Gemstome Blue Users, Post If You've Been Throttled!

OK, I've officially exhausted my patience with Acer's phone and email support regarding the whole CPU throttling mess.

Here's the most recent response I've gotten from Acer PanAm email support, a fellow by the name of Ajeesh.

Key words being "all the Acer laptops in this series should have this issue."

SO. This is a call out to ALL Gemstone Blue owners on NBR - 6920, 6930, 6935, 8920, and 8930.
Post here the following facts:
-Your Acer Aspire model
-Any CPUs you've used
-Any BIOS versions you've used (use CPU-Z to find that out)
-Whether your system throttles

And when you're done posting, CALL ACER and let them know! The only way we're going to get this problem solved is to give them verified cases in volume.

THE LIST
TehSuigi - 6920-6428 - T5550 and T8300 *upgraded* - BIOS v1.06, 1.10, 1.14 - Throttles on all combinations
DarkSilver - 6920G - T8100 - BIOS v1.07, 1.10, 1.14 - Throttles on all combinations
RickyC - 6935G - T9400 - BIOS v1.10 - Throttles
Blckbird2002 - 6920G - T8300 - BIOS v1.02 - Throttles
Wimcor - 6920G - T8300 - BIOS ? - Throttles
Psynalizer - 8930 - T9400 - BIOS ? - Throttles
darrickmartin - 6920G - T5550 - BIOS v1.02 - Just started to throttle
Ecnomar - 8920G - T5750 - BIOS v1.14 - Throttles
clement - 6935G - P8600 - BIOS v1.10 - Throttles
Teaz - 8920G - T9300 - BIOS v1.14 - Throttles
sakkora - 6920G - T7500 - BIOS ? - Throttles
metalroses - 6920G - T5550 - BIOS v1.02 - Throttles
Victorious - 6935G - T6400 (assumed) - BIOS ? - Throttles
daz_tech_29 - 6920G - T8100 - BIOS v1.10 & 1.14 - Throttles
lawcs89 - 6935G - P8400 - BIOS v1.10 - Throttles
panzerninja - 6920G - T5750 - BIOS v1.07 - Throttles
Abraxis - 8920G - T9300 - BIOS v1.14 - Throttles
wyald - 6935G - P8700 - BIOS v1.04, 1.10, & 1.13 - Throttles
powerfull499 - 6930G - T4200 - BIOS ? - Does not throttle
young_coder - 6930G - T6400 - BIOS ? - Does not throttle
sgogeta4 - 6920G - T5550 (very UV'd) - BIOS v1.10 - Does not throttle
hna - 6920G - T5550 - BIOS ? - Does not throttle

 

- DarkSilver -
Acer Aspire 6920G
Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T8100(2.1Ghz, 800MHz FSB, 3MB L2 Cache)
BIOS v1.07, v1.10, v1.14
Throttles on all combinations.

I am after Tehsuigi, XD hurray!

 

I would like to suggest a few methods and ideas here.

1st, any moderators here? Please make this thread to sticky. Thanks.

2nd, Private Messages(PMs) should be sent to other (AS 6920G/8920G)users who have the same problem(CPU slowdown during gaming/throttle of CPU). So, they can know about this and support us.

3rd, dig out all the "6920G Throttle Issues" topics from this forum and other forums(Links). Because I saw some other forums and they have the same "6920G Throttle Issues".

After all, these methods would increase the popularity/supports for our TS, Tehsuigi to Acer Canada HQ. Last but no least, with the help and support from the public/AS6920G/AS8920G users, the "6920G Throttle Issues" could fix faster.

Addition info:
This fix is BIOS related but Acer apparently do not believe it. So, we need support from majority. I hope Acer would release a BIOS to fix the "Throttle Issues". Take note that FLASHING BIOS is extremely dangerous as this is stated in Acer website as well. However, I had my laptop flashed BIOS a few times using correct method and I don't have any problems with it.

 

I have the 6920G. How can I tell if mine is throttling?

 

Well, is it slowing down during games? Video encodes?
I was able to get mine to throttle in less than a minute using a program called ORTHOS. RMClock will inform you if your throttle was activated.

 

WoW! You get throttle really fast. Mine is about 5-10minutes to get throttle.
Strange. Issit you still using v1.10 or v1.14?

@BritishBeed,
You can try play some 3D intensive games such as Left 4 Dead, FEAR 2, Bioshock 2 and many more. If you notice the game become LAG after a while(the time is vary on user), it is a throttle(downclocking issues).

 

I have Acer Aspire 6930 with following specs:

Geforce 9300m GS
2 GB ram
T4200 processor
HD screen and etc.

My computer doesent "throttle" itself and I don't notice any downclock on the GPU.

My old laptop was a 8930g, and it downclocked itself after 10 minutes. The game became unplayable, so I swapped it to a new one and got some money back.

