The Asus gaming laptop ACPI firmware bug

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Asus ACPI Bug and User Impact

  • Discussion centers on a long‑standing ACPI firmware bug in Asus gaming laptops that causes periodic 10–30ms latency spikes, visible as UI stutter and audio crackle.
  • Several owners of Zephyrus G14/G15 and other ROG models report nearly identical symptoms under both Windows and Linux, reinforcing that the issue is BIOS/ACPI, not OS.
  • Some note it appears worst in “dGPU‑only/Ultimate” MUX mode, but others say latency problems show up more broadly, so the exact scope remains unclear.
  • Workarounds people use: avoiding dGPU‑only mode, disabling boost, favoring hibernate over sleep, or effectively sidelining the dGPU.

Laptop Firmware and ACPI Dysfunction Across Brands

  • Many commenters generalize the problem to modern laptops: Lenovo, Dell, HP, MSI, Surface, Clevo, Acer, and others are all cited with ACPI, power, GPU switching, sleep/wake and dock issues.
  • Switchable graphics (iGPU+dGPU) are repeatedly described as fragile, especially with Thunderbolt/docks. Several users now avoid them entirely or choose iGPU‑only machines.
  • There’s frustration that years of BIOS updates often “improve performance and security” on paper while never fixing core bugs.

Apple, Steam Deck, and Alternatives

  • Some contrast this with MacBooks and the Steam Deck, saying their suspend/wake and overall integration are far more reliable.
  • Others push back, listing Apple hardware and software failures (keyboards, throttling, audio glitches, monitor issues) to argue no vendor is flawless—Apple just has the unified incentive to fix its own stack.

Debugging, ACPI Patching, and Technical Debates

  • The community is impressed by the author’s reverse‑engineering of AML and ACPI events; several say this is exactly the quality of work OEMs should be doing.
  • People discuss overriding ACPI tables on Linux (initrd/DSDT override) and Windows (Microsoft ACPI table load APIs, custom bootloaders), but note signing, anti‑cheat, and bricking risks.
  • One detailed commenter questions whether “sleep in an interrupt” is the true root cause, suggesting that System Management Mode and poorly designed GPU power transitions may dominate the latency.

LLMs and Trust in Technical Writing

  • Multiple readers say the article’s prose is obviously LLM‑polished and find the style distracting or untrustworthy, worrying that generation may have mangled nuances.
  • Others argue using an LLM for wording—especially for non‑native writers—is fine if the technical content and logs are verifiable, and that critics should point to concrete errors instead.

QA, Reviews, and Buying Advice

  • Commenters are baffled that such a blatant four‑year bug escaped Asus QA and wasn’t flagged by major reviewers, who typically test throughput but not latency.
  • There’s broad cynicism that consumer laptop firms prioritize marketing over engineering, expect users to accept glitches, and rarely respond meaningfully to deep technical bug reports.
  • Many advise avoiding gaming laptops or Nvidia‑based switchable graphics entirely, favoring Macs, business‑line laptops, open‑friendly vendors (System76, Framework), or a desktop + Steam Deck combo instead.