Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG Owners Lounge

Thank you for posting this. I will update the installation process on the first page.

 

I could be wrong but I think that has happened to just Hendrickson while he's been doing some OCing.

 

Lemme ask some questions.

I was reading the thread and seen some charts that the laptop's temp reaches to 83c while playing a game like Alien Swarm. Isn't it too much for that kind a flat one? Do you guys feel the heat? Sorry for my english

 

So, did you install Intel drivers "after" you got everything working for ATI Mobility Catalyst 10.7 drivers? When did you install Intel drivers? I just need to clarify this with you before I update the first page.

 

never installed the intel drivers because it gave me an error about not working with my hardware. just to clarify:

- uninstalled all intel/ati drivers
- installed acer ati drivers from the acer website
- attempted to install intel drivers, but failed
- rebooted into discrete mode, installed ati 10.7
- rebooted into switchable mode, success!

 

So, you can't get Acer's Intel drivers to install at all? That's not good. The Intel software has a lot of functionality for decoding HD movies, changing 3D settings, improving battery life, etc. If you figure out on how to install the Intel drivers, I will update the first page.

 

Acer's ATI 8.713.3.300 package also includes intel drivers, which will be installed when you install the ATI package.

Standalone intel driver packages can't be installed.

 

That makes sense then. I'll update the first page.

 

I only tried drivers from the intel site, not Acer's. But I think Acer's ati drivers come bundled with the intel drivers, because I still get switchable graphics and "intel media graphics accelerator hd" shows up in device manager instead of some random generic name (standard vga adapter?)

edit: ahh ok thx for confirming oc-freak

 

Link to the driver package (if the link work, not sure if acer site allows it)

ATI 8.713.3.300

 

is it possible to use amd gpu clock tool in switchable mode?

 

I think you'll find that anyone who runs a full stress that exercises the cpu and gpu to the max (like prime95 and furmark at the same time) runs into overheating on the cpu.

As far as gaming:


The only other posted details of an i3 showed it getting to 3-4c below the throttle point when running SC2.

 

Has anyone with the 4820TG gotten their Bluetooth to work? I'm trying to pair my two laptops to move files and the Timeline acts as if there is no Bluetooth installed (no tray icons, no entry in device manager, etc.)

 

Press Fn + F3 on the keyboard and enable Bluetooth.

 

did this through control panel, expressed removed all ATI software. rebooted. uninstalled both ATI and Intel drivers in device manager. rebooted. now they are both Standard VGA adapters.

installed Acer ATI drivers 8.713.3.300.

changed to discrete mode straight after installing the Acer driver. attempted to install 10.7 (custom install to see if it detects) and it still does not want to update.. neither the desktop catalyst suite nor the mobility catalyst suite works



what am i doing wrong??

 

Ah many thanks to you good sir.

 

I uninstalled both graphic drivers and repeated the installation process. It works for me.

 

lol so frustrating.. just to clarify the ATI driver your are installing is 10-7_vista64_win7_64_dd_ccc_enu.exe right?

and you are on Windows 7 Home Premium, from the Acer factory install?

 

Yes, I'm using the Acer's Windows 7 Home Premium and 10-7_mobility_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc downloaded from the ATI website. I uninstalled both drivers to make sure the installation process works. ATI drivers can be frustrating. I've had the same problem on my desktop computer a couple of times. I had to use Driver Cleaner to remove leftover files from previous ATI drivers, but it's a different case with the 4820TG because you need Acer's ATI drivers for this to work.

 

I just played the Starcraft 2 campaign from 11:28PM-12:17AM. 3D settings are on high and at a resolution of 1360x768. Here are the results.

Here is the .csv file created from Everest.
Download Starcraft 2 Temperatures

 

Does anyone have a problem with screen artifacts after switching the graphics to Intel's chip? Every time I either perform the switch or if the screen dims after idling for a bit and then me moving the mouse, the screen fills with artifacts. They go away after I launch a program, but they are still rather annoying. Doesn't happen with the HD5650 enabled. Weird.

