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

i tried to install catalyst 10.6 but after installation completes and i watch gpu-z it still says i have 10.5, how do i install it right?

edit: i saw some articles that catalyst 10.6 does not support mobile 5000 series is that why i cant install the catalyst 10.6?
or mabye i downloaded wrong version for mobile series of gpu can anyone give link where to download?

 

Your downloading the desktop version so it doesn't install the driver. Instead get the mobile GPU driver here: ATI Catalyst? Mobility Display Driver

9115 3Dmarks06 - You i7 620m guys need to step up your game If my i5 can better your scores. You should be getting into the 10,000's at least if my i5 430m can get 9115....



Oh and my OCZ vertex isn't too shabby

 

Hi Hendrickson,

what have you done to achieve this cpu score?

I'd like to squeeze my cpu a little bit more. With the gpu overclocked at 690-1090 i get 9108 3DMarks.



yuniu

 

yea thought so thanks

 

The 3820TG seems to have a decent build quality, performs well, nobody is biachen about the keyboard. The Envy 14 is still an unknown commodity. The Acers look like they are being released finally in the US. There are still 9 days before you can even order the Envy. Anything can happen. We still don't know actual prices of any of the units yet. My company got a mobile workstation for me to work on, so I can wait a bit longer. I am still waiting for the 3820TG/HD5650. I think it suits my needs better. Portability is a big issue with me.

In fact, I have been looking at the Sony Z again since the Z12 refresh (CTO next week). The Sony looks like it will permit the ODD to be swapped out for a second 7200rpm 500 GB HD. The Z12 CTO can be upgraded to the I5-540M (possibly the I7-620M) and will have the option for the 1080p display for $100. Sony owners are close to having optimus functioning on the Z and I'm trying to find out if the GT330M in the Z12 can be overclocked and, if so, how high. I have read that MBP's with the GT330M have hit scores of 8960 in 3DMark06. http://img294.imageshack.us/f/screenshot013ii.jpg/ If the sony can get even close to that, I wonder if it is worth the extra weight and wait.

The funny thing is that my company has had to rent a mobile workstation for me (I am loving this machine) and now my office keeps bugging me to get my new laptop. The Sony is over our max-individual notebook budget but I'll bet I can convince them to approve the extra bucks for the Sony if I hold out a bit longer. If the Acer comes along in the mean time, I'll buy it.

If I didn't need a portable unit, I would get a 15.6" mobile work station in a heartbeat. Working on a full size keyboard and 1080p display is such a pleasure. I think I might get an external display and full sized keybaord for my desk no matter what I buy.

Bronsky

 

The Sony Z should be the lightest of your options I think. Or were you referring to the extra weight added by modding it with a HDD in the optical drive bay?

 

I believe you were on a discrete gpu when you performed this test? Am I right? Cause I see your cpu memory is @ 3.86 as opposed to 3.68 when in switchable. Can you confirm this please? Thanks

 

No I meant I don't know if the Acer is worth the extra wait (the Sony can be ordered on the 22) or the extra weight over the Sony (3lbs vs 4 lbs). It was intended to be a humorous and whitty play on words. It was obviously an epic fail.

Bronsky

 

Seems that my notebook is locked with acer drivers. I've exhausted my efforts to update my system with the catalyst 10.5/10.6 but couldn't recognize it. With acer ati driver (one with size 192 mb or something), it updates with no problem, currently I have the 8.6 driver and got the 9214 3dmark, I'll be downloading the new release of ati driver from acer, the 8.7 one and retry the test.

 

Did you start from a clean install? Hendrickson did - right?

Did you see the 3DMark06 scores that MBP's are getting from the I5/GT330M - 8960? http://img294.imageshack.us/f/screenshot013ii.jpg/ I wonder if they have their CPUs OC'd as well. Considering that, the OC'd HD5650 should be in the higih 9k range I would think and possibly 10K+.

