Acer Nitro 5 An515-42 release date

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Answers

  • Red_Sun
    Red_Sun Member Posts: 86 Fixer WiFi Icon
    Where is the BIOS ? I'll install it and give it a go. I just put in my new ram but I haven't used the laptop after that.

    Thought was going to have to update through existing BIOS like the good old days. With a flash drive and fingers crossed...lol.

    So, few things I've learned here:
    1) The CPU was locked at 399 mhz when powered up from shutdown (see link above), and seemingly unlocked if you restarted. Some of this lag I'm seeing on things like just opening settings or a taskbar are starting to make sense now. Same with some of the issues I've been seeing with running older games. I also suspect it may not have been the RAdeon driver (jury is still out, however), but the fact I uninstalled it via driver sweeper, and restarted my system which initiated the unlock. Sounds like maybe a bug with Ryzen.

    2) Although I thought I turned on "high performance" on Blacklight to enable the RX560 instead of Vega, I accidentally noticed the program had two .exe files associated with it. Guess what? One was on battery saver (Vega) and the other on performance (RX560). JUST played it now. Average framerates on high settings? 87!! Much improved, things felt vastly improved.

    3) IPS Panel! Always been a huge fan of TN panels for their response time. I know many people scoff at their color reproduction. Am in the market for a new monitor, eventually. SERIOUSLY considering an IPS for my main rig. The colors on the laptop are very pleasing to my eye.

    4) Re-ran passmark 3D using the RX360 instead of Vega. BIG score improvement, LOL


  • Jimster480
    Jimster480 Member Posts: 93 Fixer WiFi Icon
    Red_Sun said:
    Where is the BIOS ? I'll install it and give it a go. I just put in my new ram but I haven't used the laptop after that.

    Thought was going to have to update through existing BIOS like the good old days. With a flash drive and fingers crossed...lol.

    So, few things I've learned here:
    1) The CPU was locked at 399 mhz when powered up from shutdown (see link above), and seemingly unlocked if you restarted. Some of this lag I'm seeing on things like just opening settings or a taskbar are starting to make sense now. Same with some of the issues I've been seeing with running older games. I also suspect it may not have been the RAdeon driver (jury is still out, however), but the fact I uninstalled it via driver sweeper, and restarted my system which initiated the unlock. Sounds like maybe a bug with Ryzen.

    2) Although I thought I turned on "high performance" on Blacklight to enable the RX560 instead of Vega, I accidentally noticed the program had two .exe files associated with it. Guess what? One was on battery saver (Vega) and the other on performance (RX560). JUST played it now. Average framerates on high settings? 87!! Much improved, things felt vastly improved.

    3) IPS Panel! Always been a huge fan of TN panels for their response time. I know many people scoff at their color reproduction. Am in the market for a new monitor, eventually. SERIOUSLY considering an IPS for my main rig. The colors on the laptop are very pleasing to my eye.

    4) Re-ran passmark 3D using the RX360 instead of Vega. BIG score improvement, LOL


    I installed the BIOS last night along with my dual channel memory. Saw no improvement in most tasks, but my passmark scores did go up.
    I will soon upload all the results via a rar file on my forum for people to be able to download the actual test files to compare.
    the gaming performance is slightly better with dual channel, but when using the RX560 it doesn't make nearly the difference that I expected.
    I will be playing more games maybe tonight just to test it out and see.

    In terms of the screen, yes its better than some TN panels.... but I am spoiled with 4K Ultrasharp monitors on my main rig (since I mostly do programming stuff) and this screen looks very washed out compared to some of those incredible panels. But overall its much more acceptable vs some of my older laptops (although worse than the XPS13 9350 which has an Ultrasharp also) and atleast the brightness on this laptop goes to a good enough level to use it in sunlight.
    I do love the matte screen though as the reflective one on the XPS13 would often be distracting with where the laptop is placed on my desk downstairs.
  • Jimster480
    Jimster480 Member Posts: 93 Fixer WiFi Icon
    Also use this :-1:https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=QCA61x4A+windows+10
    Install the newest driver for the wifi. I was just playing a game of overwatch to test the FPS (Very rock stable now at 70fps in 1080p high) and it kept dropping packets left and right.


