Acer Aspire 7 A715-51G PL1 CPU throttling & not running at advertised clockspeeds

[Jan191]

I recently got an Acer Aspire 7 A715-51G-598W to replace my old laptop. Upgraded the RAM, installed a second M.2, got Win11 installed, etc etc. However, when trying to do intensive tasks such as gaming, the CPU seems to throttle itself to low clockspeeds at temps around 65 degrees. I've been searching for a way to fix it for 2 days now but to no avail. Any help would be appreciated as I had really high hopes from this but it has ended up giving me similar performance to my old i5-8300h / 1050 4G laptop.


https://www.acer.com/tr-tr/laptops/aspire/aspire-7-intel/pdp/NH.QGCEY.001 (couldn't find an English version of the page; seems like this specific model is only sold here)
Intel i5-1240p
2x8GB DDR4 @ 2666MHz
RTX3050 4G

PS: It might be worth nothing that I've used Escape from Tarkov with RivaTunerStatistics and AIDA64's system stability test with MSI Afterburner's hardware monitor, as well as the built-in monitors in Throttlestop to get to such a conclusion

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I also have performance options selected in Acer Quick Access and windows' own power modes.

 

[unclewebb]

Forgot to mention

Post some screenshots of ThrottleStop. The main window, the FIVR window and the TPL window. Also attach a 15 minute ThrottleStop log file so I can see how your computer is running while you are playing a game.

Disable Windows 11 Virtualization Based Security including core isolation memory integrity if performance is more important to you than ultimate security.

How to Disable Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) in Windows 11 to Improve Gaming

Getting frame drops while playing games in Windows 11? VBS might be the reason and here's how you can disable VBS in Windows 11.

beebom.com

I think most items in the FIVR window are locked down when you have a 1240P. There might be a few things available in the TPL window that you can adjust. An 8300H that is not locked down might have similar performance to a 1240P that is locked down. CPU model numbers and rated MHz do not mean anything. Laptop performance can vary significantly depending on what throttling schemes a manufacturer is using.

 

[Jan191]

Post some screenshots of ThrottleStop. The main window, the FIVR window and the TPL window. Also attach a 15 minute ThrottleStop log file so I can see how your computer is running while you are playing a game.

Disable Windows 11 Virtualization Based Security including core isolation memory integrity if performance is more important to you than ultimate security.

How to Disable Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) in Windows 11 to Improve Gaming

Getting frame drops while playing games in Windows 11? VBS might be the reason and here's how you can disable VBS in Windows 11.

beebom.com

I think most items in the FIVR window are locked down when you have a 1240P. There might be a few things available in the TPL window that you can adjust. An 8300H that is not locked down might have similar performance to a 1240P that is locked down. CPU model numbers and rated MHz do not mean anything. Laptop performance can vary significantly depending on what throttling schemes a manufacturer is using.

Just disabled Virtualization Based Security. Here are the screenshots. I probably set something to something I shouldn't have trying to follow other people's advice on similar questions, my bad on that one.

 

[unclewebb]

After you disable virtualization, you need to exit ThrottleStop and delete the ThrottleStop.INI configuration file.

Now I just need to see a log file so I can see how your computer is performing while trying to play a game.

CPU voltage control is not available on your 12th Gen mobile CPU so most of the items in the FIVR window are not going to be available to you.

Your computer likely uses an embedded controller (EC) to force feed lower power limits to the CPU. A log file will show this info.

 

[Jan191]

Now I just need to see a log file so I can see how your computer is performing while trying to play a game.

I did as you said, exiting ThrottleStop and deleting the .INI file. I also restarted my computer afterwards before re-launching the app just in case.
Here's the log file. I got into a processor-intensive game at around 23:34. Disabling VBS seems to have helped a bit; for the first time, I saw temps of up to 80 degrees for a very short bit, and 75 for extended periods of time.

Sorry if I'm a bit of a noob at this. Thanks for the help so far.

 

[unclewebb]

You used to be able to use ThrottleStop to fix the BD PROCHOT throttling that is showing up in your log file. Starting with 12th Gen, most motherboards have locked out BD PROCHOT adjustment so BD PROCHOT can no longer be disabled. The main screen of ThrottleStop shows that BD PROCHOT is grayed out because it has been locked by the BIOS.

The log file shows lots of PL1 power limit throttling right at 28W.

Intel® Core™ i5-1240P Processor (12M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz) - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel® Core™ i5-1240P Processor (12M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

ark.intel.com

The 1240P has a maximum turbo power of 64W. Acer decided that is too much for long term use so they locked the power limits down to the 28W base power specification. They use an embedded controller (EC) to do this. ThrottleStop cannot be used to go beyond 28W during long term use.

The restrictive power limit and BD PROCHOT throttling is limiting the CPU to only 75°C. Acer finally builds a laptop with a half decent cooling system but uses throttling to prevent you from getting maximum performance out of your computer.

What can you do about this? Absolutely nothing. Everything is locked down. You have to be happy with the performance that Acer has given you. Laptops that cannot be tweaked are not for me. Unfortunately this is the way the computer industry is going.

You can set Power Limit 4 to a value of 0 in the TPL window but that is about all you can adjust. That might help with some occasional EDP throttling.

 

[Jan191]

You used to be able to use ThrottleStop to fix the BD PROCHOT throttling that is showing up in your log file. Starting with 12th Gen, most motherboards have locked out BD PROCHOT adjustment so BD PROCHOT can no longer be disabled. The main screen of ThrottleStop shows that BD PROCHOT is grayed out because it has been locked by the BIOS.

The log file shows lots of PL1 power limit throttling right at 28W.

