Neo 16 (PHN16-72)) 240hz 14900HX - only 60hz works with iGPU disabled

Sehnsucht

I'm all for Optimus, when it actually works, but with some games it refuses to acknowledge that the iGPU has met its match. But if I switch over, via Nvidia CP, from automatic → Nvidia gpu only (4070), it automatically goes to 60hz and simply switches back immediately if I try to select 240hz.

I cannot fathom why this would be intended behavior, so I'm hoping someone has a workaround. I didn't specifically get the one with the new 240hz monitor to have it be gimped at 60hz..

Edit: had to try the BIOS switch; that one actually worked (4070 only + 240hz), but that's an awful lot of work to switch GPU's for incompatible games. Hoping someone has a more elegant solution.

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

FrEaZeR

Try it like my last comment in here >

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/706370/predator-ph18-72-issue-with-screen-brightness

FrEaZeR

Try it like my last comment in here >

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/706370/predator-ph18-72-issue-with-screen-brightness

Sehnsucht

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1280752#Comment_1280752

This should be the same operation as I did before, but for whatever reason it gave a different result (switched to Nvidia GPU + 240hz). At any rate, hopefully this will work every time. Much appreciated.

FrEaZeR

Yeah it's very weird and buggy , i blame the iGPU they should had never been invented =)) . So when you shut down/turn it on you do it on Auto ? and switching to GPU when you need it ? For me on the PH18-72 it's a must to turn it on with Auto and change it in windows to GPU if i don't do it like that the brightness starts lower than usual and remains like that . If was working normally i would leave GPU Only !

BTW sometimes i also find the iGPU or GPU at 60hz randomly and not frequently .. again weird .

Sehnsucht

Well, next time I tried it did the thing again, switched to 60hz and refused 240. So my Optimus experiment is officially over - switched it permanently to Nvidia only now. The rare few times it'll be on battery, I will just switch and reboot. Have a Lenovo T490 for mobile usage anyway.

Oh yeah, mine also had issues with brightness on battery, where I couldn't change it, whatsoever. GPU on Auto then. Tried on battery just now with Nvidia only - could change brightness like normal. Barring harsh sunlight conditions, it may well be more energy efficient on Nvidia only because the locked brightness was quite high on battery.

I did do an actual power wattage test between Optimus and Nvidia only, and got the following results (non-scientific, just idle power test with a wattage meter):

Neo 16 Optimus idle: minimum 30W (between 30-60)
Neo 16 only Nvidia idle: minimum 42W (between 42-70)

So a little over 10W more without Optimus, but that's only idle. With actual usage I imagine it may skew the results more in Intels favour.

Some years back I swore I'd never buy another Acer laptop, but they keep being the cheapest, best option for the amount of money I am willing to spend. This one hasn't been too bad though, yet. I had to buy a whole set of tools to be able to crack it open though to upgrade the storage and RAM.

FrEaZeR

I don't exactly understand how do you want to use it , if you want Optimus i think you should leave it on Auto because Auto runs on Optimus if i`m not wrong and if harder work is needed for app/game/etc it sends it to GPU or switches to GPU , or if you want to change it manually you do it from Manage Display Mode .

When that happened last time (60Hz) did you started the laptop on Auto/Optimus or GPU ?

You do know that the option to change in Predator Sense is the same as the one in BIOS (maybe it save time).

Sehnsucht

Ideally I'd like it to work as advertised, but it does not for all games, forcing a switch. But if I switch without reboot, it often locks me to 60hz. Thus, I decided it's best to just lock it to Nvidia. I don't care about the extra power consumption unless I'm on battery, which is rare and quite useless on this particular laptop.

It started in Auto, I think.

Yeah PS switch should be the same, but still requires reboot. Not sure if Acer laptops are just riddled with small issues; my previous flagship Helios 700 laptop had serious fan curve issues forcing me to always run it in Custom unless I put it under load (or else it would continually power down and spin up the fans), along with some other minor things. After a BIOS update, the Neo 16 at least has for the most part, great fan curves, so that's a huge plus.

FrEaZeR

I doubt that this happens only with Acer laptops . We should just switch to a desktop pc and stop buying iGPU`s =)) .

Sehnsucht

I have an RTX 4090 desktop, so I'm set. But that case weighs about 50 kg (100ish lbs), so it's not very portable. I like to have a gaming laptop in my living room.

So anyway, today my brand new laptop booted with a black screen, and never turned on properly. I did switch out the RAM, but it ran fine all day yesterday without issues. Holding down the power button to shut it down fixed the issue, but this isn't boding well. Trying to reproduce it now by continually power cycling the laptop (boot to Windows, shut down, rinse repeat), thankfully hasn't happened again yet. Turned off Fast Boot to promote RAM checks as well. Hoping that does the trick.

We at least have consumer friendly return policies in my country, so I have 14 days for a free, no questions asked return. But other than the paltry 8GB vRAM and the aforementioned issues, I really like the machine. And I looked at every single brand and all their offerings. The only alternative is a cheap MSI 4080 laptop with a horrendous display.

FrEaZeR

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1281343#Comment_1281343

Was it a "boot" or coming out of Sleep/Hibernation/Screen off ?

Sehnsucht

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1281355#Comment_1281355

Boot, so can't be Windows related (and yes, the Windows fast boot is off). I rarely ever use anything else.

Still has only happened once, and I've made it a point to turn it off more frequently than I would otherwise.