3830TG throttling?

So basically, I bought a 3830TG a week ago from staples. Specs:
i3-2330m processor 2.2GHz
Nvidia Gt 540m 1gb Dedicated
4GB System Memory
13'3 inch screen

I got it pretty cheap for the specs (529.99$) and I pretty happy for the buy as a budget gaming laptop. So I run it up and first try Battlefield Bad Company 2. It runs at 30 fps for a couple of minutes, but then BAM, the fps at like 3-4.

That got me really confused, so I decided to do a bit of research on the laptop. Turns out it has something called throttling. When you start gaming with it it drops to 1.2GHz after a few minutes. Yes I know I should have done more research before buying it.

So I could return it, but before I do, do any of you guys know of a way that I could possibly stop the throttling? or at the least reduce the GHz of the processor so games are still playable and the graphics card isnt bottlenecked much or not at all?

All help appreciated, thanks.

 

Thermal Throttling happens when the temperature reaches a point where the notebooks cooling solution is insufficient.
There are three solutions to this problem.

1: Open up the computer and repaste with higher quality thermal grease.

2: Clean the cooling fans for dust.

3: Invest in a notebook cooler, basically a big fan under the notebook.

 

If I had that laptop, I'd re-paste the processor and graphics card:

Gadgets and Hacks: Acer 3830TG-6431 Teardown

 

Thankfully it seems Acer made it quite easy to open up the notebook.

 

I'm not a big notebook techie, so any ways to perhaps use a program to fix the problem, or do something in the bios?

Not trying to sound lazy, lol.

 

That's pretty much the only fix if you want to game. It looks harder than it is, probably only take 30-45 minutes.

 

I've looked around and found a program called Throttle Stop. From what ive read it basically says that it lowers the GHz a bit so it doesn't throttle. What do you guys think?

 

It is throttling because the CPU or GPU is too hot. Unless you have monitored temperatures and know them to be safe, I would not use any type of software solution to prevent the throttling, or you could cause damage to your chips due to overheating. You need to fix the heat problem first.

 

Reapply the thermal paste with some good paste, like AS5 or IC Diamond. It really isn't that hard. It just involves opening the laptop, taking the CPU off the heatsink, cleaning it with some rubbing alcohol, putting a little paste on(pea-sized, really), and smushing it together.

 

Alright, thanks. I'll try it out.

 

using throttlestop is a much easier solution. repasting is such a hassle.

 

If the notebook throttle down because of risk of hardware failure then Throttlestop wont make the problem go away.
Just saying. ;3

 

this model is prone to CPU throttling,you can't do anything except repasting.Still i doubt it will work fine unless you frequently clean and repaste

 

3820TG better than 3830TG due to Throttling

There have been throttling problems on a couple CPU lines, and generally they remained UNsolved, the only cure being to ditch it and buy another CPU (or computer) in the next line. This is why makers don't like when people talk about this; the most open ones in the latest event (see below) have been IMB-Lenovo and Acer; others managed it, either to workaround the technical problem, or to keep their brand free from buzz.

Now there is a special and annoying throttling problem in the SB line, it is well explained in one of the 4-5 reviews Notebookcheck posted on the different models of the 3820TG, where they advised to buy the " old" 3820TG, NOT the newer 3830TG. See:

• Google "Sandy Bridge CPU throttling problem"
• Google "3820TG site:notebookcheck.net"

Versailles, Fri 10 Feb 2012 00:08:20 +0100