3820TG Owner's Lounge - Part Two

i have a 3820G and not a 3820TG, the BIOS look the same, 3820tray runs perfect on my machine, but i'm still a litle bit afraid to flash

would you flash?

 

3830TG only has one fan and its utilizing nVidia Optimus..

 

sorry 3820G, i change it now

 

I did not flash, I just modified one byte using SYMCMOS. Using SYMCMOS is 100% safe, if anything goes wrong, just "Load setup defaults" and you are back to the original BIOS. Or disconnect-connect the battery for a moment, for the same effect.

 

i did, thanks

now i only have to find out how to undervolt the ati and to buy a ssd

 

If you read all the tweak thread, there is an overvolting idea, but I don't know if anyone has succeeded.

BTW, in 2D mode, the AMD card doesn't use a lot of power, so I don't think there is any point in undervolting.

 

The computer crashed today when uninstalling ATI drivers.

I have 3820TG

Is it possible to restore the system as it was when I got it? How?

 

Use Windows System Restore (restore OS to a previous date) or Alt+F10 at boot for Acer's System Restore (deletes all your files and does a fresh Acer OS install with all the bloatware & drivers).

 

Thanks!
Windows System Restore didn't work

 

Anybody here UK based who is willing to do this backlit keyboard mod for me?

For a fee of course.

The only thing that annoys me about the 3820 is the lack of a backlight.

 

Download a untouched copy of Win 64bit Home Premium OEM.

I have links if Im allowed to post them? Use Microsoft Windows7-USB-DVD-tool to make a bootable usb stick of the image.

Restore the image using the Serial on the underside of your machine, then download all the appropriate drivers and apps from ACER.

I recently employed this approach when swapping out the stock Hard Drive for an SSD.

 

I've just dropped the M4 on SATA 2 in my machine, very pleased with it...

After taking everything into consideration I went with the cruitial M4 as it seems more reliable that the Sandforce based SSD's. Its also excellent with compressed data. Getting 220meg/s reads over SATA 2.

 

The untouched ISO will not activate itself using the OEM key. You have to use ABR, or you risk not being able to activate properly. ANd from my experience, the Microsoft technicians are extremely unhelpful if you told them you downloaded the ISO because it's not officially released for the public to download as they please.

 

Is there any laptops coming out with potential of replacing the 3820? Got the upgrade bug but havent seen a 13" laptop as good as this one as of yet, or anything that has me interested.

 

There is a clean install guide linked on page 1 of this thread.

@VR4racer - Depending on the price, the LG P330 looks like a decent replacement of the 3820TG.

 

Worked first time out of the box for me mate. Plus your entitled to a copy of that software, your not doing anything untoward by reinstalling as long as you have a valid key.

Plus its always a good idea to take a photo or retain a copy of that key. I have had a few laptops whey the Key has worn off and become unreadable due to rubbing on your lap or desk surface.

 

It says it tweaks fan and cpu, it makes cpu weaker ?

 

What (if any) is the difference between the Alps and Synaptics drivers for the touchpad?

I had the Synaptics driver installed before I got a new HD, and it didn't really seem to work properly. I couldn't configure anything, and none of the options that I ever selected (like disabling the touchpad when a mouse was plugged in) worked either.

 

They are not interchangable. Alps work on Alps and Synaptics on Synaptics. I have the same problem with my 3820TG. The touchpad does not shut-off when an external mouse is attached. I assume its a driver issue. I use a program called touchpad locker to fix the problem.

 

Thanks.

Is there a quick way to tell which touchpad I have?

 

Look it at the device manager ?

 

Without any driver, it only shows a PS/2 pointing device.

 

Just be sure to use the same version of Windows 7 as the one on the bottom of your laptop. In 3820TG it almost always means Home Premium. You might need to remove ei.cfg to install Home Premium.

Acer provides a HW identifier utility for exactly this reason. Its on the downloads page.

It only sets the fan, it does nothing with the CPU.

 

Hi guys, i'm having an issue with my alps mouse pad, sometimes it get's locked with the scrolling icon and I can't move the mouse, I have to reboot the pc to get it working again... I've tried reinstalling drivers but that didn't help...

Also, for disassembling the laptop do you guys have any tip for removing the tiny connectors, i'm afraid to give them too much force and break them.

 

I tried using that, but I'm 95% sure it didn't show anything for Touchpad. I'll have to check again when I get home from work to verify that though.

 

Alps touchpads have problems. I had one in this 3820TG when I bought it and Acer swapped in a Synaptics while I had my 3820TG at the depot to repair a shorted video cam. If I racall correctly, there were Toshiba Alps drivers that got the best results with the Acer.

 

ATI Catalyst Drivers 11.8 released

download page

release notes

 

Once you have installed hybrid drivers anyone know how you can install the latest ati ? It won't let me even though I'm on discreet using bios modded. Uninstalled hybrid drivers and used driver sweeper but ati installer can't detect it.

