Acer 3820TG North America Purchase Options

Lol I just figured that out myself:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ace...arks-tweaks-mods-upgrades-59.html#post6372921

Also, I have noticed a few things that I'd like to point out:

1. BIOS is in English after all
2. The power adapter brick is bigger than the one for 3820T
3. I installed Win7 using a Home Premium disc and I had to do the phone activation, which worked fine.

Also, how do I install the bluetooth drivers? Tried installing three sets but they all failed.

 

Irrelevant. You could've answered those simple questions of mine but chose instead to act indifferently.

If you think that the conversation in this thread has been limited solely to North American purchase options, then you're sadly mistaken. Case in point: your discussing SSD partitions, benchmarks, ATI 5470 GPU, and laptop sleeves in this thread.

 

It's interesting how there was a flurry of excellent deals with PCHome this past week, but now it's gone quiet.

Hopefully, more deals will show up for those who weren't able to take advantage of the ones already.

 

can we not have an argument please? IN MY THREAD?

 

So I just bought the 3820TG from staples! Sale price 699.99$ CAD but they opened the box and charged me 749.99$ apparently they installed windows for me and deleted the "useless" applications.. oh and also made a recovery disk?
Anyway, for anyone that cares, the screen is AUO, HDD is WD, Wireless adapter is Broadcom but idk the brand of the RAM.

Also, the screen does look grainy if I stare at the white parts.. but that might just be my brain playing tricks on me.

The biggest problem I have right now is the touch pad. It isn't as smooth as my LG; maybe I need to break into it? Anyway, anyone have the problem scrolling up and down on the edge? My scroll only works if my finger is on top or to the left of the printed line (the right side does nothing, even in the synaptics program)

ps. the french keyboard is really weird!!

 

Yeah, the touchpad was too sticky for me at first... it becomes less sticky after you've used it for a while to take off that outer layer.

 

hey man

someone at staples lied to you, there is no installation of windows to be done..
you click 5 nexts and your done.

i had a few issues with staples... nto sure what you can do, but removing the apps etc u could of done yourself really and saved urself the money

dont mean to sound rude but yeh.. its a rip off.


also about the lcd! you see it too!!

and its not tricks it's the actually LCD, its annoying

 

I hate the touchpad.

Bronsky

 

when will this laptop come to USA!?

 

hmm i bought the staples model. it seems to me other than the screen and keyboard. the laptop is perfect. i can imagine with a 5650 it will even be more "perfect". but the 300 pricetag seems a bit high for a 450m and 5650 doesnt it? Well I have a i7 desktop at home, so this laptop will just be portable work station that i carry to school/travel/conferences. should i dish out the extra 300 for a 5650 + extra ram/mods? any input?

 

That`s my plan

 

Actually, the units from PCHome are tax-free so the list price is actually 13% cheaper than staples. So it's not $300, more like $240... if that makes a difference at all, lol.

 

Yes, it's worth it. As Bronsky wrote, you can never have too much power.

Unless one plans on getting a souped up Sony Vaio Z, in which case, it's paying too much for the power.

 

Nope haha. That's the cost price for the employees of futureshop I guess. Nice to have friends that work at those places.

 

Haha.... You betcha. I was tired and hungry at the same time. You know how that goes!

 

Thats the same place I was in with my staples model. Do i need the 5650. Not for 300.00. I instead boughta crucial SSD for 215.00 shipped to canada and love it. Leave the gaming to your desktop. The SSD makes this laptop lighter, quieter, and probably consumes less power.

 

I was playing with the Synaptics program and the touch pad works a lot better now:

Pointing -> Sensitivity -> Touch Sensitivity -> all the way to the left
This makes it work a lot better but i'm typing on my bed so I don't know how typing in proper position will be affected XD

Pointing -> Momentum -> Enable Momentum
Pointing -> Momentum -> Glide -> all the way to the left
This is actually pretty fun, don't need to stroke as much

 

That's a good plan. But I thought I'd read that SSDs, while using less power in idle states, actually used more power in read/write/seek mode than their mechanical drive counterparts.

