Acer Nitro an515-43 lagging and stuttering randomly

Garnett21B
Garnett21B Member Posts: 14

Tinkerer
edited December 2023 in 2020 Archives
I've bought Acer Nitro an515-43 few days ago and I hit several problems. I usually have to deal with lagging. I downloaded all the latest drivers and i updated my bios, but i still have problems. For example while I was playing GTA V i got 50 fps (high setting) and game kept on lagging every now and then for 3-4 seconds or so, just random lags, even when i am not playing games, just watching HD videos it's still stuttering and lagging randomly for 2-3 seconds. When I check Nitro sense , I see 90+ degrees CPU while I am gaming. I set AC High Performance.  I play with 100 % battery and plugged in. Can you help me out? Have you experienced random lags and freezes? I saw here that someone had to do repaste but I don't know will that hurt warranty.
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Answers

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,219 Trailblazer
    You shouldn't need to worry with the 90C temperatures, that's well within design tolerances for heavy use. Watch to make sure it's not going over the 95-98 range and if it does it's time to look at the cooling system or warranty repair. Stuttering and lag are usually more from either a background task or network speed. What speed do you get from your internet connection? What are you using for an anti-virus? If you fire up Task Manager and put it in the performance tab what does it look like when you're watching a HD video?
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • andylb
    andylb ACE Posts: 3,827 Pathfinder
    Garnett21B said:
    I've bought Acer Nitro an515-43 few days ago and I hit several problems. I usually have to deal with lagging. I downloaded all the latest drivers and i updated my bios, but i still have problems. For example while I was playing GTA V i got 50 fps (high setting) and game kept on lagging every now and then for 3-4 seconds or so, just random lags, even when i am not playing games, just watching HD videos it's still stuttering and lagging randomly for 2-3 seconds. When I check Nitro sense , I see 90+ degrees CPU while I am gaming. I set AC High Performance.  I play with 100 % battery and plugged in. Can you help me out? Have you experienced random lags and freezes? I saw here that someone had to do repaste but I don't know will that hurt warranty.

    Consistent 90 deg temperatures are a concern and they are right at the upper edge of the CPU temperature range. There have been some pasting issues and if you do not have the sticker stating "Warranty Void if removed" stuck over one of the screws on the underside, then it does not invalidate the warranty, 
    Repaste with Grizzly Kryonaut and follow the instructions in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vfoUkIazNA&t=24s
    Also game with fans on Max with Coolboost and use a USB powered cooling mat. Make sure your games are set to use the RX560x Discrete GPU in the AMD Adrenalin Control center

    Please click YES if I have answered your question

    Please click YES if I answered your question

    I am not an ACER employee
    Thank you and have a blessed day  B)

    ★★ ACE Pathfinder 2019★★

  • Garnett21B
    Garnett21B Member Posts: 14

    Tinkerer
    Thank you guys, I will try repasting it soon. I think that will solve it. It did not have any "Warranty Void if removed" sticker. I will update afterwards.
  • andylb
    andylb ACE Posts: 3,827 Pathfinder
    Garnett21B said:
    Thank you guys, I will try repasting it soon. I think that will solve it. It did not have any "Warranty Void if removed" sticker. I will update afterwards.

    Good decision, I have seen many users report a 10 deg drop after repasting. Kindly click YES if I helped solve your problem

    Please click YES if I answered your question

    I am not an ACER employee
    Thank you and have a blessed day  B)

