Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG Owners Lounge

Hi everybody!

First of all let me apologize for my bad English in advance and let me say what a useful thread going on here.

I'm planning to update my laptop which was quite the machine at the end of stoneage...

Been looking at the market here in my country as well as read some reviews and all and I came across this one you all are talking about. It made me wonder. Not too shabby power yet impressive battery life.

The one they offer here locally is this model:

Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG
LX.PSG02.210

specs:
Intel Core i3 Mobile 370M (2,4 GHz),
500 GB HDD,
4 GB RAM,
ATi Mobility Radeon HD5470 (512 MB)

As I've read a few hundred pages today already I've come across a funny thing that most of you have better sets of cpu, gpu and everything. Well unfortunately that's all I can get and the price isn't too much.

I have a few questions. Power and graphics wise I do much work with Illustrator and Photoshop both CS5 and also Reason 5 for music production. This laptop I buying should be enough for these activites without any problems right?

Also I would like to indulge myself once in a while with a game. Particulary I would like to try Dirt 2 and NFS Hot Pursuit (2o1o) Would there be trouble running them games or no? I don't need to max out the graphics but just to enjoy some nice fps along with not a screenfull of pixels.

And finally I have a question about some funny sticker on the computer I saw at the store today... There was a text saying the gpu was 512mb which is true but then there was some other text about "up to 2gb" I asked the seller about that and he said something about the gpu uses ram for more power if it needs and it does that up to 2gb. Don't know if it was true or not.

If I ever wanted to go with 8gb ram, or change the gpu for a more powerful one, would that be a pain in the a** job to do or anybody who understands the meaning of screwdriver could do it?

Sorry if it all's a bit confusing.
Feel free to shoot questions if something went missing..

Thanks again!
Gustav

 

hi again. guess i didn't read up enough. Can someone please let me know what i need exactly to put a second hard drive in this 4820tg? I have already bought an external SATA slim optical drive enclosure.

I was going to buy the OCZ Vertex 2 120gb SSD drive. Then the only other thing i need is an optical drive bay caddy right? Can anyone link me some ones that are confirmed to work with the 4820tg and what the process would be to install the win 7 OS onto the new SSD? I have an IT friend that says if i bring the laptop to him and the SSD he can do an image of the drive easy. But i guess i don't know what else i would need to do (go into the BIOS, download new drivers, switch some commands....??? i have NO clue).

Any help is appreciated. Then i can get to ordering the laptop off of Amazon

 

Hey guys, got a situation. Left Hinge seems to be rather loose, its even creaking now if i adjust the screen. Any idea how to fix it? Does warranty over this?

 

Just bought this on Amazon for $799, will I be happy with this purchase? Mostly just using it for WoW cata and web surfing.

 

going on three months, not a single sign of problems. (as a former m11x owner, i know a bad hinge!)

The screen is thin - which I like. I take care of it, but it's not particularly flimsy. I can set books on it without a hint of trouble. I bring mine around in the case for a larger laptop, with mouse and powercord just thrown in. no problems

 

Has anyone swapped out the dvd drive for a blu-ray drive?

 

Call Acer today and get it fixed. A broken hinge left unfixed can cause more damage to the rest of the casing / lid etc. Yes, it's covered under warranty.

 

I'm about to pull the trigger and purchase this laptop. Would you guys recommend it or suggest waiting for something else to come out in the next few months? I'm mainly going to use it for school work and some gaming such as Bad Company 2 or Crysis 2.

Also, how many external displays can you hook up to this laptop?

 

so i was reading this post and I over heard that installing a backlit keyboard on the 4820tg is easier than the 3820tg ?

If anyone can disclose any information about powering a backlit keyboard for the 4820tg that would be great. I just got the keyboard in the mail and had my mind set on installing it like the 3820, but a little confused now when i opened it up.

 

Has anyone been successful in overclocking the 6550M version yet?

MSI Afterburner (I've tried both 2.0 and 2.1 beta 6) is stuck at 600/800 (I can't go any higher than stock, apparently).

I would really like to crank up the settings on Starcraft 2.

P.S. AMD GPU Clock Tool doesn't work either.

 

Did you change the enable unofficial overclocking from 0 to 1 in the msiafterburner.cfg in the installtion folder ?

AMD GPU Clock Tool version 0.9.26 ?

 

Sweetdizzle thanks; I can now go up to 845MHz core / 1105MHz memory in Afterburner (2.1 beta 6).

Yes, the GPU Clock Tool is version 0.9.26.

Currently looping 3DMark11 for stability purposes.

 

Can you also do a 3D Mark 06 run and let us know the benchmarks?
Also, how much hotter does the notebook run after OCing the GPU?

Thanks!

 

Coming right up (I'll edit this post as soon as I'm satisfied with OC speeds and run the benches).

Edit: Actually, I think I'll just make a new post; this stability testing is taking a while.

 

Please do let us know at what speeds it becomes unstable and too hot.

