3820TG Owner's Lounge - Part Two

Our laptop's SATA is SATA II. You can get even a SATA III drive and it will run fine, although limited to 3Gb/s.

I have 8Gb of RAM on mine, so unless you have a 32bit SO there is no limitation that I know of. This upgrade won't change your user experience much, you won't notice any real world performance increase from it.

It is possible to install the SO from a bootable USB stick, no limitations there.

Finally, DO get a SSD! Get a crucial M4 256Gb, it is very cheap and you will get a BIG performance boost from it. And if you decide to buy a laptop later you can always keep the SSD, so the investment is not lost.

 

Scrap everything I just asked about, I decided to post the same question on a Swedish forum since I wanted a second opinion, and this guy there convinced me to not only upgrade my RAM but also go for a SSD drive X)

So, yeah, I'm currently awaiting a package holding one Kingston V300 240GB drive and a pair of Corsair 4GB DDR3 PC3-8500, as well as a 16GB Kingston Micro USB memory stick ^_^

Thanks anyway!

Edit: oh lol, now someone replies Thanks for your input, Malho! I'm sure I'll be happy with the SSD, yeah. It'll probably help even more than those memory sticks, but since I do a lot of video editing I thought I might as well go all out.

 

Now that I've got the SSD and RAM in place, I'll just go ahead and ask one last question: are the Catalyst drivers and install instructions on the first page still valid, or have anything changed since 2012 when it was last updated/edited?

 

Has anyone cleaned their 3820TG? Was it hard to do? My 3820TG is running a bit hotter than I would like, so I'm wondering how to clean it and cool it down. Even in IGP mode, the fan would still sometimes be audible, blowing tons of hot air out.

 

Easy but you will need a bunch of time. The motherboard is flipped inside the case.

Take a search for the service manual.

 

No problem at all! I simply glanced at the drivers available in the first post of this thread, making sure to pick out the right ones for my network and Bluetooth adapters (check the bottom of your laptop or even under the cover which hides the HDD and RAM), and installed everything one thing after the other Piece of cake! The only tricky part is installing the Catalyst drivers, but as long as you follow instructions then you shouldn't have any problem with it (if you want them at all, that is).

 

If it's blowing hot air, it's working. If you want, you can use compressed air to blow dust out of the radiating fans. Just be gentile. You can over spin the fans.

 

How long did you take, just to disassemble it? I'll take a look at the service guide for sure. Last thing I want is a laptop that I can't put back together, forcing me to buy a new Macbook Air.. Which isn't so bad from a portability point of view...

So no need to actually disassemble it like what Nick said? Because while it is blowing hot air, it runs hotter than I would like. Which in turn means less battery life. I also like to use a vacuum cleaner because compressed air is actually very dangerous from a health perspective. That and I got none lol.

 

I have taken ~30 mins for it and have done it slowly with a cup of coffee. The only important point is, that the screws have different sizes.

The fans are using only very little power. That should only influence the runtime with ~10 mins or less.

If you take the Bronsky solution, lock the fan that they are not spinning if you clean them.

 

Hello Everyone,
I know, I'm knew and directly come up with a question, but I hope you can help me, because I am desperately in need.
I updated to Windows 8.1 a few days ago, because my little fellow became awkwardly slow. So I decided to do a clean Install and try something new.

So far, Windows 8 works but I have a lot of truble with the Graphics units.
My Problems en détail:
1. I cannot switch betwenn my HD 5650 and the Intel HD.
2. The Brightness is not adjustable and always maxed out, so taht it is only useable in bright sunlight
3. I can't use my build-in screen alone.I have to have a second and third Screen activated left and right of my real screen. It says, that they are connected by VGA. If I turn them off, then my screen goes off. (If I attach my TV or desktop monitor, then they will become #3 and 4 but have to be activated nonetheless to keep the build-in screen running.)

Does anyone of you know how to set it up properly?

Thanks a lot in advance.

