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

It's funny really, I don't even have that line in my information center, but all the other info is identical though.

 

Do it. I'm planning to upgrade to 8 in a couple months, just for the extra pep of getting Win7 to utilize the hdd a bit less. I'd love to get a read off you in advance as to thee general experience

 

Your overclocking, so personally I would go for the 1333Mhz ram. You will be pushing over the 1066Mhz limit for sure. Thats why I kept my OCZ 1333Mhz 4GB kit.

 

Yes. Look at the Driver Packaging Version, it is still 8.741 which means the 10.6 driver.

Compare the strings with this list: CCC Driver Details | AMD Developer Central

10.10 should be 8.782

Your Control Center is newer with added features for the amd 6370m/6550m.

 

Hi Yuniu, I see you got a i5 580m too? You must be the second guy with one. Also I see your max overclock is 3.80 Ghz. So we must have hit the i5's limit. Do you get a bluescreen ram stack error when you push higher than 152 on setfsb?

Are you using 1333 Mhz ram there?

 

Yes i bought the 580m a week ago, it's a retail. Pushing over 152 bclk gives bluescreens after some time. I'm using the 1333 Mhz Kit, but it doesn't make any difference when i increase the timings. But who cares, it's fast as hell and cool as ice, using mx-3 thermal compound.

 

3.8ghz is still a very impressive OC. Thats a little work station right there.
I assume when your mobile it downclocks appropriately right? So no hit on battery life?
Any heat issues with intensive cpu programs or gaming?

 

I know ... I've seen the chart but I was surprised to see the 10.10 being reported in catalyist. Anybody else get this reported in catalyst? It also makes no sense for Acer to be so far behind in drivers.

 

If you two are maxed at 3.8ghz, I would think that my max at 3.7 is the end of the line, no matter how much more Ram I install. The I5-580M has base clocks 1.4ghz faster than my I5-540M. Still ... it is blazing fast. Anybody have an I7 with turbo speed close?

Bronsky

 

Ok the same as me. 152BLck and after a while a bluescreen, mines a QS sample 580m. Yes its as fast as hell

No all good, when I'm on the battery I just don't overclock to 3.8 No heat issues. It reaches 88 degrees under prime95 + Furmark. In the real world and Gaming it gets up to 78 degrees after a few hours of Two Worlds II.

I have some benchmarks and full benchmark tests somewhere in this huge thread.

 

Turn your windows resolution to something lower, like 1024x768, then go back to that option you said is disabled, change it to fullscreen, then go back restore your resolution. Play games..

 

Can you use the Synaptic drivers on the Alps? If so which is better?

 

Some findinds:
BIOS has nothing to do with fan control. It's the embedded controller / KBC.bat file which makes the change. Now I am using BIOS 1.19 with the KBC from 1.13 and so far no compatibility problems.

The only problem so far for me is with the GPU fan control.
In 1.13 the GPU fan is _________""___________""___________""_______

In 1.17 and 1.19 the GPU fan is: ___---"""---___---"""---___---"""---___
It's like a perfect sine wave.

At 1.13 there is a nice and stable trigger point, which is 55 C degrees. Under 55 it's dead silent, over 55 it does this stupid surge, for about 5-10 second.

At 1.17+ I don't know what's happening, the overall fan algorithm seems very quiet and nice, except when it gets crazy and starts doing the sine wave. When it's stuck in a sine-wave cycle, it cannot switch off, it keeps doing it at under 44 degrees too, forever. The only way to stop the sine wave is to restart.

There might be some difference between models, as for my support call Acer really wants to repair my computer in service. Normally they would just say that try the newest something, but they really want to change the parts.

 

Your benchmarks make me want to have a 580m. I remember back in the day I used to consider any desktop that could score 10k or higher a very good gaming machine. (My 8800gt with opteron180 may have been only 8,000 at stock, i forget).
Hopefully I can get it OVER 9000. I don't plan on ever upgrading the CPU as of now, just adding a SSD boot drive.
BTW: I have a 4820TG coming from amazon incase you were wondering.

 

for the guys with thebilingual/original keyboard

instead of swapping out to the US keyboard, have you guys tried REMAPPING the keys, so that the button to the right of your Left shift is also "shift"

then just remap that key to FN + something?

 

Just got my unit not too long ago, very happy with it but...

Curious.

Is it possible to switch the LCD for this unit to a higher resolution one of similar dimensions?

 

It has been talked about and links have been posted to LCD's but no one has taken the plunge. Some of the LCD's linked earlier in the thread have the same connections as the ones that come stock.

I hope you end up doing it so that others can follow your lead!

 

Hi, so does the OC-ed 580m cause any performance degradation in games as per your previous cpu OCs?

Also, i'm currently contemplating whether to upgrade my i7 620m to a 580m even as both of them share the exact same specs (i7 even has 1mb more cache). Thus, to do so would seem to be more of a 'down-grade' instead, even as benchmarks(at stock) from notebookcheck.net(do refer to their mobile processor benchmarklist) mysteriously prove otherwise... Would greatly appreciate it if any knowledgeable soul here would like to shed some light on why this phenomenon occurs even as the 620m possesses slightly better specs (in terms of +1mb cache, everything else being equal)... Thanks in advance for the views and posts and cheers!