 

Do i count? I have a 6935g and can't play a game more than 5mins without the cpu throttling. Its actually away with Acer for "repair" atm but i doubt anything will change with the throttle.

-6935G-944G32Bn
-Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T9400(2.53Ghz, 1000MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache)
-v1.10
-Throttles with old + new games. Thought it was my imagination till i checked RMClock and bought a decent game. Never noticed/checked during video encoding and thats what i mainly use the laptop for.

My old laptop actually is faster than my acer when it throttles and has no cpu issues :/ kinda of a waste. Plus none of the fixes for 6920g actually work for the 6935g. Tried to undervault too but no program gives me a real time temp for the cpu. Will try again when i get my laptop back.

 

Brother, please post your 8930G specification as TS stated.
6930G shouldn't have any throttle problem and it is kinda normal for 6930G don't have the problem.

 

-6920G
-T8300
-1.02
-YES (the only reason im here) for some reason it didn't do it at first (or it only did it slightly, because the games didn't get bad FPS) but it started happening recently about 4 months back(for some unknown reason). now all the games i play require me to alt-tab out and fix it with rightmark... but some games just don't handle alt-tabbing well...

 

Is that your 6935G is considered Blue GemStone? If it is, I think it counts.
Please states your MOTHERBOARD chipset/model.
I doubt that your CPU is throttle during gaming as you told which is same as 6920G users.

@ blckbird2002,
Yea, some games can't handle alt-tab well. That's why I change a lot of games to windowed mode. XD!

 

yeah it sa blue gemstone.

Where will i find that? is this is
LX.ATQ0X.038
LF2

Well the CPU is throttling. I play a game at 60/30fps for a few mins. Then BAm down to 20fps or lower. I check RMclock and the cpu clock has gone from 2.53ghz to around 1.1ghz,

 

Thanks for the posts, everyone. RickyC, I've added your system to the list because it doesn't seem like Acer figured this out when they introduced their Centrino 2 models.

DarkSilver, I only get a throttle that fast when I use ORTHOS - which taxes my CPU to 100% on both cores. When gaming, it obviously takes longer for it to happen (if at all).

 

hi,
same problem here. Acer 6920 T8300.
FSX not playable !!
GTA4 not playable !!
Both throttle down after a few minutes.
RM clock sometimes helps but causes blue screens after closing the games.

I would really apreciate a solution from Acer.
A laptop with such issues is definitly not what I expected for € 1300.

 

Good luck guys, I hope many more people will take part. Maybe you should make the thread sticky and include in the title more laptops from the Gemstone Blue series so more people notice it, e.x. ATTENTION to all Gemstone Blue Owners, 69xx, 89xx, 5930, 5935. A good also detail is to include a easy/short guide in the first post how to detect the throttle.
You can add the download links of the programs to use in order to detect the problem as well.
You can also add a poll at the top of the thread.
Just a couple of ideas that might be helpful.
I hope Acer take notice of the people that care about its products and issue an update ASAP.

 

Same problem here

8930
T9400
BIOS? (stock BIOS)

I'm really having regrets of buying this thing. Playing games can really be a torment I hope acer will do something about this because it really is a big mistake!

 

8930 specs:

9700m GT/GS I don't remember which one, but I think it was GS.
P8400 processor
Stock bios.

That's enough.

---
And Darksilver, the 6930 is a "Blue Gemstone" too, so I would say it counts.

 

But it seems your 6930G don't have any throttle problem.
So, you do not need to tell it.
Anyway, thanks for supporting us.

Actually, this throttling problem is a very very very long old stuff. But no one stands out to complaint about it. In addition, no everyone know what is going on with it and not sure what cause this THROTTLING issue. After some researches, I found a lot of information(Lastly, I found it is BIOS related, Acer locked the BIOS EIST/TM1/TM2 setting. So, we can't disable/enable EIST/TM1/TM2 in the BIOS.). After some discussion with Tehsuigi, he decided to start his complaint to Acer Canada HQ.

Additional Info:
EIST = Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology
TM 1 = Thermal Monitor 1
TM 2 = Thermal Monitor 2
TM 1 is responsible to set a certain throttling temperature value on a Processor. When the processor temperature raise to the throttling temperature value that has been set. The processor would slowdown and throttle. It is more like Acer has set the TM 1 value too low. From what I observed, T-series Processor should hav at least 100C as TJmax. TJmax = maximum temperature that a Processor can withstand and it would turn-off itself when reach that temperature to prevent damage.
I doubt Acer set the TM 1 value about 50-60C. I checked it with RMCLOCK, the CPU would throttle when it hits 50-60C.

@nklive,
Yep! I already suggest it on the 1st page of this Topic to make this thread sticky. Moderator is needed.

