Bought a good laptop but really disappointed

[medhunter]

Hi,

Few months ago I bought a new Aspire F15 laptop, F5-573G-70EB

It has an i7-7500U processor , Nvidea GTX 950m graphic card , and 16 GB DDR4 ram,USB 3.1m , long lasting battery and...... Windows10

 

My rationale was that I need a system that can handle games and lag free.

Yet I experienced alot of errors, BSODs and occasional lags on this laptop.I was frustrated because I compared it to my 6 years old i7 8GB RAM HP laptop and the older one was the better one.

I noticed that the main difference was Windows 10.

Let's just not talk about privacy concerns and other stuff, but I am talking about reliability, errors and BSODs.

I factory rest it but only got slightly better, but still sub-par experience.

 

I know I can't now downgrade to 7, and I am stuck with 10.I tried virtual box some other OS, but BSODs just got more numerous so, I reverted back by restore to an earlier snapshot.

O fcourse, no need to mention that 3 of my best played games ever stopped working in the last creators update and I got abit more annoyed.

 

Am I exagerating or the experience is really similar with you especially in comparison with other older systems.

(Actually while I am writing this post, Baam,BSOD

Sorry for the long post

Appreciate your advice

 

[Phemo]

There is something wrong with your hardware.  Windows 10 is reliable on reliable hardware so if you're experiencing BSODs on a newly-purchased system just out of the box then something is wrong with it.  Either try to diagnose what the problem is or return it for a replacement.

 

If you're getting regular BSODs then that shouldn't be too difficult.  Provided it's not down to some software that you have installed, that is.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

If you're getting a BSOD then you could put the dump files in to BlueScreenView to find out what is causing the issue.

[+Warwagon MVC]

As NIck H said, time to look at the DUMP file. Also check the smart data of your SSD and memtest your ram. If something is going to fail it will happen during the time period you are breaking it in, a.k.a right after you get it. Sounds like you may have gotten a bad stick of ram. Due to a large amount of ram, it may be on a stick which isn't needed a lot of the time until you start consuming a lot of memory.

[Joe User]

There's a very high chance you have faulty hardware. RAM and/or power supply are the most likely culprits based on what you're reporting.

 

[spaceelf]

I just got a laptop that had hardware issues out of the box, and that sounds likely to be a hardware problem.  Pretty much return it to the store if that sort of thing is happening, but now that you've waited a few months get ahold of Acer support and get warranty work done on it.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

My first laptop was an AMD Gateway with Windows 7

I brought it home, opened the lid, pressed the power button ......... the screen stayed blank and the BIOS speaker just started screaming until I pulled the battery.

Even more odd when i brought it back to the store and powered it on for Customer Service to verify it booted into Audit Mode lol

 

needless to say new hardware can be faulty too sometimes

 

/end related rant

 

While the specs look great, the fact that it's an Acer concerns me a bit. I'm not sure of their current reputation but they've been known to have rather sub-par PCs/Laptops in the past.

In your shoes i would 100% be trying to swap that machine out, either at the store purchased at or RMA if purchased online.

[DevTech]

1 hour ago, Brandon H said:

My first laptop was an AMD Gateway with Windows 7

I brought it home, opened the lid, pressed the power button ......... the screen stayed blank and the BIOS speaker just started screaming until I pulled the battery.

Even more odd when i brought it back to the store and powered it on for Customer Service to verify it booted into Audit Mode lol

 

needless to say new hardware can be faulty too sometimes

 

/end related rant

 

While the specs look great, the fact that it's an Acer concerns me a bit. I'm not sure of their current reputation but they've been known to have rather sub-par PCs/Laptops in the past.

In your shoes i would 100% be trying to swap that machine out, either at the store purchased at or RMA if purchased online.

Consider moving this to Hardware Forum?

 

- Classic case of "Correlation is NOT Causation" - nothing about Windows 10 is a "general" indicator for gaming issues.

 

- 950m is a super weak GPU for current games.

 

- "Aspire" is NOT Acer's gaming laptop line - that would be "Predator" and some of the "Nitro" models

 

 

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

You got a mid range outdated (mid 2017?) laptop from ACER

 

this is basically asking for trouble as ACER is only ok for their high end stuff.

 

multiple reports of hardware issues for your laptop series can be found online.

 

if you bought it new, get a refund and get a better brand

 

 

[DevTech]

5 hours ago, medhunter said:

Hi,

Few months ago I bought a new Aspire F15 laptop, F5-573G-70EB

It has an i7-7500U processor , Nvidea GTX 950m graphic card , and 16 GB DDR4 ram,USB 3.1m , long lasting battery and...... Windows10

 

My rationale was that I need a system that can handle games and lag free.