  • Jimster480
    Jimster480 Member Posts: 93 Fixer WiFi Icon
    Alright so I have ran into a problem.... now that my Windows 10 updated the wifi is unstable. I have not been able to find a stable driver that can not drop packets while gaming.
    Prior to the windows update (the version of windows that came on the laptop) the wifi was perfect and stable.
    Now online games are unplayable as the ping varies from 68-900 and often in overwatch you won't notice it go past 128 but you can see the characters stop moving or start moving like a slideshow despite the lack of FPS drop (the game is as smooth as can be).
    I have used my https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BHG5CTT/ that I bought about a month ago for testing purposes and the wifi is super stable using this.
    I played OW this morning for 1 hour testing it and never had a single packet drop and the game is literally as smooth as my 1700x Vega56 desktop.

  • Red_Sun
    Red_Sun Member Posts: 86 Fixer WiFi Icon
    Alright so I have ran into a problem.... now that my Windows 10 updated the wifi is unstable. I have not been able to find a stable driver that can not drop packets while gaming.
    Prior to the windows update (the version of windows that came on the laptop) the wifi was perfect and stable.
    Now online games are unplayable as the ping varies from 68-900 and often in overwatch you won't notice it go past 128 but you can see the characters stop moving or start moving like a slideshow despite the lack of FPS drop (the game is as smooth as can be).
    I have used my https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BHG5CTT/ that I bought about a month ago for testing purposes and the wifi is super stable using this.
    I played OW this morning for 1 hour testing it and never had a single packet drop and the game is literally as smooth as my 1700x Vega56 desktop.


    Alright so I have ran into a problem.... now that my Windows 10 updated the wifi is unstable. I have not been able to find a stable driver that can not drop packets while gaming.
    Prior to the windows update (the version of windows that came on the laptop) the wifi was perfect and stable.
    Now online games are unplayable as the ping varies from 68-900 and often in overwatch you won't notice it go past 128 but you can see the characters stop moving or start moving like a slideshow despite the lack of FPS drop (the game is as smooth as can be).
    I have used my https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BHG5CTT/ that I bought about a month ago for testing purposes and the wifi is super stable using this.
    I played OW this morning for 1 hour testing it and never had a single packet drop and the game is literally as smooth as my 1700x Vega56 desktop.

    I hate Win10.

    How much ram did you get?

    4k monitors look really nice. never owned anything other than TN panels until now. Holding off until refresh/response gets a bit stronger on 4k's.
  • Jimster480
    Jimster480 Member Posts: 93 Fixer WiFi Icon
    Red_Sun said:
    Alright so I have ran into a problem.... now that my Windows 10 updated the wifi is unstable. I have not been able to find a stable driver that can not drop packets while gaming.
    Prior to the windows update (the version of windows that came on the laptop) the wifi was perfect and stable.
    Now online games are unplayable as the ping varies from 68-900 and often in overwatch you won't notice it go past 128 but you can see the characters stop moving or start moving like a slideshow despite the lack of FPS drop (the game is as smooth as can be).
    I have used my https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BHG5CTT/ that I bought about a month ago for testing purposes and the wifi is super stable using this.
    I played OW this morning for 1 hour testing it and never had a single packet drop and the game is literally as smooth as my 1700x Vega56 desktop.


    Alright so I have ran into a problem.... now that my Windows 10 updated the wifi is unstable. I have not been able to find a stable driver that can not drop packets while gaming.
    Prior to the windows update (the version of windows that came on the laptop) the wifi was perfect and stable.
    Now online games are unplayable as the ping varies from 68-900 and often in overwatch you won't notice it go past 128 but you can see the characters stop moving or start moving like a slideshow despite the lack of FPS drop (the game is as smooth as can be).
    I have used my https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BHG5CTT/ that I bought about a month ago for testing purposes and the wifi is super stable using this.
    I played OW this morning for 1 hour testing it and never had a single packet drop and the game is literally as smooth as my 1700x Vega56 desktop.

    I hate Win10.

    How much ram did you get?

    4k monitors look really nice. never owned anything other than TN panels until now. Holding off until refresh/response gets a bit stronger on 4k's.
    I just bought another 8G stick, but this one is 2666, eventually I can upgrade the original stick to 2666 and sell it so that the laptop will run at 2666.

