Acer AX3-100-EF10 (Open Box) from Future Shop - Issues

shoottomaim

BANNED
'ello :). I bought this desktop from Future Shop a week ago, and up until now it's been fine. Yes, it's open box, but I couldn't resist because I'd save $200 from a $700 price tag. I installed Steam, CS:GO, and a couple of other programs, and I uninstalled most of the bloatware.

Specs:
  • AMD A10 5700 3.4 GHz
  • 12 GB DDR3
  • 1 TB HDD
  • DVD-RW
  • Windows 8
Now, here's some of the problems.
- When playing CS:GO I usually get ~40 FPS, but every now and then (10-15 times in a minute) the screen will freeze for 1/2 seconds, and then it'll be fixed. This usually happens when I'm under fire or am firing.
- There is a high-pitched noise coming from the computer... near the back if it helps.

To fix the first issue, I tried:
- Setting my favorite window on Steam to Library instead of Store so the Store wouldn't refresh every few seconds causing microstutters.
- Lowered all my settings to the minimum.
- Updated cl_updaterate and the other rate (I forgot) to 128 (@OG buckshot jr told me to change them, but I can't remember what they were... there were 3 things I changed.
- Restarted computer.
- Closed all other windows except Chrome.
- Set the max FPS to 60.

I'm not sure how to approach the second issue...
Should I just say "fuck it" and return the desktop? If so, what decent gaming computer can I get from Future Shop/Best Buy for ~$900? I really don't want to cross the $1000 line but if this shit is what I get for $700 ($500), I suppose I'll have to. I really don't want to part with this desktop though.. it's really well made and I like its' style a lot. HP has extremely ugly desktops IMO, and Dell's are built like tanks... no offence OFC. I would prefer the desktop to be Acer.

Thank you!
 

Narf!

TD Admin
I'd say return it. Chances are, it was open box because someone else returned it for a similar issue.
 

dead mike

TD Member, Legend, Puncher of Faces, Chatbox King
definitely return, that computer has probably integrated graphics. go to canada computers and tell them you want a gaming rig within your budget and get them to customize one for you, or its really easy to build your own, asus motherboard, ssd, you can probably get something sick for 700... newegg.ca ncix.ca.... bun futureshit
 

Gatherix

Death by Darkly
What they said. Return it; if you're willing to try, it's very much worth it to build your own, but if you'd rather buy a prebuilt one ensure it has a dedicated graphics card, because without one any game with 3D rendering will crap on you.

cl_updaterate and cl_cmdrate should just be set to whatever the maximum number of ticks the server is, which generally is 66, plus a little extra (I don't know if CS servers hit 100 or not since I don't play the game, Buckshot probably knows better than me). If your framerate is lower than whatever you set them to, they'll drop to your FPS, so you may as well just set them to something safe like 104. Regardless, changing these will only improve your FPS if they're set too low and you're playing on a non-local server. You can eliminate a lot of network variables (and introduce other performance-based ones) by testing your framerate on a local server (in CS, basically just playing against bots) and comparing that with playing on a server.
 

Steve

TD Admin | Bacon
return. acer is on par with dell/hp terribleness. Honstly, Darkly fags could probably recommend cheap parts and walk you through a build on mumble/skype/what ever.

Thats how I did my first build at 13 lol, Guy from my Battlefield 1942: Desert Combat clan walked me though assembling and installing a os over ventrilo on my old pc lol


Guys on Guys for lyfe
 

shoottomaim

BANNED
Acer is so beautiful though ;~;. Can someone suggest me a pre-built desktop that can last me 2-3 years, ~$800 (up to $1000) that actually looks nice? HP looks fugly. Hopefully I can get it at Best Buy/Future Shop, but preferably Future Shop because Best Buy sucks dick. Wi-Fi adapter would be nice.
I have literally no knowledge on how to build a computer, even worse than Regal Waffle ... so building one isn't an option for me.
 

Gatherix

Death by Darkly
If you're trying to get a gaming-capable desktop prebuilt for ~$800, then in my opinion the sacrifice of looks for more performance is worth it.
 

Steve

TD Admin | Bacon
You will not get a computer that will last 3 years from best buy for $800. You can build a beast for that much though. Too bad.
 

dead mike

TD Member, Legend, Puncher of Faces, Chatbox King
building a computer is about as hard as a 5 piece jigsaw puzzle, for real man, u need case/power supply/motherboard/cpu/ram/videocard/hard drive/optical drive/monitor keyboard mouse, so simple to put it all together.

the main trick is making sure that your cpu and motherboard are compatible, try and put something together on newegg, im sure we can help you out
 

shoottomaim

BANNED
eye cry every taim
I'd pay you guys to do it, but I'm not sure if I'd end up giving my address to someone who will come kill me ~.~.
 

MetalLobster

TD Admin
eye cry every taim
I'd pay you guys to do it, but I'm not sure if I'd end up giving my address to someone who will come kill me ~.~.


Oh come on, why would we do that =/

I would return it and decide whether you want more value for your money by buying parts and building the PC or go easy, breezy cover girl with a pre-built PC. If you choose the latter, then try retailers like Canada Computers or NCIX. They have better deals on pre-builds and every sales rep you see across the counter tend to know more about PCs than the derps at Future Shop.
 

shoottomaim

BANNED
The problem seemed to fix itself when I edited some of the AMD settings... do you think the problem will re-occur? I simply moved the slider from the middle of Performance and Quality to the Performance side in terms of Image Quality.
 

Cock

Cockilicious
Staff member
The problem seemed to fix itself when I edited some of the AMD settings... do you think the problem will re-occur? I simply moved the slider from the middle of Performance and Quality to the Performance side in terms of Image Quality.

Sounds like hardware,

Computer is using less VRAM when it's on performance,
 

OG buckshot jr

TD Admin
eye cry every taim
I'd pay you guys to do it, but I'm not sure if I'd end up giving my address to someone who will come kill me ~.~.
You gypsy, I already told you I'd be happy to come do it for you. Fuck, if you want bring all the shit to my place, and I'll build/install for you.

EDIT: And don't you fucking dare purchase Windows - I will stab you with a pencil. I'll hook you up. lol
 

shoottomaim

BANNED
You gypsy, I already told you I'd be happy to come do it for you. Fuck, if you want bring all the shit to my place, and I'll build/install for you.
I don't know man.. the issue seems to be with CS:GO or the graphics card.. either one. I really don't want to return this computer because there's nothing like it... and I don't trust non pre-built computers.. they seem fishy LOL. Like.. sort of US and China made products. Products that come out of the US generally have a good rep, while products that come out of China.. :yaoming:.
And plus... I don't want to meet strangers IRL :(. I'm a mommy's boy... hehe.
 
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