Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG Owners Lounge

It's a little bit loose, not too much that bothers me. I bought it because it had a front zipper pocket where I can put my ac adapter in as well. There's also a pocket for a thumb drive so pretty convenient.

 

I'll vouch for the Wacta Been using it a few months and it works well. Fits snug and provides nice protection in my backpack

 

That's so awesome. I never expected both of you to reply to my post.
Both of you are so kind and helpful.

Thank you PandaBear and KolosoK!

I'll definitely consider the Case Logic and the Wacta for my 4820TG.

 

Not much noise to speak of, nor heat. Unless you're playing games with the GPU cranking. Then there is slight fan noise, and some hot air coming out of the fan slot. Way cooler and quieter than all my previous gaming lappys

 

I ordered it last night.
I'll do a little review. It should get here around the same time as my 4820tg.

 

no, these days you'd have to work to actually cause hw damage when overclocking since modern cpus and gpus automatically underclock at a particular thermal threshold...so just monitor temps while running furmark and/or prime95 (hwinfo, msi afterburner, gpu-z, realtemp are good for monitoring)

and frankly, you only really need to OC if you aren't getting the performance you want. i installed bf2 the other day and it the 5650 doesn't even need OC to run that game at medium detail native res

 

Alright, I appreciate the info infoolio

 

Is undervolting really not possible on the CPU?
How hard is it to reapply thermal paste on this laptop's gpu and cpu?
Is gaming without a cooling pad while the laptop is on a desk hazardous to the laptops health?
Is the only option for overclocking the 5650 the AMD GPU tool?
How about RivaTuner or even the ATI CCC?
Would having 2 HDD's or 1 SSD/1HDD or 2 SSD's be more power efficient then the stock HDD and the ODD? Seems like the ODD wouldn't use any power when not in use... I guess the 2nd HDD or 2nd SSD would not either.

Just some thoughts/questions on my mind.

 

thermal paste requires a fair amount of disassembly - there is a guide on a chinese site earlier in this thread which shows step by step what you should do. around page 45 or so?

my 5650 is usually OC'ed 750/1100 and i'll game for a few hours at a time without a cooling pad without problems. this laptop has good cooling so i don't think a pad is necessary unless you live in a warm climate.

i see nothing in ATI CCC which allows for OCing. MSI's afterburner also does not work (at least for me). AMD's gpu tool is fantastically easy to use - why would you need anything else?

i would read http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...81-ssd-power-consumption-vs-spinning-hdd.html regarding power usage. the HDD (whether mechanical or SSD) and ODD are a fraction of the overall power usage in the laptop...

 

Thx for the reply.
ATI CCC allows me to overclock on my desktop... I guess not for mobile.
I have no problem with AMD gpu tool except it doesn't automatically overclock on restart. Unless they updated it, you have to either manually overclock again or make a shortcut on your desktop that you click to do it again.

edit:

I ordered from Amazon also. I really hope I get a good screen. I will send it back for sure if I see any issues. I hear amazon does next day shipping on returns, but I wonder what will happen if they have no more in stock.

Lets just hope I get a good one on the first try, cause I've been excited about a new laptop for weeks now lol.

 

true, AMD does require manual though i don't run OCed 24/7, only when gaming. there's a mod to automatically OC earlier in this thread or the 3820 thread

the reports of bad screens seem to be anomalies. while the screen is nothing amazing (being a standard TN panel), i was fortunate enough not to get any grains or hot pixels

 

What are the latest video drivers for 4820tg.Also,anyone played the nfs hot pursuit 2010,it is laggy.

 

If I am not mistaken, after installing the default drivers from acer, the latest drivers to install ontop of them is the 10.10e.

I could be wrong.

 

10.10e is a modded driver. 8.741.1.6000 is the latest official driver.

Bronsky

Try a moderate OC on the GPU.

 

I have instructions on how to update to newer ATI Mobility Catalyst drivers on the first post. However, I believe the most stable driver is Acer's AMD default driver. Which is why I didn't update the first post beyond 10.7 drivers. Instructions are there for everyone's benefit.

Some known problems with newer Catalyst drivers:
- brightness keys not working
- power savings is turned on while plugged in
- switchable graphics not working like it's supposed to

etc. you can read about the problems throughout this forum.

 

I sorta knew that, but now I am curious.
What is modded? What does it add over the offical driver?

 

I've played the retail version of NFS:Hot Pursuit on my 4820tg at native resolutions with all of the bells and whistles turned on and it runs at a fantastic speed. I don't know the actual FPS but its smooth as butter. My GPU is overclocked to 700/1000, however, so I cannot speak to how well it performs otherwise.