 

What is the latest ATI driver version.I am still using the one came with my Acer.

 

Nobody answered my question so i'm gonna ask again because it's kind a urgent. Since it's a pretty flat laptop it can easily get hot during games . Can you feel the heat at your palmrest or the keyboard area? I've seen here at Alien Swarm 80+c L4D 2 90+c the heat can be easily up to 90+ during BC2 multiplayer.

 

i played COD MW2 for around an hour with temps reaching 80-82 degrees and the palm rest felt comfortable. this however is very relative since how i perceive it may not be the same as you. however, if you know how the y450/y460's palmrest, and even the the MSI GT6xx, gets hot, relative to these laptops the palmrest is way more comfortable.

TLDR version: warm but not hot

 

10.7

Bronsky

 

Thanks for the answer.

 

sweet i been wondering about the temperature of the palm rest as well as my hp laptop gets hot on the left side . btw how are you all finding the keyboard? ive tried it recently at a store that had it, i don't know it feels weird. is that something you get used to? its just really different from my hp one

 

Does anyone know how to get bluetooth to default to to "On" when starting up and wireless to be "Off"? Everytime I reboot, wireless is on and bluetooth is off, but I want the opposite of that lol.

 

@CvonV I used 8.692.1.0 - these are from the acer website. i'm not sure if it makes a difference compared to 8.713, but try these if nothing else works.

for 10.7s, I used catalyst_mobility_64-bit_util from the ati site. this is the 1.1mb version where it downloads the actual driver install from the ati site. again, I'm not sure if it makes a difference to use catalyst_mobility_64-bit_util or the full 69mb one.

this happens to me too ever since I updated to 10.7, only when I switch power plans on integrated graphics

 

thanks for the reply fongwu

it seems like i'm having absolutely no luck.. i did a full factory restore today.. the 5820TG came already pre-loaded with 8.692.1.0 acer ati drivers.. i then tried to install 10.7 on top of that while in discrete mode.. the installer said 8.692.1.0 is the most upto date.. so it couldn't install the 10.7 drivers.. i then updated to acer ati 8.713.3.3000.. rebooted once on switchable to complete the update.. then rebooted again to discrete.. then attempted to install 10.7 on top.. same thing.. 8.713.3.3000 is the most upto date.. i've even tried to play around with the inf files and "drivers" directory too.. but nothing is working at all! i'm so close to giving up

can i ask u fongwu, what is the hardware ID for your 5650? mine is PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_68C1&SUBSYS_035C1025&REV_00

 

Does anyone know if the Tustin, CA microcenter will ever get the 4820TG-3195 in store? Is this item so new that they're in the process of getting the units to their stores, or will this be an online-only item?

 

Hi All,
First, thanks for all the great info on this thread. It has been really helpful. I've been considering the 4820TG and now that Amazon has the 5637 (i3) model it is even more tempting to pick one up. For those of you that have the 5637, how does it handle gaming (SC2 will be the most graphic intensive game that I'll play on it - X360 for all my other gaming needs)? I've seen posts talking about SC2 but they are not clear whether it is with the i3 or i5 processor. Thanks everyone!

 

I've seen posts that the Core i3 has a lower max operating temp, which causes throttling under load, i.e. gaming (which is going to be one of the main reasons I want the 5650 gpu). For that reason alone the only choice for me would be the 3195 (i5).

 

I think every store in their system but that one will get the 4820TG.

Bronsky

 

Madmook, thanks for the quick reply. If I understand your posting you would take the i5 model because it has the 5650 GPU, is that correct? According to Amazon the i3 model they are selling also has the 5650 GPU. Does this make a difference in your opinion?

Amazon.com: Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4820TG-5637 14-Inch HD Laptop - Black Brushed Aluminum: Electronics

 

What Madmook meant was that the Core i5 CPU will throttle its speed down at a higher temperature than the Core i3 CPU, which means it would be good for gaming (thus his need for the 5650 HD graphics card), since games tend to run the CPU pretty hot. Both the i3 and the i5 version have the same graphics card, just a different CPU (and HD space too, IIRC. the i5 has 500GB, the i3 has 320 GB)

 

lol'ed, the MC in silicon valley just got their new shipment yesterday. I just picked mine up with the new batch. They still have a couple more.

