Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG Owners Lounge

wierd that there's no new bios for the 3820TG.

 

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" (I guess)

 

That's my motto too.

Bronsky

 

Any idea on what has changed?

 

1. Fixes CPU cycling notify issue.
2. Add solution for Android Smart phone issue.
3. Adds support Atheros BlueTooth BU12. (Vid=0x0489, Pid=0xE02C)
4. Adds VGA temperature protection function.

 

Thanks! +rep

 

Lenovo Y460 w/ i5-520m and 5650 is about $700 at their outlet. I wonder if I've neglected that laptop in my hunt. I just remember reading about all kinds of overheating problems with that machine.

 

Thanks for the rep. I'm waiting for my battery to get fully charged, then I'll try to flash to 1.18 from 1.13.

 

I've heard that it runs hot but does not throttle. You should give it a look. I hate the look of it. The shell is cheap plastic with that Lenovo modern art design on the cover. UGH! Plus, with the I5/4820TG selling for $799, I would go with the Acer still.

Bronsky

 

I wonder if that will cure the throttling of the I3, which we believed originated from the IGPU thermal bridge.

 

Back in stock at newegg.

 

Just finished flashing BIOS from 1.13 to 1.18 which also updated VGA BIOS from 012.020.000.001.034809 to 012.020.000.032.037905.

PS. I have a 5820TG.

 

Just saw the email r.e. Newegg back in stock. Really want this but the CA tax sucks.

 

Did anybody get any luck in buying a 9-cell battery for the laptop?

 

Can you provide the link I do not see it at newegg, at least not the TG version

 

Newegg.com - Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4820TG-3195 NoteBook Intel Core i5 450M(2.40GHz) 14" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650

Also, first page of this thread has some links

 

829$ At Newegg is a steal!! I got mine at 899$ + CA tax and - 5% discount from MC. Rounds up to 950$!!

 

Since my last post seems to have been ignored, can anyone provide gaming benchmarks of i3 vs i5?

 

Performance will be minimal between the Core i3 and Core i5. Since, games rely more on the video card than the CPU. However, the Core i3 can be throttled in some cases and that is why the Core i5 is recommended.

Here are HD 5650 benchmarks.
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 - Notebookcheck

 

I do not plan on playing FPS games, starcraft 2, world of warcraft, maybe some sim city here and there. Is it worth $100 for me to get the i5 over the i3?

<3

 

You're basically paying $100 more for the Core i5 and a larger hard drive (500GB). It's a pretty cheap upgrade.

 

True, and appealing, but I also have to add in wait time. Local microcenter has the i3 verson in stock right now, whereas the i5 is gone and who knows when it will be back.

I've never been much of a hard drive filler, so the extra 180g isn't super appealing, it really just comes down to whether the i5 is notably better than the i3. On a side note, does the i3 run any cooler than the i5?

I will admit I like computers with staying power, and I've always been one to settle in the past, the thought of doing the better computer appeals to my inner tech junkie, but saving $100 appeals to the dad in me lol.

(sorry for being scatterbrained, stats final, psych exam 3, psych final, all today.. kinda zombified.)

 

No throttling with the i5? I think that sort of makes the decision for me. As for the hard drive, I don't really care because I'll probably be replacing with a Momentus XT anyways.

 

just wanted to post that newegg got some in before the 11th. they show in stock again. get em while they there.

4820TG

 

I was reading the dimensions from some link and it said it was 1.9" thick. I dunno why that was messed up. I couldn't believe it, either. I'm glad that it's pretty thin. Thanks.

 

Hey guys,

I finally benchmarked temperatures while gaming and using the Cooler Master NotePal Infinite notebook cooler. The first link is an image with the cooler on, while the second link is an image with the cooler off. Both times the laptop was standing on top of the cooler and both times I played a single ~30 minute game of Nexus Wars in Starcraft 2.

http://imgur.com/leUzC.jpg

http://imgur.com/eAGdd.jpg

Conclusion: 2-6C temperature drop with the cooler in all categories I am, after all, satisfied!

 

Your temps are really good without the cooler.

Bronsky

 

Any of these in-stock? My wife wants a 13" Macbook Pro but she likes the look of my 3820TG and is considering a 4820TG. She particularly likes the backlit KB on my 3820TG. Looks like I could be doing another backlit mod. BTW, has anyone successfully OC'd a 4820TG with SetFSB?