 

any help pleasè?

 

Buy.com is listing the 4820tg-6847 with the 5650 GPU whereas others are listing it with the 6550 GPU. Everything else (cpu, RAM, etc.) is exactly the same as everyone else. Does anyone know whats going on?

Buy.com - Acer Aspire AS4820TG6847 14" LED Notebook - Core i5 i5-480M 2.66 GHz 1366 x 768 WXGA Display - 4 GB RAM - 640 GB HDD - DVD-Writer - ATi Mobility Radeon HD 5650 - Webcam - Windows 7 Home Premium - 8 Hour Battery - HDMI

 

You will probably have a lot of trouble running anything with a 5470, especially something intensive like Dirt 2.

Also, the CPU is near-impossible to upgrade without a complete teardown; the only real upgradeable things are the RAM and the hard drive.

If you can find one, you can probably put a Mobility 5650 or 6550M in there, but I don't think the GPU is easy to replace either.

CPU is at stock speed (I don't think I need any more game performance out of an i5-480M).

Here are my results (Max temp = CPU1/CPU2, GPU):

6550M @ 600/800:

3DMark06 - 7159
Max temp - 79/81, 68

3DMark11 - P1108
Max temp - 74/75, 67


6550M @ 710/1100:

3DMark06 - 8705
Max temp - 81/83, 73

3DMark11 - P1334
Max temp - 75/76, 71

The GPU becomes unstable in looped 3DMark11 past 730/1100 or so (I haven't pushed the memory past 1100MHz, I don't expect to gain much); never gets too hot, although the CPU temps are a bit worrying. Fortunately, most games won't tax the CPU much.

 

Those CPU temps are nothing to worry about. The I5 runs hot. But, it has a max temp of 105C and won't throttle until it gets over 100C. My stock I5 ran at 83C all the time under stress and it never showed any sign of distress. I would not worry about those temps. If you ever have your motherboard apart for any reason, you might change out the thermal paste. I found that the factory installation does not always get perfect contact across the entire heat sink.

Bronsky

 

Thanks a lot! I'm really looking to buy it from some place that has it in stock. Buy.com is listing the 4820tg-6847 with the 5650 GPU whereas others are listing it with the 6550 GPU.
Any ideas on what it really has?

I might end up buying it from microcenter, but it's about $60 more.

Buy.com - Acer Aspire AS4820TG6847 14" LED Notebook - Core i5 i5-480M 2.66 GHz 1366 x 768 WXGA Display - 4 GB RAM - 640 GB HDD - DVD-Writer - ATi Mobility Radeon HD 5650 - Webcam - Windows 7 Home Premium - 8 Hour Battery - HDMI

 

But even at medium, low graphics i would be having trouble right?

Could i let somebody competent change the cpu and gpu if i found the parts?

I saw an i5 cpu on ebay.. still trying to find 5650 or 6550 too...

 

The GPU is not upgradable. It is soldered on the Mobo. I would really look for a 6550 GPU.

Bronsky

 

Bronsky

Would changing the stock paste void the warranty on a 4820tg?
I've reached 750/1100 on a 5650 and use this to play SC2 everything on high/ultra, still would like to lower the temps a bit. Also, what tool do you recommend for logging the cpu/gpu temp and load?

I want to maximize performance of the laptop's cooling solution before buying a laptop cooler

 

Would you guys recommend this or waiting for the Lenovo e420s with with the 6630 GPU?
Is it possible that there will be something like this (even with just 5 hours of battery) that will release within the next few months or so for $800 or under?

 

Just buy it already.

 

I think that technically, and disassembly voids the warranty. However, I sent my unit in for warranty work with new IC Diamond paste and there was no problem getting service. I use PC Wizard or Hardware Monitor and CPUZ.

Bronsky

 

Look, i dont mean to be rude, but yeah... buy it already! Just give 60 dollars more and get the 6550 or 5650, it doesnt really matter as they are almost the same. i did a prety good research before I bougt my 4820tg and believe me thats the best one out there in terms of price, features...etc.

 

For the people that consider buying the new version with 6550 GPU, you might wanna check this out, especially the screen which has brightness of only 182 cd/m2. I dont know if this concerns only the EU models.
Hope this helps

www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Acer-Aspire-4820TG-i7-HD-6550-Notebook.44096.0.html

 

Don't get lenovo, I just got mine yesterday and the harddrive is already making loud skipping noises and several programs crash.

 

That sucks nofrigginidea, are you gonna return it and get a 4820TG?

 

I would but I doubt they give a refund.. They probably give a replacement instead.. (if they think that a skipping-harddrive is enough for a replacement) ..
Which in my opinion it is, cause that means it will die soon.

 

I just got my 4820 last week and one thing I notice is that I have issues sometimes with switching to the power saving GPU. I click to switch and it just doesn't do anything. Any fix for that? If needed I'll post the driver version, I'm not on that machine right now. It was whatever was on Acer's site.

