Acer 3820TG North America Purchase Options

This got me excited again until I read that they only ship to Canada.


Seems like in the US PCHome is the only option, but I'd rather not purchase from Asia and pay almost $200 more than I would in Canada. At this point, I'm probably going to wait for some 3820tg/HD5650 alternatives to come out later in the year. I've read that there will be some options from Sony, Lenovo, and Acer.

 

Yeah, I am quite pleased with the 5650. In fact I am returning a 13" MBA because of this Acer. Over the years I have reviewed so many Acer notebooks like this one that shatter my assumptions regarding what I can get at a certain price point.

40-60 fps in Mass Effect 2 with no tweaking. Awesome.

These are scarce in Canada now. I suspect a SB version is due in the next couple of months. As soon as the dual core SB chips are shipping.

 

would anyone happen to know what GPU is on the 3820TG-6829? I can't seem to find any info on this other than the fact that it runs i5 480m

 

I was checking that out earlier and it seems the AS3820TG-6829 is associated with part# LX.RAC02.041 which this site lists as having Mobile Intel HM55 but this site lists as having AMD Radeon HD 6550M.

My guess is the intel integrated.

 

I apologize in case someone posted this already but look what I found:

Acer AS3820TG-6829, Notebook - Intel Core i5-480M 2.66GHz, 13.3" LCD, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, ATI Radeon HD 6550 1GB, No ODD, Wireless BGN, Bluetooth, HDMI, Webcam, Windows 7 Home Premium | Canada Computers

It says out of stock...but I swear it wasn't listed on their site last week. Maybe they'll start having stock at some point?

Also, does anyone have experience with CanadaComputers backorder items? If I order it online while its in backorder - will they order it for me for sure?

<del>Also - what's the difference between at 5650 and 6550?</del>
Nvm: I see that its pretty much the same ( AMD Radeon HD 6550M - Notebookcheck.net Tech)

 

Oh wow looks like the Acer TimelineX refresh in Canada is gonna happen soon..
I sure hope the $799 before tax I paid for my pre-refresh 5820TG was worth it.

 

blueblazer, please tell us if you get a 5470 instead of a 5650 as well.

 

Seems to me they just had an Asian supplier. I doubt they had very many of these and I doubt we'll see them again from that retailer. Just my 2 cents.

 

And it's cheap as hell too, for those specs. I'd have imagined them pricing the refreshed (not to mention with i5 480M, not i3 380M) 3820TGs at at least $900.

 

Should be here in the next few days...I'll post as soon as I get it (and almost assuredly send it right back)


That Acer AS3820TG-6829 has just been listed as in stock at Cendirect here. The fact that it just came in stock and has more incoming makes me think that maybe it is a refresh. When I return the other laptop, I'll try to find out more about this one. Despite their apparent inaccurate responses, at least they were quick about answering questions the first time. We'll see what happens...

 

Because of some of the inaccurate information we've been getting from retailers, I'm gong to wait until someone actually gets a unit and can confirm the information before I change the first page of this thread.

Bronsky

 

I was going to post that lol. Wondering whether the $50-$75 price difference is worth it for the Core i5 instead of Core i3. I don't need turbo if I can get a successful overclock....

 

If you're a gamer, the overclock does not increase frames in 3D games. I would go for the I5-480M and the HD 6550 (about a 5% increase in GPU power).

Bronsky

 

The overclock does increase FPS in games. Well SC2 games really. SC2 and WoW (which I do not play btw) are more CPU dependent than other games.

Here's an interesting question. How good is the ATI HD 5650/6550 compared to my 9600GT on my desktop? I'm thinking they're less powerful than my 9600GT, as my friend's Lenovo with a ATI HD 5650 can only handle medium graphics in SC2 on 1366X768 resolution, while I play SC2 on 1280X1024 resolution..

 

Almost absolutely irrelevant comparison if you're talking about SC2. The more important factor is the CPU. Most likely your friend's laptop's CPU is much much weaker than your desktop's, hence this result.

That being said, I can't really find any solid comparison between 9600GT and equivalent laptop GPUs, someone else can comment on that.

 

My old desktop ran two 9800gtx+'s in sli... I'm actually having more fun on the 3820TG with the 5650M.

 

Well the short amount of time I was playing SC2 on his laptop, I optimized the CPU portion of the graphics so it'd bottleneck as little as possible. The GPU portion of the graphics was set to medium or high.

Care to elaborate?

 

my current desktop is a core i7 at 3.7ghz with gtx 580 SLI

I have half of my gaming time using the 3820 TG

just,,,, I just love playing games anywhere i want lol!!!

