NUC X15 LAPAC71G - ACPI.sys 100% CPU Usage, high latency and Intel Graphics System Controller resets

[IvanBekish31]

Greetings.
For several weeks since I've noticed it, I am struggling with an issue of ACPI.sys using a ton of processor time, causing CPU to be locked at max turbo boost and using 100% of one thread, causing audio delays, unstable performance, high power draw, temperatures, and just morbid performance on battery mode with low charge.

What I had tried (to no success):
- Clean re-installation of Windows 11 of several builds.
- BIOS updates to 0061, 0062, 0065, 0066
- ARC Drivers: 4575, 5522, 5590, 5989, 6078
- Disabling / Enabling all the options in BIOS (including thunderbolt)
- Installing all the relevant drivers I can find on Intel's website (in the addition to those in the pack v1.7)
- Disabling / Deleting GPUs, System Devices, Audio components and so on.
- Disabling multiple services (including Windows Audio)
- Switching RAM in slots, removing 1 stick and testing it in each slot

Problem seems to not appear in safe mode, but it is hard to say, as it can appear just right after start, or took dozens of minutes to pop-up under various load in normal operation.
I was not able to detect the exact source of it, as debugging ACPI.sys is beyond my range of abilities.
But the moment ACPI.sys (system interrupts) started to load thread to 100%, that event was in the seconds range from issue "Intel Graphics System Controller Interface is being reset", albeit it appeared much more often on some driver configurations and did not caused problems on its own it seems.

I've read posts:
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H - Graphics System Controller Firmware Interface is being reset
and
The Intel(R) Graphics System Controller Firmware Interface is being reset
And the method with downgrading this System Device worked, reset errors are gone, however something is still making ACPI.sys use all the resources.

Maybe there is something in pack v1.6 or earlier which won't cause such an issue, but I cannot longer find any links for them.

I very love my NUC X15, but this issue is plaguing me, and I am at the verge of despair. I am hopeful that I missed something in my research, and the problem is solvable.
I am looking for your reply...

[IvanBekish31]

I am currently inspecting what ThrottleStop can provide, maybe there is something that can help me.
I've always used Universal Tuning Utility before to limit TDP to 20W, maybe to 40W or 60W, as PL4 of 130 watts is insane.

[JedG_Intel]

Hello IvanBekish31,

Thank you for posting at Intel Community Forums

For me to address your concern correctly, please share the details below.

1. Was this working fine before?

2. Did you make any recent changes to the system?

3. What power scheme are you currently running?

Additionally, to have a better understanding of your system configuration and components please generate System Support Utility (SSU) report. Please follow instructions here and send the report - How to get the Intel® System Support Utility Logs on Windows*

I look forward to your response!

Best regards,

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[IvanBekish31]

I wish you good time of day, and thanks for reply.

I include attachment of SSU log, as you've asked.

Answering your questions, I am using newly installed official unmodified image of Windows 11 24H2, however I think I've even noticed issue appear on system without any graphical driver installed, as well as without using almost any 3rd party software.

I cannot precisely answer, weather it occurred before, but it was happening for several months certainly. Maybe after my upgrade to Driver Pack 1.7, yet I am unsure.

I was using different power schemes on windows and from NUC Software Studio, and it seemed to have no effect.

Also I present a couple of screenshots of what I am referring too:

- 1st is system monitoring before dire error, you can see that System Interrupts (where ACPI.sys makes computations) has little to none load, processor is in low clock mode and consumes mere couple of watts, being highly efficient and cold.

- 2nd picture is state of system after the event, System Interrupts seems to only use 5-6% of CPU, but that is 1.5 threads on full load and maximum turbo boost, so processor is on its TDP limit of 20 watts (which I've set), and without limit it will consume around 25 watts idle, as it is what it takes to run 1 core at max clock.

Also I include the Windows Performance Report, with many additional options turned on. Sadly I do not possess necessary skills to analyze the cause of the problem, however on the Computation graph I can clearly observe the exact time of the incident, 93th second.

Link to Windows Performance Recording file on Dropbox 

ACPI.sys launches itself when I launch application which utilizes Discrete GPU (being Redout2-Win64-Shipping.exe), yet functions properly. And what is peculiar is that it stats to behave badly when I kill Terraria.exe process (which also used discrete GPU, yet to the slightest amount), so it is surprising how such a lightweight game can consistently and immediately cause problem, while more heavy load application (such as AIDA64 system stability test) and games can take dozens of minutes for event to occur.

I am hoping with all my being that there is any form of solution to that vexing problem.

