Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG Owners Lounge

There's still nothing that can beat the 4820TG for price / performance with switching graphics. HOWEVER, if battery life's not that important, for a tiny bit more you can get about 50% to 100% better GPU performance (easily under $1,000).

Also, the upcoming Sagers with switching Nvidia GT540Ms will be competitive both in performance and price

 

One last question before I may take the plunge and buy this.

The build quality is decent right? I'm coming from a Gateway NV52 which is sturdy but fat.

 

Hey people with the new ati6550 model, what's the highest you guys have clocked your gpu? I've upped it to 700/900 so far and I haven't tried to OC it further even though I feel pretty confident that it can.

I also noticed that, while using the AMD GPU Overclock tool, there's an option for differences in voltage. Does that option work? Could I theoretically overvolt and then overclock my gpu even further? This is excluding the crazy temps that my laptop would be getting.

 

Yes, in my opinion this has been one of the best computers in terms of build quality. The screen is thin, so there will always be "flex" with regards to any type of screen that is thin with a 14" diagonal.

However, there is one weak spot in my opinion. The hinges. There are two plastic hinges that aren't extremely thick, and I feel that if they take a beating there could be problems. A display model I saw at Microcenter about a month ago had that exact problem with the hinges; one of them had gotten its internal screws bent out of shape, and the hinge would pop open every time you close the laptop (the hinge appears to be some sort of click-and-close type of mechanism).

 

You could only use it to set to the listed voltage..

 

Well hold on, there's a distinction between the 4820 T and the 4820 TG. The TG comes with a dedicated graphics card, and is overkill for what you want to do. The T just comes with Intel's integrated graphics card and is probably enough. Calculations mainly stress the processor, and the i5-480 can probably handle the calculations you throw at it.

So, based on what you're telling me, you don't need a laptop with a dedicated graphics card. In that case, there are many other laptops out there that offer great battery life combined with an i5/i7 processor. In fact, you should wait for the Sandybridge dual core processors to come out, as those seem to fit your needs perfectly: increased processing power, stronger integrated graphics, longer battery life.

 

Hi guys
How can I enable Virtualization Technology (VT) in BIOS? I want to run virtual machine

Thanks in advance

 

Hey guys, Does overclocking the GPU voids the warranty of this laptop ?

 

Virtualization Technology (VT) is already enabled by default in the BIOS; there is no menu or option for you to mess with.

I'm currently using Windows XP Mode with hardware virtualization on my 4820TG.

 

I use XP Mode on my 3820TG to communicate with most of the rest of my office.

Bronsky

 

So my accessories for my new 4820TG is almost complete. I just ordered the Deathadder mouse for $40. Now I need to buy a notebook cooler and a notebook sleeve. The sleeve, however, is the priority. Does anyone have any recommendations that will keep the notebook guarded from scratches and safe? I'm willing to pay upto $30, but would like to stay in the $20 area.

Deciding amongst these:
http://www.amazon.com/Wacta-Neopren...7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1284797081&sr=1-7

http://www.amazon.com/Case-Logic-VL...f=sr_1_23?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1297798538&sr=1-23

http://www.amazon.com/Case-Logic-PL...ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1297797738&sr=1-6

 

What about Zeroshock III sleeve ?

 

Hmm, I've seen your post before saying how well built the laptop is. Definitely made me feel a whole lot secure.

I agree with the hinges, I saw many unboxing videos (lol) and the hinges are fairly skinny and in comparison to my NV52 which are about an inch and a half thick.

Last last post: Do you guys think the price will go down next month or so? I don't need a new laptop that badly and if the price goes down in the following months, I can afford to wait.

 

I finally tried to clean install W7, and I have questions about the video driver. Here is what it says on the first page but I don't quite get it,

Question:
How do I install the latest ATI Catalyst Mobility drivers on a clean install of Windows 7?
Answer:
1. Install Acer's AMD drivers (8.741.1.6) *comes bundled with Intel drivers* in "Switchable" mode. Restart.
2. Go into BIOS and select "Discrete". Boot into Windows 7 & install ATI Catalyst Mobility drivers. Restart.
3. Go into BIOS and select "Switchable". Boot into Windows 7.