 

That's what she said!

 

LOL oops!

But anyway I wonder if it's possible to transfer my old touch pad over XD

 

I'm trying to track my package from PChome and what looks like the delivery confirmation number is 13 characters and when I input it in the link provided at the delivery site, it states that I need a 14 or 20 character number... Am I looking in the wrong spot? A little help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

This is the website where I input my confirmation number:

Welcome to iPOST

Then it gives me my international and domestic tracking information.

 

Thanks bankergolfer. I just saw this reply...
Yes, I was asking if the BIOS is in English....I'm surprised and glad it is.
So basically:
Keyboard has 'extra' Chinese characters....no biggie. Although my desire to learn Korean is not helped
O/S is not English....no biggie, I have extra copies of W7 I can install.
Bios is English....awesome.
Other physical differences....lid is silver....sounds like that is a plus.

So what 'are' the negatives, lol. No warranty....and that is such a big one

Ok, going to find that PCHome link and reconsider taking the plunge. Thanks everyone!

 

so i got through to my sister and tried to work out the details as far as ordering the staples model while its on sale (she lives in canada, i'm in the states). but...the 15% tax in quebec killed the deal for me. the $699 balloons to $803. i really want to order from pchome, but the hassle that would ensue if anything ever went wrong with it just causes me anxiety. i may bight the bullet eventually, but for now...i'm holding off.

looks like the sales are back again over on the pchome site btw. 30900 for the i5 model that comes with the 2gb ram "gift" and other extras:

PChome¥þ²yÁʪ« - 3C À]­º­¶

 

You don't need extra copies or licenses of W7 to install. Just install Win7 (english version) and then use the Win7 Activation code (located on bottom of the laptop) to activate. That key code is good for activating win7 on your laptop, regardless of its language version.

Only negative I can see is its floating keyboard. It's easy for stuff to fall underneath the keys over time, vs. a regular keyboard. Highly recommend getting a Yadi transparent keyboard cover from PCHome while you're buying the laptop.

Others have remarked that they wish they had (it was out of stock at the time for them).

 

I'm not sure where people's apprehension comes from with regards to ordering from an international website. If there are any problems, just email them (they do speak English in most countries where business is concerned).

Not having a warranty - concern. Ordering from an international website - not so much.

 

As far as money transactions are concerned, you don't have much legal standing when ordering internationally. Basically if an international site doesn't honor their word, you are pretty much screwed.

 

No, that's what I meant. I totally agree with you...lack of warranty and the fact that Acer would probably not support it causes me anxiety, not the ordering from an international site.

 

right, but would paypal come through for you at that point?

as an aside, if i were to get a friend to buy it for me from a physical store in taiwan, and then ship it to me, would it have a valid warranty in that case? is it that pchome isn't an authorized retailer or is it that a unit intended for sale in taiwan is being bought for use in the states.

 

Lol, PCHome is definitely an authorized retailer. I don't think there is any difference in getting your friend in Taiwan to ship it to you vs. ordering it yourself.

 

Correct. PayPal will protect you from bad transactions. Foreign and domestic. You can also use your credit card to buy things, via PayPal.

It's amazing how some Americans view the rest of the world as some Banana Republic. It should come as no surprise that only 30% of Americans even have a passport.

I believe the answer to your question is the latter reason (unit intended for sale and distribution in Taiwan).

 

I actually didn't know that! Thanks for pointing that out... But MS doesn't seem to offer downloads of unactivated Windows 7, so you'd be forced to go to torrent sites. Or buy the cheap $40 student upgrade to Professional, if you're a student.

 

Exactly. If you were overcharged for example and they refused to refund your money you could not use the US legal system or BBB to help your cause. However if you shipped it back to your friend in Taiwan he could use their equivalents to mediate the problem.

Its a small risk that is very unlikely but I was just responding to the difference between ordering internationally vs nationally.