 

mabye you tried with desktop version like i did i tried with mobility version and it worked

 

Did a clean install twice already, still the same issue. Basically im stuck with the releases acer provides on their website with regards to drivers. The mobility radeon from AMD itself is really not recognized, when updated through device manager, it says driver is up to date, when installed directly with 10.6 executable file, still the same driver version appears considering it should change to 8.7 something. So i gotta have the new acer release so i can fully utilize the speed. I would say that is already OC'ed, haha IMO.

nah, it's mobility radeon for notebooks that i downloaded.

 

I'm wondering if OSX is that much more stable than Windows 7 that you can OC a GPU that much higher? If so, I guess I have to eat of a lot of my words since I have not been a fan of the new MBP's since their refresh.

Bronsky

 

Nope its switchable, I always leave it on that. Maybe it was less as it booted up on HDMI?


@ Bronksey. I'm with you on the external monitor and keyboard (Work station style). I've decided to sell my big heavy 6831fx and I'm using my acer 100% of the time now, its much faster. I get the best both worlds. At home I use my 22' LG monitor in 1080p, it has an amazing picture that beats any notebook. Not to mention its a matte display, 10000:1 contrast, 300 cd/m2 brightness and 4ms response time. At the moment i have an old HP usb keyboard and wireless mouse. But I've just ordered a MK710 logitec wireless desktop. Love my set up now.

When I travel or use my laptop other than this room, I have the portability. I think its a great way of doing it. I'm never going for another big notebook ever again. Just high powered 13.3"

Sure its not i7 quad core desktop 59xx etc set up but its all the power I need for my work and gaming on the side a little.

 

Almost exactly what I had in mind. I'm looking at a 24" LG ATM. I know nothing about wireless keyboards and mice. I have a BT mouse with my 1410T. You think the Logitec is the right unit for the 3820TG? (I've had my issues with Logitec in the past but wouldn't write them off). Wireless sounds like a better option than BT. My office does not have a direct cable link via eternet plug, only a wireless network (I keep threatening to buy a new router with ethernet "out" jacks so I can direct wire my office) do you think there will be any problem running the keyboard and mouse through the wireless and the internet signal as well?

We finally have TimelineXs on Acer USA. It's at least progress.

Bronsky

Edit: BTW, you almost described my home unit. I7-930/ATI 5870/23" LG. All at native settings. I have found no need to OC them at all yet. BC2 plays like butter. I'm interested in seeing how COD/Black Ops and Medal of Honor are going to play on my desktop at home.

 

How come you're getting 3.8 ram usage when in switchable mode? i only get that when im on discrete, when on switchable i get 3.6 ram usage. would it be because of the ssd?

 

I think the wireless desktop MK710 seems good. 3 year battery life on the keyboard and about a year on the mouse. I got put off bluetooth after seeing the battery life isn't too good or connection issues etc. Reading up and seeing a lot of people didn't recommend bluetooth keyboards and mice combos.

Its not wireless like wifi, 2.4 Ghz but over a tiny usb plug that you can connect up to 6 devices. Besides the USB micro unify plug lets you use the mouse and keyboard from boot state. Bluetooth you can't.

Official site for the keyboard I got: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/keyboards/keyboard_mice_combos/devices/6541

To be honest I have no idea why that is, maybe it my drivers or SDD as you say??? Must be some software difference. Like my CPU gets 6.7 where others on the same i5 430m got 6.6. Again I'm clueless there.

RAM spec maybe?

 

are you still using your netbook at all now ? just wondering xD

also do I havent seen any UMTS models of 3820tg do you think there is a posibility of modding a module like this into 3820tg ? I assume there is a place for it in 3820tg

http://cgi.ebay.com/3G-HSUPA-HSDPA-...K_Computing_Networking_SM&hash=item3f0009c5ad

 

@Bronsky

Yes, we have Timeline X on Acer USA site, but wheres the release date? Pricing? Options?

 

Hey,

cyberport has listed the 3820TG i5-450m model with UMTS yesterday.

The link.

 

I am trying to use AMD's GPU Clock Tool to OC the 5650 in my bros dv6z, still can't get it to work on my dm4t for some reason either but I have given up on that, but every time I try to start it up it doesn't open a window, though it is listed in the processes. Anyone know what is wrong here? I have the graphics switched to the 5650 and I am using the default HP drivers, 10.3.

