2019 Helios 300 (PH 315-52) low CPU power limit (TDP)

Sosnafnm
Sosnafnm Member Posts: 9

Tinkerer

edited November 2023 in 2020 Archives
Hi! I'm a fresh owner of the 2019 model of Predator Helios 300 (PH 315-52) with Geforce 1660ti, I really like most things about this laptop (except maybe the loud fan noise it's capable of producing:)).
To the point - recently I decided to check some statistics, temperatures, clock speeds etc. in MSI Afterburner during gaming. What I found is that the TDP of the 9750h is no near the 45W that it supposed to be (and what I've seen in many video reviews of this laptop), it's around 20-25-30 W closer to limits of a U processor. Moreover, pushing the Turbo button does not raise the power limit to 56 W, really I don't see much of a difference in except in loudness as the fans goes to max.

Here are some screenshots from the games showing the problem:
Batman Arkham Knight https://ibb.co/30hxqrB
Doom https://ibb.co/NCZhbhR
Prey https://ibb.co/mDfrJ8z
Vampyr https://ibb.co/0FwKTgK

This isn't normal, am I right? Something is limiting the 9750h as it's not reaching it's default power limits. Is it true that I could be getting better performance if it was as it should be?
Could you help me? I'm counting on your ideas.

Best Answers

  • belik
    belik Member Posts: 397 Seasoned Practitioner WiFi Icon
    Answer ✓
    Either bad paste on cpu (this case can be easily fixed by you) or maybe heatsink align to cpu not flat, pressing not much 
    Anyway your temperature must not exceed 80-85 during only cpu load
  • belik
    belik Member Posts: 397 Seasoned Practitioner WiFi Icon
    edited November 2019 Answer ✓
    I can confirm that with proper thermopaste and proper heatsink you will never reach a throttling under combined stress load cpu+gpu, you will be in safety with temperatures 85C on cpu and 80C on gpu with fans running at 3500 and 4000 rpm. 
    After activating coolbost you can increase rpm to 4500 and 5000 rpm and it will drop temperature to 79C on cpu and 72C gpu. 
    The termopaste I use is Prolimatech pk-3. I also replaced stock thermopads and put thermopads instead of pink paste on video memory but it’s optional.
  • xapim
    xapim ACE Posts: 7,253 Pathfinder
    edited November 2019 Answer ✓
    Sosnafnm you definitely need to repaste it properly with kryonaut or similar if you can yourself if not send it back for a repaste your cpu its way too high shouldnt go above 80'ish the thermal pads replacement ist also a good idea as @belik stated but i wouldnt touch it at all if your not sure what youre doing and try to disassemble everything very carefully and leave everything as it was previously only cleaning/repasting the cpu/gpu


    https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/11532543

    UserBenchmarks: Game 43%, Desk 61%, Work 40%
    CPU: Intel Core i5-7300HQ - 63.5%
    GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile) - 41.9%
    SSD: WDC WDS200T2B0B-00YS70 2TB - 71.4%
    HDD: WD WD10SPZX-00HKTT0 1TB - 93.7%
    RAM: Kingston HyperX DDR4 2666 C15 2x16GB - 76.8%
    MBD: Acer Predator G3-572

    I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can)
    If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks :)
    If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:

    Owner/Admin (HOTEL HERO/Red-Sand/Opoka Opoka)
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/PredatorHelios300
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJwGUHxSJ8FKqAhnOqQuAw
    Acer support:
    https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/service-contact
    http://www.acer.com/worldwide/support/  


«1

Answers

  • belik
    belik Member Posts: 397 Seasoned Practitioner WiFi Icon
    edited November 2019
    Yes PL1 is 45w
    Try to run stress test in aida64 cpu+mem+gpu, your PL must be solid 45w for constant load for hours


  • belik
    belik Member Posts: 397 Seasoned Practitioner WiFi Icon
    This way
  • xapim
    xapim ACE Posts: 7,253 Pathfinder
    edited November 2019
    @Sosnafnm just want to add that you won't achieve the max tdp if whatever you are doing doesn't need it as @belik stated you will only see it while stress testing it for a long period of time if its working fine I wouldn't worry about it some games are more cpu demanding some more gpu they never have the same behaviour even in the same game so get some stress tests done to satisfy your doubts 👍


    https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/11532543

    UserBenchmarks: Game 43%, Desk 61%, Work 40%
    CPU: Intel Core i5-7300HQ - 63.5%
    GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile) - 41.9%
    SSD: WDC WDS200T2B0B-00YS70 2TB - 71.4%
    HDD: WD WD10SPZX-00HKTT0 1TB - 93.7%
    RAM: Kingston HyperX DDR4 2666 C15 2x16GB - 76.8%
    MBD: Acer Predator G3-572