    My main machine has 2x UP2414Q so when I game its typically on those in 4K.
  • dclanz
    dclanz Member Posts: 112 Skilled Fixer WiFi Icon
    Alright, it's in the country! Just need to go clear it at customs tomorrow. I'll probably order the RAM a bit later on and I've already got a SSD to put in. :)
    If a post helps or answers your question, be sure to hit the like button so the poster knows they were helpful.
    Try using the search function before posting, as your question may have been asked and resolved before.
    Be sure to check out my Acer An515-42 Clean Install Guide.
  • Red_Sun
    Red_Sun Member Posts: 86 Fixer WiFi Icon
    Red_Sun said:
    Alright so I have ran into a problem.... now that my Windows 10 updated the wifi is unstable. I have not been able to find a stable driver that can not drop packets while gaming.
    Prior to the windows update (the version of windows that came on the laptop) the wifi was perfect and stable.
    Now online games are unplayable as the ping varies from 68-900 and often in overwatch you won't notice it go past 128 but you can see the characters stop moving or start moving like a slideshow despite the lack of FPS drop (the game is as smooth as can be).
    I have used my https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BHG5CTT/ that I bought about a month ago for testing purposes and the wifi is super stable using this.
    I played OW this morning for 1 hour testing it and never had a single packet drop and the game is literally as smooth as my 1700x Vega56 desktop.


    Alright so I have ran into a problem.... now that my Windows 10 updated the wifi is unstable. I have not been able to find a stable driver that can not drop packets while gaming.
    Prior to the windows update (the version of windows that came on the laptop) the wifi was perfect and stable.
    Now online games are unplayable as the ping varies from 68-900 and often in overwatch you won't notice it go past 128 but you can see the characters stop moving or start moving like a slideshow despite the lack of FPS drop (the game is as smooth as can be).
    I have used my https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BHG5CTT/ that I bought about a month ago for testing purposes and the wifi is super stable using this.
    I played OW this morning for 1 hour testing it and never had a single packet drop and the game is literally as smooth as my 1700x Vega56 desktop.

    I hate Win10.

    How much ram did you get?

    4k monitors look really nice. never owned anything other than TN panels until now. Holding off until refresh/response gets a bit stronger on 4k's.
    I just bought another 8G stick, but this one is 2666, eventually I can upgrade the original stick to 2666 and sell it so that the laptop will run at 2666.

    My main machine has 2x UP2414Q so when I game its typically on those in 4K.
    Any problem running at 2666? Read some folks had issues on other platforms with enabking XMP profile.
  • Jimster480
    Jimster480 Member Posts: 93 Fixer WiFi Icon
    Red_Sun said:
    Red_Sun said:
    Alright so I have ran into a problem.... now that my Windows 10 updated the wifi is unstable. I have not been able to find a stable driver that can not drop packets while gaming.
    Prior to the windows update (the version of windows that came on the laptop) the wifi was perfect and stable.
    Now online games are unplayable as the ping varies from 68-900 and often in overwatch you won't notice it go past 128 but you can see the characters stop moving or start moving like a slideshow despite the lack of FPS drop (the game is as smooth as can be).
    I have used my https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BHG5CTT/ that I bought about a month ago for testing purposes and the wifi is super stable using this.
    I played OW this morning for 1 hour testing it and never had a single packet drop and the game is literally as smooth as my 1700x Vega56 desktop.


    Alright so I have ran into a problem.... now that my Windows 10 updated the wifi is unstable. I have not been able to find a stable driver that can not drop packets while gaming.
    Prior to the windows update (the version of windows that came on the laptop) the wifi was perfect and stable.
    Now online games are unplayable as the ping varies from 68-900 and often in overwatch you won't notice it go past 128 but you can see the characters stop moving or start moving like a slideshow despite the lack of FPS drop (the game is as smooth as can be).
    I have used my https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BHG5CTT/ that I bought about a month ago for testing purposes and the wifi is super stable using this.
    I played OW this morning for 1 hour testing it and never had a single packet drop and the game is literally as smooth as my 1700x Vega56 desktop.

    I hate Win10.

    How much ram did you get?

    4k monitors look really nice. never owned anything other than TN panels until now. Holding off until refresh/response gets a bit stronger on 4k's.
    I just bought another 8G stick, but this one is 2666, eventually I can upgrade the original stick to 2666 and sell it so that the laptop will run at 2666.

    My main machine has 2x UP2414Q so when I game its typically on those in 4K.
    Any problem running at 2666? Read some folks had issues on other platforms with enabking XMP profile.

