Acer TimelineX 3820TG Owners Lounge. Info, benchmarks, tweaks, mods and upgrades

Unticking PowerPlay should help increasing performance, keep in mind that the HD5650 is downclocked in the E14, and might be downclocked as well in the dv6 (like HP did with the Envy 14 series).

Stock clocks are 550/800. GTA IV runs fine on 1366x768 all high.

I'm using a Noteapl X2 cooler, which decreases temps by 4-5 C.

Ambient temps at 22-23 C



Temps during the mission Three Leaf Clover - bank robbery, which involves a lot of gunfire, explosions, and a car chase - suceeded for the third time, after 1 hour gameplay. Ambient temps were at 20 C.



Note that all of the max temps recorded above only occur for 2-3 minutes, avarege temps are mainly 6-8 C lower.

The stock clocked GPU never gets hot, not even without a cooler.

 

That is normal for many HD5650's, and warranty will not do anything.

Tried to find the spec for max GPU temp but could not locate. While searching, saw others with same temps, and comments that max spec is over 100c.

 

Normal.
Click the drop down menu at top for "Device", then select your video and clock speed will show correctly.

 

I was looking at the 4820TG motherbaord the other day and it has a copper heatsink on the HM55 chip. My chip was under the CPU heat sink but had no connection to the sink (and thus no thermal paste). Is this the same as anybody elses? We don't have the copper sink on the HM55 chip ... I'm not just missing something right? I think I'm becomming paranoid.

Bronsky

 

may i ask the name of this application? would like to have it..

 

Looks like good news from Shark Technologies:

"And we have find the chip is fault .and we just change a new one for it .
And have to check all parts of it .
So don't worry it .we are pending for repairing."
(shark email excerpt)

Wonder if the HM55 shorted out? Sounds like it will still take some time to fix but it looks like they know what the problem is. Do you think they have to send it out to have the chip swapped? I hope they leave the clockgen alone.

Hey - looks like you Acer owners in Hungary (and everybody else) need the services of an environmental lawyer. Might as well get one armed with a 3820TG.

Bronsky

 

This is interesting. Hendrickson and many have been getting to 670/1040 clocks, but that causes mine to crash as well.

So maybe the refresh 460m models have lower quality 5650s?

maybe this is heat management, would a better thermal paste would help?

 

I think I have the same problem. I'm concerned about my laptop shutting down by itself. I'm pretty sure it is heat related. It always shuts down when I play Dragon Age, I can play BFBC2 for 5 hours straight without shut downs. Last time I checked my CPU temp was about 96C and GPU at 90C, with Dragon Age and OC'ed before it shuts down.

I'm not sure why it does that... The only thing I can think of is, the shutdown may occur when nearing the cpu or gpu maximum temperature. Maybe it happens purely to prevent cpu & gpu damaging.

 

what model do you have Danny7?

I have HWMonitor Pro, and plan on making some graphs of logs when I have the time, hopefully we'll be able to see if there's a downclock safety mechanism.

Kinda sucks since I bought this on account of its appearance as an engineering marvel in the cooling department.

 

Mine is a 4820tg model with HD 5650 & i7 620m. I am planning to do the same as you too. Logging the temps down during it's Shutdown while gaming.

Does your laptop Shuts Down too when its overheating too much ? Happens mostly during gaming. I plan to replace the thermal compound if it stops the problem.

 

Thermal shutdown all controlled by the bios in systems. I've seen older laptops shutdown but I'd expect these to throttle. How long does it work before the shutdown? I assume it turns completely off and doesn't just reboot? Windows will auto-reboot on errors (which can happen easily on CPU's that are overclocked too far for their supplied voltage) by default.

I see laptops that have power delivery issues show such behavior. Keep in mind that overclocking will draw more power from the power brick and internal DC-DC conversions. If the system draws more than one of these can handle, the system will crash. Maybe try a higher wattage power brick to start? You can try running just the CPU or just the GPU at stock clocks, to get a better idea on which may be causing the problem.

 

so far for comparing some results of oc potential...

this one here is a i460 model with 720gb on stock
everything higher than the listed values resulting in crash or artificial errors

all results are in 1280x800 (tarsia) or 1280x768 (3820) except the last one

temps only tested in last result for 3820. max temp after stress testing with ati tool after 50minutes

would be nice to see your results including your model!

