Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG Owners Lounge

87C is still 3 deg. below max temp. The Thermal bridge has obviously not yet hit 85C. I think this is the way the I3 is designed to operate.

 

Finally, there is another satisfied Core i3 4820TG owner. Do you happen to know your HD 5650 temperatures in Alien Swarm and TF2? When you have some spare time, can you try logging CPU and GPU results in Everest?

Ngaw seems to have throttling and temperature problems playing Left4Dead 2. So I am just curious if this is a common or rare problem for the Core i3 4820TG.

So far, I haven't gotten my Core i3 4820TG to throttle in Starcraft 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War, and Counter-Strike: Source. However, I know there are more intense games out there that can test the limitations of the Core i3 4820TG.

 

At Notebookcheck's review they also mention it that i5 also throttles under heavy usage.

Notebookcheck: Review Acer Aspire 4820TG Timeline X Notebook

 

Meh...

"...they [CPU and GPU] rapidly heat up to 90°C and 86°C respectively, when under heavy usage (Furmark + Prime). The CPU clock frequency reduced itself from 2.40 to 1.20 GHz, so as to allow the CPU temperature to drop to 80°C for a short while." -Notebookcheck

But I just had my i5-450M at 93C on core 0 and 90C on core 1 for about a minute without throttling. There's a screenie in my last post.

EDIT: Just tried again. Maxed at 96C on core 0 + 94C on core 1. No throttling. Seems even the i5-430M has a lower max temp than the i5-450M.

 

OMG! That is an old review, done on a prototype that was obviously defective. There is no throttling issue with I5's. Period.

Bronsky

 

How would I know? Drama brought it up, so I thought it was relevant. And why would that CPU be any different from the ones today? The i5-430M's were already released and fully functional when that review was made.
I also proved that my i5 didn't throttle, so I'm not saying there's an issue. I just said that if that was true, then obviously the i5-450 wasn't affected.
Don't rage at me for not knowing that you can actually review prototype CPUs months after their official release.

 

He's not raging at you. He's agreeing with you and telling drama89 that what he posted was an old review on a prototype. Just a little misunderstanding.

P.S. There can be a big difference between a prototype and a final version. Maybe, they fixed the throttling issue with a newer BIOS update, etc.

 

That's bad because mine is 430m. In Turkey the only option is i5-430m. Played BC2 about an hour didn't lag at all. Maybe it's all good

 

Oh... Are you sure? He could've used multi-quote... Still don't see how that review could've been "done on a prototype". The CPUs certainly weren't prototypes. The laptop might have been, but the CPUs were fully functional. AFAIK the CPUs decide when to throttle.

EDIT:
Wow, epic ninja-editing and new posts while I was typing. Didn't think the BIOS controlled throttling, but oh well. You learn something new every day.

And thanks to whoever repped me. Damn, 7 posts and 1 rep. That's a decent ratio.
2ND EDIT: Just ruined the posts/rep ratio

 

And don't get me wrong but a site like that using a prototype and review it... Something's not right

 

True, that'd be a preview.
Just sayin'.

 

The CPU could've been fully functionally, but there could've been other problems causing the heat. An inefficient cooling system (so they engineered it differently), the fan wasn't working correctly (so they updated the BIOS), the CPU could've contained some bugs (quite common in some CPUs), the battery could've been defective, etc. That is why we call it a prototype and not a final version.

 

Sorry ... didn't mean to sound so emphatic. We have been hearing about that review forever. The 4820TG has gotten a bad rap because of it and, from what I can see, it is a great unit. My theroy on the prototype is not the bios issues (although it could clearly be that) but rather, insufficient contact with the cooling media. We have seen lately that the replacement of thermal paste reduces temps much more than you would expect which indicates insifficient contact from the factory installation. Not surprising, considering the conditions.

Bronsky

 

Well i'm using mine with a 430m. Hopefully i'm not gonna experience any throttling issue. I'm gonna report here after spending more hours with BC2

 

You'll be fine. The HD5650 plays BC2 quite well. I'm spoiled by my desktop 5870 GPU and I7-930 CPU. I tend to play only when I'm home and on my desktop. I'm contemplating adding a second ATI 5870 (Asus) in xfire mode before Black Ops is released this fall.

Bronsky

 

Don't worry about your rep. I created this thread, wrote a long, detailed review, and got no rep from it. haha. I have 495 posts, over 30,000 views from this thread, and only have 2 reps.

