Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG Owners Lounge

It's an inductor. A fixing of this problem will void the warranty in every country.

 

i swapped the ODD for 2nd HDD in my other laptop / acer travelmate 5720/ it was super easy - removing one screw from laptop bottom that secures the ODD, swapping the bracket from ODD to HDD adapter, putting it in the bay, putting the screw back in and voila. job done.

to the noise - could it just be a fan ? I can't really think of any other thing that makes noise inside the laptop apart from fan and HDD.

 

The physical keyboard.

I ordered a US one last night so I should be good to go.

Thanks

 

The thing that worries me is what to do about the ODD faceplate, since most likely the fleabay caddy wont match the rest of the laptop, so I wouldn't that distinct look. I know for a fact that someone here removed the faceplate, but I can't find the post.

In regards of the sound, someone said it was an inductor, the sound is definitely electrical, not a whirring sound like a fan. Oh well.

 

Faceplate doesnt fit the fleabay caddy. If i wanted to fit i would have to literally break the tabs off the original faceplate. So it doesn't have the original faceplate. Im thinking about putting back the odd and getting a 128gb ssd. for my games,os and word since it literally takes around 70gb. No need for me to use the odd as hdd since im building an htpc to connect to my tv. And gonna put the 640gb in an external and put vlc portable and all my movies. But now im wondering if i put back the odd would I see less battery?

 

It supposed to have 8 hours battery life

 

That's "idle" battery life; not "normal usage" battery life. It's not realistic.

Surfing the Internet and opening a few documents with lowered screen brightness will be around 5-6 hours.

Watching a movie with lowered screen brightness will be around 2-3 hours.

P.S. I'm talking about the 6-cell Li-ion battery.

 

Waiting for the UPS truck to show up with my 4820tg

 

Is there any 4820TG owner that upgraded to 4830TG ?

Just curious...

 

revamperz is the only one I know in this forum that has the 4830TG, but he never had a 4820TG before.

Here are photos and a very short review from him. http://forum.notebookreview.com/acer/553306-acer-timelinex-3830-4830-5830-t-g-48.html#post7341193

 

I got the 4820TG to save some money on a smaller notebook. Upgrading to the new i3s or i5s for close to 1000 dollars (at least for me) kind of destroys the idea of savings.

Acer being the more affordable brand of sub notebook makers out there with decent specs. Sony has one with similar specs, but will run you at about 1G.

Pointless unless you're filthy rich and just like Acers, which is odd because most rich people would go for MacBook Airs or...Samsung 9 Series, or other really pricy notebooks with the power of a netbook.

 

Hey guys,

I was basically all set to buy the 4820TG-6847 on Amazon, but I had a question. How soon will a Sandy Bridge version of this laptop, or one similar be available, and is it worth waiting for? Will it much more expensive? I'm basically looking for a 14' laptop suitable for some gaming.

Here is a link to my original thread for more info;

http://forum.notebookreview.com/wha...14-notebook-suitable-gaming-approx-800-a.html

Thanks!

 

4830 is on its way. The question is how soon that will be available in the US which is something we don't know for sure at this point.
It may be soon it may be never (at least not in official distribution).

Check this thread for more info.

 

with 4820TG-6847 costing 799 USD ( I got mine for 729 ) guess it's not worth it.

the price will likely drop even further as time goes...

I am skipping Sandy Bridge both in laptops and desktops and waiting for Ivy Bridge, which is due next near.


EDIT: it's on amazon for 725 atm, so I would not hesitate a second.

 

Guys,

I just ordered this from Amazon (the 14" i5-480 model), and I just saw this thread a few hours after doing so. The complaints about high temperatures and CPU throttling have me seriously worried because one of the things I'd likely be using it for is transcoding and editing videos and other highly cpu intensive tasks. I'm seriously thinking of refusing delivery when it comes because I want a computer that will last a few years and not have constant performance issues due to throttling and high heat.

