU2: Radeon RX 560X Series [Hybrid/Discrete]


-- Problem --

Hey there, I've been using my laptop for quite some time, and whenever I play ANY games, it has a lag spike occasionally; each time taking around 1 second to 5 seconds, sometimes it's more frequent than the other. It always happened during 2 years I owned it, I had asked my friend who used almost the same spec as mine, considering that he might added some extra components that he forgot to tell me. He said that he never had a problem like mine.


I play Terraria. Sometimes the lag is subtle but still noticeable. I never really get it checked at the store I bought because I mostly uses it for work at that time and the lag is tolerable: it often irritates me, but that's not the point. I had set the GPU for Terraria to be RADEON RX 560X Series and not AMD Radeon(TM) Vega 8 as ven98 suggested in this post: https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/561400/why-my-acer-nitro-5-cant-play-games, it, however, didn't work.


Recently I tried turning on CoolBoost, but it didn't work. I'm thinking of disassembling the laptop and clean the dust on the fan, but I don't want to risk damaging some components right now. I scanned and removed some suspicious file with Virus protection (RAV Endpoint protection), downloaded VGA driver, made sure that the battery is running in maximum performance—I didn't try setting Terraria on the highest priority in Task Manager after changing the GPU that it ran on, from Vega 8 to RX 560X, but I doubted that it'd work—I don't have much knowledge on these things, so I don't know what else to do. The attacked screenshot are what I think might be helpful.


-- Attached files --

Picture 1: Screenshot of Radeon RX 560X Series GPU in Radeon Software as I play Terraria. It always lags whenever the spike in Utilization graph occurs.

Picture 2: Screenshot of Radeon RX 560X Series GPU in Task Manager as I play Terraria.

Picture 3: Screenshot of AMD Radeon(TM) Vega 8 Graphics GPU as in Task Manager as I play Terraria. I had no idea how it's the Vega 8 that has a high temperature and not the RX 560X one that I chose in Windows setting to run Terraria on.


P.S. If more information is needed, please inform. If possible, I'd also like to know why these things happen, like the cause of it, so that when I have a future problem I'd know a bit more on how to deal with it. Thanks in advance! :D


Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer

    What is battery charge level when you notice sudden FPS drops?

    Jack E/NJ

  • ZenithalizeOG
    ZenithalizeOG Member Posts: 5

    Tinkerer

    100% plugged and on Max Performance in Power Mode

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer

    Your GPU is way too hot. It will start to throttle and produce stuttering videos at temps over 85*C. When primarily used for gaming, laptop thermal module, heat ducts, and CPU/GPU heat sinks should be cleaned and re-pasted annually. This is considered normal maintenance. When was the last time this was done since you acquired the machine two years ago?


    Jack E/NJ

  • ZenithalizeOG
    ZenithalizeOG Member Posts: 5

    Tinkerer

    Oh boy, I never clean it and get it check in said area. Should I let the tech store do it or can I do it myself? There's not really many tech store around my place.

  • ZenithalizeOG
    ZenithalizeOG Member Posts: 5

    Tinkerer

    I got it Silicone-pasted and airvent-cleaned now. It seemed to be better because the spike occurred for around 1 second each time occasionally, not like 2-4 seconds as before. The GPU temperature while I was playing was around 82-84 degree Celcius. I don't know if that's normal, but it was definitely better than the almost-water-boiling-point-temperature before I got it pasted. Is there anything I could do to make the spike less apparent? Thanks in advance and thanks a lot for your advice!


  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer

    >>>I got it Silicone-pasted and airvent-cleaned now.>>> The GPU temperature while I was playing was around 82-84 degree Celcius.>>>


    Below 85*C under heavy game load is OK. What silicone paste did you use?

    Jack E/NJ

  • ZenithalizeOG
    ZenithalizeOG Member Posts: 5

    Tinkerer

    Sorry for late replies, exams has been quite busy. So, I asked the local computer shop where I had my laptop silicone-pasted, the shop-owner couldn't really remember which type he used pasted on my laptop, but it was either a "normal" one or a "cool master" one.


    But the thing is, whenever I tried to play some games that needs high performance like Naruto Ninja Storm 4 or something like that while charging my laptop, the laptop's fan speed would increases really quick until the computer shuts down. Everything works fine when not plugging in, but things go out of hand sometimes when charging and playing simultaneously. The fan speed would be a bit loud, but that's not really a problem, even though it makes me worry a bit. It would still go out of control even when I controlled the fan rpm with NITRO SENSE. Before I got my boy silicone-pasted, I could play while charging but the game would lag a lot, still, it wouldn't shuts on my face that frequent.