Intel® Core™ i5-1240P Processor (12M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz) - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel® Core™ i5-1240P Processor (12M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

ark.intel.com

The 1240P has a maximum turbo power of 64W. Acer decided that is too much for long term use so they locked the power limits down to the 28W base power specification. They use an embedded controller (EC) to do this. ThrottleStop cannot be used to go beyond 28W during long term use.

The restrictive power limit and BD PROCHOT throttling is limiting the CPU to only 75°C. Acer finally builds a laptop with a half decent cooling system but uses throttling to prevent you from getting maximum performance out of your computer.

What can you do about this? Absolutely nothing. Everything is locked down. You have to be happy with the performance that Acer has given you. Laptops that cannot be tweaked are not for me. Unfortunately this is the way the computer industry is going.

You can set Power Limit 4 to a value of 0 in the TPL window but that is about all you can adjust. That might help with some occasional EDP throttling.

That's good to know. I might try to contact Acer about it even though I doubt they'll suggest anything of significance.
If support replies with anything useful I'll post it here. Thanks a lot for the really quick help.

 

[unclewebb]

I might try to contact Acer

Your laptop is running exactly the way Acer wants it to run. You can try and return it if it does not run the way you want it to run.

My only concern is that someday when the warranty ends, the BD PROCHOT throttling might get a lot worse. Many older laptops get locked down to 400 MHz when this happens and become unusable. Personally, I would return any laptop that had a throttling problem that could not be easily fixed. Manufacturers will never be motivated to change what they are building unless consumers do a lot more complaining.

 

[Jan191]

Your laptop is running exactly the way Acer wants it to run. You can try and return it if it does not run the way you want it to run.

My only concern is that someday when the warranty ends, the BD PROCHOT throttling might get a lot worse. Many older laptops get locked down to 400 MHz when this happens and become unusable. Personally, I would return any laptop that had a throttling problem that could not be easily fixed. Manufacturers will never be motivated to change what they are building unless consumers do a lot more complaining.

I would definitely return it if I didn't buy it unopened in its box from an independent seller that bought them for tax benefit purposes (some sort of loophole exists in my country for imports). I'll still talk to Acer about it, maybe I can get it replaced with another model or something, since it's still practically brand new.

 

[Jan191]

Turns out the listed "processor base power" is 28w and the system forces itself to run at that speed after ~15 seconds of running well. Doesn't go back up, either. And the system has it so that if you use all 4 P-cores it limits the clock speed to 3.5GHz. Can't do anything as of now to change anything about it. Support came back with a copy-pasted answer asking me to send the device to them (without even diagnosing anything) and expecting me to pay postage for it. Checked online and turns out that's what they do to anyone with non-standard problems: ask for the device in question without diagnosing the problem first, keep it for around a week and send it back without the issue fixed, and sometimes with some parts missing (eg. a stick of ram if you haven't reported it when you sent it first).
I suppose I might try to increase the base power listed, for whatever reason 28w is considered to be the limit because of "thermal issues" while the damn thing gets forced to run at 2.3GHz at 50 degrees.

 

[SkyRyzen]

i'm from Turkey and i have same issues. i have to play all AAA games at 18w cause Acer doesn't care about their laptops.

 

[kaandurgut]

Same problem. Doesn't go above 18W.

 

[SkyRyzen]

I recently got an Acer Aspire 7 A715-51G-598W to replace my old laptop. Upgraded the RAM, installed a second M.2, got Win11 installed, etc etc. However, when trying to do intensive tasks such as gaming, the CPU seems to throttle itself to low clockspeeds at temps around 65 degrees. I've been searching for a way to fix it for 2 days now but to no avail. Any help would be appreciated as I had really high hopes from this but it has ended up giving me similar performance to my old i5-8300h / 1050 4G laptop.


https://www.acer.com/tr-tr/laptops/aspire/aspire-7-intel/pdp/NH.QGCEY.001 (couldn't find an English version of the page; seems like this specific model is only sold here)
Intel i5-1240p
2x8GB DDR4 @ 2666MHz
RTX3050 4G

PS: It might be worth nothing that I've used Escape from Tarkov with RivaTunerStatistics and AIDA64's system stability test with MSI Afterburner's hardware monitor, as well as the built-in monitors in Throttlestop to get to such a conclusion

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I also have performance options selected in Acer Quick Access and windows' own power modes.

I solved this problem. Just open device manager>Software components and delete intel dynamic tuning technology with driver

Same problem. Doesn't go above 18W.

Mine is 28W all the time now

 

[Jan191]

I solved this problem. Just open device manager>Software components and delete intel dynamic tuning technology with driver


Mine is 28W all the time now

I suppose 28W is better than being stuck at 18W, but even then the system runs at ~2.2GHz. Still, maybe your solution might help some people out.

 

[SkyRyzen]

I suppose 28W is better than being stuck at 18W, but even then the system runs at ~2.2GHz. Still, maybe your solution might help some people out.

If you wanna talk about your problem, Discord Aora#3776 Maybe you can find answers to some of your questions.

 

[Jan191]

If you wanna talk about your problem, Discord Aora#3776 Maybe you can find answers to some of your questions.

Did you manage to make your system run above 28W? I can't get mine above that for any long period of time

 

[shotgunned]

I solved this problem. Just open device manager>Software components and delete intel dynamic tuning technology with driver


Mine is 28W all the time now

I dont find dynamic tuning. Can you help me?

 

[merihcobanmc]

Thank you so much. I disabled the intel dynamic tuning technology device extension component and restarted my laptop. Now my cpu runs faster and 28 watt instead of 15 watt while gaming.