Best wishes.
Ivan.

[IvanBekish31]

And for clarity I additionally sending Performance Recording of system with minimal amount of programs I've managed to achieve, yet, of course, System Interrupts are still a problem.

Currently I am trying to research and inspect this log on my own, but I would immensely appreciate any help with my task.

[IvanBekish31]

Another detail, I was suspecting that problem can be related to Rapid Storage Technology.

However, I was never been able to install it from provided driver pack (which implies that it should work on this laptop).

[JedG_Intel]

Hello IvanBekish31,

I appreciate your effort in providing all this information. Based on the SSU logs, it seems that the driver version for your graphics is different from the one in the driver pack. Please make sure to use only the drivers included in the driver pack and let me know if it improves the performance of your system.

For reference: Driver Pack for the Intel® NUC X15 Laptop Kit - LAPAC71H & LAPAC71G

I hope this information helps.

Best regards,

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[IvanBekish31]

Yes, Jed.
Of course I've done it already long ago. On the clean system I've installed only drivers from pack, and on top of that disabled windows updates, so these are the only drivers installed.

And I've done the opposite, installed system with no drivers what-so-ever. Still problem persists.

Which leads me to conclusion, that it is device, available from first install. However I am quite certain issue is not present in safe mod, so this is device disabled here.

[IvanBekish31]

Also this issue seems to be tied to DPC and audio latency.
Because it indeed increases audio latency to unacceptable levels, but only from point it occurs.

So I already had done quite a research on it....

The following materials are about advanced power settings, sleep timers, idle states, device suspension and so on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEYDbrjurI0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbXzM60ad8I

https://www.reddit.com/r/LenovoLegion/comments/wxo8gd/legion_5_pro_complete_guide_to_dpc_latency/

Right now I've disabled all the possible timers to "never" or set huge value, also I've disabled all power savers, which seems to delay the issue. And in my experience it now pops up during long inactivity periods.

Yet it can happen at random too. But it is very hard collecting data only on my own.

And as it is all tied to system interrupts, Interrupt Affinity Policy tool may work as a debugging tool, to determine in which device's driver the issue is. I just hope it is 1 device...

[JedG_Intel]

Hello IvanBekish31,

Thank you for sharing all this information and for your effort in trying to find out the root cause of the issue you are having. To help you further, we'll be investigating internally. I will give you an update as soon as I have one.

I appreciate your patience and have a good one!

Best regards,

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JedG_Intel]

Hello IvanBekish31,

After checking internally and due to the extensive troubleshooting that you have tried, there is a high possibility that the problem is hardware related. I highly recommend that you get in touch with your Place of Purchase to see if they can process an RMA for the unit.

Below are the common causes of the issue:

1. Driver Conflicts: Outdated or incompatible drivers, especially for system devices like the chipset, can cause ACPI.sys to consume excessive CPU resources.

2. BIOS Settings: Incorrect or suboptimal BIOS settings can lead to high CPU usage by ACPI.sys. This includes power management settings and device configurations.

3. Firmware Issues: Problems with the system firmware or BIOS can also trigger high CPU usage by ACPI.sys.

4. Hardware Problems: Faulty hardware components, such as a malfunctioning CPU fan or other system devices, can cause ACPI.sys to work harder, leading to high CPU usage.

I hope that this information helps you!

Best regards,

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JedG_Intel]

Hi IvanBekish31,

I wanted to check if you had the chance to check the information that I shared. Please let me know at your earliest convenience so that we can determine the best course of action to resolve this matter.

Best regards,

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JedG_Intel]

Hello IvanBekish31,

I have not heard back from you so I will close this inquiry now. If you need further assistance, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards,

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[IvanBekish31]

I apologize for the long reply, but I've finally managed to fix the problem.
Well, not me, as I've send laptop to the official service center and vendor decided to send new motherboard, which resolved the issue.

I think I may had been caused by extremely dangerous and weird situation when for unknown reason laptop entered a weird low-power state, yet cooling decided to switch to passive, which lead to whole laptop  (gladly without display) to reach PROCHOT of 95 degrees.
Yet it is still questionable, as I do not understand how it can heat to such temperatures when idle state is around 0-2 watts, which is more than fine for passive cooling, so maybe it was in fact effect due to the main problem.

Yet I am finally absolutely pleased than issue is resolved and I hope it stays that way, as hardware is pretty nice for my standards.

Also, as I am messaging from Russia, it caused problems of singing, which caused further delays in my reply.

If you have any details on secondary problem I just mentioned, I will be glad if you provide me with information.
But for now I say goodbye.