I did do a quick search on this thread but didn't see anything relavant.

 

If you are talking about the "power savings" button; it only works when you are on battery. That's just the way it was designed.

If you are talking about switching graphics in software; sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Just restart the laptop.

 

If someone here purchases the Acer Aspire AS4820TG6847 from buy.com, can they please confirm processor version and video card. I would really like the Core i5-480M/Radeon 6550 combination and it's not clear if Buy.com has a typo or if they truly have a different variation.

Thanks!

 

I would have bought from buy.com, but what they're showing as their GPU is the sole reason why I am waiting for NewEgg to get it back in stock. Even though its going to cost me about $100+ with tax and S&H

 

Don't blame a bad hard drive on Lenovo, the manufacturers all use the same basic hard drives. Hard drives are mechanical in nature and the most common source of failure. Get the drive replaced and you'll be fine.

Again, don't blame Lenovo because one freaking hd in one of their laptops fail. it's the most common failure there is.

 

Given the difference is so little between them, and that you can overclock a 5650 almost as far as a 6550, I wouldn't worry one way or the other as long as it had the i5 CPU you wanted. and it probably does have the 6550 GPU anyway.

 

It looks like the rumors of the demise of the timelinex series are wrong. http://forum.notebookreview.com/acer/553306-acer-timelinex-3830-4830-5830-t-g.html

Bronsky

 

Thanks, Bronksy! I saw that thread earlier this morning. Other than some cosmetic changes, I don't think it will be any more powerful than the 4820s we have right now. The GPUs aren't significantly of higher performance. I'm not sure how that will be if it is paired up with the new Sandy Bridge processors.

Yes, that is definitely true. But I think I'll still stick to NewEgg because I've never had a problem with them. Hopefully by the time they get it in stock, they will mark down the price by even a little since news of the 4830 leaked out in some places.

 

If the 3830 comes to the states I'm thinking of just waiting for that instead of buying one of these.

Hmm. Decisions decisions.

 

I think I'm just going to get the 4820TG. Al though the new ones I hear have a better build and a full chiclet style keyboard, I think when it comes to gaming and for my purposes, both the 4830 and 4820 will perform similarly.

 

Whats the Situation if Im in canada...Can i use the international warranty?

EDIT: I was just trying to see where the sound was coming from and it seems that the sound is not from the loose left hinge but rather the casing. There is no sound when screen is past 90degrees. As soon as I slowly title the screen in to the 90 position, I can see the silver casing at the bottom left lifting away from the body. (The grayish trim around they keyboard )

If I hold the body near the left of the hinge and try to shake it, It makes no sound. The top seems to be separating a bit, therefore causing the hinge to be a bit loose.

Post pics tomorrow or tuesday.

 

Hi guys does anyone know how to find out which Bluetooth device I have (Atheros or Broadcom), as I'm hoping to update from the acer site. Mine turns on and finds devices, but when it tries to pair to anything it goes to install device drivers via windows update then fails. Really annoying as it effectively makes the bluetooth useless. If it helps I have the i5-480M/6550 model.

EDIT: Got it working. Saw a reference to bluetooth in the broadcom wireless card and nothing in the Atheros Wired card, so I took the jump and installed the broadcom software. All is good!!

 

Hows the display on the new 4820tg?

 

I would like to take this opportunity to inform you all: that I have just purchased the 4820TG-6847 From NewEgg.

 

Do you mean to say that the latest version of the TimelineX still has bluetooth? Did you get it from Microcenter, Newegg, or Amazon?

@omni - Congratulations on your new purchase. You will love this laptop.

 

Anybody got a source on a better contrast replacement screen for the 4820TG? I'm plenty handy enough to replace an LCD as long as it fits etc.

 

See the sig. I haven't tried it but XPS 14 users have been using this screen in droves as a replacement.

 

Hmmmm. tempting, but I don't really want higher res. I'm old, I don't see well enough to appreciate the higher res, but the better contrast will mean less eye strain. I might wander around that site and look.

EDIT: I sent them an email asking if they had a high contrast replacement for the 4820TG. We'll see what they say.

 

I have finally purchased the 4820TG, in favor of HP Envy 14 and Lenovo Y560P, based on recomendation in this forum, thanks! I wish this has SB CPU, but since I need it now and can't really wait for the fix or deal with sending laptop with SB back for repair sometime down the road, this is the next best thing to get because it has almost everything that I want.

Now, my question are, if I would like to clean install this computer, is there any guide on how to do it? My concern are drivers and windows activation. Also, is there any Acer built in programs worth keeping? How do you get those software after clean install. Links to the guide or some info about these would be sufficient.

Also, I think I've asked this before but I didn't really get an answer, but have anyone installed internal bluetooth succesfully? If not, anyone know any internal bluetooth card that will work? I am thinking of installing it, otherwise a micro bluetooth dongle is ok too, but not as preferable. Any recommendation on micro bluetooth dongle in case I go this route?

Thanks all.