3820TG Owner's Lounge - Part Two

What is the latest Catalyst version which I can install that also enables switchable graphics? I currently have 11.2 and it would be nice to update it.

 

All the official AMD drivers allow switchable so long as you follow these steps. This is assuming you already installed the switchable graphics package from Acer:

1. Download the official AMD driver, save it somewhere.
2. Restart, enter bios and change graphics to 'discrete'
3. Restart, install official AMD driver
4. Restart, enter bios and change graphics to 'switchable'
5. Done.

 

Did someone bought this?

9Cell Acer 3820T AS10B51 AS10B3E AS10B5E battery AKKU | eBay

Looks really cheap for me.

 

Seems to be faulty.

The 6 cell one has 6600mAh.

The person is talking on the same page about a 9cell and a 12cell too.

Save your money and forget it.

 

With stock drivers installed or on a clean system?

 

You have fir´st to install the Acer AMD+Intel driver to get the switch options.


With the stock windows driver you don't get the switch option.


The trick is the proxy driver inside the Acer driverpackage for the AMD+Intel driver package. This proxy driver is magical part to enable the switch option.

 

Can a similar method be used to install the latest Intel HD graphic-drivers? Cause with the version 15.22.50.64.2509 it don't recognize my Intel-card.

 

There is no known way to update the Intel driver without loosing the switch option.

 

Thank you very much.

When trying v11.10 preview 2 the backlight doesn't work, anyone else suffering from this?

 

I'm still at 11.8, because I'm not a hardcore gamer or looking for the highest FPS .

 

Can someone try new linux kernel, if switchable vga runs? Or how it works

 

Yep
/10char

 

So how did you overvolt ??? Cause even when I use the Gaming Fan Mode, I still get artifacts sometimes, even on 700/1000

 

I think you have to use the modded bios... As I have the 6550 i didn't need to do so. There was a discussion a while back about it... I can't remember how. sry

 

I also wish to overvolt my 5650 GPU. In AMD GPU clock tool I can choose between 0,9 and 1 V, but I assume this is not maximum?

 

The temperature has been inching up in the recent months from the levels it was at when i first bought it. So thought maybe I should clean out the vents.

What's the best way to clean out the vents in this beast?

 

where can i get this oneÉ

 

^Acer website.

 

Linux is working without problem with both cards. You have to switch the graphic manual. At least there has been a discussion to enable this option also for the closed source AMD driver, but I don't know if they have finished the job.

Open the plastic case and clean them.

 

Just a nick: what about product warranty when I open cover? Can I do it? Because I want clean them too, but I dont know if I can.

 

Warranty is a part between you and Acer and it is different in every country.

 

For my country (Singapore), I tore apart the computer right down to the processor to replace the thermal paste, and they didn't even ask if I did anything "questionable". According to the reps here, they said that the stickers above the screws can be broken and the warranty will not be void. It's supposed to be used to see if the laptop has been tampered before you open the package. It might be different in your country though.

 

In general you are allowed to open the service hatch, replace RAM, HDD and mini-PCI-Ex if you feel like it but not allowed to disassemble the notebook.

Acer doesn't use any warranty seals- at least not that I know of- so you can do it as long as you feel confident that you're not going to break something.
When seals are used- it's usually just to let the end-user know that notebook has not been tampered with after it's left the factory.

 

Proud to say I've just joined the 3820TG club.

 

Glad to hear it. They still being sold in the UK or did you buy used/refurbished?

 

I think some UK shops still sell an inferior model (Ati 5470) at inflated prices (£700+)

I imported from Germany (i5 480m, ati 6550m, £530) and have switched out the german keyboard with my 3810TG keyboard.

Have just reinstalled windows and drivers now so it's all english

 

I have the 6550 too

 

Hey guys, I have a question and I am guessing its been asked before in this thread, but after a couple of hours of reading, I have decided I will just ask, there are so many topics in this thread.

I have the 6550m, and I have been seeing stutter issues lately when gaming and sometimes watching movies, I downloaded the AMD clock tool and it says my default clocks are 100eng and 150mem. I know the timeline has the intel gpu too, and I am wondering if that's why I am seeing the numbers above. If so, how do I check what clock speeds I am actually running. I wasn't exactly looking to overclock if I didn't have to, but if I need to I would prefer to make my machine run smoother, I am playing games like NBA2K11 and The Witcher 2, and as for the Witcher, when I run the check at start-up of the game it recommends medium settings, yet even when I play at low it has been stuttering intermittently. I love my pc, and I am willing to sacrifice a little performance in trade of compatibility, but two months ago I didn't see this issue, it has suddenly popped up out of nowhere.

Any help or advice would be great, I am not exactly computer illiterate, but I work in networking and the GPU and CPU clocking and performance testing areas are far from my strong points. Help please

-------------------------------------------
3820tg/ M480 2.67GHz/ 8.00 GB Ram /Win7 64/ HD6550M

 

The clock speeds you see on your GPU are the idle speeds. Witcher is known to have issues on this notebook but I forget what they are or the solution. If you have the stock hard drive, it can add to stutter. Since I use only SSDs, I am not familar with solutions but I'm sure others will chime in.