***Known bugs with newer versions of ATI Catalyst***

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In step 1, do you install everything from the AMD driver that is backed up from Acer erecovery? As I installed this AMD driver, there is option to install CCC. Do I install this now or in step 2?

Does the AMD catalyst driver in step 2 refer to the AMD driver from Acer or a new AMD catalyst driver downloaded from AMD?

Also, which atheros wifi driver should I use? I saw 3 different atheros wifi from the drivers backup made by the erecovery program.

Thanks.

 

Do the following:

 

I've got one of these: Brenthaven Ecoprene I $25,36 and am very happy. A nice soft liner, snug fit for a 14" machine. It's perfect (mine is the pink one which is on sale for even less.)

 

VT is already enabled by default, but if you want you can unlock all the advanced hidden menus. See http://forum.notebookreview.com/ace...nix-bios-bios-mod-request-73.html#post6763651

 

Hi everyone I'm about to ditch my stupid lenovo y460 and get an Acer 4820TG .. can someone tell me which of the below links is a newer version?..


AS4820TG-6847 - (URL)
or
AS4820TG-7805 - (URL)

And also, what's the difference between the 6847 and 7805 model?

 

Thanks all for your responses regarding enabling Virtualization Technology (VT) in BIOS.
It seems that it is already enabled in my laptop.
I had a problem in running MAC OS X and I thought the problem is from bios but it seems that the processor in 4820 does not support mac os x

Did anyone manage to run Mac os x on vmware or virtual box?

 

The 6847 is a refreshed model with the HD 6550M and it has a 640GB hard drive.

The 7805 is an older model with the HD 5650 and it has a 320GB hard drive.

 

Hello All
What do you think about Acer Arcade Deluxe? Better than BS Player?
What is the last version known and where I can download it?

Thanks

 

Does the 6847 model have bluetooth? Thinking about picking this laptop or the ASUS U36JC.

 

Not sure about the bluetooth but the ASUS U36JC has a horrible video card that will not run high-end games smoothly

 

Yeah I realize that. I currently have an ASUS M50SA and realize I don't play that much video games as much as I used to and I have my desktop when I do. My main priorities in a laptop at the moment are weight and battery life. And these two have both criteria met.

 

So far, all the new 4820TG laptaps in the USA do not have Bluetooth anymore.

The "NVIDIA 310M 1G DDR3" graphics card in Asus U36JC is no where near the performance of the HD 5650 or HD 6550M in the 4820TG; it is slightly more powerful than the Intel GMA HD. However, the Asus laptop does have Bluetooth, but I believe having a more powerful graphics card is more important in my opinion (you will not be able to upgrade the graphics card in most laptops).

It really depends if you play games or not. If you do play games; I would definitely choose the 4820TG laptop and buy/install a Bluetooth module, etc.

 

You can save yourself a cool $200 by getting the plain old 3820T or 4820T. Here's a 3820T with an i3 380M CPU. $601.99.

 

Thanks for the replies. The Acer is looking good. Hoping some Sandy Bridge laptops come out next week or else this will probably have to be it. Gotta replace my laptop and I can't wait til March to do so.

 

You can get AS3820TG-7945 i5 430M ATI 5470 for $600 CAD+tax. Was on sale in Staples Canada a few times, but I am sure you can find one for that price somewhere else.

 

Hey guys,

I'm having issues with the laptop not automatically switching to integrated graphics when I unplug it. Then if I try to switch it manually, it doesn't actually change. I have to restart the machine to get it to actually switch, any idea on what I need to do to fix this? I think it's a video driver issue. If you are not experiencing this issue, what driver versions are you using for both the intel and ATI cards? thanks!

 

If you have installed a non-acer amd driver this is a known problem.