 

That was the legendary G94 chip. In addition to being the desktop 9600 GT that was used in the 9800m GTS series.

 

I've emailed Cendirect about an RMA Friday night/Saturday. I'm guessing they will respond Monday, cause I've nothing yet.

 

The 3820TG is a special case. IIRC, frames drop when the CPU is OCed.

 

Well I pulled the trigger on the cendirect AS3820TG-6829/LX.RAC02.041. Here's hoping for the best. I'm holding out hope that it has the HD6550. I'll put a quick list here of all of the sites I've found that list this part# as indeed having the ATI card. (I'm sure one or two are repeats of what people have already posted, but I thought a complete list might be helpful for people wanting to check it out for themselves.)

Canada Computers

Direct Dial

PC Canada

Edited to add: Only thing that is making me nervous at the moment is that it is so cheap. If it does indeed have the ATI card for that price then I'll be pretty impressed and very pleased heh.

 

Good luck...if you succeed I may ask them to exchange my incoming LX.PTB02.235 with the 5470 for the LX.RAC02.041 rather than refund me.

 

I live in Canada and have to say I'm a "little" disappointed I pulled the trigger on my I3 with a 5650 just a few weeks before these showed up online. I'm already pricing I5's on e-bay and the total (including laptop) is costing me more then the machines linked.

 

Does anyone know if this new refresh still has switchable graphics feature?

 

Well still waiting on my shipment but got this email today:

--------------------

Dear Cendirect Customer,

According to our records, you recently ordered an Acer AS3820TG-5464G50nks notebook computer from our website. It has been brought to our attention that there were product description errors between our Acer distribution partners and our website. This resulted in the shipment of the Acer 3820TG-7945 to all customers who placed orders for the AS3820TG-5464G50nks. IMPORTANT: You must NOT break the factory seal on the unit if you have not already received shipment.

The Acer part number LX.PTB02.235 that was described on our website as an Acer model number AS3820TG-5464G50nks with the 5650 graphics card actually refers to Acer model number 3820TG-7945 with the 5470 graphics card . Cendirect does not have the Acer AS3820TG-5464G50nks nor can we order it a this time from Acer Canada.

For those customers whose orders have not yet been received as at January 24th 2011, and who do not wish to exercise option “a” below, we request that you do not accept the unit and simply refuse delivery from Purolator in Canada or USPS in the USA. We will refund all charges to your credit card as soon as the order is returned to us.

We are offering all customers the choice of either option presented below;

a) Should you opt to keep the 3820TG-7945 with the 5470 graphics card that was shipped in error, please reply to this email within the next 48 hours stating that you wish to keep the unit. Cendirect will provide a onetime refund of $175.00 to your credit card as full and sole compensation for this error.



b) Should you wish to return the 3820TG-7945 with the 5470 graphics card that was shipped in error, please assure that you retain all the original packaging and accessories and then proceed to fill out the Return Merchandise Authorization request form at the link provided below. Our customer service department will respond within 24 to 48 hours with return instructions. Simply note “Acer AS3820TG notebook recall notice” as reason for return on the RMA form.



Should you have any questions about this process, kindly reply to this email. We ask that you please accept our apologies for this lapse in service on our part.

Regards,
Tony Gorjan
Cendirect - Canada's Online Computer Store

----------------------

So it looks like they're fixing the mistake. Now I'd like to see about the AS3820TG-6829/LX.RAC02.041...hope it has the HD6550M.

Update: Received another email listing detailed specs for the computer they shipped and also got a call from customer service. Despite the specification mistake, Cendirect seems to be on the ball with customer service.

 

Yes ... the refreshed 3820TG will have switchable graphics.

Bronsky

 

Yea I received that email from Cendirect as well. Good that they will give a full refund.

 

Solomon, please tell us if it indeed has the 6550 when you receive it. Thanks.

 

Looks like it might work out for you afterall.

Bronsky

 

Am I wrong? I though the 6550 was simply a rebadged 5650. Sort of like the 210m and 310m being the same thing:

AMD Radeon HD 6550M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

 

It is a slightly overclocked version. It boosts power by about 5%. Not much but hey ... free power.

Bronsky

 

Yeah I'll be sure to post here. Also just a quick update; not really any new info here:

Got an email about my order with the normal questions regarding the bilingual keyboard and the language selection upon start-up, but I took the opportunity to try to verify the graphics card before I give it the ok to ship to me. Tony from Cendirect responded to me very quickly and said he would check with Acer, and thought he would have an answer for me tomorrow. So hopefully we can get some good evidence one way or another soon (I suppose we won't have proof till someone gets one in their hands).