Code:

Core	%	Shader	%	Ram	%	Temp max.	3DMark	%	SM 2.0	SM 3.0	CPU Score
												
LG P310 Tarsia – Geforce 9600 GT M												
500	0,0	1250	0,0	800	0,0	80		5969	0,0	2484	2316	2320
604	20,8	1337	7,0	1006	25,8	81		6811	14,1	2916	2712	2309
681	36,2	1423	13,8	1006	25,8	81		7072	18,5	3082	2831	2273
722	44,4	1510	20,8	1006	25,8	82		7351	23,2	3228	2946	2316
722	44,4	1614	29,1	1006	25,8	83		7524	26,1	3317	3032	2324
722	44,4	1701	36,1	1006	25,8	83		7669	28,5	3397	3098	2335
736	47,2	1701	36,1	1006	25,8	84		7680	28,7	3406	3111	2320
757	51,4	1771	41,7	1006	25,8	85		7763	30,1	3457	3165	2296
												
Acer Aspire 3820 TG – Radeon HD 5650 M												
550	0,0			800	0,0		25,4	7484	0,0	2706	3372	2761
650	18,2			950	18,8		46,4	8738	16,8	3255	4066	2782
650		Cpu 3000		950		48,1	8843	18,2	3201	3983	3256
700	27,3			800	0,0		35,2	8071	7,8	2950	3697	2777
740	34,5			800	0,0		37,8	8224	9,9	3016	3782	2780
740	34,5			900	12,5		46,7	8758	17,0	3262	4071	2796
740		Cpu 3000		900		50,6	8991	20,1	3258	4072	3251
740	34,5			930	16,3		48,9	8887	18,7	3314	4157	2790
700	27,3			940	17,5		47,4	8800	17,6	3283	4097	2791
740		Cpu 3000	920		        52,5	9103	21,6	3313	4135	3234
												
730		1280x1024	920	Stable @ 90°		7902		2972	3526	2740

btw, cpu @ 3000 is not tested for stable use! got one system hang up for now

 

ahh, the 4820tg has been known to have some heat problems due to its one fan configuration. I think thermal paste and a laptop cooler could get you 12-15 degrees cooler, but you are limited by the laptop's own cooling system.

 

SIC and I have the new 460m models and we can only run stable at around 725/925 or so.

I was able to hit 9100 3dmark06 on GPU OC only and 9333 3dmark06 on CPU/GPU OC.

 

If I play Dragon Age, it takes a shorter time for it to shut down like 15 mins or so. I don't see the shut down happening when I play BFBC2.

And yes, I've overclocked the gpu to 666/1060 and it does shuts off completely, no reboot.

BTW.. How do I "try a higher wattage power brick to start" ? lol

 

@4820TG Users

Please put an information in your posting, that you are talking about a 4820TG.

 

what are your temps like after some stress?

 

Nice nick!

 

can i ask what seetings and res you use when you play bad company 2? Also does it play butter smooth? I can play on smaller maps like nelson bay or laguna presa very good (no skipping) so it makes me think that im limited by my CPU cause its always 100%. I do have a slow HD like 5400rpm so that might be it as well. Cheers

 

If your computer is shutting down with memory clocked at 1060 IMO you are having stability failure at that setting. That does not sound like a heat issue.

Bronsky

 

It's a 4820

If I put my graphikcard ram clocks to high I get a driver crash and a driver reload for my AMD.

You not?

 

I play BFBC2 on these settings.
__________________

-Everything on High
-AA 1x
-AF 1x
-Vsync on
-hbao off
-Resolution 1280x720
__________________

Played it smoothly, not much lagging.

 

Ok... Maybe I'll try it at a lower clock rate.

 

so am i right that everyone with a 460 machine got low max ram settings with his 5650?

and all the others with 450 and so on get higher values?

 

looks like it. It looks like a cheaper quality gpu chip was used.

I'm fine with it as long as my temps are okay. It's still a far stronger chip than the Envy 14 5650.

What are your clocks and stress temps defi? The more info we can get the more solid of an answer we can get.

 

maybe... but it realy pisses me off that i bought this notebook... my tarsia was just a little bit slower in 3d performance but extreme more fast in all other things.

and talking about quality is like comparing ferrari with trabant...

i realy very regret buying this notebook slowly....

PS: my acer is very VERY loud because of the cooling system just idling in windows. is there anything i can do against this?

 

Higher wattage/amperage power brick - the thing you plug into the laptop. As long as the voltage is the same, a higher wattage one would supply more power cleanly if it was actually needed. Depending on the laptop circuitry, an overloaded power supply can cause the system to shutdown, or it'll move over to battery when it can't keep up.

A complete power-off when gaming is not consistent though - overclocked videocards nearly always lock up with reboots often being video driver crashing or bluescreens and subsequent reboots by Windows by RAM or CPU being overclocked too high for their voltage levels, and shutdowns typically based on the motherboard design not letting it do the "reboot" above. Laptops take the shutdown instead of reboot on failure route more often than desktops.