 

update: use "SharpKeys" to re-map the keys.

 

Acer/ºê»ù AS3820TG5482G50NSS I5-480M/2G/500G/6670HD¶ÀÏÔ-ÌÔ±¦Íø

 

Wow Lee! Looks like the next generation of the 3820TG. Since it is probably the same chip as the HD 5650, I wonder if a new bios and driver will give our units the same capability. The highest price is only $820 so it looks like Acer is not going to charge a lot more for the new model. I wonder if that GPU designation is a typo. It could be a HD 6470. I don't know if there are any HD 6670 GPUs.

Looks like Hendrickson will be selling his unit soon. All this model needs is a sandybridge processor. I hope it's not a mistake or something. Without a better display, I am staying with my 3820TG. It does everything I need it to do - and then some. It seems like Acer just does a rolling refresh of its models. I guess we can expect an upgrade of the 4820TG as well. Nice find.

We probably won't see one of these here for awhile. PCHome should be the first source that has them available for shipping to the US.

Bronsky

 

About HD6770, the most I could find is
ori: תÔØ ²»¸ºÔðÈÎ(Ò³ 1) - acer4741G 4745G±Ê¼Ç±¾ÂÛ̳ - ±Ê¼Ç±¾ÂÛ̳_±¾ÓÑ»á Âò±Ê¼Ç±¾£¬´Ó±¾ÓѻῪʼ£¡ - Powered by Discuz! Archiver
translated: Google Translate

 

Hopefully, the dealer meant HD 6570 . 5% increase over the current 5730 is nice. The nomenclature is confusing. Nothing comes up on the I5-480M either on a google search. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Very nice find.

If this configuration is correct, if it only had a better display (350nits + better contrast - 720P resolution is fine) and a keyboard like the Lenovo X301 series and this would be the perfect ultralight notebook. As it is, it is merely a great ultralight notebook.

Bronsky

 

Oh no.....I order mine and now a new one surfaces? Ugh!!!

Bronsky (or anyone), based on your experience, if this new model is for real, how long until you would expect before you see it shipping to the US?

-G

 

I wouldn't worry. By the time it's available for US, or Canada, it will probably be March or April 2011 at the earliest. That's 4-5 months, almost half a refresh cycle anyhow.

 

Acer 3820tg with I5-480m and ati 6550 will be available in Europe for mid of December.

 

Wow....may I ask how you know this? Do you know any specifics regarding where? From any place that will ship to the U.S.?

Thanks.

 

We're not talking about the HD 6550. There seems to be another model already released in China that has a 6570 (actually it says 6670 on the ad but I think it is wrong). From Lee's chart, that seems to be a rebranded HD 5730 (im in the realm of speculation here). That has always been a suggested upgrade to the 3820TG because it is an over volted HD 5650 chip. No changes need be made to the Madison motherboard. The 5730 is a bit faster than the 5650 and the 6570 seems to be 5% faster than the 5730. Given the great cooling system of the 3820TG, the real potential rests in OC'ing the 6570. 11K 3DM06 anyone? You gonna be first to hit that Hendrickson?

I think Acer has had a lot of success with the TimelineX series. Although they have not been able to keep their international markets supplied (HP is killing them in Latin America and, more recently, the EU) they have had extremely strong sales in China. They seem to be committed to that market so I am not surprised to see this surface there. They will probably keep these rolling updates happening as they appear to be committed to the TimelineX series. Now, how about a better display? And, an optional backlit keyboard would be a nice factory accessory. It would save a lot of soldering on the USB ports (I'm getting rather good at it by now).

I don't think it will take Acer more than a couple of months to feed the 6xxx units into the pipeline. I would expect 4820TG's with the 6xxx GPU by CES. We don't know if there will ever be a HD 6570 in a 4820TG or if that version will ever be imported into the states. The good thing is that it raises the bar for HP, Dell and the like. The standard GT 420M that Dell is putting in the 14" XPS can't compete with the Acer. In order to get a better GPU, you have to give up battery life by electing a QM processor. Maybe they'll rethink that sales strategy.

Bronsky

Edit: I'm so glad I bought my replacement unit and that I did all the upgrading last weekend. Otherwise, I would be tempted to wait and I'm not sure the 10% increase will be worth it. Plus, if the new CPU is still based on the old HD 5650 chip on the Madison board, how long before we are able to use the bios and driver settings to overvolt the HD 5650 and boost the clocks to HD 5730/6570 speeds.

 

I'm guessing the 6xxx series won't change the way switchable graphics work then. Was really hoping for an improvement in that area, to bring it up to Optimus standard. Guess AMD is less focused on the customer experience than I would like them to be?

 

I picked up my 3820tg and new hdd from UPS last night. I've only had about 35 mins so far to check it out, but here are some extremely preliminary impressions:

Screen ... this seems to be the hot button issue of late. I did not get a chance to check which brand screen I received (will update later), but so far, so good. No stuck or dead pixels. Screen is bright, not pixelated, not grainy; no lines or flickering. Viewing angles are fine. Overall the screen is great -- easily exceeding my expectations out of the gate. I'm almost inclined to say that most of the screen issues have been overstated, but I understand that there are a couple of different screens out there and that some people have had some issues. My screen seems great so far, knock on wood.