    I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can)
    If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks :)
    If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:

    Owner/Admin (HOTEL HERO/Red-Sand/Opoka Opoka)
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/PredatorHelios300
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJwGUHxSJ8FKqAhnOqQuAw
    Acer support:
    https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/service-contact
    http://www.acer.com/worldwide/support/  


  • Sosnafnm
    Sosnafnm Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    edited November 2019
    Thanks you guys for the answers!
    I did the Aida 64 test for more than 15 minutes - 40 (screenshot at the bottom of the post) and the results were in line with my observations in games - it was close to 25W most of the time (those 44.94 from the maximum column happened for a couple seconds at the start and went down in a blink of an eye). When I pushed the turbo button during the testing it got to about about 31-32 W max. What is weird my CPU temperatures are really high, is my laptop thermal throttling?

    From what I've seen people testing games on this laptop have normal TDP values from the beginning of their playing, also when they push the turbo button it immediately rises to 56W - look at this Own or Disown video. He tested a couple of games on the helios 300 (there are timestamps in the description) and all of them are behaving that way. 

    Also this guy playing Batman Arkham Knight has normal TDP values on his video,
    I tested this game and have not reached those TDP's (mine were under 30) - https://ibb.co/30hxqrB

    What's wrong with my laptop?
    st






  • belik
    belik Member Posts: 397 Seasoned Practitioner WiFi Icon
    Your cpu throttles at 93C and thus works at 1.6Ghz 0.64v instead of 2.8Ghz 0.87v in my case
    You need to repaste and don’t let cpu to go above 90С

    Also it can be performance power profile in windows, is it set to max?
  • xapim
    xapim ACE Posts: 7,253 Pathfinder
    Sosnafnm get some kryonaut and repaste it if you can yourself without voiding the warranty if not send it back for a repaste


    https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/11532543

    UserBenchmarks: Game 43%, Desk 61%, Work 40%
    CPU: Intel Core i5-7300HQ - 63.5%
    GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile) - 41.9%
    SSD: WDC WDS200T2B0B-00YS70 2TB - 71.4%
    HDD: WD WD10SPZX-00HKTT0 1TB - 93.7%
    RAM: Kingston HyperX DDR4 2666 C15 2x16GB - 76.8%
    MBD: Acer Predator G3-572

    I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can)
    If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks :)
    If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:

    Owner/Admin (HOTEL HERO/Red-Sand/Opoka Opoka)
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/PredatorHelios300
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJwGUHxSJ8FKqAhnOqQuAw
    Acer support:
    https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/service-contact
    http://www.acer.com/worldwide/support/  


  • Sosnafnm
    Sosnafnm Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    belik said:
    Your cpu throttles at 93C and thus works at 1.6Ghz 0.64v instead of 2.8Ghz 0.87v in my case
    You need to repaste and don’t let cpu to go above 90С

    Also it can be performance power profile in windows, is it set to max?
    I have it set to the Acer power profile, the max Cpu limit there is set to 100 (no limit), also when I clicked the battery icon on the tray I moved it to the right side for maximum power/performance (I did it before the tests, no real effects). 
    I guess repasting is my only solution?
  • belik
    belik Member Posts: 397 Seasoned Practitioner WiFi Icon
    Ok before you repaste try the stress test in aida only with the first 4 checkboxes, without gpu
    In this case your cpu temperature must be 80-85 ie with no throttling and power limit must be constant 45w

  • Sosnafnm
    Sosnafnm Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    belik said:
    Ok before you repaste try the stress test in aida only with the first 4 checkboxes, without gpu
    In this case your cpu temperature must be 80-85 ie with no throttling and power limit must be constant 45w

    I did the test without the GPU, unfortunately the results were similiar to the previous ones, the temperatures are also in the 90s. What does that mean?