Edit: Just updated to 10.6 with no luck. It installs just fine but when I try and run it no window opens but it is listed in the processes in task manager.

 

Seems to be the wrong thread.

 

This is exactly where I would go if I had that problem. No one has been able to OC the ATI 5450 in the DM4T. The 3820TG owners have been OC'ing their ATI GPU's with no problem. I would want to know what they are doing right and what I might be doing wrong.

Bronsky

 

No ones doing nothing wrong, its the programs compatibility... Works on some mainboards, others it doesn't.

 

But then why wouldn't it work on the dv6z with a 5650 that I am using?

 

My 3820 has it's hottest point on the bottom left corner on the front side. (Not burning, but hot.) Fans rarely kick in using BIOS 1.13, temps are good.

Funny, the HDD is located on the right side right?
Does anyone experience the same?

 

I think the magic is the Bios for the ATI card....

 

One of the best resources for OC'ing that I have found over the years is the 3DGuru site. Here is his ATI Overclocking guide. He uses MSI Afterburner (from my reading, there is no indication that the program is limited for use to MSI computers - this is a little confusing). Maybe give that a try. How To: Overclock Your ATi GPU - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net. He mentions somether tools to OC the ATI GPU.

Bronsky

 

Hoy!

I just did a clean install on my new 3820T, and in device management, the PCI simple Communications controller has a yewllow triangle on it. I think this is some sort of modem, and downloaded the modem files from acer, but it doesnt work

And how do I get back the nice speaker that pops up on the screen when i use the shortcut for volume down/up?

 

Intel management driver

To get rid of the yellow triangle.

The speaker is from some acer program, guess it's part of the acer ePower package, but not sure.

Edit: actually the speaker icon may come from the dritek launch manager:

Dritek launch manager

 

Thanks alot for the help mate! It all worked BTW how do i get my P button to turn into that powersmart button? I guess i have to bind it to something in the epower package, but what?

 

Got a few more oc scores

First one is at 680/1060, second one is at 690/1090

 

See what Launch Manager can do for you

Michael

 

Nice score 9404 marks MUCH higher than your M11x

Q: Does anyone have or has used the Intel 6200 AGN wifi mini card? Would it be better than our Atheros?

I seem to think the intel cards should be much better. Since the 6200 uses 2 aerials and not 3 like the 6300 it would be a good match and easy.cheap upgrade. Anyone planning to upgrade? I might....If its better.

 

Did you see the 9640 3Dmark06 score from the 5820TG I5-450M/HD5650? Check out the 5820TG review thread. http://forum.notebookreview.com/acer/493151-acer-aspire-timelinex-5820tg-review-discussion.html

Bronsky

EDIT: this is killing me ... not having a platform to immediately check out what I would do to tweak this or that.

 

It only gives me the option to choose between; WMP, Calculator, Notepad, Paint and chrome :/

Ive tried to install ePower from acer.no and acer.com, but when i unplug the power, I get a force close on the ePower. Can that have anything to do with it?

 

Yeah... great score... this ATI card has amazing reserves

But check my latest one (720/1120)...

 

Ok one thing I haven't used yet is the Launch manager. I installed it and pushing the P button at the top does nothing. Aprt from the switching and low power mode.

How does the launch manager work? OR how do i get it to work

 

press start -> programs -> launch manager

 

Nice.

Bronsky

 

no troubles when gaming with these clocks? plz could you check if games dont crash. Also can any of the 3820tg owners tell me how GTA4 performs on it while OCed ? with high settings..

 

Damn. I have to find some way to OC this thing tomorrow. Would the fact that I am run the default drivers from HP (10.3) have anything to do with AMD GPU clock tool not working?

 

I'll be a lemming and agree with everyone else about the good scores

So since the ENVY14 will have the same specs (i5-430m + 5650), and that's what I might buy if the 3820TG doesnt come out here, should I expect about the same scores and overclockability?

Also, Ponjornoh, what programs do you use to oc the ATI card, and what do you recommend for a noob like me in order to achieve maximum results/low risk if the most demanding things I want to play are PCSX2 and Dolphin emulators? Or might I not need to OC anyways? Could you confirm by testing out your system with either emulator?