Build quality ... solid. No keyboard or chasis flex. Extremely lightweight without battery. Battery adds some heft for sure but it's still very light for what it is without feeling slight, cheap, or dainty. Hinges are solid as well. Nobody should worry about the screen falling over; it stays in the position you put it in. The screen itself could possibly be susceptible to bending if mishandled; that's the price you pay for a sub 1" thick notebook. With due care and respect for what it is, there won't be issues. Also as far as thickness goes -- wow, it's very thin.

Battery ... I have not had the chance to fully decharge and cycle a few times to conditon it yet, but after getting it charged to 100%, I disconnected the power and it said I had over 7 hours remaining. That is at stock 'balanced' energy profile, not on the 'power save' mode.

Overall ... very impressed so far. I will report back after I get a chance to use erecovery, abr, install new hdd, clean install 7, etc. Haven't had time to gauge performance, longer screen use or anything like that yet, but so far, it's all positive.

 

Is the cooling really that good that you can boost the voltage in the GPU?

I guess thats a pipe dream in the 4820tg with the one cooling system for both gpu and cpu.

 

yea, a bios mod that would allow for over/under volt of the gpu would be great. Wonder if there are ppl out there with the technical know-how to do it?

 

Don't be so sure. The 4820TG handles the I5 and an OC'd GPU with no problem. This new GPU would only increase performance about 10% (about 3-5 FPS in most games). I would think the 4820TG could handle that with no problem. The heating issues in the 4820TG were related to the low throttle temp of the I3's. That's why there are no more I3 4810TGs in the US.

 

O.
Can i still underclock/overclock my i5 460? I've heard mixed things.

 

I don't know the 4820TG as well as I do the 3820TG. I would think yes. My I5 runs very cool, even OC'd. In my old unit, however, it ran at 91-93C. It ran fine, however. It just seemed hot to me.

Bronsky

 

imma wip out my DICE and get 4ghz lol.
jk

I'd use my watercooling but I dont have a block and dont know how to make one.

Actually I probably wouldn't.

 

You would have to cut large gaping holes in your 4820TG.

 

I could just take the mobo out I thought?

 

has anybody tried putting an i7 in their 3820TG?

I am considering buying one, but I do not know if I should order the Canadian one with the i3 or the German one with the i5. If the i7 can be put into it then I will go for the i3 one and do that.

I already have a 96gb OCZ vertex SSD to put into it that I am currently using in my UL30A, so hard-drive size does not matter to me. Its only the CPU I am wondering about.

 

^you can put in i7 620M or i7 640M...

 

Thanks, are those the only ones you can use or will an i7 680LM/680M 2.4ghz work?

 

That's the one tested before...

 

So I uninstalled my stock Catalyst drivers and installed the 10.10e linked by Hendrickson and now I can't get my resolution over 1024x768. I don't think I did anything 'wrong' as all I did was uninstall and install. Any ideas?

 

Ok thanks, guess i'll try the 680LM

I assume the 3820TG is PGA988? As intel's site lists the 640m as being available in BGA1288 and PGA988?

Thanks

 

Correct.

Bronsky

 

Alright I'm still stumped. I get this error when I open up Device Manager. However, it lists ATi Mobility Radeon HD 5600/5700 Series under Display Adapters, and it's listed as working properly. So then I had the bright idea to reinstall the Intel graphics drivers, since the other Display Adapter was listed simply as a Standard Display Adapter and not an Intel. Well I tried it first through Windows Update, and upon restarting the screen never turns on after the Windows logo, it stays black for minutes before I have to hold the power button to turn off the computer. So I had to go into safe mode and restore drivers. Then I tried the latest from Intel's website, and the exact same thing happened. I'm posting this now from Safe Mode What the heck is going on with these drivers?

 

If you are using the preinstalled version of Acer Windows 7 Home Premium with the graphic drivers already installed, you cannot uninstall the ATI driver because it will conflict with the Intel driver. Vice versa with the Intel driver. The ATI and Intel drivers are combined together to allow switchable graphics. Try reinstalling the AMD driver from the Acer website if you did uninstall one of the stock drivers.

If you are using a clean install of Windows 7. You will have to install the driver named AMD (not ATI and not Intel) from the Acer website. The AMD driver is a bundled graphics driver and has both the ATI and Intel drivers. Once, you have the AMD driver installed, you can then follow the steps in this forum to update the ATI driver. However, you CANNOT update the Intel driver.

AMD driver (ATI+Intel bundled) + Latest ATI drivers = Is all you can do.

 

+1 100% correct.

 

Thanks, that cleared it up, and after a bit of searching I managed to find the directions for properly updating (switch to Discrete, update, switch to Switchable).

 

Just a quick update - my monitor is the AUO322C - and, as I stated before, I think the display is just fine. I'm not experiencing anything strange or low quality about it.