Thanks for the snide remark. I was under the impression that we were talking about international orders to any country.

 

In reading this thread, I want to make sure that there is no confusion about the warranty. Ordering from Taiwan does not void any warranty. The unit you bought is registered in that region. You have to return it there for any warranty work. Acer USA might do warranty work under the international travelers warranty but it might not. But, the option of sending the unit back to Taiwan (or where-ever) is always there is there is a serious problem.

Is there some risk - as Sara Palin would say, "you betcha'". The only people who are importing the 3820TG are those who would be satisfied with no other unit, understand the risks and are willing to live with them. I'm a bit surprised at how many people have actually done it.

Bronsky

 

Actually, Microsoft does offer downloads.

Do a search on this website forum for Windows 7 retail installation. It should point you to a post with downloadable files and instructions on how to use the files with a USB memory stick (or you can burn to a DVD) to install Windows 7 (free! NO cost!).

The cost is actually paid by your having the activation code in the first place (when you bought the laptop).

Then, once you've installed your retail copy of Win7, just use your activation code and you're done!

 

Bingo!

I'll just leave this here for the folks who need the English interface. Has anyone tried this method?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-7-download-links-just-like-vista-before.html

 

Well said.

I too am surprised to find myself buying a laptop with potentially no free repairs under warranty here in the USA.

However, I felt that:

1. after looking exhaustively, I could not find a better laptop out in the market with a better GPU & CPU combination (even though I don't game much anymore), thin & small form factor, weighing less than 4 lbs, for under $1000 USD.

2. most laptop's don't break within their warranty periods. Businesses conduct exhaustive studies on this to determine proper warranty length of times.

3. I can always pay for the cost of repairs out-of-pocket.

Something tells me that Acer will not offer the 3820TG in the United States. Given how its product would blow away its peers at the moment, if Acer were to offer the 3820TG in the USA, they would have done it already.

 

I think this puts in best. Right now I am teetering on that line

The shipping for warranty work might become a bit extreme especially since most companies won't pay to ship it back oversees. However I imagine that most of the parts are identical to the 3820T so doing your own repairs isn't out of the question.

 

Me! Worked like a charm!

[For our non-Americans] This method worked perfectly!

That's the correct post I got my Win7 files from, Nemein. You'd make an excellent private investigator!

 

Look for the link on page 1 of this thread to my write up of importing a 3820TG. There are multiple ways to install a legitimate copy of windows.

Bronsky

 

For those that download the ISO from digitalriver, make sure you switch the ISO to Home Premium before making your USB:
Windows 7 ISO Disc Image Version Switcher | A New Morning

For some reason, after running the eicfg tool, my usb key defaulted to installing Windows 7 Professional when I booted with it... your Acer key only works with Home Premium.

 

That's why I like the method outlined in the link that Nemein and I were discussing.

In that method, you don't have to worry about switching between Home Premium or Professional. That information is contained within the Win7 activation code itself (which was configured when you purchased the laptop).

No muss. No fuss!

 

LOL! All this talk about activating Win7 had me scrambling just now to confirm what the Win7 OS is in the 3820TG that I purchased!

Fortunately, it's what I'd thought it should be: Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I do appreciate it.

You too Banker.

 

Is this sweet looking or what?

 

You're welcome! Glad to help out!

 

It is a nice looking laptop. So from the systems from PCHome it looks like we only have one bad screen reporting. The rest of you guys have good displays?

 

they are all the same displays

some people just notice the grainy effect ( or have better vision) than others.

the staples models in canada and the rest all hvae the same display

essense and i have complained thus far but he has the staples version.

its just how the dipslay is, i dont think it's a ISSUE its just more noticeable

 

So, are you going for your 4th 3820TG?

Fourth time the charm?

 

nah - like i said its not a defect , i even see the grainyness on the display models

its just the display they use.

i am just goign to ebay it. and smile

depends unlesls my sister wants to keep it