 

latest drivers running now, no problems with switchable graphics

what I did:

reboot in discrete
install amd cataclyst
reboot in switchable

note that I was using only Acer's modded driver before.

 

so i just ordered my 3820tg with the 480m and radeon 6550. my only question is im going to be putting win7 ultimate on there and im wondering if there are certain drivers i need to be using that avoid conflicts with graphic switching and sound and stuff.

...also i plan on OCing the gpu and cpu. so if theres anything i need to do that helps with modding this laptop to its fullest potential let me know please (i.e. custom bios or custom fan profiles)

 

Hey, I just bought a 3820tg and LOVE the size of it and everything but I made the mistake of buying the 5470 edition. Does anyone know the best place I can get a replacement motherboard that has the 6550 or the 5650 on it?

 

no drivers problem for me. just get those on acer's site and you'll be fine.

zsero's custom fan gaming profile gets me -5 degres, so you should use it if you plan ocing. maybe using you own thermal paste as well, to reduce heat if you plan a heavy overclock

 

Hi, Does anyone know how to enable Intel Active Management Technology on 3820TG ?
Is it possible ? I have unlock hidden Intel menu in BIOS but I can't find this option.

 

The Acer hasn't the right chipset for AMT and this means, that you can not enable the function.

The device under the device manager is without function and only a dummy.

 

If you want to specialize it to overclocking and gaming, than set your bios to "Discrete" (you don't need modding for this), install the latest official AMD driver from amd.com and use my "gaming" fan profile.

Very important: don't install any other video card driver, like Intel or Acer or modded hybrids.

Also, don't install ePower manager, the only download you need from Acer.com is Launch Manager. Download all the other drivers from the links in this thread.

 

that cooling system is really awesome.

Oc'ed 6550m didn't go over 75 degres, and achieved a 8k in 3dmark06.

 

For disassembling the laptop do you guys have any tip for removing the tiny connectors? I'm afraid to give them too much force and break them...

 

Nope doesn't work. According to Device Manager, my Intel drivers are provided by ATI and they are version 8.771. I'm pretty sure I installed the latest Hybrid ones off Acer's site...

 

what does setting my bios to "discrete" do?

 

duykhang, I don't want to scare you off it, but I took apart my 3820tg to change the thermal paste. I pulled out the cables by hand/with pliers for some of the more difficult cables. For the next month or so I left my laptop at home. After a month I was moving my laptop between home and the office, and one time the laptop wouldn't power on. I took it to a repair shop and they jiggled the internal power cable and it worked again, but the problem re-occurred, so the repair shop took the laptop in to replace the cable, so you really need to be careful. Also, I found it was far more difficult to put the tiny ribbon cables back in the slots than take them out. The guy in the repair shop had what looked like a pair of tweezers for pulling cables, but they weren't the same as those you'd use at home.

boostjunkie92, setting the bios to discrete disables the intel card so the computer can only see the radeon.

 

there is one, used, i5-480m+6550m on ebay at the moment...
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Acer-Laptop-...ptops_Nov05&hash=item43a9296307#ht_971wt_1139

 

Realtek High Definition Audio Driver R2.64 released

download page

 

Just got a second notice in the mail that my warranty will expire next month. Acer is offering extended service plans. A basic 1 year extension is $75 and 2 year for $106. They also offer total upgrade for $214 (2 year extended plan plus prepays freight to and from repair depot [which is negligable] and offers replacement for units that can't be repaired). The standard 2 year extension looks like a good deal to me. I had not really considered getting it because I change notebooks every year or two but I don't see anything other than the LG P330 that interests me, so I'll probably be keeping my Acer for at least another year. Not only that, this unit has been so reliable that I would probably pass it on to a co-worker or one of my kids for schoolwork.

 

@bronsky, is that with tax or something? I went to acer site and it's 99.

 

Thanks for that, lucky I waited a hour to mull over whether I should buy it, the guy lowered the price by 25 bucks!

I was looking all over the place for a 3820TG for a reasonable price with BT and a 6550!

+1 Rep for you good sir!

(I did buy that acer...)

 

The ribbon cable connectors have a black latch on them which you have to flip up to be able to connect/disconnect the cable. Don't try to force the cable in if the latch isn't flipped or you risk breaking the cable. Once the cable is in position you push it down to lock the cable in position.

 

Some of the cables have tabs on either side (usually white) that you slide away from the connector horizontally, then you can pull the cable out.

I had disassembled my old 3820TG several times to put thermal paste and swap CPU's and had no difficulties, with the exception of a factory super-tightened screw that was stripped.... (the one that holds the two parts of the CPU heatsink).

A tip to those who don't want to destroy their laptop, use your favourite credit card to slide between the two parts of the chassis to separate the bottom from the palm rest after you remove all the screws.

 

Discrete = AMD = PEG

 

Not sure if this is in here somewhere, but here yall go!

Dissasembly Guide

 

I think you have to buy those within 90 days from purchase. The one I got in the mail can be bought any time before my 1 year expires. I guess they charge a premium.