Still - clock the videocard down a little and try again, then try the cpu if it's not fixed. I found that using IntelBurnTest and FurMark at the same time, then increasing the clock speeds, will best load up the system and cause lockups long before you'd see them in-game. My Asus gaming laptop would reboot on cpu failure and the graphics drivers would crash/reload (in Windows 7/Vista - this would likely just crash Windows XP and earlier) when approaching the limits, before artifacts would begin to show. If you can't run those two application simultaneously, then don't even bother with games yet. Games are less stressful than these two applications so get it stable there (and down a little more from this tested stable point) and you're good to go. This applies to any systems and overclocking, or even at stock speeds to test stability.

 

These are made to offer performance with the capability of having above average battery life. If you want performance only, there are better systems (not necessarily in the 13" variety) out there.

 

the thing is.. in theory the acer should be faster than the tarsia, in all belongings (hardware spec). but its absolutely not - and my question is, why

i realy feel like in a big joke

 

Try benchmark the HDD? whether is running at the speed it should be ?

 

What tarsia? First model that appears on my google search shows a 2.5Ghz Core2Duo? The CPU performance is not much different from the C2D to the i5. Then you have factory applications that a lot of people remove (or reinstall Windows) as they consume resources needlessly.

I agree on the hard drive. What type of performance testing are you doing anyways? The system is likely still a little faster, but it's not going to be breathtaking over the tarsia. If you're just installing, opening, and using standard desktop applications, I wouldn't expect much difference. Run something that is CPU or GPU intensive and you'll see some small performance increases. Of course, the battery life would be great on the Intel graphics and still perfectly usable with the ATI graphics.

 

I have the same 3820tg as you (460m, 750gb) - did you get yours from computeruniverse? Mine one is absolutely silent and runs very fast (compared to my 2.5ghz c2d) - are you sure there isn't something wrong with yours?
How do benchmarks run?

 

Thanks for the info

 

benchmarks are all fine with the acer... i bought it from cyberport

i still reinstalled a fresh win7 pro x64 and all the drivers it needs from the acer page... additionaly updated them with newer ones

the mysterious thing is, that all benchs perform about 5-10% faster, but i feels in every kind slower and stuttering

 

So again, what feels "slower"? What applications are "stuttering" and what does "stuttering" mean to you? Are you having problems with using the touchpad? Is there a delay when typing on the keyboard? Does the start menu or applications take longer to open up? Perhaps its something like having the videocard output set to a 59hz refresh rate instead of 60? I've seen that do weird things. Does it feel any faster these slow areas when using the Intel graphics instead of the ATI? We need more information on what exactly the problem is.

 

Huzzah! CenDirect finally filled my order and my i3-370/5650 is flying towards my house at the speed of Canada.

I have some questions about the various bits and bobs I should have ready for my baby when the stork arrives.

Cosmetic/functional:
* Matte screen protector (will order)
* MiniPCIe slot for tgoode's secondary miniPCIe mod (ordered)
* Keyboard protector (still considering, thoughts?)
* New keyboard (won't order unless left shift annoys me too much)

Upgrades
What order should I do these in?
* Move from i3>i5 CPU (assuming no decent OC out of i3)
* Upgrade from 4GB 1066 to 4GB 1333 (Gizmodo has a special for $65 down from $84)
* Move to SSD (difficult cuz I can only afford ~80GB but my Steam folder alone is 85)

Any other suggestions, or anything I missed? How would you Pimp My Acer?

 

The keyboard protector is a good idea because the keys will probably get worn down over time and show oil marks. Also, a new keyboard would be nice as the Canadian configuration is just weird. I ordered a 3810 keyboard off ebay.

In terms of upgrades, I would purchase an SSD first as the benefits will be the most drastic. Depending on the stock performance of the i3 and its OC capabilities, I would make the CPU/Mem upgrade second priority. I know the CPU upgrade is a big project and I wouldn't want to risk breaking a new laptop.

 

The P9600 C2D CPU (2.66mhz) earns a passmark score of 1.94. The I5-460M (2.53mhz) has a passmark score of 2.65. On that comparison, the 460M should be 35% faster.

The HD 5650 GPU is much faster than the GT 9600M. By the numbers, you should see more than 10% increase in performance from your P310 to the 3820TG. Something does not sound right.

The other thing is that the Acer 3820TG fan is normally very quiet. That sounds odd as well.

Your analogy using the trabant is lost on us provincial americans.

Bronsky

 

Forget the Ram upgrade ... it doesn't do any good as the Arrandale only supports up to 1066.