Yet I experienced alot of errors, BSODs and occasional lags on this laptop.I was frustrated because I compared it to my 6 years old i7 8GB RAM HP laptop and the older one was the better one.

I noticed that the main difference was Windows 10.

Let's just not talk about privacy concerns and other stuff, but I am talking about reliability, errors and BSODs.

I factory rest it but only got slightly better, but still sub-par experience.

 

I know I can't now downgrade to 7, and I am stuck with 10.I tried virtual box some other OS, but BSODs just got more numerous so, I reverted back by restore to an earlier snapshot.

O fcourse, no need to mention that 3 of my best played games ever stopped working in the last creators update and I got abit more annoyed.

 

Am I exagerating or the experience is really similar with you especially in comparison with other older systems.

(Actually while I am writing this post, Baam,BSOD

Sorry for the long post

Appreciate your advice

 

You have a hardware issue. If the mods don't move this to the hardware forum, you could repost there.

 

If you are really in Egypt, we have to consider ambient temperature perhaps?

 

If you can't  return it or get warranty service, then you want to make sure you can sign in to Microsoft with a Microsoft account on that laptop to save the Windows 10 activation. Then download a clean generic copy of Windows 10 from Microsoft and install that on the laptop so you can start debugging the issue without any "crapware" issues.

 

[DevTech]

5 hours ago, medhunter said:

 

Sorry for the long post

Appreciate your advice

 

Also, for debugging an issue, your post is far too short and devoid of useful information.

 

Missing info:

 

- exact specs - what is screen res? how much GPU RAM, etc.

 

- exactly what games to you play and which ones fail to work?

 

- any custom or out of normal software or tools or anti-virus installed?

 

- what are the CPU temps and GPU temps while playing games?

 

- what exact BSODs are you getting?

 

 

[DevTech]

17 minutes ago, Jimmy #1 said:

You got a mid range outdated (mid 2017?) laptop from ACER

 

this is basically asking for trouble as ACER is only ok for their high end stuff.

 

multiple reports of hardware issues for your laptop series can be found online.

 

if you bought it new, get a refund and get a better brand

 

 

"Better model" might be more accurate.

 

Every brand makes crappy laptops.

 

That last time I examined a Acer Nitro model I was quite impressed with the build quality and a very excellent keyboard.

 

[Jim K Global Moderator]

//moved from General Discussion to Hardware Hangout

 

As others have said ... you probably have a hardware issue.  Have you restored back to factory defaults? 

 

Still under warranty?  RMA it (or return it back to the place of purchase if allowed).

[DevTech]

45 minutes ago, Jim K said:

 

As others have said ... you probably have a hardware issue.  Have you restored back to factory defaults? 

 

"restored back to factory defaults" has a non-zero chance of re-introducing issues via "crapware"

 

Unless it is really old hardware with obscure device drivers, I recommend to people that they boot from a USB loaded with a fresh ISO from Microsoft and do a clean install. For me and tech users, I would also delete the "recovery partition" but for non-tech people, it is safer to leave it there in case they can't figure out how to boot from a USB and need to fall back to manufacturer's BIOS based recovery.

 

 

[UseLess]

Like the others said, I would suspect hardware; you could try some stress test tools to see if you can force a BSOD. If it is still under warranty, I would return it.

 

I'm not sure about Egyptian law, but under Australian law if something is broken you can normally get a refund. I would do this if you can, and swap the specs a little bit if you're playing games. Maybe aim for a mid-tier i5 and 8GB RAM, but bump up the GPU. 

[Jim K Global Moderator]

10 minutes ago, DevTech said:

"restored back to factory defaults" has a non-zero chance of re-introducing issues via "crapware"

 

Unless it is really old hardware with obscure device drivers, I recommend to people that they boot from a USB loaded with a fresh ISO from Microsoft and do a clean install. For me and tech users, I would also delete the "recovery partition" but for non-tech people, it is safer to leave it there in case they can't figure out how to boot from a USB and need to fall back to manufacturer's BIOS based recovery.

 

 

Still shouldn't suffer from constant BSOD's ... a few months out of the box ... even with the crapware.  Unless this particular model / crapware is prone to BSODs?

 

Though I agree, a clean install is the better way to go.

 

Edit: Reading his OP all the way through...I see he already tried the factory defaults anyway to no avail.

[DPyro]

Most likely a bad stick of RAM.

[medhunter]

Thank you guys for the much appreciated informative input.

 

I can suspect now this unit is malfunctioning.I forgot to tell you that there is a specific USB3 Port that is not really accepting all devices.In addition, I had no luck whatsoever creating a USB bootable flashdrive of Win10 or linux.May be it now adds up.