Can anyone who has this model comment/post temperatures and any evidence for/or against throttling at high load with this combination of CPU and GPU? I'd appreciate the peace of mind.

 

AFAIK throttling is problem only in i3 version. On my i5 after few hours of gaming i have temps near 85-90C, And i never noticed any throttling.

 

The throttling is on rare cases with the Core i3 due to the lower TJunction (90C instead of 105C on the Core i5/i7) of the CPU. It took me several tests to get it to throttle.

The Core i5 doesn't seem to have the throttling issue from what I have read in this thread.

 

Hey can anyone tell me how to turn of aero when in battery mode? Mine no longer seems to swtich by its self? ( Also does it make a diff on battery life?)

Recently my batterylife is no where near as good as it used to be, maybe its because the HDD is almost full and it takes the pc longer to open things and search but i can barley get 2.5 hrs =(. The power saver setting dosnet even seem to do anything, I think im going to reset all the settings and clean up the HDD.

I miss my 4.5hrs of web surfing =( and word docs.

I used to defrag ever 2nd week but havent done so in 6 months =p.

 

Are you on the Intel graphic card?

 

Ya when im not hooked to the outlet.

 

Are my temperatures normal?

At idle:


After playing Counter-Strike: Source (everything set to high or enabled except for 'wait for vertical sync') for 30 minutes:


After playing Minecraft v1.5 (everything set to high) for 50 minutes:


(laptop was on a IKEA GALANT desk and the temperature of my room was 22C)

 

I'd say yes, CPU TDP is 105 C and GPU 95 C or so. Your temps are below, so you should be fine.

 

Those are fine. But neither of those programs is particularly graphics intensive. Got an old copy of Crysis or BFBC2 laying around? even GTA IV would do. That should stress your GPU a bit harder. Or run 3DMark11 a dozen times and see what happens.

 

i got the timelineX 4280TG-464G66Mnks, and as almost all of the notebooks out there it came as one partition (c)
so, is there any way to resize it and creating a new partition ?
i've read somewhere(can't remember where) about something like hdd lock that acer done and if i changed something in my hdd it gets locked or something like that.
so i wanna know is it safe? and if it's, what tool to use ? easeus partition manager ?

 

Has anyone successfully managed to upgrade the Intel HD graphics driver? It is impossible to install Win 7 SP 1 via Windows Update without this update. And yes, I could install it via the downloadable package, but I shouldn't have to, and I definitely shouldn't have to deal with unstable video drivers.

I see on the Acer drivers page that there is a download for Intel HD Graphics but when I download and install it, nothing happens. Has anyone managed to get this update to work and install Windows 7 SP 1 using the preferred method (Windows Update)?

If not, any other workarounds?

This is pretty pathetic driver support on Acer's part. Is this typical of them?

 

the best way would be to reinstall windows and create the partitions upon installation.

It's not a lock, it's just if you only have 1 partition, that partition is also system partition and AFAIK windows will not let you resize or change system partition.

have you compared the driver versions? on the first look it may seem nothing's changed, but in fact you might have installed the driver already.

btw, why don't you switch GPU and try to install it with AMD GPU on?

 

My preferred way to resize partitions s to use GParted on an Ubuntu live CD. Super easy to use GUI tool that just works. Make backups first just in case.

 

Can someone with Portal 2 post their temps after playing for some time? I want to compare the temps I am getting with a 0.8mm thick copper shim and ICD7 to see if there is any sort of difference.

 

I installed it via the redistributable, since I couldn't find a way to upgrade the intel drivers, but the performance while using intel hd card ins't unstable. I believe the issue is under a specific program.

On another note, has anyone changed the internal wireless card? What have you used? I read somewhere over here that theres a new intel one, with bluetooth included, I beleive it was the intel 6320. I would like a card that can see my 5GHz band.