 

Yeah, I know. I'm a very active member on OCN and I know how most people don't rep. Other people give too much, but that's just nitpicking.

BTW what temp should I keep my HD 5650 below? Just had it at 90C Mostly a desktop guy, so my temps are usually lower. Not used to HW running at >90C. Except the VRMs on my HD 5850 (120C FTW!)

 

So I just got my 4820TG with i5 450M, 4GB memory, Radeon 5650 and 640GB HDD.

But im having problems with heat. While playing BC2 my CPU shoots up to 100C
What can I do to fix this? changing the thermal paste perhaps?

There is space under the laptop because of the 9-cell battery.

 

That's too high. I would seriously consider sending it back.

 

almost 2 weeks with my 4820tg. everything is good, nothing to complain about except... well, i can feel the internals of my laptop "moving". if i rest my hands on the palm rest, i can feel some vibrations. -.-

im kinda sure its not the fan because the vibration is consistent whether the fan is running at full speed or not. its not the hd either because well i felt it and its not the cause. not the optical drive either. are there any other moving parts inside that i have missed?

ok i think its my HDD. probably change to an SSD when i have the money, is there a way wherein i can make a clone of my HDD so i can still use D2D recovery?

 

hehe rep +1 ^.^
thanks for the aswesome thread, it helped me decide to go through with buying this to replace my hp laptop typing on it now. pretty sweet system, battery life is so good but just need to get used to keyboard xD

 

Thanks for the reps, but you guys don't have to do it. I appreciate it though. I just wanted to help people in this forum.

 

You have really done a nice job with this thread.

Bronsky

 

so i think the vibrating feeling IS my hdd. i dont know if i should reseat it or not, or get a new one and use this as an external.

sadly store wont let me take it back since its quite 'normal' for hdds to vibrate. anyone else has this problem?

 

um i get what you mean but personally to me the vibration isnt too big a deal. on mine its really little, nothing major, not sure if thats the same with yours or now. but as to where its coming from im not too sure sorry .

 

I'm interested in getting the 4820tg at the moment, after i cant seem to get the 3820tg in the uk with decent gfx without importing.

I'm wondering if someone who uses the 4820tg regularly and travels with it can tell me how portable they've found it? I know its weight and dimensions but without having it for everyday use its hard to know whether it starts to become cumbersome etc. to travel with.

Cheers.

 

Does the 4820TG still has heating issues and therefore CPU throtteling?

 

sorry to double post but guys im updating all the driver at the moment but for some reason the audio driver is not installing, i downloaded from the acer website its coming up with an error message can someone help?

 

ive only just got this laptop but its small and fairly light and you don't really need to carry around the adaptor/charger so its very portable in my opinon. i plan to take mine to uni everyday if that helps, just recommend a laptop sleeve for it though as its very thin so any damage might be bad ^.^

from what ive read there isnt a cpu throttling issue with the 4820tg, the heating issue i havent come across but it is hotter than the 3820tg from what ive read due to the reduction in fans and also the increased specs but so far its no big deal for me, but i havent gamed on it yet.

 

I repped you when you first recommended the 4820TG to me in my "What laptop should I buy?" thread

EDIT: My i5-430 runs the following games with no problems:

- Starcraft 2
- Team Fortress 2
- Left 4 Dead 2 (note the pattern of the 2s)
- Battlefield: Bad Company 2
- Dirt 2

(lol, all 2s - what a coincidence)

 

You forgot
Half Life 2 and
Half Life 2 Episode 2
...Manchester United 0


Anyways replying to some posts a couple of pages back, I gave the laptop to my parents who really needed it. If I get a chance to game on it, I will try recording down the temps and throttle status. It may be a while before I get around to doing that though.

What matters to me is that I do not feel lag from heat so even if it is throttling, it doesn't seem to affect gaming...not for me at least.

 

Haha, I actually haven't tried those on this machine because I've beaten them a long long time ago

I completely agree with your statement. Even if the laptop does throttle, I haven't experienced any non-network-related lag while gaming.

 

Try installing Acer's Realtek drivers a couple of times and see if it the installation process goes through. If that doesn't work, you can try the newest Realtek drivers. Download Realtek Drivers It seems like this error is quite common on Realtek drivers. I just Googled it.