Additional suggestion,
Please tell/contact your friends(Acer GemStone) which have the same "Throttling Issues" and support us here. THanks.

 

i haven't noticed anything on my 6920G

T5550
9500M GS
stock BIOS

how do you use RMClock to see if it's being throttled?

 

Actually, you just need to download some monitoring tools.
CrystalCPUID or CPU-Z will do. It reads CPU speed.
Turn on your monitoring tools. Then see your CPU/Processor speed reading(basically maximum speed).
Then, play some 3D intensive games.
If you sensed the game LAG/SLOWDOWN/LOW FPS, you just alt-tab and look at the CPU-Z/CRYSTALCPUID reading again. If you see the CPU/Processor speed reading lowered(basically about 50-60%), this is known as THROTTLE.

 

I don't understand why the 6920 has this problem. The 6920 and 6930 have same design and cooling system =S?

 

My dear. This is not heating problems.
It is TM 1 value set too low. TM 1 is responsible to slowdown CPU to avoid overheat. However, Acer set it too low for AS 6920G, about 50-60C. Hence, it throttle usually when the CPU only reach average temperature. In addition, a good condition CPU won't goes above 60C even you play 3D intensive game for 1 or 2 hours/even more.
Actually, TM 1 value should be set around 70-80C.
A CPU basically can hold up to 100C(TJmax). TJmax = maximum temperature a CPU can support and CPU would shutdown if reached that temperature.

If ACER do not lock and cause the EIST in the BIOS invisible. This problem can be easily solved.

 

When I had my 8930 it began to downclock when the GPU reached 90

 

Can't you read? We are having this problem basically for AS 6920G.
AS 69 30G/AS 89 30G are very seldom/rarely have this problem.

Moreover, it is NOT GPU downclock=.=! Please read this thread carefully. Is all about CPU, motherboard and BIOS. NOT GPU!
Please stop posting unrelated machine here and unrelated specification part/hardwares here.

 

DarkSilver, calm down. Any Gemstone Blue machine that is having this problem (CPU throttling) supports our case.
Darrick, I'm interested in why your machine does not throttle but all of ours do. What BIOS are you running?

 

LoL. I only hope less he could read properly on CPU and not GPU on the highest priority.
Darrick's machine really impressive but he haven't do the TEST that I suggest to him.
Indeed, I wanted to know what BIOS he was using.

Take notes, Title of this topic is written wrong now. gemstoMe. is GEMSTONE. LoL!

@Darrick,
Check your BIOS please? Using Empowering Technology's eSetting Management.
You could find it on the Summary tab if not mistaken.

 

Or on CPU-Z's Mainboard tab.

EDIT: Hmmm...this is interesting.
I did some monitoring of my system with HWMonitor while stressing the CPU (with ORTHOS) and GPU (with rthdribl), and I'm starting to understand what each of the unidentified thermal zones are.
TZ00 is connected to the CPU in some way - it went up greatly while just the CPU was being stressed, but not when the GPU was.
TZVR and TZVL are definitely linked to the GPU, as they both were stable during CPU testing and escalated during GPU testing.
TZ01 is the money shot here, I think. If my suspicions are correct, it's the thermal diode that controls the fan speed. BECAUSE it remained at 50 or lower during CPU testing (and thus the fan speed remained constant), but moved to 51 degrees during GPU testing (thus resulting in a faster fan speed). It wasn't enough to stop a throttle when both CPU and GPU were simultaneously stressed, though.

EDIT 2: Never mind. TZ01 was at 56 degrees a few minutes ago and the fan speed remained low during another ORTHOS run. Maybe it's tied to TZVR and TZVL?

 

I am interested on the FAN too.
I have damn high hope on your Tehsuigi! GoGoGo!
I have a FAN thingy link, http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php
Issit alright?

Somehow I think is BIOS related. LOL. Because I do some experiment on RMclock.
I turned TM 1 and TM 2 off and all throttling stuffs I manually picked lock or off. However, when I click the refresh button on rmclock or restart computer, the TM1 restored itself but the other same. I doubt it is due to TM1.

 

OK, next step is to test out Acer ePower on my testbed installation of Vista Home Premium, and see if I can get the system to throttle with that installed.
After that, I might be doing a complete PC backup and breaking out the Acer recovery DVDs to see if Acer themselves did something to customize Vista to stop this cruft.

EDIT: Oh, and I figured out a quick way to stop the throttling once it happens! Before it throttles, go to the Throttling tab of the Advanced CPU Settings page in RMClock, ensure that both thermal and normal throttling are off, and that "Lock throttling settings" is active. When your CPU throttles again, simply open RMClock to this page, hit Refresh, then Apply, and voila! Feel free to play to your heart's content.