 

Not quite free, it's gonna use at least 5% more electricity and be 5% warmer. lol.

 

Long time lurker here (since before Bronsky's story of the SS Rotterdam), but finally am biting the bullet and ordering a 3820tg for myself. I had a brief flirtation with the MacBook Air along the way, but despite it's light weight and elegant design, I couldn't stomach paying 2x the price for a wimpier computer.

In any case, my reason to post is that I ordered the AS3820TG-6829 (LX.RAC02.041) today (same as 2Solomon) from Cendirect and got word back from Tony that it will ship from Montreal on Wednesday. His message included a query I made to them about whether this includes the 6550, but didn't explicitly confirm or deny it (he did ask me to verify that I knew it shipped with a bilingual keyboard).

So, here's hoping that this model does have the better graphics card!

-Brad (Illogical1)

 

Well I got a response already! The following is the email (I'm Ben, heh) I just received from Tony (Anthony Gorjan) from cendirect. Hopefully there isn't any issue with folks seeing the picture. Never used dropbox for this purpose before. Apparently Jason Gorjan (Family Business?) conacted Don Erickson of Acer and got the info. Looks pretty reliable. (I would think that the graphics card entry was bolded for my benefit since I asked specifically about that aspect.) I went ahead and ok'ed the order. I'm pretty pumped! I've been looking for one of these for a while and kind of resigned myself to having to find something else. (And the only reason that *I THINK* I will be able to get one is because of this thread - thanks everybody! I'll try not to get my hopes up too much till it's in my hands though




edited to add: Didn't see your post Brad before I made mine, but things look good mate! Here's hoping...

 

If it has the i5 480M it most definitely has the 6550 GPU. I've never seen any refreshed Timelinex laptop spec with a non-6xxx GPU ever.

The 5470 ATi GPU was only in some TimelineX's because at the time the ones with the 5650 ATi GPUs were the "pricier versions", now powerful GPUs are the standard.

 

Well, things are certainly crazy

Look at the price of the AS3820TG-6829 at NCIX
NCIX.com - Buy Acer Aspire AS3820TG-6829 Intel Core i5 480 4GB 500GB 13.3IN Radeon 6550 802.11N BT WIN7 HP Notebook - LX.RAC02.041 In Canada.

nvm, the second I posted this here the price changed from $564 to $800...

 

Does anyone know if I'm in the US and I buy through Cendirect, will I be paying some sort of international exchange rate tax if I use a credit card?

*edit* Did my own research because I realized I was just being lazy:-D. One of my credit cards will charge a 3% international fee, and another charges a 2% fee. Both give 1% cash back...so I'll pay an extra 1% on top of whatever it costs...

 

Wow thanks, I got one at $564 price. Hopefully they won't cancel my order.

 

Bah, saw the $564 price and was adding to cart and it saw it was bumped up to $800. Bah

 

maybe an upcoming sale?

 

Probably a mistake. I've been loitering this Acer forum now for a week looking up 4820TG/3820TG info when I decided I wanted a 3820TG and saw that price. I am sure it was a mistake and it didn't last long.

 

I'm fairly sure they can argue that it was an advertisement error for anyone who ordered it when it was briefly @ $564. I mean, they got no reason not to. Cookie15 did your order go through?

 

I wish they had to honor it. fine print says they can refuse any sale for any reason even if an order confirmation email has been sent. which is odd because with physical brick and morter if they have an item marked incorrectly they'll honor the lower price.

 

I'm not sure if it went through...I got the order email but at the bottom it says:

"This order acknowledgement is not a contract and does not constitute an acceptance of your order; but only a record of your offer to purchase a particular item at a particular price."

So I guess I'm still waiting for them to process it. But even then, they don't have it in stock yet....

 

I just noticed that the refreshed (480M/6550) 5820TG is also listed on the NCIX site now (backordered as of now of course); looks like the refresh is fully going in Canada.

 

I will say, despite Cendirect getting somewhat snappy in their email towards me (prior to realizing their mistake), they were always quick to respond -- which is always a good thing.

 

I wonder how long the new Acers will be available? I think Acer will not have sandybridge units (Aspire 3740G) until March at the earliest. Hopefully, the suppliers keep ordering replacements until Acer stops production. When the 3820TG started shipping the 3810T models stayed in-stock for quite some time, but they did not sell as well as the 3820TGs.

Bronsky

 

I sent them one more email in which I tried to leverage their mistake into getting me free shipping or a discount on the model with the HD6550. They sent me a very wordy reply that basically said nope.

Oh well, had to try