 

First thing you do is update all of your drivers and bios. Then download the AMD GPU clock tool. It is a good basic overclocking tool.

 

Cool!

Bron, is there a reason why you'd prefer the TimelineX over the ENVY14?

 

Mostly size and weight. I'm looking for a portable multimedia machine. I use my notebook for presentation of large GIS files and interpretative models. I need a good CPU/GPU combination in a small portable device. The Acer has been out for awhile and, as you can see, performs extremely well. It's cooling system seems to be second to none. The Envy looks great on paper, but it is still an untested design.

I will work with it at my desk workstation style, using an external 24" LG 1080p display and full keyboard. So, the great display of the Envy is not as important as the raw performance of the unit. For last minute editing and revision to presentations outside the office, the 720p, 200nit display is adequate for my needs, as long as the display is calibrated. I'm looking for something I can take in a 2.5" aluminum brief case, and use only the top pocket for computer storage.

I have been looking at the Acer, Envy and the Sony Z. I think, at this point, I am waiting for the Acer a bit longer while I see if the new Sony Z12 refresh comes with the full 1080p display as a $100 CTO upgrade. I think there are not a lot of gamers who have bought the Sony and there has not been a bunch of attention payed to overclocking the GPU in it. Owners of the MBP with the same GPU (GT330M) have achieved 36Mark06 scores of 8960. I look for an overclockable GPU to ensure that I can adjust to greater demands from my software which changes fairly rapidly.

In the past, the only thing that has stopped me from getting the Sony is the price and the limited CTO options available to US buyers. It is a whole pound lighter than the Acer and built much better. What it lacks is a cooling system as effective and efficient as the Acer's. At first, my office budget would not cover the Sony, but I think they are reconsidering (They've had to rent a mobile workstation for me and keep bugging me to get my laptop replaced). If they approve the Sony and it gets the CTO options when it is refreshed this week, I would seriously consider ordering it. I did want a metal skin though.

Bronsky

 

So I just updated to the 10.6 drivers but AMD GPU clock tool still won't work, neither will anything else I have tried. ATI Tray Tools causes a freeze, GPUTool loads but doesn't show anything and freezes a lot, and MSI Afterburner won't install. AMD GPU Clock Tool installs fine and it is open and using 50% CPU according the the "Processes" tab in Windows Task Manager but no window?

My brother probably won't be OC'ing anyway but I would like to see how far this can go before he gets home tomorrow.

 

Acer.3820TG was correct about Computeruniverse shipping to the US. I was hitting a dead end but when I did it like he did, it went through. I ordered a 3820TG from Computeruniverse.com for 713.45E and 59.24E shipping to the US. Total cost $955.57 USD. Model LX.PV102.172. I5-430M/HD5650/4GB/640GB HD.

Hendrickson, you have that Ebay link handy. I need to order the backlit keyboard. I guess I will need a US adapter. Now I have to decide which SSD to use and which CPU to get I5-540M or I7-620M? Hopefully, this will be here in a week or so.

Bronsky

 

Ahh. Saw your post in the other thread. Question though: When ordering a notebook, should I just stick to the i5-430m, and just do the upgrade to a 520/540/620m on my own? Would it be cheaper to purchase separately, or to have the factory install it (if the option is available)?

 

OK so here's what I've found out:

The 620m-5650hd cannot be OC'ed to over 660/1060
Any value higher than that crashes the 3dmark test.
When playing, up to 650/1050 clock rate is considered safe as it does not crash the game.

ATI drivers released by AMD both 10.5 and 10.6 cannot be installed
Only ATI VGA drivers from Acer's website are recognized (with the latest 8.713)
But the catalysts (software suite manager etc) can be installed both 10.5 and 10.6. Occasionally, when unconfigured with power settings and ati powerplay, pci-e would respond to x16 but drops to x1 after minutes of gaming.

Usable RAM stays @ 3.68 under 64bit win7.

Here's my 3dmark score overclocked at 660/1060.