I appreciate every bit of help

 

I myself are having the same issues. It seems like the drivers avaliable are not working on Win 8.1, but worked on Win 8. I've not used the original drivers for quite some while though, since they are pretty outdated on ACER's webpage. I use a website called leshcatlabs.net ← Keeping it Simple. Ads free. and he continually makes drivers for Intel+AMD build laptops. Be it Gen1, 2, 3 or 4. Currently his latest release, which includes the newest driver from ATI fixing the PCI-x1 issue does not include the 3820TG since it is a Gen1, but it looks like he is doing what he can. I'd suggest you post in the general forum thread: leshcatlabs.net forums • View topic - Does your 5xxxm + Intel 1st Gen work fine with the 13.9 test. Try to remove your drivers again, and install the Leshcat 13.6 beta 2 driver. You need to uninstall both the Intel HD driver and the ATI driver you currently have, then launch this file of around 300mb. It installs both. You might experience that the background lighting still won't work when you switch back-forth-back (it might work 1 way, but not the other) and then you have to reboot. It's a small thing to live with untill he fixes it for Win 8.1, and the drivers he is using in that package are fairly new.

By the way if anyone here managed to fix the background lighting on their own, with Leshcats UBR and knows what frequency to use, can you please let us know? I'm not very into it, but according to this guide UnifL Manual under UnifL Manual we should be able to find a frequency and change it, that allows the background lighting to be present and that might fix the issue with Win 8.1

 

Ok I might have a solution on how to get brightness control of both the AMD and the Intel card. Switching works, and it is on Windows 8.1. But I will have to write a guide for it a bit later. Currently it involves installing the old Win 7 drivers and forcing Windows to not update drivers on it's own. But old drivers = no good for gaming etc. I'm getting help from a developer of drivers, trying to take something from these old drivers and placing them into the new PCI-x1 drivers from AMD. Otherwise check out leshcatlabs.net a lot of good info there.

 

I just took apart the laptop... But I couldn't remove one of the screws for some reason. It's like when they manufactured it, they put it in too tight and now the head is messed up and it'll forever be stuck in there. I also tried to put it back together but one of the screws for the hinge won't go in. I guess I put it elsewhere? Either way, I lost a screw and broke a key on the keyboard without getting my laptop clean. It was lagging when I play League of Legends. It's also artifacting a bit when I try to overclock.

According to OCCT Burn Test, my max core temps are 86C and 79C. TZS0 is 85C and TZS1 is 35C. Surely that shouldn't cause the laptop to throttle right?

 

Hi.. I will be getting an used 3820tg tomorrow.. My worries is that I wanted to upgrade the wireless card to Intel n6235 but I'm not sure will it be compatible.. Anyone?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

News?

 

I think I found a successor to the 3820tg
The acer v7-482pg-9984
Operating System: Windows 8, 64-bit version
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-4500U processor (1.8GHz/3.0GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
Memory: 12GB DDR3 memory
Storage: 1TB hard drive, dual hard drive support
Display: 14" Full HD IPS Widescreen CineCrystal™ LED-backlit Display, w Multi-touch screen, supporting 10 finger touch
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 750M w/ 4GB
Audio: High definition audio, Dolby® Advanced Audio® v4 audio
TouchPad: Acer ZoomPerfect touchpad
Webcam: Yes
Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 7260, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDTM with Acer NplifyTM, featuring MIMO technology
Bluetooth®: Bluetooth 4.0 + HS
Ports: HDMI®, USB 3.0
Card reader: Secure Digital (SD) Card
Battery: 4-cell Li-polymer Battery (3560 mAh)
Color: Gun Metal

My acer 3820tg is still running strong with a 256gb ssd and 8Gb ram
around 7-8 hours of runtime with a 3 year old battery on intel gpu with the bios mod
Windows 8

 

I have a fix ready. Can you add me on Skype?

User: "felicpl". I want to go through it with you in order to make a guide but also to make sure others can replicate it. If anyone is having trouble using switchable graphics to work on their Acer 5650/5660, and would like the newest AMD drivers to work with it, just add me and we'll try to do a bunch of you at a time.

