My Aspire A515-56G laptop can't run any games, Help me to fix this please.

Mxshan

Hello guys, I have an Acer Aspire 5 ( Apire A515-56G ) laptop, the problem is I can't run any good games. even old games like Far Cry 2 are laggy on 720p Medium Settings.
I tried several things to fix this but I couldn't. Every game I play is laggy and CPU usage is like 30% and GPU (Nvidia MX350) usage is 100%. Could you help me to get this thing fixed?
These are my specifications:
CPU - 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7
RAM - 8GB
GPU - Intel Iris Xe Graphics ( 3.9 GPU memory )
Nvidia GeForce MX350 ( 2.0 GB Dedicated GPU memory, 3.9GB Shared GPU memory, 5.9 GPU Memory
HDD - 1TB ( Only 1 partition )

[Edited the thread to add model name to the title]

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/694008/my-aspire-5-laptop-cant-run-any-games-help-me-to-fix-this-please

I recommend you replace the mechanical 2.5" Sata HDD for a much faster SSD and install a NVMe SSD in the free PCIe M.2 slot.

You VRAM is a bit low (2GB) and you wrote RAM 8GB, that is 4GB soldered (on board) and 4GB DDR4 removable in the slot. Are these 2 SODIMMs replicates or have different attributes? What is the RAM speed indicated in Task Manager, 2667MHz or 1333 MHz? If you are not running in Dual Channel Mode (2667 Mhz) Intel IrisXe defaults back to plain UHD. Did you turn off the iGPU in BIOS, how come only your dGPU is using 100% resources, normally the iGPU is the most active one?

Mxshan

@Puraw RAM Speed is 3200MHz, Only 1 of 2 slots used
I have enabled the both Intel Iris Xe and Nvidia MX350 GPU
Iris Xe is used while working and MX350 is used while gaming

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1237934#Comment_1237934

The RAM clock speed is maximum 2667 MHz even if you have 3200 Mhz DDR4 modules installed, check Task Manager for the speed. I must have another Aspire model in mind, are you sure you have 2 slots for 2 removable DDR4? the internal DDR4 soldered on the motherboard is counted in Task Manager as a slot but not by CPU-Z.

Mxshan

@Puraw Yes I checked the task manager and it says 3200 Mhz idk why

Mxshan

@Puraw Sorry I didn't see the edited text before
Here's a screenshot in CPU-Z and Task Manager

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1237936#Comment_1237936

Laptop media reviews a late 2020 model and concludes: "We all know that this is not a gaming laptop. Instead, it is aimed at doing your daily routine – some work" they also state "Interestingly, despite having a 25W version of the MX350, the laptop thermal throttles heavily. It works with a T-junction of 67C, which is too low for this cooling setup" Read the full review here:
https://laptopmedia.com/gb/review/acer-aspire-5-a515-56g-review-new-design-and-fresh-hardware-this-must-be-worth-it/

Mxshan

@Puraw Thank you for this!! Btw should I buy a cooling pad? bcoz the tempratue
About that Gaming test in that article, I don't get that much performance here,
I'm running games like Fortnite, Valorant, Far Cry 4 but those are super laggy

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1237939#Comment_1237939

Well maybe this is a later version CPU but check the Acer community and you will see that the clock speed is 2667 MHz for your laptop. I will leave it here, don't forget what I advised on replacing that 2.5" spinner for a Samsung 870 EVO V-NAND SSD and put a fast NVMe M.2 SSD in the free PCIe slot that will speed things up. Keep the laptop cool as it throttles when getting hot. 😉

Mxshan

@Puraw Thanks, dude! much appreciated 😀
I will upgrade to a SSD and put this thing on a cooling pad 😪

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1237942#Comment_1237942

Goodah, and get a powerful silent 5-fan cooling pad, full size of your laptop, it will lift the laptop up to improve air circulation at the inlet vents at the bottom and the extra airflow will cool the unit down considerably, I had the smaller version a515-54G and they get very hot quickly, could not use it on my lap and I am not a gamer. Another thing with speed is maintenance, update your Windows11 22H2 twice a month, you should be on Build 22621.2506 now, run the (elevated) command Dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth frequently followed by SFC /scannow, and uninstall all bloatware, use only Windows Edge and Defender, run Storage Sense and click on the Temporary bin at the left bottom of Storage Sense screen, it may find tens of GB redundant Windows update records like OldDos. I am going now.

Mxshan

@Puraw Thanks for the tip
I will try (:

JackE

Before spending too much money on a machine rated for marginal game-playing, try this first. Charge battery to 100% and keep plugged in BEFORE starting heavy gaming load. Under high power demand, battery will continue to drain even though it's plugged in. Once battery falls below about 50% charge, throttling be more noticeable. Then you have to stop play and let battery charge back up to near 100% again.