 

Hello add me to the list, I got this awesome machine like a month back (Mine is i5 430m 2.27GHz and the rest is same), I am really happy with it (well except the huge amount of unnecessary stuff acer added to it). After using it for a month or so, I can say its lived upto my expectations and more, I can play games, watch movies, programming, video & photo editing etc., and it also has this awesome battery life, so summing up, I love my timelineX

Well, I didn't read your post well and updated my driver to 10.10 (I guess... is 8.782.000-> 10.10?), I also experienced the power saving and the brightness keys problem, nothing major but... can I roll back my driver to the safest bet? I am kinda scared of formatting and reinstalling i have a what-if-my-ABR-doesn't-work-phobia.
I also have downloaded this and ran the abr backup, is it any good? has anyone tried it? (there is a seperate windows 7 beta DL)
-Andy

PS-Edit- Has anyone tried running ubuntu on it?

 

Thanks. I just made the instructions more clear (in the first post) by listing out the problems you could face with newer versions of Catalyst drivers.

You should be able to uninstall 10.10 without any problems then reinstall Acer's AMD default driver if Windows doesn't automatically roll back the driver.

 

How much of a performance gain does the 10.10/10.10e provide over the last fully working acer amd drivers (10.7?)?

I wonder if it is really worth the hassle.

 

The Acer's AMD driver is an earlier version before Catalyst 10.7. I was just using 10.7 as a example and that is why I am taking off the 10.7 link on the first page. I will just leave the instructions on how to install newer Catalyst drivers and hope we get a bug-free Catalyst driver for the 4820TG in the future. Sorry for all the confusion.

 

I think the new Acer driver is 10.10. See my catalyst read-out. http://forum.notebookreview.com/6907735-post7651.html

Bronsky

 

Nice find, Bronsky. Here is what I got from the Acer website. Hopefully, the 3820TG drivers can be used for the 4820TG.

3820TG AMD drivers are 8.741.1.6 - 193.9 MB - 2010/11/09
4820TG AMD drivers are 8.713.3.3000 - 198.2 MB - 2010/08/17

 

So Acer released a new updated driver and it fixes the brightness key issues?
That would be so awesome and reassuring.

 

I just updated my system with the new drivers (for the 3820tg) and so far no problems. Plus, my volume and brightness keys are operating as intended.

I hate how the driver version reported by Windows does not match the version attached to the file label (10.10, or whatever). Currently, Windows reports that my driver version is 8.741.1.6000.

 

You have brightness working with the 10.10's? I'm confused... I thought that wasn't supposed to happen. lol.

 

It's definitely working.

 

Well thats just great. So you downloaded/had the original Acer AMD drivers and then you installed 10.10 ontop?

 

I loaded into the BIOS first and changed from "Switchable" graphics to "Discreet" graphics and then booted into Windows. I installed the drivers using their setup utility, restarted, loaded back into the BIOS to re-enable the switchable GPU functionality, and then BAM! everything is working.

 

Thats great. Well I have some good news (for me)!

MY LAPTOP SHIPPED AND THE EMAIL SAYS Delivery Estimate: November 23, 2010!
YAYAYAYAYAYAY!

So I will try your steps for installing GPU drivers and hopefully I get the same results that would be awesome!

 

Okay something weird just happened, I went to device manager and selected my ati card, in the driver tab I selected update driver to see if any stable version was released or not (the roll back option was disabled), now within like 1 min the driver was 'updated' the screen flickered all this time, and there was hardly any data transfer (i.e. I don't think windows even searched for a new driver) and voila! now my CCC says :
Driver Packaging Version 8.713.3.3-100420a-099253C-Acer
Catalyst™ Version 10.10
and the brightness keys work, I didn't even have to go to the BIOS and change to discreet for this.
@aylafan

Can you tell me how to check if the other "problems due to unstable graphics card driver" are sort or not?

 

i can verify this works, installed latest 3820TG AMD drivers on 4820TG without a hitch, volume and brightness work

 

this is what the latest 3820TG driver shows for version info:

Code:

Driver Packaging Version	8.741.1.6-101021a-107242C-Acer	
Provider	ATI Technologies Inc.	
2D Driver Version	8.01.01.1038	
Direct3D Version	8.14.10.0761	
OpenGL Version	6.14.10.9901	
Catalyst™ Control Center Version	2010.1021.531.7998	

you appear to be a couple versions down...

 

Thats because 4820tg has a coupla problems with the latest drivers

 

Just to make your decision harder, a 3820TG has just shown up on a website in China listing an HD 6670 GPU. http://forum.notebookreview.com/6909348-post7672.html Nobody has any idea if it is correct or not. But, there has been some speculation that Acer would be refreshing its line with AMD;s 6xxx series GPUs. Even if it's true, it will probably be a few of months before we see it here in the US or Canada (if ever). Before we do, there might also be a sandybridge refresh for CES in January.

Bronsky

 

HOLY CRAP ! THAT IS TOO FRIGGIN GOOD TO BE TRUE !!!!

So I guess it is possible to change our gpus to a 6xxx series card after all.

I wonder how much will the price be for that gpu.