    ★★ ACE Pathfinder 2019★★

  • GAMING6698
    GAMING6698 ACE Posts: 7,777 Pathfinder
    Garnett21B said: 
    I've bought Acer Nitro an515-43 few days ago and I hit several problems. I usually have to deal with lagging. I downloaded all the latest drivers and i updated my bios, but i still have problems. For example while I was playing GTA V i got 50 fps (high setting) and game kept on lagging every now and then for 3-4 seconds or so, just random lags, even when i am not playing games, just watching HD videos it's still stuttering and lagging randomly for 2-3 seconds. When I check Nitro sense , I see 90+ degrees CPU while I am gaming. I set AC High Performance.  I play with 100 % battery and plugged in. Can you help me out? Have you experienced random lags and freezes? I saw here that someone had to do repaste but I don't know will that hurt warranty.
     Always launch your game from Amd radeon software....
    windows 10/11 optimization guide for gaming 
    Windows 10/11 optimization guide for gaming — Acer Community

    My AN515-43 laptop UserBenchmark-
    https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/51514566
  • andylb
    andylb ACE Posts: 3,827 Pathfinder
    @GAMING6698 It's a CPU heat problem not a GPU problem

    Please click YES if I answered your question

    I am not an ACER employee
    Thank you and have a blessed day  B)

    ★★ ACE Pathfinder 2019★★

  • Garnett21B
    Garnett21B Member Posts: 14

    Tinkerer
    Well I did it and nothing changed... Absolutely nothing, this piece of sh!t is useless in high performance mode. Thermal throttling at 98 deg . I repased it with Thermal Grizzly. I think it's time to get my refund or something if that option exists in third world country like mine. I just don't get it how is that possible. Non the less think you for answering.
  • andylb
    andylb ACE Posts: 3,827 Pathfinder
    Garnett21B said:
    Well I did it and nothing changed... Absolutely nothing, this piece of sh!t is useless in high performance mode. Thermal throttling at 98 deg . I repased it with Thermal Grizzly. I think it's time to get my refund or something if that option exists in third world country like mine. I just don't get it how is that possible. Non the less think you for 

    DO THIS FIRST:

    The new AMD Adrenalin 2020 Control Center is designed to give support for your hardware and contains Mobile Driver support for this exact model, the Graphics Drivers on the Acer site are only base drivers. If you haven't already downloaded and installed it then click this link to download it.
    https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/release-notes/rn-rad-win-19-12-3

    Most of the problems I have encountered answering questions similar to yours are that users do not have the GPU set up correctly in the Control Center and are gaming on their Dedicated Vega 8 GPU which gives poor performance and is not designed for gaming. I have your exact model and my gaming experience using the AMD 2020 Control Center is good, Follow these instructions

    First make sure you game with your battery charged to 100% BEFORE gaming and KEEP plugged into the main AC power while gaming. Make sure "High Performance when on AC", is selected in your Windows Power Plan and in Nitrosense. If you fail to do this your CPU will run at around 50% of capacity and you will experience poor game performance

    Open the New AMD 2020 Control Center and click the GAMING tab then click the 3 dots in the upper right hand corner and select ADD A GAME, navigate to your games .exe file and double click it to add it, or you can select SCAN FOR GAMES and let the Control Center search your harddrive for games to add. After successfully adding the game click on the game and you will be taken to another window and click the LAUNCH GAME tab.
    Only in this way will your games use the Discrete Rx560x GPU, NEVER launch your game through a desktop shortcut or any other way, do it in the manner I have described.

    Please remember that online gaming may experience low fps and stutter due to the games servers and bottlenecking and that has nothing to do with your GPU.

    Please click YES if I solve your problem




    Please click YES if I answered your question

    I am not an ACER employee
    Thank you and have a blessed day  B)

    ★★ ACE Pathfinder 2019★★

  • Garnett21B
    Garnett21B Member Posts: 14

    Tinkerer
    andylb said:
    Garnett21B said:
    Well I did it and nothing changed... Absolutely nothing, this piece of sh!t is useless in high performance mode. Thermal throttling at 98 deg . I repased it with Thermal Grizzly. I think it's time to get my refund or something if that option exists in third world country like mine. I just don't get it how is that possible. Non the less think you for 

    DO THIS FIRST:

    The new AMD Adrenalin 2020 Control Center is designed to give support for your hardware and contains Mobile Driver support for this exact model, the Graphics Drivers on the Acer site are only base drivers. If you haven't already downloaded and installed it then click this link to download it.
    https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/release-notes/rn-rad-win-19-12-3

    Most of the problems I have encountered answering questions similar to yours are that users do not have the GPU set up correctly in the Control Center and are gaming on their Dedicated Vega 8 GPU which gives poor performance and is not designed for gaming. I have your exact model and my gaming experience using the AMD 2020 Control Center is good, Follow these instructions

    First make sure you game with your battery charged to 100% BEFORE gaming and KEEP plugged into the main AC power while gaming. Make sure "High Performance when on AC", is selected in your Windows Power Plan and in Nitrosense. If you fail to do this your CPU will run at around 50% of capacity and you will experience poor game performance

    Open the New AMD 2020 Control Center and click the GAMING tab then click the 3 dots in the upper right hand corner and select ADD A GAME, navigate to your games .exe file and double click it to add it, or you can select SCAN FOR GAMES and let the Control Center search your harddrive for games to add. After successfully adding the game click on the game and you will be taken to another window and click the LAUNCH GAME tab.
    Only in this way will your games use the Discrete Rx560x GPU, NEVER launch your game through a desktop shortcut or any other way, do it in the manner I have described.

    Please remember that online gaming may experience low fps and stutter due to the games servers and bottlenecking and that has nothing to do with your GPU.

    Please click YES if I solve your problem




    I did it... still CPU 90+. There is no help. I just don't get it. I really thought Grizzly would have solve it. Like no fix on the internet helps me. GPU is ok but CPU is killing me.
  • Garnett21B
    Garnett21B Member Posts: 14

    Tinkerer
    I noticed that unlike other models (at least those models from youtube repaste videos), my heat sink is not isolated with thermal pads (youtuber who did thermal repaste video has some thermal pads on chips around GPU) but with some stock pink thermal paste (different thermal paste from the one on CPU and GPU). Should I remove that thermal paste as well and then put thermal pads instead and reapply thermal grizzly on GPU and CPU again? Could that pink thermal paste on chips around GPU be the main reason for high temperatures and thermal throttling?

    By the way Happy New Year everybody :) 

  • andylb
    andylb ACE Posts: 3,827 Pathfinder
    I have no experience of the pink stuff around the Chips so I can't really tell you. You may want to try undervolting using Intel XTU or a similar program, reduce it to -0.180v, -0.175v in steps, -0.150 is usually about right and has been shown to drop temps to around 80 deg

    Please click YES if I answered your question

    I am not an ACER employee
    Thank you and have a blessed day  B)

    ★★ ACE Pathfinder 2019★★

  • Garnett21B
    Garnett21B Member Posts: 14

    Tinkerer
    My cpu is Ryzen 5 3550h and there is no utility that will help me with undervolting... Maybe I will try to repaste everything and to change thermal pads. I don't know what to do next to help it but gaming is impossible in High Performance. CPU will reach 97-98 degrees no matter what.
  • andylb
    andylb ACE Posts: 3,827 Pathfinder
    edited January 2020
    You could try using Throttlestop https://www.techpowerup.com/download/techpowerup-throttlestop/
    And here is a Throttlestop Guide https://www.ultrabookreview.com/31385-the-throttlestop-guide/

    Please click YES if I answered your question

    I am not an ACER employee
    Thank you and have a blessed day  B)

    ★★ ACE Pathfinder 2019★★

  • Garnett21B
    Garnett21B Member Posts: 14

    Tinkerer
    Thank you Andy you've been awesome but I'm done. I'm gonna get it to Acer service center and see if they can solve it. If they do not then I'm gonna try to get refund. Just few minutes ago I tried to play Witcher 3 and temps reach in High Performance 97 degrees.  I will give an update If they solve my problems. I guess I will be without laptop about a month or so. 
  • andylb
    andylb ACE Posts: 3,827 Pathfinder
    edited January 2020
    Good idea mate. Keep us informed 