You need to have downloaded:

1. Driver Fusion ( http://download.cnet.com/Driver-Fusion/3000-2086_4-75748005.html) <- Remember to decline everyhing, it's one giant pile of additional programs and toolbars you don't need.

2. Download the second latest AMD driver for the 5650 card which has the fix for the PCI-x1 issue ( http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/amd_catalyst_13_10_beta2_(13_200_11_september_20)_download.html) <-- Rememer to download the Mobility Driver

3. Download the VGA driver from Acer ( http://www.acer.dk/ac/da/DK/content/drivers). Search for 3820TG and download the VGA Driver (Radeon HD 5650 & Radeon HD 5470) version.

All thanks goes out to FunkyMike from leshcatlabs.net for helping me discover the fix.

 

Did you manage to do it? I'm really curious since I'm trying to save an old 3820TG with an SSD and Windows 8.1. Everything works like a charm except for the graphics.

 

Hello Everybody.
Time has passed, a thief as well.
I would like to ask you to perform a very simple mental exercise: in the light of the many 3820tg fabulous pros, what products would you suggest to buy in a 600-700€ range which can satisfy the same conditions of 3820tg? I especially point at: low weight, good battery life and the capability to run game on it.

 

Good news! There's already a thread on this very subject, sticked, in the "What Notebook Should I Buy?" forum called "Thin and Light 11-14 notebooks gaming worth compendium 2013 update".

 

thank you very much Sxooter, I'll give a careful look at it!

 

Yes It is working on Windows 8.1 with switchable graphics and the newest second newest AMD drivers. Just add me.

 

Hi guys,

I bought new ram (2x4GB) for my 3820TG:

Vengeance®

I can not get it to work. I updated the BIOS to V1.19, and have win7 ultimate - 64bit.

Is the ram not convertible with my laptop?

BR
Tobias - Denmark

 

If you read back a bit in the thread you'll see that I tried the exact same memories. They don't work because they are missing the cas latency tables for the speed you will be running them (as far as I understand it). There is a program that can edit the latency table built into the ram, but it's tricky and expensive.

I ended up returning mine.

Good luck

 

That was what i was afraid off. Thanks for the reply.

What ram did you end up with after returning the corsair?

I am looking at this Kingston module: Kingston ValueRAM - Hukommelse - 4 GB - SO DIMM 204-pin - DDR3 - 1066 MHz / PC3-8500 - CL7 - 1.5 V - ikke buff..., 522111 / KVR1066D3S7/4G | ComputerSalg.dk

Br
Tobias

 

CL7? Seems awfully high.

 

I didn't get any There are Kingston ram specifically made for Acer notebooks though. Unfortunately I don't have time to look into it for you, maybe someone else knows!

 

leshcat wrotes on his blog that AMD release a new beta driver which supports switchable graphic modes. Does the driver works for you?

AMD Enables Legacy Switchable Graphics Support? &larr; leshcatlabs.net

For me he doesn't...

 

If you read last page fatlus.

 

It actually works for me actually, so far so good. Switchable works, only thing is that I can't control brightness in AMD discrete mode.

Will try the brightness fixer hack later...

 

Maybe you can please post short guide here? dont have access to skype for next couple of weeks ( very limited internet connection)

 

Can you guys send a private message to FunkyMike from Leshcatlabs? You will find him as one of the moderatos on Leshcatlabs.

leshcatlabs.net forums &bull; Login

He will be able to help you with everything Switchable graphics and he is working on brightness control aswell on the AMD card.

 

Also biggreen in your case I will pm you what to do in the new few days. I just don't want to send traffic away from leshcatlabs, since they were the ones who helped me discover this fix.

 

I almost managed to install it myself, no black screens now atleast after switching from intel to ati and after sleep, can you please post you FeatureTestControl value? Seems this is only thing which keeps me from fully working notebook .