And the other thing is.. are they releasing a new batch of 3820tg series with a different motherboard just for that new gpu ?

I really wanna test out that gpu if it is going to exist !

 

No ... can't change GPU. The chip is soldered in. It might be possible to run the old chip at the new voltage and speed. We're not sure yet. Looks interesting. We will have a lot more raw material to work with to up the performance of the HD 5650 Madison units. It is the same motherboard I think. The 6 series is just a rebranded 5 series and the 5730 is the same chip as the 5650 just overvolted and overclocked. I would think that Acer will simply start installing the 6 series in its next production run.

Bronsky

 

Dang it... the 6670 card sounds so cool. I wonder why our gpu is being soldered in. Isn't it supposed to be removable ?

 

doesn't seem to have problems with the latest 3820TG drivers, which are not the latest catalyst but much newer than the "latest" 4820TG drivers

 

What equivalent of catalyst is the newest 3820TG drivers?
10.7 or maybe 10.10... isn't there a 10.11 from AMD yet?

 

My acer returned from service in 5 days. Nowadays running everything fine. Motheboard was changed, and also usb multiplikator. Without questioning.

 

the latest VGA driver for the 3820 also hints at the new GPUs...

Code:

	VGA Driver (Supports AMD Radeon HD 6370M/6550M Graphics)

 

I just purchased the 4820TG-7805 off of Amazon. I'm happy with the Specs and the overall look of the PC, but I’m still a little concerned that keyboard just doesn’t feel as solid as something you'd see on an Asus or newer HP. The floating keys seem like they will float off. Has anyone had one pop off on them?

Also what is the best software to clean the PC of bloat ware?

Thanks,

 

The best way to clean bloatware is to reinstall windows home premium as a clean install. http://forum.notebookreview.com/6465732-post1612.html The keyboard feels flimsy but it's not. I have come to like it. You can type fast on it because of the short throw keys. Like any computer, keys can break off, but we have not noticed key problems at any elevated rate.

Bronsky

Congratulations on your 4820TG.

 

I got mine today, I am staring at it on right now and checking for the things most often complained about in this thread.

Lets start with some good stuff:
It looks sexy.
Very light and thin for a 14"
Haven't stressed it yet, but I love loading up cpuid and seeing 4 threads in a laptop.
Temps at stock and idle are below 40C's for both the CPU and gpu. Very good idle temps so far, we will see when stressed. A small benchmark in everest bumped it up to 60C's.
A little warm over the left palm rest.
Keyboard feels great, if only it was backlit it would be 100% perfect.
Touchpad feels fine, it is very large and I like the side scrolling.
Speakers are alright.
Power brick isn't too large.


Screen is a AUO.
Screen may have the line thing, but unless my eyes are broke it isn't too bad and I think amazon would laugh at me if I tried to send it back.
Viewing from the front and side are great. viewing angles from above and below aren't great. The colors look good to me and the brightness looks fine, although I was hoping it would get brighter sort of (I'm spoiled, I have a very very very very good LG 24" for my desktop...)

So I just watched escape from city 17 in 720p on both the 4820tg and on my LG 24".
Hate to brag, but it looked amazing on my LG 24"
On the 4820tg it ran smoothly, the colors were pretty good, but the black bars on the top bottom and any black in the actual video were kinda gray.
So yea, I would say after about 10-20 mins of looking at the screen it's worse then my LG 24" by a lot, and maybe a tad bit worse then my eeepc, but it's alright and acceptable for me so far.
On a scale from 1-10 for screens
My LG: 9.5
eeepc: 7.8
4820tg: 7


Let me know if I forgot anything... but so far I am loving it and this is what I expected.
I wanna use it more tonight and see how I like the screen... I think I am being a little too harsh on it because I came prepared (thanks to this thread) to find any imperfections. There are no stuck/dead pixels that I am aware of.

I will be reinstalling windows tonight. I'd do it anyways, but bloat-ware is so stupid.

 

I'm joining the club . Laptop should be here tomorrow.

 

Yea, im just being picky with the screen...
if u put your face up within 4-6 inches of the screen you can sort of make out vertical lines but not really.
But that is not normal viewing conditions, right now I am a foot and a half away and it looks great.

 

Here are some things you might consider to improve the look of your display. First, make sure you're viewing it at the perfect angle. Most of the lines and texture will dissaper at exactly the right viewing angle. After a clean install, upgrade the GPU. Better graphics help. If anyone has a color profile for a 4820TG, I would use it. Oh and don't put your face 4-6" from the display.

I have a 23" LG and there is no comparison. But for what it is. I use the native display for most things. When I'm working on satelite imagery, I use the HDMI and the hook the LG up.

Bronsky

Glad you're happy with your unit.

 

Acer Support - Drivers & Support Documents

Which one do you have to use?
The latest VGA_AMD and VGA_Intel?

 

VGA_AMD_8.741.1.6_W7x86x64.zip