  • belik
    belik Member Posts: 397 Seasoned Practitioner WiFi Icon
    Answer ✓
    Either bad paste on cpu (this case can be easily fixed by you) or maybe heatsink align to cpu not flat, pressing not much 
    Anyway your temperature must not exceed 80-85 during only cpu load
  • belik
    belik Member Posts: 397 Seasoned Practitioner WiFi Icon
    Throttling you can see in Aida stress window on the first tab Temperatures, where green grid is
  • Sosnafnm
    Sosnafnm Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    belik said:
    Throttling you can see in Aida stress window on the first tab Temperatures, where green grid is
    Yup, it look like it's throttling in the first tab :anguished:
  • belik
    belik Member Posts: 397 Seasoned Practitioner WiFi Icon
    So the root cause is clear now, this is a bad cooling, a thermopaste or a heatsink itself
  • belik
    belik Member Posts: 397 Seasoned Practitioner WiFi Icon
    edited November 2019 Answer ✓
    I can confirm that with proper thermopaste and proper heatsink you will never reach a throttling under combined stress load cpu+gpu, you will be in safety with temperatures 85C on cpu and 80C on gpu with fans running at 3500 and 4000 rpm. 
    After activating coolbost you can increase rpm to 4500 and 5000 rpm and it will drop temperature to 79C on cpu and 72C gpu. 
    The termopaste I use is Prolimatech pk-3. I also replaced stock thermopads and put thermopads instead of pink paste on video memory but it’s optional.
  • xapim
    xapim ACE Posts: 7,253 Pathfinder
    edited November 2019 Answer ✓
    Sosnafnm you definitely need to repaste it properly with kryonaut or similar if you can yourself if not send it back for a repaste your cpu its way too high shouldnt go above 80'ish the thermal pads replacement ist also a good idea as @belik stated but i wouldnt touch it at all if your not sure what youre doing and try to disassemble everything very carefully and leave everything as it was previously only cleaning/repasting the cpu/gpu


    https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/11532543

    UserBenchmarks: Game 43%, Desk 61%, Work 40%
    CPU: Intel Core i5-7300HQ - 63.5%
    GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile) - 41.9%
    SSD: WDC WDS200T2B0B-00YS70 2TB - 71.4%
    HDD: WD WD10SPZX-00HKTT0 1TB - 93.7%
    RAM: Kingston HyperX DDR4 2666 C15 2x16GB - 76.8%
    MBD: Acer Predator G3-572

    I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can)
    If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks :)
    If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:

    Owner/Admin (HOTEL HERO/Red-Sand/Opoka Opoka)
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/PredatorHelios300
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJwGUHxSJ8FKqAhnOqQuAw
    Acer support:
    https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/service-contact
    http://www.acer.com/worldwide/support/  


  • Sosnafnm
    Sosnafnm Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    Thanks guys for the help! I need to check if repasting will void Acer 's warranty in my country (Poland), and then I will repaste it or send it so they can do it for me.
    Thanks again! 
  • Zadoren
    Zadoren Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    @Sosnafnm
    Did you fix it? Unfortunately, I am also experiencing this issue.
  • Sosnafnm
    Sosnafnm Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    Zadoren said:
    @Sosnafnm
    Did you fix it? Unfortunately, I am also experiencing this issue.
    I did. By sending it to the Acer service. They replaced the whole cooling system so i glad I did it, as I'm not sure if repasting myslelf would solve the problem. Now it's working as it should. I would recommend doind the same if your test results are similar.  
  • Zadoren
    Zadoren Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    @Sosnafnm
    what happened to your cooling and your temperatures after you sent it to Acer service?
  • xapim
    xapim ACE Posts: 7,253 Pathfinder
    edited June 2020
    Zadoren they probably cleaned and repasted it properly with stock thermal paste but the best to do if you can without voiding your warranty its always to do it yourself with kryonaut or similar if the device doesnt have any warranty stickers/seals can be opened without voiding the warranty assuming nothing is damaged during the process


    https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/11532543

    UserBenchmarks: Game 43%, Desk 61%, Work 40%
    CPU: Intel Core i5-7300HQ - 63.5%
    GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile) - 41.9%
    SSD: WDC WDS200T2B0B-00YS70 2TB - 71.4%
    HDD: WD WD10SPZX-00HKTT0 1TB - 93.7%
    RAM: Kingston HyperX DDR4 2666 C15 2x16GB - 76.8%
    MBD: Acer Predator G3-572

    I'm not an Acer employee. (just here to help in the best way i can)
    If my answer fixed you issue please accept it for any other users who search for it would find it quickly thanks :)
    If you want to learn more about undervolting/optimizing windows join the Predator fb group and youtube channel:

    Owner/Admin (HOTEL HERO/Red-Sand/Opoka Opoka)
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/PredatorHelios300
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJwGUHxSJ8FKqAhnOqQuAw
    Acer support:
    https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/service-contact
    http://www.acer.com/worldwide/support/