Bronsky

 

On that same note, do you guys know of an option or something to have the pc to always use the intel hd card until I specify it to use the ati instead? I don't like the added heat or the power consumption if i'm only surfing the web or working on the machine...

 

You can manually choose the Intel GMA HD in Windows 7. Besides that, I haven't seen an option where you can start up the computer with only the Intel GMA HD.

 

That's exactly what I have now. In Ubuntu. Sadly, there's no simple way to do it in Windows.

 

Hi again, guys!

I think the fan in my lappy is hitting something and I'm considering opening her up. Does anyone know where the fan is?

 

Download 4820TG Repair Manual

 

Oh wow... So I'll have to remove the front/keyboard to get to the fan?

 

What do you mean by manually select the intel card in Windows 7? Right click and switch to intel every time the PC starts?

 

Yep. ain't Windows grand? Agreed it's a pain, why can't you pick which GPU you want on startup? You might have to hack around to get that functionality in linux but at least it's there. Someone should decompile the switching software that comes up with you right click and make a little widget you could drop in your startup dir to turn off the ATI card.

 

Don't reboot your Windows so often, use hibernation and the cards don't switch.

 

The thing is that I have a SSD and I read somewhere on the web that hibernation is bad for these things. Also it takes longer to boot. Anywho, it should be good to provide this functionality.

Also after I did a clean install, I cannot see the condition of the battery in the HWMonitor software.

 

Woot. I just purchased this at amazon.com for 779.99 (With Gift Card). Just posting to say I've joined the club.

Any big things to know about this laptop once I have it in my hands?

 

I think you meant that for the other guy. I reboot windows all the time because the only time I'm in it is to play games, which is a couple times a week. Rest of the time it's running linux. Which never needs rebooting.

 

Anyone know what motherboard is in the 4820TG-6847? I downloaded AIDA32 but it shows up as "unknown." What I'm ultimately trying to figure out is if the motherboard has integrated SATA III 6Gbps support.

 

No Sata III 6Gbps support. The Board is an Acer Mainboard.

Maybe...

 

Hey guys,

I just upgraded to a 128 GB SSD drive in my 4820TG. But the issue I'm running into is that it won't recognize a wireless driver. I got the lan driver to work, but the wireless one just doesn't seem to be working. On top of that, I'm not sure which driver to install as there are three wireless ones: Atheros, Broadcom, and Intel Wireless. I've tried installing all the different drivers, but none of them worked.

Which device do you guys have in your 4820TG? I got my lappy off of Amazon a couple months ago. Not sure if the wireless device is different in the new updated model with the ATI 6550.

EDIT: I got the wireless working by installed the driver in this thread. It still wasn't working, but I just had to enable it. I couldn't tell it was deactived because the acer interface software wasn't installed. But I thought I'd give it a try, and it's working now. But now if anyone else encounters the same issue, they have a little guide to fixing it.

 

Hi,

I haven't read through the whole forum as it's big...

I have just bought an Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG with Ati 5650 video card.

Are there latest drivers for the 5650 available that are compatible with 3D Mark11?

The drivers shipped with the laptop work for 3DMark11 however the Graphics Driver is not approved.

Also I was wondering if it ships with an OEM Restore CD (which for some reason I missed when I unpacked the box)?

How do you do a full restore if you need to?

Also I was wondering if this model Acer can do the Facial Recognition login that some new laptops can do?

Appreciate your time.

 

Erm...Facial Recognition can be bypassed with just your Photo!?
Are you sure you want it?

 

Yes that's true. Toshiba and several other companies advertised this as a feature i.e. you need no password.
The downside is no one else needs a password either. Do you use facebook? If you do your brilliant password is available to 6 billion people

 

Hey guys,

Do you know how to install the acer interface software? I just want to have the little bars come up when I adjust volume with the keyboard and activate/deactive wireless, etc. I couldn't find anything on the acer support website for the 4820TG Acer Support: Downloads & Support Documents - Notebook / Aspire / Aspire 4820TG

 

Download and install Launch Manager from the Acer website. It should be under applications.