 

It should never go to black screen again or lose background lighting. The only issue you should have is brightness control on AMD

 

Yup - only brightness control in amd mode

 

I had issues with my 3820TG when trying to install a new Crucial M500 SSD with AHCI mode enabled. Apparently the BIOS of the 3820TG does not play nicely with the firmware of this particular SSD.

The problem is that the BIOS would not recognize that particular SSD in AHCI mode, only in IDE mode. A linux live distro, and the windows 7 install could see and write to the drive in AHCI mode, BUT windows would not install on the drive because the BIOS would not detect it and so the BIOS could not boot from it.

FYI to anyone else having issues with this drive the solution was to install a hacked BIOS, which I found from this excellent website and then you can access additional SATA settings which will allow the BIOS to recognize this drive. Full write-up on Crucial's forums here

Re: Feedback thread: Firmware MU03 for the Crucial... - Page 7 - Crucial Community

I hope this helps anyone else that has had issues getting this SSD to work with there Aspire 3820TG... I spent a whole day on this after my laptop crashed and I had to replace the hard drive, right in the middle of working on final projects for school. Of course I was working on some of my school projects when this happened because that's just my luck. As a computer engineer you would think I had learned to backup files by now... Anyway, I digress, enjoy

Cheers,

Jesse

 

Hi guys.

I'm thinking about changing CPU for my 3820TG, from the current i5-480M.
I've read here and there that the best option is a i5-580M, but is it wotrh it ?
I have not tried to overclock my 480M but I've understood that the 580M is a nice CPU to O/C, so is the switch worth it (both stock and O/C) ?

I'm quite glad of my 3820TG so far (especially since he has a SSD + 8G), but heh, if we can get serious power for not too much money, why not have a look

Thanks for those who read/answer !

 

hello,

great to see that this thread is still alive and kicking...

i have a 3820TG-3022
OS W7 ultimate 32bit

machine is stock, except that it came with a 9cell battery from new...

cant remember when it started, but it runs extremely hot, that the fans are constantly on, and it feels like its a hairdryer... (really)
i assume that this isnt normal, 9cell battery, 100% screen, discreet graphics, says that i have 4hrs... would be nice to have a longer...

i havent opened it up, thought it would be better to ask about suggestions of what to do first...
all that i had had planned, was to clean up the fans, ensure that the fans and heat sinks are clean, and maybe add new thermal paste, aside from that, im not sure what else can be done...

cheers

 

My guess is that most of your problem is dust and other debris in your fan and vents. While you have it open, I would change to the paste to IC Diamond 7 (I had remarkable results on my 3820TG). Also make sure you have the latest drivers for the GPU and you should notice a significant difference. As long as it feels like its a hair dryer, you probably don't have any loss of thermal fluid in the heat sink so you should be fine.

I put an I5-540M in my 3820TG (upgrading an I3-370M and an I5-450M) and was thrilled with the increased performance. Plus, Arrandales are very overclockable so I could run the I5-540M at 3.5ghz easily. I was a significant improvement over the stock CPUs. Another original 3820TG owner, Hendrickson, put an I5-580M in his and had similar increases over his stock CPUs. His 580M, overclocked, always ran faster than mine but both are great upgrades to the 3820TG. The CPUs should be cheap these days.

 

I'm still losing back light whenever it hibernates, switch between graphics and sometimes even when booting. I'm running 8.0.915 from leschat

Also another problem has appeared. After using the laptop for an X amount of time, it would suddenly turn off. But it doesn't just lose power, the screen fades really quickly as if its going into hibernate mode or shutting down with the proper procedure. After that it can't be powered on for a couple of hours to a couple of days, and by that I mean it doesn't respond to the power button. If its plugged in, the LED lights turn on though with the battery LED shining orange.

I can remove the battery and plug it back in. This allows it to be turned on, but shortly after powering on it dies again. If i just leave it alone for a few hours or days the computer turns on fine as if nothing has happened

 

Another issue could be cpu heat sink detached from mainboard - it happened to me, and super glue (choosed one for temp. up to 135C) did the job. I dont have other idea how to attach heat sink mounts back to motherboard.

ps. forgive me my terible english

 

you are indeed correct...

i finally had had enough, grabbed my little Philips screw driver and started to take it apart, only to find that one of the three screw posts holding down the cover on the CPU had pulled off of the mother board, unfortunately the thought of super glue never entered my mind...