 

my plan is to do two things:

1- more testing ..

2- Eventually a clean install

 

For testing I can do Memtest , even by a linux live DVD media
Any other possible tools to test  you recommend?

 

N.B: I bought from Saudi Arabia and still liv there.I am bound to 2 years warranty plan.I might use it eventually.

 

[d5aqoëp]

It's strange to get Nvidia 950m GPU with 7th gen CPU. That GPU was announced on 12th March 2015. So it is already 3 years old and super slow for today's games. 

 

Sometimes, some of Acer's preinstalled bloatware can cause BSODs too. I would try to install a clean copy of Windows 10 Home/Pro depending on your license, install latest Cumulative update and test the stability. Then raise any support ticket with Acer.

[spaceelf]

8 minutes ago, d5aqoëp said:

It's strange to get Nvidia 950m GPU with 7th gen CPU. That GPU was announced on 12th March 2015. So it is already 3 years old and super slow for today's games. 

Still probably outperforms Intels built in crap considerably though.

[medhunter]

1 hour ago, medhunter said:

Any other possible tools to test  you recommend?

I want 3rd party apps otehr than the bundled Acer tools.

I need tools to check RAM, Battery,....

Recommendations?

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

 

Does Acer offer any diagnostics you can download to test the computer's hardware?  If so, run those to see if they find any failing components, and then get the unit serviced while it is still under warranty.

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky

 

[DevTech]

14 hours ago, medhunter said:

Thank you guys for the much appreciated informative input.

 

I can suspect now this unit is malfunctioning.I forgot to tell you that there is a specific USB3 Port that is not really accepting all devices.In addition, I had no luck whatsoever creating a USB bootable flashdrive of Win10 or linux.May be it now adds up.

 

my plan is to do two things:

1- more testing ..

2- Eventually a clean install

 

For testing I can do Memtest , even by a linux live DVD media
Any other possible tools to test  you recommend?

 

N.B: I bought from Saudi Arabia and still liv there.I am bound to 2 years warranty plan.I might use it eventually.

 

- Saudi Arabia: Are you operating the laptop in an air conditioned environment?

 

- What are the specs of your HP laptop? 

 

- Do you run games at the full 1920 x 1080 resolution or at 1280 x 720?

 

- NotebookCheck:

 

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Acer-Aspire-F15-F5-573G-53V1-Notebook-Review.167946.0.html

 

"The case temperature of the Acer Aspire F15 remains below 30 °C (86 °F) in all measurement segments when the system is idling. In our stress test with Prime95 and FurMark running simultaneously for at least one hour, things are different: We measured a maximum case temperature of 65.4 °C (149.7 °F). This hotspot is on the underside near the fan grille. During this test, the CPU temperature increases to a very high 98 °C (208.4 °F), which has a negative impact on the clock rate. However, this extreme scenario will seldom occur in practice. The CPU cannot permanently keep its maximum clock rate in this scenario. The CPU clock fell to 2.2 GHz due to thermal throttling. During the stress test, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 950M reached 92 °C (197.6 °F). It worked at 915 MHz throughout the test without decreasing the clock rate. We reran the 3DMark 11 benchmark directly after the stress test and recorded a result of 4043 points. This is only marginally worse than the cold run's and, so, the difference can be ignored since it is within normal variance. Thus, there is no noteworthy performance loss despite high temperatures. In order to simulate the temperature increase in realistic scenarios, we ran the Unigine Heaven benchmark repeatedly. During this test, the CPU temperature increased to up to 94 °C (201.2 °F) and the GPU reached a maximum of 85 °C (185 °F). Thus, temperatures also get high during gaming. However, we could not detect thermal throttling here. However, it is very close to throttling since it plateaus near 100 °C (42.8 °F). Thus, throttling might occur if gaming on a very warm day."

 

- For testing, you really just need to start with Prime95 and FurMark as mentioned in the quote and monitor your temps while running. Note that gaming laptops are thick and heavy due to extra copper cooling and extra fans. There is only so much a modern thin laptop can handle and also, the cooling is very dependent on ambient temperature in your room.

 

- every (usable) computer should have error free execution of the Prime95 "Torture Test" running on all Cores and Threads simulataneous for a period of at least 4 hours. Many people advocate 24 hours or 48 hours but in my experience 99.9 % of issues show up within 4 hours.

 

- Furmark exercises the GPU

 

- running Prime95 and Furmark at the same time will simulate the max conditions a game can throw at the computer. It should be able to run for some subjective time interval perhaps 1/3 the length of a typical gaming session...