Extreme throttling when in charge. i5-10210U | Acer A315-55G

[DragoSpiro98]

Hi everyone. I am having a lot of problems with my laptop. When I play the laptop it warms up a lot, reaching 97 degrees! This causes a huge throttling problem, especially when the computer is charging, for example, I can play Overwatch when the PC uses the battery (with stable 30FPS) but it is absolutely unplayable when it is charging (10FPS). I tried to tinker a little with ThrottleStop but I can’t fix it. These are the settings.



I don’t really know what to do and the only thing I want is to play smoothly. Thanks in advance.

 

[Worthis]

Tick one option between high perfomance or speed shift EPP, set ICC to the max values on Fivr windows for both cache and core . I believe you can try increasing pl1 limit while decreasing pl2 in order to find a 'sweet spot' in temps/perfomance. If you havent repasted the laptop/cleaned fans and you arent using a cooling pad , i suggest to do those first and check later for temps, also you can attach some logs while play/ stress test your pc

 

[JC Denton]

High ambient temperatures, including humidity, will have a noticable increase on a PC's thermals. If you are in a warm room, the laptop's fan may not have the capacity to cool the system efficiently.

You may have to purchase a laptop cooling pad.

 

[unclewebb]

The Intel specs show that a 10210U has a TDP rating of 15W.

Intel® Core™ i5-10210U Processor (6M Cache, up to 4.20 GHz) Product Specifications

Intel® Core™ i5-10210U Processor (6M Cache, up to 4.20 GHz) quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

but I can’t fix it

There is nothing to fix. The first screenshot you posted shows that your CPU is power limit throttling right at 15.0W. That means your laptop is performing exactly as it should be performing. Laptops with poor cooling and 15W CPUs are not intended to be used for gaming.

Acer decided to set the thermal throttling temperature to 92°C instead of the Intel recommended 100°C. A cooler running CPU sounds nice but it reduces maximum performance. Have a look in the Options window to see if PROCHOT Offset is locked. Acer usually locks this setting. If you do not see a lock icon then you can try reducing the offset value which will raise the thermal throttling temperature. That might help a little.

Without better cooling, there is no point in trying to raise the power limits. Acer typically locks down the power limits so 15W long term is usually the maximum.

Do not check the PP0 Power Limit box in the ThrottleStop TPL window and do not check the BD PROCHOT box on the main screen.

Check the Log File box and play a game at 10 FPS for 5 or 10 minutes so I can see how your computer is performing. The default log file location is in your ThrottleStop / Logs folder.

If you decide to buy a laptop cooling pad, make sure you can bring it back for a full refund. The couple degree difference in temperature is usually not worth the money. Your laptop has bigger issues. It was never intended to be used for playing games.

 

[DragoSpiro98]

The Intel specs show that a 10210U has a TDP rating of 15W.

Intel® Core™ i5-10210U Processor (6M Cache, up to 4.20 GHz) Product Specifications

Intel® Core™ i5-10210U Processor (6M Cache, up to 4.20 GHz) quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

There is nothing to fix. The first screenshot you posted shows that your CPU is power limit throttling right at 15.0W. That means your laptop is performing exactly as it should be performing. Laptops with poor cooling and 15W CPUs are not intended to be used for gaming.

Acer decided to set the thermal throttling temperature to 92°C instead of the Intel recommended 100°C. A cooler running CPU sounds nice but it reduces maximum performance. Have a look in the Options window to see if PROCHOT Offset is locked. Acer usually locks this setting. If you do not see a lock icon then you can try reducing the offset value which will raise the thermal throttling temperature. That might help a little.

Without better cooling, there is no point in trying to raise the power limits. Acer typically locks down the power limits so 15W long term is usually the maximum.

Do not check the PP0 Power Limit box in the ThrottleStop TPL window and do not check the BD PROCHOT box on the main screen.

Check the Log File box and play a game at 10 FPS for 5 or 10 minutes so I can see how your computer is performing. The default log file location is in your ThrottleStop / Logs folder.

If you decide to buy a laptop cooling pad, make sure you can bring it back for a full refund. The couple degree difference in temperature is usually not worth the money. Your laptop has bigger issues. It was never intended to be used for playing games.

In LOCK PROCHOT Offset there was actually no lock symbol, it appeared when I clicked on it. With these settings I played an Overwatch game and as I expected I had 10FPS. I don’t know why "POWER STATUS CHANGE" appears in the logs, could it be a charger problem or even worse, the motherboard?

"Battery.txt" is the log with same settings with battery. Also Overwatch game with 10FPS

 

[unclewebb]

In LOCK PROCHOT Offset there was actually no lock symbol

I see a lock icon symbol near PROCHOT Offset. That means the CPU will ignore any changes you try to make to the PROCHOT Offset value. Did you check the Lock PROCHOT Offset option or was this already locked when you booted up? If you are not sure, clear both boxes and reboot. Check to see if this is still locked.

PROCHOT Offset cannot be adjusted when it is locked so do not check this feature if the BIOS is locking it.

Here is how this looks on my computer when it is not locked.
No lock icon is displayed.

   DATE       TIME    MULTI   C0%   CKMOD  BAT_mW  TEMP    VID   POWER
2022-06-10  16:39:40  23.40   95.1  100.0       0   75   0.8590   15.0   PL2
2022-06-10  16:39:41  22.89   99.0  100.0       0   77   0.8378   15.0   PL2
2022-06-10  16:39:42  22.65   97.4  100.0       0   78   0.8223   15.0   PL2
2022-06-10  16:39:43  22.09   98.0  100.0       0   75   0.8190   15.0   PL2
2022-06-10  16:39:44  20.98   93.5  100.0       0   76   0.8257   15.0   PL2

Your log file shows the same thing. Your 15W CPU is still being limited to 15.0W. This is how Intel's low powered CPUs are designed to work. They slow down so they do not exceed 15W. Your laptop is operating as designed. Intel's 45W mobile CPUs are much better for gaming.

POWER STATUS CHANGE

I am not sure why some laptops generate these messages approximately every 5 seconds. My laptop does not constantly generate these messages in the log file but I know that many laptops do. Are you using any Acer software to manage the battery charge level? This might be causing these messages. I prefer to let the battery fully charge to 100%.