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

Thank you all for the input on the (new) 3820TG unit. I'm seriously considering it now, since there's confirmed i5 versions available to US purchasers (easily orderable compared to before).

 

I'm having similar problems on the Intel GPU as well. Could someone please play back this youtube with flash 10.1 with hardware acceleration enabled, while running the Intel GPU? I'm getting heavy artifacting. Not sure if it matters, but I'm using Firefox 3.6.13. Thanks!

YouTube - Johnny Depp - From Hell trailer

 

The Intel driver seems to have an bug on the hardware acceleration.

Create a support ticket by Acer. They have to replace the old Intel driver with the newer one. Only Acer seems to be able to replace the Intel driver without crashing the switch option.

 

So you are getting artifacts as well?

 

Yes I got them as well.

I will try a few other driver for fun but I'm not thinking about to get a working switching version with the other drivers.

 

39 posts from 10,000. Oops ... 38. I can't figure out if the amount of attention that this notebook still gets is a testiment to Acer's design or an indictment of the lack of imagination shown by Acer's competitors. Imagine how many units LG could have sold it if did not discontinue the P310 and kept upgrading it.

Bronsky

 

Hey,

which ATI grafikcard do you have? An 5000 or 6000 model?

For the 5000 the driver 8.752 is working for me.

I think it should be possible to get the intel driver working with an AMD release for the 6000 models. First Install the linked on and than update the AMD one.
A Howto for an AMD update is in the first post.

It's easy to say.

Acer was the first one in Germany which put a fast CPU and GPU in a small 13,3" "business" chassis.

And if you take a look at the internet community it is very often, that the first one get the most active community, the most posts -> a good FAQ or How-tos and a lot of Reviews. "See my new star on the table"

And a lot of persons a buying the 3820TG because they are thinking, if all the people there in the thread buy it, it couldn't be the last trash. -> And the wheel goes on.

The first get it all.

 

I'm using the 5470, so I'll try out those drivers! It's stupid these newer drivers don't work properly, but the older ones do :s

Edit: Did these drivers also fix your issue with msn? Thanks!

Am I missing something? Last post shows as #9565, with this one being #9566...

 

I'm not a msn user.

 

Ok, those drivers indeed fixed the youtube artifacting problem, but the Windows Live Messenger crashing persists. Hopefully Acer will release a switchable graphics driver with a newer Intel build soon!

 

lol I can't read.

 

Please contact them. Acer need to be informed from many people before they release a new driver version.

 

Going to try a manual install of the Switchable Intel Driver from the Envy 14. It's quite a bit newer. Let's see if that one works properly! Will report back ASAP

Couldn't get the Envy 14 drivers to install correctly. Modding the inf seemed to cure some problems, but bring others. If anyone could help me out how to install those it would be greatly appreciated. I've read it can be done. Anyway, I've tried these 3 versions of the driver from Acer:

8.713.3.3 : Windows Live Messenger works fine, but some Youtube movies get corrupted.
8.741.1.6 : Windows Live Messenger frequently crashes and some Youtube movies get corrupted.
8.752 : Windows Live Messenger frequently crashes, but Youtube movies don't get corrupted.

So 1 driver fails to pass both test, while the other 2 drivers both fail 1 out of 2 tests. Not a single perfect Intel Switchable Graphics driver.

 

Are you talking about Canada or do you have any news about Acer releasing it in the USA?

Please don't tell me the second option since I just bought from Canada

 

Here is the way I got the Intel driver from the ENVY 14 graphics drivers to install without sacrificing switchable graphics functionality. The advantages of doing this is so hardware accelerated applications (IE9 beta, certain Windows Live programs, Flash 10.1/10.2, perhaps Skype?, etc.) work properly while using the integrated GMA HD graphics mode. I don't use the Windows Live programs, but I assume if IE9 beta with hardware acceleration activated works for me and the source of the issue is the HW acceleration, then they should work as well. The disadvantage of doing so is that I don't know how safe it is to do something like this, but I haven't run into any problems the past few weeks with this configuration, so I'm hopeful. Still, do this at your own risk and discretion.