    I only have one module that is 2666 so I cannot use 2666 yet.
  • Red_Sun
    Red_Sun Member Posts: 86 Fixer WiFi Icon
    dclanz said:
    Alright, it's in the country! Just need to go clear it at customs tomorrow. I'll probably order the RAM a bit later on and I've already got a SSD to put in. :)
    Which SSD did you get? I just looked at the list of passmark benches and the stock SSD if very near the bottom, lol. I ordered a new one as well.
  • Jimster480
    Jimster480 Member Posts: 93 Fixer WiFi Icon
    Red_Sun said:
    dclanz said:
    Alright, it's in the country! Just need to go clear it at customs tomorrow. I'll probably order the RAM a bit later on and I've already got a SSD to put in. :)
    Which SSD did you get? I just looked at the list of passmark benches and the stock SSD if very near the bottom, lol. I ordered a new one as well.
    SSD near the bottom? Idk the scores weren't that bad if you check over on my site.
    What model SSD is in your laptop? Mine has a hitachi.
  • dclanz
    dclanz Member Posts: 112 Skilled Fixer WiFi Icon
    Red_Sun said:
    dclanz said:
    Alright, it's in the country! Just need to go clear it at customs tomorrow. I'll probably order the RAM a bit later on and I've already got a SSD to put in. :)
    Which SSD did you get? I just looked at the list of passmark benches and the stock SSD if very near the bottom, lol. I ordered a new one as well.
    I had this one for almost a year with my previous laptop so I just popped it in the An515-42 (https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultra-2-5-Inch-Height-SDSSDHII-960G-G25/dp/B00M8ABHVQ/)
    If a post helps or answers your question, be sure to hit the like button so the poster knows they were helpful.
    Try using the search function before posting, as your question may have been asked and resolved before.
    Be sure to check out my Acer An515-42 Clean Install Guide.
  • dclanz
    dclanz Member Posts: 112 Skilled Fixer WiFi Icon
    Something I noticed, if you go to the task manager, then go to the services tab and sort by name you will see XTU3SERVICE. I was like why is the Intel Extreme Tuning utility running on a Ryzen laptop. Naturally I downloaded and installed XTU and checked but I could do nothing. Also got a lot of trouble to remove it so I reset the laptop and found the service running again along with a nice little folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel(R) Extreme Tuning Utility. So I decided to snoop around and see what could be using XTU as a service. My initial hunch was that somehow Nitro Sense could be utilizing it to monitor temps (but to make adjustments to the processor would be impossible). Then I thought why did they not use Ryzen Master and I remembered that doesn't recognize the Ryzen 2500U.....yet!
    If a post helps or answers your question, be sure to hit the like button so the poster knows they were helpful.
    Try using the search function before posting, as your question may have been asked and resolved before.
    Be sure to check out my Acer An515-42 Clean Install Guide.
  • Jimster480
    Jimster480 Member Posts: 93 Fixer WiFi Icon
    dclanz said:
    Something I noticed, if you go to the task manager, then go to the services tab and sort by name you will see XTU3SERVICE. I was like why is the Intel Extreme Tuning utility running on a Ryzen laptop. Naturally I downloaded and installed XTU and checked but I could do nothing. Also got a lot of trouble to remove it so I reset the laptop and found the service running again along with a nice little folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel(R) Extreme Tuning Utility. So I decided to snoop around and see what could be using XTU as a service. My initial hunch was that somehow Nitro Sense could be utilizing it to monitor temps (but to make adjustments to the processor would be impossible). Then I thought why did they not use Ryzen Master and I remembered that doesn't recognize the Ryzen 2500U.....yet!
    Yea I already tried the Ryzen master utility with no success. I think I wrote that in my review on my website aswell!

    I disabled the XTU service easily just go to services and disable it and it will be gone forever.
  • Red_Sun
    Red_Sun Member Posts: 86 Fixer WiFi Icon
    SSD near the bottom? Idk the scores weren't that bad if you check over on my site.
    What model SSD is in your laptop? Mine has a hitachi.
    19th from the bottom on the high end chart. Turrrrrible...lol

    So grabbed some kingston sticks. Am I seeing things? It looks like they are running at 2400...








  • Red_Sun
    Red_Sun Member Posts: 86 Fixer WiFi Icon
    edited July 2018
    Alright, trying to wrap my head around this:

    Looks like this unit came with micron DDR4-2666 ram. But cpu-Z is saying the dram frequency is running at 1197.6 Mhz (x 2, that roughly equals 2400 if you round up). Same with my new sticks.

    Everything I'm reading about these 2666 parts is they require an XMP profile adjustment in BIOS to run to full frequency. Acer laptops do not have that option. Not understanding why they put a 2666 part in that can only run at 2400.  The only advantage I can see is the 2666 has slight higher bandwidth (PC4-21300 vs PC4 19200). Otherwise you could just go with 2400 and get better timings.