 

ugh im so sad. i got heatsinks for my ram thinking it might help with temps
Newegg.com - Sunbeamtech Copper Notebook Memory Heat Spreader Cooling Model NMHS-C RAM Heatsinks only

it doesn't increased my temps
15min of prime 95 +furmark
i5 480m- 82C and 87C
gpu-70C

with the heatsinks on
6min of prime 95+furmark
i5-480m -87C and 91-92C
gpu-85C
and yes this was running with my zalman nc1500 at full blast.

well now i have a pair of these sitting doing nothing. Might as well put on my friends old laptop.

 

Yes, I've compared driver versions in device manager, graphics control panel, etc. Nothing happens at all after finishing the install, and the install program actually indicates that it's installing Intel Turboboost and not a graphics driver. It's just weird.

I was running on the AMD GPU when I first tried to install but the download did not show up because the drivers for the Intel graphics are still installed even when on the AMD GPU. It might work if you switch to discrete mode in the bios and then uninstall the Intel drivers, but that doesn't really fix the problem. The problem is that the current Intel Drivers are unstable when running certain applications and need to be updated, and Microsoft, knowing this, won't allow the update for SP1 to show up in Windows Update until this problem is fixed. Besides, if I were going to go through all of that trouble, I would just install it from the standalone package. Acer needs to step it up on driver support.

 

Hi,
Been trying to do a recovery on the acer 4820 with 500gb hard drive, I have the recovery partition but I get a message that the hard drive configuration is not set to factory default. I have the 13gb recovery partition, the 100mb system reserved partition and about 456GB which is the main partition. Anyone experienced this and fixed it without doing a full format?
Could someone post a pic from their manage tab displaying partitions?

Thanks

 

is anyone else experiencing sound issues?

I got newest drivers installed. when the headphones are plugged in, everything's fine.

as soon as I unplug them, there's no sound from laptop speakers.

someone from elsewhere suggested to replug the headphone's jack in and out for several times. That worked for a moment, though it was annoying, but now it takes much longer and when sound from internal speakers starts, it will only last for about 5 seconds before muting.

Again, plugging in the headphones and sound works normal.

 

Sounds like a problem with the headphone jack itself. When you plug in the headphones, the signal to the speakers is cut-off by a switch. That switch is designed to restore the sound when you pull out the jack. I sounds like your's isn't working. Sometimes you can just jiggle it back into place and it will work. If not, you probably need a trip to the repair depot.

Bronsky

 

thinking about buying the 3820TG or the 4820tg, but where are they to buy and what are the main diffences between the two, and also how would u compare to a m11x perfomance

 

You have to be more specific, but it should look something like this.

M11x R1/R2 (GeForce GT 335M) < 3820TG/4820TG (HD 5650/HD 6550M) < M11x R3 = 3830TG/4830TG (GeForce GT 540M)

Where to buy in North America?
4820TG --> U.S.
3820TG --> Canada

I do not know about other locations.

 

My 4820 is acting up - I switched to the 5650 (high performance graphics processor) and it says it's switched and all, but I'm getting really poor performance in League of Legends... any suggestions or fixes?

 

I think the jack is cut off by a combination of software and hardware not just hardware so it could be a software problem as well. I recall that when I first install ubuntu I put 10.04 on it and the laptop didn't switch automagically like it should, i.e. the speakers stayed on when the headphones were plugged in. Headphones worked too. Had to update to 10.10 to get the speakers to switch off when I plugged in the headphones. so it might be a software problem too.

I'd try a live 10.10 Ubuntu CD and see if the problem persists. if it does then it's the switch not detecting the headphones being plugged in. if it works correctly then there's a sw issue in windows with the mixer or something.

 

Do a complete shutdown and startup of the laptop and see if the problem persists. If I so something like put mine to sleep when plugged in then wake it up unplugged it goes to IGP and never comes back.

Also check for underclocking / overheating with hwmonitor.

 

Yeah, it's definitely on the high performance GPU... it was a bit ago when I played, but I know I got good World of Warcraft performance, and that game might even be more demanding. To put things in perspective, my brothers M11X (335M) gets fine performance in the game.