Thanks for the input. You don't have to record the temps and throttle status if you don't have the laptop. I thought it would be a simple process if you game on the laptop often. But, since your parents have it now, it's a different story.

Everyone - Thanks again for all the reps. It's nice to know that the 4820TG can handle most current games.

 

hey guys i think i might be buying the i3 soon but i was wondering, how bad is the flex on the screen? i will be using a backpack to carry the laptop around and was wondering if the books inside my backpack could crush the laptop. also is the throttling problem on the i3 a constant problem? or does it only happen if you are playing games for hours in a hot room?

 

Hi all. just back to update on my experience with this laptop so far. I am quite happy with it. I find the HDD speed is disappointing. I have the Western Digital Scorpio Blue HDD. I have a fresh install of Windows 7 ultimate x64 with all relevant drivers, mostly from the acer website. I have MS office 2010, MS Visual Studio & Corel X5 installed.
Using Soluto, it reports a startup time of 2m 13s. I came from a XPS m1330 with a Samsung 7200rpm drive. I had a startup time of 58 secs on that machine.
Basically, I am wondering would a straight move to a 7200rpm HDD give me what I'm looking for & would a Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid give me even more speed. I don't have the cash to splash on a 80GB SSD.
All opinions welcome (as are questions)!

 

A lot of 3820TG owners have put the Momentus in their units and are happy with it. I'm stuck on SSD's cause I'm addicted to the speed. The crucial 128GB M225 was on sale for $199. Great price.

Bronsky

 

Amazing. I can find the same drive for Approx €300 or $395. Rip off. The Timeline X cost me approx €1100 ($1445)

 

If you are going to carry the laptop around campus, make sure you buy a protective laptop sleeve for the 4820TG. It's a very thin laptop and I don't think it can take much abuse from books without a protective laptop sleeve.

The Core i3 is a tricky question. There are not enough throttling results from Core i3 4820TG owners to come up with an accurate conclusion. I'm still trying to figure out if it's a common or rare problem among users. However, it is known to throttle around 86C.

 

Although I haven't had the time to read through the entire thread, I've read through chunks and it's very informative.

Having just gotten an i3 4820tg the other day from Microcenter, I have a question.

Whenever I switch back to discrete graphics (manually, or automatically when the power is plugged in), my wallpaper no longer displays, and the background is plain black. [Let me be clear: the screen comes back up, as does the task bar, and the computer is completely usable; only the wallpaper doesn't display.]

If I log out and log back in (or just claim to be switching users) then the wallpaper displays correctly again.

Just as background information, I also own a 5810tz, and when waking up from sleep, the contrast of the screen would change, and remain changed until I logged out/in.

Any ideas what's up. It's not a deal-breaker, but I'd like to avoid logging out and in, every time I plug the computer back in.

 

Personally I feel the issue with the wallpaper missing is not a biggie and its not just confined to the 4820TG. I think its most likely an OS issue similar to the active desktop issue.

If you had any previous experience with WindowsXP or even Vista, sometimes the active desktop crashes and the wallpaper will go missing, i think its a related issue...

 

hey thanks for some reason it works now, redownloaded the driver and went through :S but glad tats done and over with ^.^ thanks gain for your help

 

Has anyone successfully OC'd the CPU on one of these yet? Particularly the I5-450M? Has anyone tried and gotten a PLL error?

Bronsky

 

^^^^I came to this thread to ask the exact same question^^^^^^^^

 

I would rather ask how hot this device will get when fully stressed for a longer period and whether this will cause problems like throtteling and, or restarts to prevent components taking damage.

 

So, I just replaced the thermal paste on my 4820TG and my load temps dropped by ~10C and idle temps ~5C

 

What brand did you use, or are you recommending?

 

It was some paste that came with the Tuniq Tower. Its not the best there is but gets the job done Imo the best is Artic Silver 5.

 

I guess the guarantuee will vanish with this action, won't it?

 

Your results mirror the same kind of changes in the 3820TG from changing thermal paste. As we suspected, the Acer assembly conditions are not ideal and factory units have unremarkable thermal connection to the heatsinks.

@Decider ... yes. Believe it or not, improving your thermal signature probably voids the warranty.

Bronsky

 

You never know. And i don't know how much you have to disassemble the unit to get to the heatsinks and whether this would result in a guarantuee loss.

If it is only unscrewing the backplate, i guess i will do it too once i have decided which notebook to go for.