Brand new Aspire R15 is not doing so great.

Matchstick
Matchstick Member Posts: 6 New User
edited November 2023 in 2018 Archives
Hello! I've just purchased a new Acer Aspire R 15 and I'm having trouble, because everything is slow/laggy. Browser windows open slowly, file folders and other windows open/close slowly, and games are running much worse. Granted, it boots up quickly, but overall it's a lot slower and less responsive than my previous laptop (a four-year-old Dell Inspiron 14). All of the hardware is at least a step up from that laptop. 

The first thing I did when I started it up was follow the instructions in a video on how to get rid of bloatware and make Windows 10 less pushy (up to 7:35 and enabling Developer Mode): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KFc6l8jrVs

1. Quick rundown of the given specs:
Intel Core i7-7500U
256GB SSD
12GB DDR4 RAM, 2GB GDDR5 VRAM
GeForce GTX 940MX*

*This is the Amazon page for anything important I've unintentionally omitted: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WD61CF5/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

2. I tried running XCOM: Enemy Unknown and it was a mess. The intro cutscene video and audio stuttered like a slow-buffering YouTube video. Everything (mouse movement, clicks, keyboard commands) took two or three seconds to respond. For your convenience, here are the recommended specs for XCOM EU:
OS: Windows 7
Processor: 2 GHz Dual-Core**
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9000 series / ATI Radeon HD 3000 series (or greater)
Hard Drive: 20 GB space

**According to the Amazon page, this computer has only a single core. Is that enough of a factor to make it run poorly?

3. I recently ran a UserBenchmark test on it and here are the results, which are abysmal (it is in the 2nd percentile):
[UserBenchmarks: Game 11%, Desk 16%, Work 13%]

CPU: [Intel Core i7-7500U] 7.1%
GPU: [Intel HD 620 (Mobile Kaby Lake)] 2.4%***
SSD: [HFS256G39TND-N210A 256GB] 48%
RAM: [Hynix HMA851S6AFR6N-TF Micron 8ATF1G64HZ-2G3B1 12GB] 20.8%
MBD: [Acer Aspire R5-571TG]

***I noticed that it was testing the HD 620 rather than the 940MX. I looked up the 940MX in Device Manager and tried to update the drivers. It found drivers but "encountered an error trying to install them."

------------------

So my brand new laptop is performing poorly, and rather than just start changing more settings and downloading more programs, I thought I'd ask the Acer community for advice. I'm especially concerned about the CPU and GPU performance. I apologize in advance for any boneheaded mistakes I may have made, please show mercy and help me fix them.

Thanks everyone.
-Matt

Best Answer

  • alejo_sarmi_
    alejo_sarmi_ Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer
    Answer ✓
    Hi Matt, i had also boughted the R15, and i have also some problems, but mine are the mousepad, it suddenly didnt work, anyway, here is what you need to do, for activate your 940MX instead of using just your intel graphics, and have the best performance od your GPU  1. right click on your desktop, you search for an option called "NVIDIA Control Panel", when you open it on your left, you need to find first the category of "3D settings", below that it is "Adjust image settings and preview" you would find 3 options, click on the option "Use the advanced 3D image settings", after that, you need to go to the second category "Manage 3D settings" and you need to change and option called: Texture filtering, Quality, and put this option on  High permormance, and on the last category called: Set PhysX Configuration, you need to put the option of GeForce 940MX instead of the default option of  Auto select. 

    This would make you gain more or less the best of your graphics card, and i had seen that for this labtop is better to put the resolution on 1280x720 on games, for have a decent frame rate, that´s all.

Answers

  • alejo_sarmi_
    alejo_sarmi_ Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer
    Answer ✓
    Hi Matt, i had also boughted the R15, and i have also some problems, but mine are the mousepad, it suddenly didnt work, anyway, here is what you need to do, for activate your 940MX instead of using just your intel graphics, and have the best performance od your GPU  1. right click on your desktop, you search for an option called "NVIDIA Control Panel", when you open it on your left, you need to find first the category of "3D settings", below that it is "Adjust image settings and preview" you would find 3 options, click on the option "Use the advanced 3D image settings", after that, you need to go to the second category "Manage 3D settings" and you need to change and option called: Texture filtering, Quality, and put this option on  High permormance, and on the last category called: Set PhysX Configuration, you need to put the option of GeForce 940MX instead of the default option of  Auto select. 

    This would make you gain more or less the best of your graphics card, and i had seen that for this labtop is better to put the resolution on 1280x720 on games, for have a decent frame rate, that´s all.
  • Matchstick
    Matchstick Member Posts: 6 New User
    alejo_sarmi_ said:
    Hi Matt, i had also boughted the R15, and i have also some problems, but mine are the mousepad, it suddenly didnt work, anyway, here is what you need to do, for activate your 940MX instead of using just your intel graphics, and have the best performance od your GPU  1. right click on your desktop, you search for an option called "NVIDIA Control Panel", when you open it on your left, you need to find first the category of "3D settings", below that it is "Adjust image settings and preview" you would find 3 options, click on the option "Use the advanced 3D image settings", after that, you need to go to the second category "Manage 3D settings" and you need to change and option called: Texture filtering, Quality, and put this option on  High permormance, and on the last category called: Set PhysX Configuration, you need to put the option of GeForce 940MX instead of the default option of  Auto select. 