 

You are so wrong. It was the GPU, and yes, I know this thread is about throtthling, but lol? In my oppinion it's good to hear ALL that have a gemstone experience this problem or not. Not just them who actually have the problem.

Calm down.

 

This doesn't work for the 6935g because the throttling tab is greyed out and nothing can be selected and its a well known fix anyway.

But this thread isn't for people with an entirely different problem (GPU downclock)

 

RickyC: Didn't know it was so well-known. My usual trick is to disable and re-enable TM1.

OK, tested out Acer ePower aaaand it still happened. 'Scuse me, gonna call Acer Canada HQ now...
EDIT: They'll be calling me back. It'll be nice to talk to someone who has the power to fix this.

 

mmm maybe it is different. i dont pay that much attention to fixes that arent for me :[

 

Hi,
-8930G
-P8400
-1.10

Stressed it with IntelBurn test v2.2 no visible reduction in cpu speed below 2.26 whilst stressing at max. Did drop to 1.595 without load, which it should do as far as I understand...
Chris

 

Yeah Chris, we're talking about speed drops (as shown in RMClock's monitoring tab) when being stressed. What you've got is just SpeedStep working normally.

Oh, and BIG UPDATE. I'm going to Acer's Canadian HQ on Friday to plead my case and figure out exactly what the donkey-nuts is going wrong.

 

Hi, btw a more accurate way of testing Intel core temps is this program http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=179044
I've used it extensively on my water cooled desktop...
Chris

 

Tehsuigi you are my IDOL!!!!
The lock throttling setting XD! I always use that method but on the extended throttling option part. I refresh it there and it works too.

He won't listen. I told him already. THIS IS FOR CPU/BIOS not GPU. He just blind.

 

Behave yourself and calm down. Drinking a glass of water normally helps.

 

LoL. Don't worry I just didn't sleep for days.
I didn't mean to scold him. I just want him to see what is this thread for but he is ignoring it and said he is right. Now, I going to take a nap about 30minutes.

 

You're one to talk.
Anyways, it'll be great to finally explain what happens IN PERSON to an Acer tech. I'll make sure to backup my computer and do a restore to factory default just to hammer my point home. If I can get a stock untouched 6920G to throttle...heh heh heh...THEN maybe we can have some change.

 

Definitely. The untouched 6920G can be throttle! The 1st day I bought, it throttles. XD!
But something strange is why WIndows XP of AS 6920G doesn't throttle.

 

Really? That's news to me.
Too bad I don't have a legit copy of XP.

 

I doubt this is why Darrick's AS6920G doesn't throttle. But I am not sure is he using XP or Vista/7.

 

Now that you mention it, DarkSilver, it didnt used to throttle before... ive owned this laptop for about 2 years now... it only started having noticeable throttling issues about 3 months back...
im using Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP1, at first i thought it might have had something to do with windows update... considering i have a friend who's Company of Heroes stopped working right after that same update.. but i wouldn't know...
Now, it's just throttling everywhere... it works fine with a box fan blowing right underneath it though (straight up).... but that's no way to play games on the lappy ~_~...
i have another friend who is just noticing the throttling (it's been 1 whole year) unfortunately, he won't be able to help much here considering he isn't too technical with computers... but i could get him to get his bios version and post it for him here...

as a sidenote: could it be something with dust/age that's causing the problem?

@Teh Suigi anyway... good luck with the cause on Friday!

 

encountered throttling for the first time today, seems to only happen when playing AA3 for me

has never happened to me when playing CS1.6, BF:heroes, L4D, TF2, Guild Wars...

once again, specs are
6920G
Vista Home Premium SP1
9500M GS
T5550 @ 1.83GHz
Stock BIOS (1.02 i believe)


Using the RMClock method fixes the throttling, and it's not too much of a hassle since I play most games in windowed mode anyways, but it's still a PITA, and Acer should fix this problem

 

Hi, what do you guys set your vista power settings too, seems to me if default throttles and, possibly, XP doesn't then it's Vista. What happens under W7?
Chris

 

i thought my laptop didnt throttle on xp but it just seems to take a bit longer to do so.

 

To everyone here who would like to know or check their BIOS.
Please download CPU-Z and check it.
I'll provide the link here. It is CPU-Z 1.4.1(latest is 1.5.1 but it reads wrong VID for penryn processor).
D/L, http://download.cnet.com/CPU-Z/3000-2086_4-10753792.html

 

Another reason why I set my game to windowed mode.
It is to make me easier to use RMCLOCK "FIX".
But as for some games, I just need to full-screened them.
Throttling occurs = ALT + TAB but need wait it to load to desktop screen buy a little of my precious time.

 

You can also check your bios version by opening acer's empowering technology tab and going to "Acer eSettings Management." if you scroll down the first page you should see it there (at least that's the case for my 6920G) your processor type and other useful info is also listed there, too.