    Please click YES if I answered your question

    I am not an ACER employee
    Thank you and have a blessed day  B)

    ★★ ACE Pathfinder 2019★★

  • Garnett21B
    Garnett21B Member Posts: 14

    Tinkerer
    I got it back, they did not fix anything... They say it's working fine which is not the case. I truly checked everything online on possible software solutions I think I have everything set up as it should be but CPU reaches up to 90-95, GPU 80-90 degrees. In pic down below I marked in red where are thermal pads on normal Nitro 5 (chips around GPU) but mine's got some pink thermal grease/paste or something like that instead of these thermal pads and that is what may be a part of a problem. Does anyone know which thickness are pads which I've marked? I think that those are 1 mm and I will remove stock thermal paste and put thermal pads instead like it should've been done. In case that doesn't work out, well I tried everything.


  • Cyborgx2
    Cyborgx2 Member Posts: 1 New User
    Garnett21B said:
    I got it back, they did not fix anything... They say it's working fine which is not the case. I truly checked everything online on possible software solutions I think I have everything set up as it should be but CPU reaches up to 90-95, GPU 80-90 degrees. In pic down below I marked in red where are thermal pads on normal Nitro 5 (chips around GPU) but mine's got some pink thermal grease/paste or something like that instead of these thermal pads and that is what may be a part of a problem. Does anyone know which thickness are pads which I've marked? I think that those are 1 mm and I will remove stock thermal paste and put thermal pads instead like it should've been done. In case that doesn't work out, well I tried everything.


    mate u there ? i fixed the problem . and its working . its the turbo boost which is boosting roughly 3.70+mhz and over heats the cpu .just follow my steps . go to power options then go to advance and set the maximum power state 99%. it will capped the turbo boost frequency to 3.50-60 and temp to 80-83. :) 

  • Garnett21B
    Garnett21B Member Posts: 14

    Tinkerer
    Cyborgx2 said:
    Garnett21B said:
    I got it back, they did not fix anything... They say it's working fine which is not the case. I truly checked everything online on possible software solutions I think I have everything set up as it should be but CPU reaches up to 90-95, GPU 80-90 degrees. In pic down below I marked in red where are thermal pads on normal Nitro 5 (chips around GPU) but mine's got some pink thermal grease/paste or something like that instead of these thermal pads and that is what may be a part of a problem. Does anyone know which thickness are pads which I've marked? I think that those are 1 mm and I will remove stock thermal paste and put thermal pads instead like it should've been done. In case that doesn't work out, well I tried everything.


    mate u there ? i fixed the problem . and its working . its the turbo boost which is boosting roughly 3.70+mhz and over heats the cpu .just follow my steps . go to power options then go to advance and set the maximum power state 99%. it will capped the turbo boost frequency to 3.50-60 and temp to 80-83. :) 


    Thanks man, I already did this... And it's the only thing that I could do, because nothing else helped to be honest. I've send it to service center, they did not do anything, so I cleaned my vents, repasted it and I still had overheating issue but only during gaming. For example when I tested GPU and CPU simultaneously with load software temps go up to 90 but not above, while during gaming temps go up to 98 C. Anyway I did thing above and that's the only thing that kinda solved the problem. Shame I can never use it fully, but It is what it is.

  • GAMING6698
    GAMING6698 ACE Posts: 7,777 Pathfinder
    @Garnett21B

    @Andylb first post is only solution 
    windows 10/11 optimization guide for gaming 
    Windows 10/11 optimization guide for gaming — Acer Community

    My AN515-43 laptop UserBenchmark-
    https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/51514566
  • Arao31
    Arao31 Member Posts: 80 Troubleshooter
    The nitro 5 is garbage, i have the one with nvidia graphics card, and is absolutely a nightmare, every game has stutter, the are selling stuff that does not comply to the "gaming" label

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