 

You mean like disable PowerPlay and enable it back ?

 

Curious, where do you guys think is the best place to sell my 3820tg? I love it, but I barely use it (it is the 6550M 480M model). I know I am going to take a huge hit on the price (probably like $200) but I am ok with that.

 

I would put it on ebay and list it here in the market on this forum. They are rare on ebay.

 

Good evening lads,

Got this strange problem with the video card, the descrete one I think, but not sure to tell you the truth.

A couple of days ago while playing the new Driver Game, while overclocked, but not too much, and had the fan profile on Gaming, my pc just froze up, when I restarted I had strange gpu error right after the Bios (Acer Logo).



I had to shut it down, and when I restarted I could start into windows, was working for about 30 min or so, but then while watching an HD video the laptop froze up again with all these weird pixels on the monitor.



I uninstalled all the drivers and reinstalled to 10.5b drivers. All was fine for a day or so, and today (so a day later) it began happening again. So I guess its some card fault.

I am currently writing this with my laptop plugged off the power and using the Intel gpu.

What can you guys suggest, could my 6550m have gone bad ???

 

No selling outside of BST forum please.
If you're not allowed to sell there you're certainly not allowed to sell here either.
Posts deleted.

 

And this is why I never really got into over clocking the 3820tg. Some are very successful at it but I find it does everything I need at stock speeds
What's the point in overclocking for an extra +5fps when in stock you can drop AA a step or drop from med to low settings and gain +15
If you need the highest settings possible for gaming, I'd suggest a desktop.

 

@beast1944

Usually that those pixels mean that the amd drivers crashed was the gpu oced while it happened? That also meant that you clocked it too high try clocking it lower.

 

Looks like driver problems. Test it out with stock driver from Acer site and stock clocks on the GPU. Driver could be corrupted.

 

Might be a small short within the gpu/memory circuits. Had this problem when I (accidentally) overclocked my memory to 10048MHz (10GHz in other words) using AMD GPU Clock Tool. Got my mobo replaced by Acer because of my little mistake

 

Well the thing is that I am using a 700/1000 clock, which I did artifact test with for an hour with no errors.
Tried the stock drivers, well I am on the stock drivers right now, and it still happens ((( The thing with the driver failure, when it happens I can normally get back into windows after some time (a small window pops up saying that the amd driver has crashed and recoverd) but in this case, the whole pc just locks up, I can usually still hear the sounds made by the movie though...which is kinda weird.

 

It is bricked.

Get it repaired or use the Intel one.

 

Yes, I second Bronsky here. Just the fact that you after install had it running fine for a few days says no to VGA fault. Possibly your HD that has problem and is corrupting the drivers eventually.

 

However, it also occurred directly after the bios screen and before Windows loaded, which would remove any driver problem from the equation since the driver isn't even loaded yet. Looks more like a hardware problem to me.

 

too456 when are yout planning to update driver list ?

 

That's it.

I would say it's definitive a hardware problem.Your lapotp isn't in warranty?
It should be a defective solder contact (explains why it occurs only after 30minutes=warm enough). If the ram was faulty, there would be less artifacts. IMO

 

By the request of Violent, the driver listing has been updated. Almost every driver has been updated except card reader, lan and vga since as a rule of thumb, I do not include beta/preview drivers for stability reasons, if you want the latest Catalyst 11.10 beta 2 hybrid drivers, they can be taken from leshcat.blogspot.com.

Streamlined the bluetooth install process as well, going to use an installer from now. Might not be the absolute latest, but it saves you a lot of work and pain.

Driver listing here.

 

Thanks guys, too bad I can't hook my monitor to the laptop using the Intel Card ((( Will bring it back to the shop on Monday )))

 

Ahh, didn't know that fact. You are right ofcourse. I should have read his post more carefully.

 

Just to be clear, are these steps equivalent to yours ?

I haven't got the switchable graphics package from acer, I think, since it does not work. So first I should install the latest AMD & Intel - vga driver from this site?

Acer Support: Downloads & Support Documents - Notebook / Aspire / Aspire 3820TG

Any special way to do this?

Then I'll download the official AMD driver from here:

ATI Catalyst? Mobility Display Driver

And then follow your instructions to the letter!

Sounds good enough?

 

Hope this clears things up for you

1. Download the driver called "VGA Driver", vendor AMD and version 8.771.1 and install it. (do not install the driver by Intel)
2. Restart and change graphics to discrete within bios.
3. Exit bios, download and install 'Catalyst Control Centre' under 'Individiual Downloads' directly. Download and install the optional ones in this step as well if you want to.
4.Restart, change graphics back to switchable in bios.
5.Exit, done.

 

Thanks, seems easy enough! But, I guess this wont work with the latest VGA driver from AMD? 8.892.0. that is... Because that's the one I've got installed ATM.