Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG Owners Lounge

They'll have drastically lower battery life (due to generic 6-cell batteries with lower mA than TLX 6/9cell batteries), also Nvidia graphics drain about 50~100% more power based on TDP), and lower overall quality (only TimelineX line goes through these quality and reliability tests: Temperature & humidity test, Free drop test, Acoustics test, Weight and Pressure tests, Spillage test, Shock and Vibration tests, Electrostatic discharge immunity test, MTBF ~Mean Time Between Failure~ test, Hinge life test, Keyboard-switch life test). Overall imo not worth it for those mediocre upgrades (just rebranded GPUs and slightly boosted CPUs with stronger integrated graphics).

 

ughhh....

Now that's just garbage. I bought the 4820T for my brother in law and so I have to give that one away. It just came in today, a few hours ago, and just from the touch and feel from it, I was blown away. I never expected Acer to put in that much time into development of their notebooks (which is why I always steer clear from them), but I had to make this an exception. Especially for $800 and close to 8 hours of battery life, I decided to get this, but I can't find it anywhere.

Its a shame that Acer is discontinuing it. I probably won't get an Acer unless it meets the quality of this TimeLineX beauty.

 

I am a proud new owner of the LAST 4820tg anywhere in socal! At least from what I could find. I've been using it for the past hour and I'm loving it!

I have a couple of questions though, first is battery life. I've been downloading tons of new programs and the estimated battery life is only around 4 hours at the full charge while I've been doing these things...is that right? I'd assume it'd be more around 6 hours.

Second, I bought a demo model, cause that's the only one they had in stock. There is a slight hinge issue, which they said to send it in to Acer because it's covered under Acer's warranty. I have a 7 day return policy for this store so I could do that, but does anybody know Acer's warranty policy? Like could i phone call them and have them send me a box to send to them to fix?

 

damnit...I'm so pissed they discontinued it! ?! THIS WAS ONE OF THEIR BEST LAPTOPS AFTER NUMEROUS FAILURES!!

Anyways, regarding the battery, when they say "8 hours", its usually when you're not doing anything. WiFi on, text processing or web surfing, brightness down, and computer in "battery saving mode" will get you 6+ hours. If you're downloading something that is huge, you'll expectedly get around 4 hours. The WiFi eats up a lot of battery.

 

I wasn't aware of how rigorously the TimelineX models are tested vs. Acer's other systems. I consider myself fortunate to have a 4820TG, especially having considered sending it back and getting an XPS 15 or waiting for a Sandy Bridge unit. This is a great little system that has a perfect balance of power and portability. I'm still breaking mine in and whatnot but it's been very good so far. I haven't made it around to OC'ing the 5650 or stress testing much, but to be honest it runs well enough for my purposes, especially given the $675 price after discounts ($800 - $100 Amazon promo - $25 Amazon Visa rewards)

I didn't do a clean install but may in the near future. Boot time from power on to being logged in is only 35 secs or so. I uninstalled some of the bloatware but have kept all Acer-related programs installed. A clean install is probably the way to go but I get nervous about these things.

Omni, sorry you may not get a 4820TG but rest assured there will be great systems coming out this year. Check out the Lenovo e420s, y460p, and Toshiba Satellite E305 (to name a few). If you don't mind waiting a couple months you'll have some great options.

 

I actually have another big problem...my wireless card is downloading at an extremely slow speed, like 60-70kb/s max...is there any explanation for this? Or is it documented at least? I have an Atheros card if anybody is wondering.

 

Are you sure it's the card and not the rest of the network / your internet connection?

 

Yeah I tested the wireless using another laptop as well as my phone, both were getting ~5 Mbps while the 4820TG was only getting around .5 Mbps. I fixed it though, apparently Acer's eRecovery somehow installed a x32 version, and the version they have online wasn't installing correctly, so I went back and installed an old version of the driver and now it works perfectly.

 

hey guys, I have the core i5, 4 GB Ram and 1 GB ATI version , will i be able to Play and also edit 1080P HD , .MTS video files on this thing?
I have ordered the panasonic TM700 camcoder and it records HD in .MTS files and I read around a few forums that HD requires high config PC , specially .MTS files?

 

Come on "TimelineX" is just a BRAND...
Acer could call it TimefliesX if they wanted to...
I am sure they will take the success of their Series in mind when coming out with new models.
Look beyond the casing people...look beyond the brand...

 

Anyone know if you can get these anywhere in the UK as i cannot find one with discreet graphics?!

