PC Drivers & Software

[mihai_alex7]

Hi. I bought an Acer A515-41G-F2SH laptop and I'm getting much lower FPS than expected, about 2-3 times lower than my desktop with GT 1030 (should be similar as the GT has the same chip as the MX150, competitor of the RX 540). I installed some old games on it and I'm getting 35 FPS in Assassin's Creed 1 vs 90-100 FPS with the desktop, 25 FPS in Blur vs 60+ with the desktop. I tested 8 other old games and it's the same problem. I generally play them at 1080p max settings as these aren't too demanding games. I also installed a new game, League of Legends and I'm getting 2 times lower FPS. Temps are okay and CPU usage never hits 100% on any core so it shouldn't be a bottleneck, right? I already installed latest GPU driver, older GPU driver from the Acer website, activated "performance" setting to use the dedicated GPU, updated laptop BIOS, set Windows power options to "high performance". Is it a driver issue that is going to be fixed?

Laptop specs:

Windows 10 64 bit

FX 9800P Quad Core up to 3.60 Ghz

RX 540 2GB GDDR5

8GB DDR4

256 GB SSD

1080p display

Desktop Specs:

Windows 10 64 bit

i3-6100

GT 1030 2GB GDDR5

8GB DDR4

120 GB SSD

1080p display

I know the desktop CPU is much better but I'm not hitting anywhere near 100% CPU usage in the games.

[georges]

Did you ever try drivers from AMD website ? AMD Drivers and Support for Radeon, Radeon Pro, FirePro, APU, CPU, Ryzen, desktops, laptops

Make a clean install (use DDU safe mode)

[mihai_alex7]

Tried the clean install with the latest optional driver and it's the same thing. Already tried the optional driver, stable driver, old driver from Acer website which seems to use both the discrete and integrated GPUs in games but without much FPS difference. These are the stats I'm getting in Assassin's Creed 1:

In other games I'm getting 100% GPU usage but still low FPS.

[pislickb3]

I bought this pc too and im getting 35-50 fps on cs go lowest settings and im sure its not using intergrated gpu its using rx540 but it getting still low fps if you solved this problem can you help me ?

[georges]

If you test it with modern games what is the result ?

[mihai_alex7]

The only new game I tested is League of Legends and FPS is at 60 only if there is not much on the screen. Never had any lag in It with the 1030.

[mihai_alex7]

Tried a lot of stuff and nothing worked. It could be a driver/software issue? I played Scania Truck Driver with the desktop and was getting only 30 fps and 100% GPU usage with the 1.0 version. After installing the latest patch I got 60 FPS with 90% GPU usage. If it's the driver, will it ever get fixed? I have 1 month time to return it.  

[kingfish]

You may be expecting too much from your laptop. The processor/graphics it's self is no speed demon...rated for only " Many games from 2015/2016 can be played smoothly at low settings. AMD Bristol Ridge FX-9800P Notebook Processor - NotebookCheck.net Tech

The RX540 is not a fast graphics chip..in a desktop. Laptop performance will be worse.

PassMark Software - Video Card Benchmarks - Video Card Look Up

[mihai_alex7]

That's the thing, I only want it for internet browsing (for which it is performing fine) and to play some classic games on it connected to a TV via HDMI cable and using wireless controller. I also bought it on a big sale but I'm disappointed I'm not getting the performance advertised (mobile version of the desktop RX 550). On PassMark it has a bigger score than GT 1030 by the way.

[kingfish]

It's a very common misconception fostered by the laptop manufacturers to offer the "latest and Greatest!!!" hardware available in the CPU and GPU and confuse the buying public.

There is a discussion about it here and a idea how to make it a competent gaming laptop.

[mihai_alex7]

I see. I don't know that much about laptops, this is the first one I buy with a dedicated GPU. About the throttling, I get about 65 degrees C on the GPU under load. I also have one of those power consumption meters and I have 65W consumption in gaming. The power brick is rated at 75W. I don't know what to do now. If I return it and opt for an MX150 with SSD and 8 GB RAM it's an extra 250$. I really want it fixed.   

[kingfish]

I would consider a external GPU, plenty of them around and at varying price/features. This does require the laptop to have a Thunderbolt connection. If you were to return it and get one without a discrete card (or a cheap one) and a good processor with a Thunderbolt connection..it should cost you less. In the future, you can upgrade the graphics card if you wish, not buy a new laptop.

Amazon.com: external graphics

[mihai_alex7]

Interesting, I didn't even know they existed. But they're not available where I live. So I'm thinking my only options are to try and find a solution and if I still get the low FPS, return it and wait for a sale on something else. By the way, full power (45W) processors are always much better than low power ones (15W) right? I don't see much difference in the benchmarks between i5 gen 7 full power and i5 gen 8 low power.

[kingfish]

All laptops are designed to run on low power...to extend battery life. That is the main selling point. To achieve that..they cripple everything else. People who want to use their laptops for demanding applications (gaming is one) or running a wall sized monitor/TV pay a big price for that...$2000-$3000,,,and it still won't outperform a desktop (which cost much less). My opinion is a laptop for school and a desktop for gaming. If not that, then a external GPU card that you leave at home until you feel the need to shoot/race/hypnotize someone or thing, then you simply plug it in and game on.

[mihai_alex7]

Well, thing is I needed the laptop for some "mobile" stuff and thought at the sale price of 450$ (converted from local currency) why not get one with a dedicated GPU and connect it to TV and play some games from my game collection. Everywhere I read it said it's got the performance of desktop RX 550 which is like a GT 1030 which I am pleased with. I don't know what's to blame: driver, CPU, false info on the RX 550 likeness, I don't know. I still have time to play with it and return if I continue to get integrated GPU like performance.

[georges]

I thing AMD "drop" the support for some older games because lots of people have problems with new drivers

Sent an email to AMD ->  Email Form

[mihai_alex7]

Could it be because of the small power brick? It's actually rated at 65W and 73W power consumption. CPU is 15W, GPU 35W, there is also mainboard, screen, 1 ram module, SSD, battery charging, USB peripherals, etc. Maybe the GPU doesn't have the power required to run at full speed? If so, what power should I buy for a universal charger? Thought of 100W but can only find 90W ones at reasonable prices.

[kingfish]

Has nothing to do with the PS. It's the OEM design of the package.

[mihai_alex7]

With 90W power supply it's still hitting a maximum of 60-65W power consumption. Also, Unigine Valley DirectX 11 Benchmark only gets me 20 FPS on the "Extreme" setting. I was getting a lot more with the desktop. So it's not just with older DirectX 9 games. I'm really running out of options...

[kingfish]

You keep comparing a desktop graphics card with a laptop graphics chip. No comparison at all. Apples and Oranges.