i9 13900hx overheating flags and forcing low memory speeds on Laptop: Helios 16 PH16-71

Laptop: Helios 16 PH16-71

i9 13900HX, 4070

Apex Legends kept crashing with a dxgi device error hung/removed so went to nvidia forums and asked if others were having same issues.

Was asked to run benchmarks and log with hwinfo.

This is when it's idling. yes idling. Only one instance of firefox running. I took this as I am writing this post.

Here's a log of the laptop on firestrike:

HwInfo 7th August_firestrike.CSV

Here's Nvidia's reply to that:

I'd appreciate two things,

First, the knowledge of some power saving event that pushes the memory speeds low as stated in the image.

Second, since my laptop is out of warranty, what are my options in case it's a intel hardware issue, aside from crying while the shower is running, of course.

I have also seen other people having temp issues so I know it's a widespread problem in this laptop. Did Acer ever address any of these issues?

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

Accepted answers

All comments

GAMING6698

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/710549/i9-13900hx-overheating-flags-and-forcing-low-memory-speeds-on-laptop-helios-16-ph16-71

Overheating is not an issue for all gaming laptops and PCs, but it can occur after one or two years of intense gaming. Over time, the thermal paste can dry out, fans can accumulate dust, and air vents can become blocked.

To address this, people often replace the thermal paste with a high-quality one and clean the laptop fans and air vents annually to ensure smooth operation.

You should consider doing this as well. I can provide you with steps to achieve optimal cooling. If you're confident in your ability to do it yourself, you can proceed and i can provide you steps, or you can send it to a service center. However, be aware that this might be costly since the system may be out of warranty.

Doing it yourself is often more cost-effective and manageable. Many YouTube videos are available on this topic for your laptop, so check them out to see if you can handle it.

Ritwiz

When I talked about overheating in the helios 16 laptops, I was talking about relatively new laptops. I am aware that cooling pastes can degrade over time. However, since my laptop has liquid metal installed, I am not confident in changing the cooling paste on this. I have already cleaned the fans once after the warranty ran out however I do not see any improvement on temps.

I will try changing the thermal paste through acer repair. Thanks.

GAMING6698

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1291206#Comment_1291206

I can provide steps but you said it new then said it out of warranty. What you want to say?

Ritwiz

"When I talked about overheating in the helios 16 laptops, I was talking about relatively new laptops." This sentence means "Acer helios 16 laptops in general have overheating issues even when they're new" not "My laptop is new".

Hope that cleared things up.

A quick search on google "Acer helios new overheating" will lead you to posts such as :

https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianGaming/comments/183jxcb/thermal_throttling_and_heating_issue_in_acer/

and

https://community.intel.com/t5/Processors/intel-i7-13700HX-processor-overheating/m-p/1553091

However, if your solution is just to change thermal paste, then no I don't need instructions.

As I asked before, I'd like to be made aware of a power-saving event that forces my memory to go down to 2000-3000 Mhz for 2-3 seconds at a time. If yes, then can I stop that from happening?

This is the only answer I am looking for.

GAMING6698

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1291355#Comment_1291355

You can't eliminate thermal throttling on laptops entirely. The best solutions are to apply high-quality thermal paste and clean the fans and air vents. Some new laptops may also experience this issue if they come with poorly applied thermal paste from the factory.

Better check my comment in below post I shared for proper cleaning and pasting-

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/668301/high-temperature-nitro-517-51

Ritwiz

Just to update for people who will be looking at the thread in the future:

Went and got my laptop re-pasted at a local acer predator shop. They serviced the laptop and repasted it.

The repaste is working as idle temperatures have fallen to around 50°c from 70-80°c.

Did it solve my issue? Nope.

The laptop still spikes massively in temperatures during any sort of gameplay or heavy duty tasks.

If I cannot use a tool without it failing and slowing down, it's not a good tool to begin with.

P-core 2 and 3 for me still go up to 98-100°c. This is absolutely not normal in any case. Let alone playing apex legends on all low settings. This is a simple task that an i5 can do let alone the i9 13900hx.

Possible solutions I see are:

Undervolting.
Sending the laptop back to acer to get it looked at by a professional.

Option 1 is completely impossible as I have found out that accessing the advanced BIOS to enable under-volting for the CPU is not possible on the helios 16 (non-neo) (PH-16/PH-18 series)

If you have a helios neo (PHN-16) or any other acer then you can hold fn+tab before turning the laptop on and then go into the advanced BIOS with f2 when the laptop screen turns on.

If you have a non-neo (PH-16/PH-18 series) version and have successfully opened the advanced BIOS it'd be of great help if you could let me know how, as I have not been able to do replicate the fn+tab method on mine.

As for option 2 I have already reached out to Acer India and I am waiting for their response. I hope they can make heads or tails about this issue because if they can't then my last option will be to buy a new laptop which is not easy in India due to sky-high taxes. I also lose a lot of money on the laptop I already have if I have to sell or exchange it.

Why did Acer lock the undervolting options on a HX series CPU which is marketed as unlocked? Every other manufacturer seems to let you customize the voltage and clock speeds. Acer itself allowed the same thing on previous generation HX CPUs and neo models.

All in all, I hope my laptop does not fail as all my work is on it. I do regret buying Acer even if my previous helios served me well. I can only hope I get a decent resolution from Acer's official support.

Stephenjp13

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1292082#Comment_1292082

yeah, its wild how manufacturers allowed the HX models to be undervolted because they normally run hot. Now why ACER locked this model for their newer laptops but allow the older laptops and the same model to be undervolted? No idea, makes literally no sense whatsoever. Something tells me its a whole apple scheme..

Ritwiz

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/i9-13900hx-dying-laptop.325785/page-2#post-5316344

After much deliberation by multiple people and trying out various solutions, My laptop seems to be on it's last legs.

Now, since I have hard evidence of the laptop malfunctioning while being used well below it's maximum capacity, will Acer do anything to help me out with a repair or replacement? Or is this laptop as good as e-waste?