It doesn't smell nice anymore...
Hi there, Chard here.
About some days ago I bought myself a CHUWI Hi10 XR as a replacement to my HP Elitebook 8440p to aide me in my college years. After some intimate time with it, tinkering and touching its BIOS sensually, I have at least a bit of solid knowledge on how it works, why it works, and who it works. Maybe, maybe not.
Look, I bought a device and committed a great sin of lust and greed over its functions. That's all.
Also the guide might also work on CHUWI Hi10 X since they both are similar aside from CPU.
Fixes and Warnings
The fixes and important tech stuff comes first. Some people might go the wrong way and brick their devices if they tried to install something that wasn't meant to be.
The fixes also range from common ones to some technical ones. Please perform a backup and tread carefully. You might brick the device.
Do NOT use "Driver Booster"
CHUWI themselves do not recommend using any driver update software such as Driver Booster to automatically update drivers that were preinstalled by CHUWI for proprietary reasons. The only driver I can recommend updating is Intel's Graphics Driver. The following drivers (and Windows 10 image file) for CHUWI Hi10 X/XR is available at CHUWI's forums (link) and drivers should only be updated using those, unless you want hell to break loose and reconfigure everything from scratch.
Do NOT reinstall using other Windows 10 images
I tried, and kind of failed. Drivers didn't work in my case. I'm not well-versed with driver softwares and such, and couldn't figure out how to reinstall drivers. I didn't back up mine and it was dreadful. This area is open for more experimentation, but I'm not going to risk it, especially since this is going to be my daily driver.
Camera doesn't work!
This will be confusing, but stick with me. If you have the CHUWI Hi10 XR tablet and find that reinstalling the camera drivers from CHUWI made matters worse, I think I might be able to help you.
First of all, you might get some clues on how to uninstall the drivers here. If you reinstalled Windows 10 using the image from CHUWI's forums, and tried to follow the guide, then you're in the right place.
Simply install the Front Camera firmware to the 5M Camera, and install the 5M Camera firmware to the Front Camera. That's it.
You might have some trouble recognizing one from another, but it's just trial and error from there. You'll get there.
Camera is too dark!
I assume you have installed the firmware after this and realize that the front camera is too dark. Here's an easy fix for me. It requires OBS Studio for my case.
First, open up OBS Studio.
Then click the "+" button in "Sources". Then select "Video Capture Device"
After which, you should be able to see a menu pop up. Click "Configure Video" to access the camera's settings. There you should click the "Camera Control" tab and enable "Low Light Compensation".
You can then experiment from there
Graphics Problems!
Warning: I do not hold any responsibility if you were to brick your
device when trying to boost its performance. Some settings are only
applicable to the device I am currently holding - the CHUWI Hi10 XR. I
do not hold any responsibility if your battery lifespan shortened,
warranties void, your alarm broke, or if you're happily watching 2160p60
videos with your friends. Careful tweaking and backups are advised.
This applies to the following, and maybe more, but I haven't tested them out yet. I'm going to do an All-in-One solution that will most likely increase battery usage.
- Youtube/Twitch/Videos stuttering at 1080p60 in Chrome/Firefox.
- Problems with 4k videos not playing
- Games stuttering/lagging
- Everything is stuttery and my tablet can cook eggs now
Update Graphics Drivers
You should update your Graphics Drivers for your Intel N4120 or N4100. It's simple and you should look for other guides on how to install the drivers for it.
Disable Intel Turbo Boost
It's been known that Intel Turbo Boost causes stuttering and poor graphics performance when enabled. You can disable this in the BIOS settings or using Throttlestop. This wil solve performance issues and keep your tablet relatively stable and cooler compared to if you enabled Intel Turbo Boost.
I also tried disabling "Power Limit 1 Enable" from the BIOS and it seems to have a positive effect on watching Twitch streams on 1080p60. I don't know if this is actually the case, since I also set other stuff in the BIOS. I recommend using Throttlestop instead of setting it in the BIOS, to have less impact on battery life. Read the edit.
I also disabled DTS (Digital Thermal Sensor) and Bi-Directional Throttling as a test. I do not know the implications of this, aside from hopefully disabling Thermal Throttling (which it kind of did?).
Usually without these tweaks, my tablet would throttle itself all the time because of the heat and end up being much slower and play videos and games with severe stuttering. Downside to this is, of course, is the fast drain of the battery, in order to perform much better using both CPU and GPU.
Edit: Disabling Bi-Directional Throttling with Intel Turbo Boost helped. Temperatures are reaching higher than 63 maximum (60 average) instead of the usual 59 average, but power usage seems to be normal. CPU struggles less, GPU gets more power, power usage drops from 12 Watts down to 8 Watts when watching 1080p60 videos.
Disable Battery Save/Power Saving mode
You should disable Power Saving mode fom every nook and cranny of your tablet if you want a fast and smooth experience. Control Panel, Settings, Intel Graphics Command Center, and other places you might have overlooked.
I'm trying other fixes, but it looks like these are what affects performance the most (second to BIOS settings). Feel free to change some configurations. I think configuring settings like this has an effect, but I might also be wrong.
You should look in these places (also note where my cursor is hovering):
Slate Mode doesn't show any virtual keyboard/rotate!
So far the only fix that has been working for me is to shut down the tablet, connect the keyboard in slate mode (tablet facing the opposite direction of the keyboard), then boot up the tablet. I have't tried this enough yet if it works using Sleep or Hibernate.
That's all!
Actually it's not. I just can't think of more fixes I did to my tablet. If you want to, feel free to ask me at leafychards@gmail.com or down in the comments and I might be able to compile another repaire or fix guide.
If you like what I write, please spread the word! It really helps a lot for my goal to write some guides and other computer related stuff. Also check out my RSS. So cool, right?
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