    Am I missing something here?





  • dclanz
    dclanz Member Posts: 112 Skilled Fixer WiFi Icon
    Red_Sun said:
    Alright, trying to wrap my head around this:

    Looks like this unit came with micron DDR4-2666 ram. But cpu-Z is saying the dram frequency is running at 1197.6 Mhz (x 2, that roughly equals 2400 if you round up). Same with my new sticks.

    Everything I'm reading about these 2666 parts is they require an XMP profile adjustment in BIOS to run to full frequency. Acer laptops do not have that option. Not understanding why they put a 2666 part in that can only run at 2400.  The only advantage I can see is the 2666 has slight higher bandwidth (PC4-21300 vs PC4 19200). Otherwise you could just go with 2400 and get better timings.

    Am I missing something here?

    I agree, the BIOS as is seems very limited and I hope they release an unlocked version soon. As for the RAM I grabbed 2 2400 sticks and will see how things go once they arrive: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071KPGFCB/
    If a post helps or answers your question, be sure to hit the like button so the poster knows they were helpful.
    Try using the search function before posting, as your question may have been asked and resolved before.
    Be sure to check out my Acer An515-42 Clean Install Guide.
  • dclanz
    dclanz Member Posts: 112 Skilled Fixer WiFi Icon
    dclanz said:
    Something I noticed, if you go to the task manager, then go to the services tab and sort by name you will see XTU3SERVICE. I was like why is the Intel Extreme Tuning utility running on a Ryzen laptop. Naturally I downloaded and installed XTU and checked but I could do nothing. Also got a lot of trouble to remove it so I reset the laptop and found the service running again along with a nice little folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel(R) Extreme Tuning Utility. So I decided to snoop around and see what could be using XTU as a service. My initial hunch was that somehow Nitro Sense could be utilizing it to monitor temps (but to make adjustments to the processor would be impossible). Then I thought why did they not use Ryzen Master and I remembered that doesn't recognize the Ryzen 2500U.....yet!
    Yea I already tried the Ryzen master utility with no success. I think I wrote that in my review on my website aswell!

    I disabled the XTU service easily just go to services and disable it and it will be gone forever.
    I'd rather leave the XTU service running as I'm not sure how it would impact Nitro Sense (if it's being used by it at all).
    If a post helps or answers your question, be sure to hit the like button so the poster knows they were helpful.
    Try using the search function before posting, as your question may have been asked and resolved before.
    Be sure to check out my Acer An515-42 Clean Install Guide.
  • Red_Sun
    Red_Sun Member Posts: 86 Fixer WiFi Icon
    edited July 2018
    Anyone else notice the cpu locks at 1.5ghz on battery? Must be a nitro sense/power profile thing. I set the latter for the CPU to run at 100% on battery, but it still does it. Might uninstall nitro sense to see what happens

  • Jimster480
    Jimster480 Member Posts: 93 Fixer WiFi Icon
    dclanz said:
    dclanz said:
    Something I noticed, if you go to the task manager, then go to the services tab and sort by name you will see XTU3SERVICE. I was like why is the Intel Extreme Tuning utility running on a Ryzen laptop. Naturally I downloaded and installed XTU and checked but I could do nothing. Also got a lot of trouble to remove it so I reset the laptop and found the service running again along with a nice little folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel(R) Extreme Tuning Utility. So I decided to snoop around and see what could be using XTU as a service. My initial hunch was that somehow Nitro Sense could be utilizing it to monitor temps (but to make adjustments to the processor would be impossible). Then I thought why did they not use Ryzen Master and I remembered that doesn't recognize the Ryzen 2500U.....yet!
    Yea I already tried the Ryzen master utility with no success. I think I wrote that in my review on my website aswell!

    I disabled the XTU service easily just go to services and disable it and it will be gone forever.
    I'd rather leave the XTU service running as I'm not sure how it would impact Nitro Sense (if it's being used by it at all).
    I disabled it and haven't seen anything. This laptop has nothing intel so... why would it be using XTU? that cant even read AMD hardware.
    Red_Sun said:
    Anyone else notice the cpu locks at 1.5ghz on battery? Must be a nitro sense/power profile thing. I set the latter for the CPU to run at 100% on battery, but it still does it. Might uninstall nitro sense to see what happens

    Haven't tested it, but it could be due to battery size? I'm not sure how many cells it is.