Bronsky

 

Hi guys, just a question : does the 4820tg have any temperature issue in full load due to the only one fan for heat dissipation ? compared to 3820tg ?

thank you

 

I had this exact same problem. I first reinstalled the synaptics drivers, with no luck, and then did a full system restore and the problem persisted. Got on the phone with tech support (they were very helpful and no wait time on the phone--impressive) and they seemed to think it was a hardware problem, so I sent it back to them and haven't gotten it back yet (it takes about 2 weeks door to door). I'll let you know if this solves the problem--no one else here seems to have experienced this, so I'm guessing we just got bad units.

 

It can get quite hot - up to 90C for the i5 version. However, the i5 doesn't throttle until over 100C. The i3 throttles at around 85C as far as I know, which may be problematic for some.

 

My I5-450M runs at 91C under load and not a hint of throttling.

I think the I5's just run hot.

Bronsky

 

Mine does get over 90C when I play BF: BC2 without my cooler.

 

These temps were after running a 1024 loop for over an hour with the CPU at 95-100% the entire time and overclocked to nearly 3.3ghz.

Bronsky

 

Then there's no problem

EDIT: Bronsky, mind sharing how you overclocked yours? I want to give it a go.

 

No problem. Most of the OC'ing discussion is in the 3820TG thread. It is probably worth the effort to run a search and try to track some of the this discussion down. You have to DL the freeware version of SetFSB and try to find a clockgen that works. There are a few that work on the 3820TG. One is the Acer G73h that is a shareware verision of SetFSB. Once you get the program, I would see if you can get the CPU to OC and, if so, send the $5 paypal payment (500 yen) to Ado who designed the software to get a code to unlock the shareware version. Here is a thread where I have some misc. inf on the clockgens that do not OC very easily. http://forum.notebookreview.com/acer/513560-possibly-overclocking-unclockable-3820tg-4.html

Best of luck. I don't know of any 4820TG that is running OC'd yet. I did help somebody OC their Envy 14 the other day.

Bronsky

 

Awesome, I'll probably end up doing this once school starts in a couple of weeks. Vacation time until then

 

Just to clarify: I should be installing the Intel VGA drivers from the Acer web site? The version code says 8.15.10.2025.
And then just follow your directions?

 

I don't install the separate (8.15.10.2025) Intel GMA drivers and someone mentioned in a thread that they are for 4820T (not TG). The ATI VGA drivers (from Acer) will also install drivers for Intel GMA. I have a 5820TG and the latest ATI drivers from Acer are 8.713.3.3000 and since these will also be installed for the Intel GMA, you will see driver version 8.713.3.3000 both for Intel GMA and ATI 5650 when you look in Device Manager. I didn't bother installing drivers from ATI this time since the drivers from Acer work really well, if not slightly better than 10.7. I hope I didn't confuse you even more with this post...

 

8.15.10.2182 is the Intel version that I have already installed, but I just noticed that it's still a newer version than the Acer provided copy "8.15.10.2025"
Yet, the 5650 card driver version is 8.762.0.0
I'll be honest, I am actually getting confused. According to the Intel download centre, The latest Intel HD Graphics drivers available are the same "8.15.10.2182". Maybe I am on the latest & greatest after all!!

 

If everything is working, like switching between cards and you get proper fps in games you can stick with the drivers you have.

 

I'm leaving it at the following
5650:= 8.762.0.0
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator:= 8.692.1.0
As Apex84 mentions above, the switching is working perfectly which it hasn't been doing since I formatted the Factory install.
Cheers for the help!

 

how can i get this in canada?

 

I think there is a Canadian newegg. maybe im wrong. newegg does carry it but it wont show up unless its in stock.

 

Gaah, I love this laptop

 

mine just came today. the build quality isnt that bad. the lid has a very very thin profile. but other then that its sleek imho.

the whole creating driver disk and create backup disk kinda sucks. it takes like 10 minutes to burn each disk but then makes you sit through a verification process that adds 45 minutes to every disk. this really sucks its going to take like 4 hours to create a backup disk.

 

Amazon has the i3 5650 model back in stock on the 17th. No evidence they'll get the i5 5650 model yet...

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

 

That is the worst part about doing the backup. A small price to pay.

 

heh yea. i was all excited to try and put a clean copy of windows on it but it looks like that wont be happening until much much later. im really enjoying the laptop so far though. I was reading weird storys of people with screens with lines and everything else. I have no such issue.

 

This newegg batch is great. My laptop is also flawless.