 

Hello everyone, does this method still work for updating the amd drivers using the latest official ones from the amd site?

1. Install the Acer ATI driver (Make sure you have the intel gfx driver installed too)
2. Then go into the bios and set the Discrete gfx only
3. Then when back in windows install 10.5 cat over the top off the acer ati driver.
4. Once again back in the bios set the gfx to switchable.

 

Hi guys, unfortunately my 3820tg has stopped charging (I'm not completely sure if it's the fault of the charger, port or both, but fairly sure it's both), and I'm afraid it's not worth the effort or cost to get it repaired out of warranty.

As I haven't really followed the market these last few years, I wanted to hear what laptops you guys were excited about now, or what laptops you have moved on to?

 

Your battery may have gone bad as well. You can get a charger for 10 bucks and battery for 35 off of ebay, may be worth a try.

 

Hey, no I don't think it's the battery's fault, as it always kept a charge when it was able to charge. I'm going to try getting my hands on a charger, so I can locate whether it's the port, cable or both.

But I'm still open for suggestions about new computers.

 

There's a thread in the what laptop should I buy forum called "Thin and Light 11 to 14 notebooks gaming worthy compendium." Sadly there's little in the $800 or so range to compete, but in the just under $1000 range the Clevo / Sager 14" with Intel Iris Pro graphics isn't too terrible.

In the 13" range there's the Clevo W230ST for about $1000 (need to buy an OS on top of that) with a GTX765M.

Meanwhile, in the 15.6" range, there's the Asus N56JR which has an Intel 4700 i7 and a GTX760M GPU for <$1000. Which is MUCH More powerful (2 to 3 times easy). I had to get my son a replacement for his 4820TG last year and there really isn't anything competitive with the 3820/4820TG series nowadays. They're either WAY more expensive or mediocre performers compared to equivalent 15.6" machines. And for ultimate performance for dollar the Lenovo Y510p which has dual GT755Ms and is anywhere from $1000 to $1200 depending on the deal you can get.

The issue here is that the 3820/4820TG had an 18W GPU. The GTX760 is a 50W or so GPU and it's nearly impossible for a 13" machine to exhaust that much heat without sounding like a turbine spooling up.

 

I can recommend the Gigabyte P34G.

It's a 14", 1,7kg leightweight i7-4200HQ with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760M and 8GB RAM. Ok, the price is 1100 € but there's also a modell with i5-4200H for 900€.

We bought it last month for my girlfriend, because she needed a powerful notebook for work but she did want it to be leightweight and have a good non-glare panel.
All I can say it's the perfect notebook!

Some tests point out that the fans are very loud and that it can get very hot.
Her notebook never get's hot! She's not playing games and we did not test rendering on it yet, but she worked a lot with CAD and other programs the last days and it never got warm.
In addition, heat is always a problem with notebooks thin like that one. (Even my 3820G crashed several times after a long gaming session because of overheating)

There's also a BIOS update for the fan noise which seems to improve the fan sound level. (we haven't tested it yet, but even without that fix she never complains about the noise)


For the ones not living around Germany, here's the link to the manufacturer's site: GIGABYTE - Notebook & Netbook - Notebook & Netbook - P series - P34G


And don't think, I'm advertising that notebook. I'm just thrilled about it and I would buy it in an instant if I haven't already got my 3820G which is still working fine. (And I'm waiting for Intel's next CPU generation)


EDIT: link to the thread in this forum: http://forum.notebookreview.com/gigabyte/720497-gigabyte-p34g.html

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll definitely look into those. I know there's a forum for this type of question, but I just thought it would be relevant to ask here. I imagine people in this thread have the same type of priorities as me, as the 3820tg is quite a special laptop. Sorry for any inconvenience.