 

Thanks for that info. First time I saw that anywhere. Have a link to where it comes from?

 

Home

Go to 3820TG/5820TG, click Tech Specs tab, and scroll down to "Quality & Reliability Tests".
We don't sell 4820TGs in Canada but I reckon it gets what its two siblings get.

 

The "replacement" Aspire 3740G will have a NVIDIA GT 540M. The new Sony SA and Lenovo E420 will have the AMD 6630 GPU. The TimelineX had better components compared to the rest of the ultraportable market. The new Acers seem to be satisfied in third or fourth place.

 

Thanks for the link, but the couple non-TimeLineX models I clicked on, such as, TravelMate® 5742 and Aspire® 5542, also show same tests. I guess all Acer's now get these tests. It is not just a TimeLineX feature.

 

Actually, the GT 540M isn't so bad. It's performs between the HD 5650 and HD 5730. It's also slightly faster than the GT 435M.
NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

The HD 6630 is basically an upgraded HD 5650 with 80 more shader cores and newer technology.
AMD Radeon HD 6630M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

 

Just thought I would give the readers on this site a heads up. Centdirect in Canada claims to have an I5-460M/HD5650 model of the 3820TG for sale. This is the first time I have even heard of that combination in the 13" model for sale in North America. A couple of people in the "North American Purchase" thread have ordered them and we're waiting for someone to confirm the configuration. Given the pent-up demand for these units, I would think that they won't last long.

Bronsky

@Aylafan - I would think that the 6630 will significantly out perform the GT 540M, more along the lines of the HD 5730. The Nvidia GPU will also come with Optimus, which I consider to be a negative, rather than a plus.

 

I agree with you on this. The HD 6630 will still be better than the GT 540M in terms of performance.

 

Also, the GT 540M will run hotter.

Anyways, has anybody had experience with sending in their laptops to Acer for repair that's covered under warranty?

I have a defective rear left hinge, and I want to get it fixed, but the return policy for the store I bought it is for 7 days only. I want to make sure that I can get it fixed under the Acer warranty and that it wouldn't be a crazy hassle.

 

I had to RMA my unit at the end of December. I was having a wierd problem with a device that would not load. It turns out that it was probably a shorted-out webcam. Acer took my unit and basically replaced every part that they took out to get to the webcam, except for the display. I got my unit back in only a couple of weeks and it is perfect. I am quite pleased (I sent mine to the Temple Texas Depot). Acer put a new cardreader/USB card and camera. They also put in a new mainboard. I was plesantly surprised at that. Finally, I had a key bent on the KB and they replaced that as well, without my even asking. I am really pleased with Acer's service. To be sure, there are a couple of new scratches, but I can live with that.

The other wierd thing is that my display looks better now too. I think there may have been some electrical interference from the shorted cam.

Make sure you have your unit registered and then use the "fix my acer" tab on the website.

Bronsky

 

I'm not sure if this is a recent addition, or if I've just been out of the loop for a while, but does anyone know about this AS4820TG on Amazon? Today was the first time I had seen it.

Amazon.com: Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4820TG-6847 14-Inch HD Display Black Brushed Aluminum Laptop: Computer & Accessories

 

Nice find. It looks like a refreshed model of the 4820TG with the Core i5-480M, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6550, and 640GB hard drive for $799.99. I'll add this to the first post when it starts showing up in stock.

 

Im very surprised with this laptop. I was debating between the m11x and the acer. Well if you look at the benchmarks this blows the Alienware out of the water. No contest. I also have a MSI gx640 to compare it to. Everything runs just as good.

 

Damn that's good news for people who still want one. Heck, the 7805 model was also $800 w/ only a 320GB HD, so it's a very good deal.

 

I just looked at the specs for this AS4820TG-6847 on Amazon, and it states that it has the ATI Radeon 6550 graphics, and has the Core i5 480m. It's not a Sandy Bridge processor, or the Nvidia 540m that people stated above, but definitely seems like a newer version of the laptop. My guess is that this is the last of the AS4820TG wave before Acer decides to release new laptops with new processors and GPU's.

 

I doubt the refreshed versions will appear in Canada any time soon, if at all.

 

Wow the Amazon one already says temporarily out of stock. Does that mean that they'll have some in the future though? I have half a mind to just return the one I have now and order off of Amazon instead of sending the one I have now in for repair...any thoughts?

 

My brothers... won't turn on. Please help. I have the AC adaptor in, I unplugged and replugged the battery... no help.