I would wait on the SSD to see if prices come down a bit more so you can get a 128GB SSD.

If you are upgrading to an I5, I loved my I5-540M OEM. Feels like an entirely different machine. Well worth the effort. While you're there, change the paste to IC Diamond and write down the clockgen ID number.

Are you really going to attempt the PCIe mod? What are you contemplating putting in there.

Bronsky

 

slower is everything that depends on harddisk performance in windows. prior opening applikations and working with them. my systemstart is about loading the drivers basics along with msn messenger and skype + avast. after startup there goes many time until i can do anything in windows. thats the first thing... with p310 i can work with it directly after welcome screen (without ssd!)

so windows is still loaded now... everything should do normal and it does.

now upcoming to gaming. i am getting lags very often. lag means i get framedrops/skips. everything is fine but there are just gaps of fps for about 0,5-1 sec every few minutes

next thing is, my microphone (of which i have never seen such crappy quality recording) deactivates in teamspeak in random time sequences. i am just talking and to the other second there is silence. only after reactivating it in windows, it works again... until 1-5 minuten and again........ again........ again...... skype the same

next thing, my machine is very loud (as mentioned before), but everything is going right with energy balancing system... cpu downclocking... gpu downclocking... idle gpu temps about 52C, cpu about 47C

harddisk is apm/aam at 255 right now, coz of recommandations for lag-solving. never seen any

 

cpu score is about 500 higher in 3d06 as u can list in my table dump
gpu has been oc'ed very well, so i got about 8000 score with p310... with my acer i am getting 8800 as stable... thats not that much more and plz note that the acer only runs with 1280x768 in 3d06 while the tarsia does with 1280x800

the most important speed difference i realy do feel is the hdd... and the noise of this cooling system -.- *hate it* thats trabant!!!

 

The PCIe mod is highly contingent upon finding a friend with soldering sk1llz and some fine solder. No idea what I'll put in yet. I could pop in a USB 3.0 card, wire up a disassembled flash drive and roll my own SSD OS partition, like tgoode suggested. I'm open to suggestions for what to add.

I saw a news post on Intel SSD refreshes happening in Q4, so that might be the best time to grab a 160GB. In the meantime I can do with the 320/7200 drive from my Dell. (I'd keep the 500GB that comes stock but 5400RPM, ew.)

I might also want to see if there's a way to cannibalize the BT module from my Dell.

I see 540M on eBay for pretty damn cheap. I know some are used and some are engineering samples. Is getting an ES the end of the world?

I'll probably disassemble the thing just as a way of welcoming it to my family, and I'll make sure to write down the clockgen. I saw yours and tgoode's discussion and I want to contribute to i3 overclocking efforts.

 

I might be a bit out of line here, but since you say that your computer is loud (suggesting it gets hot and has to be cooled) and you say your idle temperatures are about 47C-52C (I'm not 100% sure on my own temps, but it sounds a bit high since I get about 35C-42C). Maybe you have an overheating issue? As in poorly applied cooling paste, or something like that.

Just a thought.


Have you monitored temperatures during gaming? If the cooling is not working as intended, the stuttering could be because your hardware is slowing down to cool.

 

My 4820TG i5 460 can overclock to 750/1200 and remain stable. GPU reaches 85C or so after hours of StarCraft 2 w/ a notebook cooler.

Far from "lower quality" .

 

Little OT - sorry

How does Your U2 cooler perform? I wanted to buy a U2 but it wasn't available so I got a X2, it dcreases temps by 4-5 C.

The U2 became available now, I just want to now whether it'd be worth the change. Does it lower temps by more than 5 C?

 

My i5-450m's idle temp is 44C. Everest tray indicator for CPU clock shows almost always 2.6, sometimes 2.7, or 1.2 but under " overclock, in the main program i see its running 1.2 ghz idle, aroung 43-44C, the fan is silent, sometimes rushes for 1-2sec.
Yesterday night i tried to overclock the VGA, with AMD GPU Clock Tool, but it made me very confused. ATI Tool shows some driver errors after starting, and i can see the cube okay at high values sat in AMD GPU Tool (700/1100) but if i start "scan for artifacts" in ATI Tool, the cube doesn't move, and errorfree @ just 630/900.
Any good test idea, to check how high can i go?
Andy any free CPU overclocking utility?

 

Which shop? Hardverker.hu sells it for 86k HUF, which is 436 USD, what is I think way too much.

 

Mine is similar, 740/960 and it's a 450M. How do you see your fan speed percentage?

 

The drivers on your backup DVD are usually newer then the ones on the Acer website

 

Be advised, 7200 rpm drives are LOUD... I would never put one in mine.