    This would make you gain more or less the best of your graphics card, and i had seen that for this labtop is better to put the resolution on 1280x720 on games, for have a decent frame rate, that´s all.
    Mine says "Intel Graphics Settings" when I right-click on my desktop...
  • alejo_sarmi_
    alejo_sarmi_ Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer
    OK, that is bad, so you need to put next to the windows logo "bottom left corner" and search NVIDIA, there you should find the NVIDIA Control Panel 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,889 Trailblazer
    >>>I've just purchased a new Acer Aspire R 15 and I'm having trouble>>>

    Return it to the vendor for a replacement or a refund ASAP. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Matchstick
    Matchstick Member Posts: 6 New User
    alejo_sarmi_ said:
    OK, that is bad, so you need to put next to the windows logo "bottom left corner" and search NVIDIA, there you should find the NVIDIA Control Panel 
    Yes, I reinstalled the driver, found the window, and changed the settings. The graphics card is now performing way above expectations. Unfortunately the Core, Drive, and memory are still abysmal.
  • Matchstick
    Matchstick Member Posts: 6 New User
    JackE said:
    >>>I've just purchased a new Acer Aspire R 15 and I'm having trouble>>>

    Return it to the vendor for a replacement or a refund ASAP. Jack E/NJ
    I have a 2-year full coverage plan. I'd like to get this one to work if I can, or at least figure out what's wrong, before trading in.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,889 Trailblazer
    OK. But the vendor may have a limited period in which you can do an outright exchange or refund with the vendor so you don't have to go thru a formal warranty claim process. Most electronics vendors around here give me 30 days to bring a device back that I'm not happy with, no questions asked. Jack E/NJ       

    Jack E/NJ

  • alejo_sarmi_
    alejo_sarmi_ Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer
    JackE  how do i know my warranty ? i bought the computer on amazon 
  • alejo_sarmi_
    alejo_sarmi_ Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer
    And Matt; Ok.... i dont know about the RAM, and of memory, but i can help you with the cores
  • alejo_sarmi_
    alejo_sarmi_ Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer
    So, first, you need to put on your keyboard: WINDOWS + R, then you put on the little window that pop up: msconfig, after that you are going to see an application called System configuration is going to appear, now seasrch for the window of BOOT, and there click on Advanced options there you need to change the number of proccesors to its max, and i am not sure, but at the right of proccesors, there is something of memory maybe if you find something that works to you on that category.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,889 Trailblazer
    alejo---An ACER warranty and a vendor/seller exchange/refund policy are two different things. You probably have a 1-year ACER warranty. But you may also have a "no-questions-asked" exchange or refund policy with Amazon or with the dealer who sold you the machine on the Amazon site --- this exchange or refund policy usually lasts for a much shorter time period. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • alejo_sarmi_
    alejo_sarmi_ Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer
    Ok, thanks Jack so i just talk with the seller ? 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,889 Trailblazer
    Probably best to first try letting Amazon handle it. For example, I just returned a device last week through Amazon's return process rather than dealing directly with the Amazon seller. Amazon already issued a credit to my credit card!  Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Matchstick
    Matchstick Member Posts: 6 New User
    alejo_sarmi_ said:
    So, first, you need to put on your keyboard: WINDOWS + R, then you put on the little window that pop up: msconfig, after that you are going to see an application called System configuration is going to appear, now seasrch for the window of BOOT, and there click on Advanced options there you need to change the number of proccesors to its max, and i am not sure, but at the right of proccesors, there is something of memory maybe if you find something that works to you on that category.
    I did, but the maximum number was 4. This isn't a quad-core laptop. According to Amazon, it only has one, but I've heard that an i7 by default has two. If I set it to 4 if it doesn't have 4, will that cause problems?
  • Matchstick
    Matchstick Member Posts: 6 New User
    alejo_sarmi_ said:
    So, first, you need to put on your keyboard: WINDOWS + R, then you put on the little window that pop up: msconfig, after that you are going to see an application called System configuration is going to appear, now seasrch for the window of BOOT, and there click on Advanced options there you need to change the number of proccesors to its max, and i am not sure, but at the right of proccesors, there is something of memory maybe if you find something that works to you on that category.
    I changed it to 4 and it started to perform slower. It was initially set to 1, so I changed it back to 1 and now EVERYTHING is slow. Like ten times as slow. And that was the only change I made.
  • DanielleF
    DanielleF Member Posts: 1 New User
    I've had my Acer 5 months and today I charged it and unplugged it to take with me and it immediately shut off. It shows its 100% charged but will not turn on unless it's plugged in. I'm assuming it's a faulty battery?? 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,889 Trailblazer
    DanielleF>>>I'm assuming it's a faulty battery?? >>>

    Seems like a good assumption to me. https://www.amazon.com/BATURU-AC14B8K-Chromebook-cb5-571-c1dz-R5-571TG/dp/B07CMWD5YV/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1542932326&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=R5-571TG+replacement+battery&psc=1  Jack E/NJ



    Jack E/NJ

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