 

Then definitely check for overheating of the GPU and / or underclocking. There's automatic underclocking to conserve battery and I wonder if it's gotten stuck in underclocked mode.

 

The voltage is at .9V and the temperature around 70 C... Is this good/bad/what? It doesn't show clock speed...

EDIT 70C is around idle, I don't have the number for what it is during LoL.

EDIT2: Wiping computer. The computer has gotten bogged down and has been running slow. I'll get back to you guys.

 

CRYSIS 2

I decided to do a quick write up on how the 4820TG handles Crysis 2. If you don't want to read anything and want the quick answer: Yes, without overclocking your GPU it will handle it. For more details, read on.

I ran the game twice and played for 1 hour each time. In the first run, I overclocked my GPU from the stock of 600/800 (shader/memory) to 700/1000. I figured since Crysis 2 is a GPU heavy game, I would start off with my strongest arm and then try the game with stock shader and memory.

Here's some background on my laptop:
I got the 6847 model in mid-February. It has got the HD 6550 GPU, 4 GB RAM, and the i5-480M that was running at 2.92 ghz when playing the game. Also, I have not done a clean install of this laptop, so there may be a performance boost after doing so.

I've only tried running Crysis on "High" settings. High is in fact the lowest setting for this game. It goes High, Very High, and then Extreme.


My findings:

Overclocked 700/1000

Resolution: 1366 x 768
FPS: Stays under 30, around 28 most of the time. During intense fights, it drops down to 24. If there is water and other fluids, it can go even further down to 21

Resolution: 1280 x 720
FPS: Ranges between 30-45 but stays in the upper 30's lower 40's range on average. This is perhaps the best resolution for the game on this laptop. Furthermore, there's not much of a noticeable different between the two resolutions.

For an hour or so, my GPU reached a temperature of 82 C. No cooling pad was used.

Stock 600/800
Resolution: 1280 x 720
(I only stuck with 1280 x 720 since the overclocked GPU had a hard time running it at 1366x768)

FPS: Ranges between 30-40 but stays near 37. There are occasional jumps to 42. Also, when there is a lot going on, (such as the bridge falling, as you'll see in the video), the FPS dips to 30-32. If you don't want to OC your GPU, then at this resolution and setting, the game will run satisfactorily.


Gameplay Video:
The video is a bunch of different videos I recorded through FRAPs and spliced them together in no particular order. Performance between the OCed and stock GPU were very similar so I didn't bother separating them.

YOUTUBE LINK

Pictures:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

More to come later


Conclusions and additional thoughts

The 4820TG can definitley handle Crysis 2 like a champ. Judging by how the stock GPU handled the game, it seems possible that the OCed GPU can run the game at "Very High" (the medium setting). I have not tried that but will do if requested
If you're still debating to get this game or not...GET IT!! If you like shooters, you'll really love this because its not like all the other cookie-cutter FPS' out there, its something new

If you have any questions, please shoot me a PM or post here.

Also, OP, link this post to the first post please ??

 

Okay, I used the recovery, and now........ well now things are bad. I start up my computer and it has the 'boot up' screen, where you can do Safe Mode, Start windows normally, etc, etc. No matter what I pick it goes back to that same screen again. Repeat, repeat. someone please help

 

Anyone having issues of leaving the laptop alone for a few minutes and then when you wake it up, everything freezes for a few minutes?

This has happened twice for me so far, I usually close the lid to sleep mode, but there were a few occasions when I left the laptop alone to check something downstairs for a few minutes only to move to mouse to wake it up, it goes haywire on me and freezes.

 

Getting one for 550. Good deal?

 

new? used? which model ?

 

it was a next day return open box, pretty much new condition. It's got the i5 w/ 6550 and a 640gb hdd.

 

i would just wonder why it was returned...

but if it's got warranty etc., the price is good.

 

Spirit beast I get about 40-60fps in LoL btw. Its completely playable but turn down shadow/orshaders ingame.(forgot the name) put it to low or medium. It will help alot.