 

By not turning on, do you mean that there's not a spark of electricity running through that thing? Or you can't get it past a boot screen or something. If it's not even getting past the boot screen, then maybe your motherboard's dead or something...which would suck, but send it in to Acer's warranty and repair.

 

Yeah... not a spark of electricity going through it. Sigh, hopefully Acer replaces it for free.

 

Did your mother remove the power wire of the jack to vacuum-clean the room?

Things like that happens to often in boards like this.

 

Hi!

Im doing a clean install and trying to install the latest intel graphics driver, which I heard is also the turbo boost driver, but it refuses to install the driver.

I installed the latest graphics driver from acer, this is the second driver I try to install.
I have the i5+5650 version.
I did a clean install a half year ago and had no troubles.

Screenshots attached.

Any ideas?

 

You have too use the lastest AMD driver from the Acer page. It is not possible to use the driver from Intel and the switching function.

 

Ive been using the driver from the intel download centre for a half year and the switching function worked fine.
The latest intel driver from acer is dated march, I dont see the point in installing that.
The latest amd driver includes an intel driver which is probably newer.

Or am I missing something?
It was fine for a half year.

 

Did Windows really use the new Intel? I have try it my self a few times, but the installer say "All right" but Windows used everytime the old one.

The problem is, that Intel or AMD don't support the switch option with there driver.

 

Hmm you may be right, I never checked the version number.
Despite I never installed the intel graphics driver from acer, turbo boost worked fine.

Do I even have to install the intel graphics driver from acer at all?
The latest amd suite includes intel driver and its version is 2125, newer than the standalone intel package from acer.
There are also 2 drivers for turbo boost, do I have to install those?

Can you guys clarify what drivers do you install at fresh install?
What about the optical drive power tool?

 

If you have a TG model you need only the AMD driver. The Intel driver is inside the AMD package and modded for the switching function.

The Intel grafik driver is ONLY for the T model without AMD card.
Turbo Boost, use the last version.

 

I have the TG version, I dont get it, why does acer make me select 4820TG then gives me the drivers for 4820T, its just stupid.

I tried it, turbo boost works fine without installing anything but the latest amd suite, no need for the separate turbo boost driver at all.

Should I install the latest amd drivers from amd, and the optical drive power tool?

Thanks for helping Just_a_Nick!

 

All the drivers (excluding the graphic drivers) are the same between the 4820T and 4820TG; that is why Acer listed all 3 graphic drivers (AMD, ATI, and Intel) on the same page. Apparently, an employee at Acer got lazy and didn't feel the need to create seperate driver support pages for every model. I could see why this would confuse some people.

Simply, just install the AMD driver if you have the 4820TG and the Intel driver if you have the 4820T.

 

WOW! THANK YOU FOR FINDING THAT!!!
Looking at how its going to work out between job and school, I don't think I will be able to purchase a new laptop before mid march. Is it likely that this will still be available during that time? All those specs (battery life and power) for $800 is my main factor in purchasing this laptop.

 

When these come in, they will not last long. I would seriously consider a pre-order if you can swing the $$. The I5-480M/HD 6550 is as good as it gets.

Bronsky

 

I wouldn't be surprised if they were all pre-sold by the time they get in stock.

 

You can install the last AMD Suite but it is not allowed to deinstall the driver from Acer before. You need the Acer driver for the switch option.

But if you not a gamer, I would not do it.

I'm a 3820TG user and have no optical device. The power tool question is for a 4820 user.

No problem csoller. Have fun.

 

How exactly do I get in contact with Acer to send this laptop in to be fixed? They should fix the absolute piece of ...poo.... sticky keyboard and finnicky problems the laptop has while they are at it too.

 

On the acer website you click on "Fix my acer" and print out the RMA receipt. Pack up the computer and send it to the nearest depot. Include a note telling the tech what needs to be repaired.

Bronsky

 

Hi, remember me from a few pages back (the guy who wiped out his hdd and deleted the acer partition, then had problems installing drivers from the acer website)?

Well, my acer recovery discs came in the mail today; everything works great once again! I notice the improved performance too.. no more modded drivers.

:yes:

...though I wasted 20$

 

No, the money is not wasted, if you learned a little bit of it

Have fun.

 

Looks like Microcenter is also carrying the new AS4820TG-6847 model .. They are in stock local to me ...

 

Which microcenter location are you looking at?

 

Madison Heights, Michigan