I have been running CPU burn-ins since last night, will run for a little while longer and attempt to run that benchmark in the youtube vdo that managed to shutdown the 4820TG.

 

Like what sidewinderx2 said, the i3 will throttle (lower) itself when it reaches a certain temperature (something like 83 degrees C). The i5 has a higher temperature threshold of something like 105C. None of this would matter and I would gladly settle for the cheaper i3 model, if not for the fact that due to having such high-power parts inside a compact 14 inch laptop frame, owners of the 4820TG are showing that the cpu is easily reaching the 80+ degree cpu temperatures. This causes otherwise smooth gaming to turn to crap for a bit to allow the i3 to drop in temp.


Anyways, glad to hear that the other CA microcenter is getting the 4820TG in. If the one in Tustin gets the 3195 model in, I'll give up waiting for Amazon.

 

Actually, the GPU thermal bridge limit is 85C and the max temp of the CPU is 90C. Throttling can start when the temps reach the limits of the GPU's CPU connection.

Bronsky

 

Are there any amazon deals? I still cant decide between the i3 or the i5. I am so scared about the throttling that all the i3 users keep complaining about. Is it really that bad?

 

I saw a couple of Amazon deals posted in this forum, but they seem to be out of stock.

I think it's more safe to go with the Core i5, since it has a less chance of throttling with a TDP of 105C. I ran Starcraft 2 and the Core i3 reached temperatures of 82-85C and the throttling point is at 86C. However, if you aren't running any intensive games and you are on a low budget then the Core i3 should be fine for most tasks.

 

undervolting is always an option.

 

So I've got it all wrong, then, and throttling happens on the i5 models, too?

 

How much undervolting should you do and how much does that affect the performance? Can you do it right before gaming? And will a cooling pad help this throttling issue? Can overtime the cpu go from hovering around 80C for example and the older the laptop gets, it will start hovering around 85c or something like that. Man I just want the cheaper lol.

 

So far nobody has gotten the Core i5 4820TG to throttle because temperatures never reached above 95C. Only the Youtube video shows the Core i5 4820TG shutting down, but I think he had a defective unit. So I wouldn't rely on that video.

 

I haven't seen anyone undervolt the mobile Core i3/i5/i7 processors successfully in the budget laptops. There's a lot of talk about it, but I don't think anyone has actually done it.

 

While I can do this on my asus desktop motherboard with a core i7, I spent a considerable amount of time looking for tools and was unable to find anything that would allow me to adjust my 4820tg voltage down. Mostly people are able to do this with either BIOS options or custom software provided by the motherboard manufacturer. Acer is unlikely to provide either.

 

Thanks for posting your results - here is a chart.



Any chance you'd be up for doing one with GPU temp and GPU speed? Since there is a single cooler it's helpful to understand how one influences the other. It seems like the biggest thing going on is that my GPU is often getting hotter than other peoples (even if their i5 got hotter than my i3).

Also, whats the ambient temp? 22c?

 

Thanks for making the chart. The room temperature should be around 77-78F. It is very hot in Dallas, TX right now, so I set the AC to cool the room down to 77F. Outside temperatures this week should be in the 100s.

Everest doesn't have the GPU as an option for me in logging. You can look at my previous Starcraft 2 screenshot. My CPU and GPU seems to be sharing similar temperatures in every benchmark or game I run. Do you think it's because they are sharing the same heatsink/vent?

 

I just got my 4820TG last night at the MC in northern NJ (3.5% sales tax for those interested)

After returning the Ideapad Y460 (mostly the same specs), I am stunned at how nice the 4820 is. For a game capable laptop, it sure is thin and light. I haven't had any issues with heat yet, and the battery life is astounding for something with so much mojo.

I've had some so so experience with Acer in the past, but this unit is pretty amazing. More to come as I begin to shake it down. Steam installed, with Metro 2033 and a few others already downloaded.