First you'll want to install Driver Sweeper. You can find the latest version here. For the ENVY 14 graphics driver, you can get that here. You're only going to need the files in a specific folder within the ENVY 14 graphics package. The installer just extracts the files to a directory of your choosing (by default SwSetup in C:\) and runs the installer. Exit out of the installer when it comes up as we're only going to want the Intel GMA HD portion of the package. In addition, you'll want to have the Acer graphics driver package unpacked and handy (the latest 8.752 package will work fine).

NOTE: Steps (1.) and (2.) may be optional for you. It became a routine for me after failing to get this to work several times, but if you haven't attempted to install anything but the default Acer graphics drivers, the first two steps are likely unnecessary.

(1.) With the BIOS set to Switchable mode (default), uninstall all graphics drivers from both the Programs and Features (Control Panel -> Programs -> Programs and Features) section and also uninstall and delete any existing drivers using the Device Manager. Basically you want both display adapters to show up as standard VGA graphics adapters after you scan for hardware changes (in the Action menu in the Device Manager).

(2.) Reboot into Safe Mode. You can do this by repeatedly pressing the F8 key at boot until it prompts you with the Safe Mode selections. When in Safe Mode, run Driver Sweeper and analyze and clean the ATI drivers (select the checkbox). I did this to make sure I start with a clean slate with regards to graphics drivers. Reboot back into normal mode and install the Acer graphics drivers (8.752 package if you want the latest). Reboot to finish installation of the standard Acer drivers.

3. You should now be at the same spot as people who skipped steps (1.) and (2.), which is just a normal Acer graphics installation. Now you'll want to prepare the Intel drivers from the ENVY 14 graphics package for installation. Make a copy of the Intel graphics driver folder from the standard Acer graphics package (driver folder -> Packages -> Drivers -> Display -> W76A_INF) (assuming you are using 64-bit Windows, otherwise the W7_INF folder) somewhere (e.g. Desktop). Next, find the same W76A_INF folder in the HP ENVY 14 graphics driver folder (C:\SwSetup -> etc. etc. by default) and copy and paste all of the files inside the "Intel" folder from the HP version (newer) into the "Intel" folder you copied from the Acer package (presumably on Desktop). Overwrite all files when asked. You are ONLY replacing the files within the "Intel" folder, as these are the files that correspond to the Intel GMA HD driver. This means that in the Desktop folder you created, the .ini, .cat, .msi, and the other folder (B101951 in the case of 8.752) are left untouched.

4. Reboot into Safe Mode again (F8 repeatedly at startup). (Using Safe Mode at this step is important! I failed to do so before proceeding and had graphics glitches using Terran in SC2 whenever I played after I had switched to integrated graphics and back.) Go to the Device Manager, under Display adapters, right click the Intel HD graphics item, then Update Driver Software... -> Browse my computer for driver software -> Let me pick from a list... -> Have Disk... -> select the first INF file from the Desktop\W76A_INF folder (in the case of 8.752, the file name is C7102175.inf), then install the first (and by default selected) option that appears. It will probably warn you about unsigned drivers, etc., just continue installing.

Once it has finished installing, you can reboot back into normal Windows mode, switch the graphics mode to the integrated chip and check that the Intel graphics version you are running is indeed the 8.15.10.2189 version that comes with the ENVY 14 graphics drivers (this can be found in the Intel graphics control panel). Now go test and make sure everything works (graphics switching back and forth, no artifacts in 3D games, no artifacts in Flash videos with hardware acceleration on, hardware accelerated applications, etc.) fine and enjoy! Keep in mind that whenever you install switchable Acer graphics drivers, the Intel GMA HD drivers will also be replaced. If this method still doesn't work for you, then I'm not sure what you can do other than wait for Acer to release newer drivers. I hope it works for you though, as I spent a good amount of time figuring it out (trial and error) until I came up with this method (which has worked successfully for me several times now).

I'm currently using the 8.752 discrete driver but I did have success installing Catalyst Mobility 11.1 using the BIOS -> Discrete mode trick without messing anything else up.

P.S. this is the SC2 graphics glitch that I was experiencing when I didn't do things in Safe Mode in step 4 for those that are curious.

 

lol same here...that would suck.

 

Looks like the Timeline refresh is set to "start" in Q2. Acer, Asustek, Lenovo to launch new ultra-thin notebooks starting 2Q11

Bronsky

 

I just received my AS3820TG-6829. A few questions and tips I would like:

1) Is there a program to switch the key beside "z" to function as left shift?

2) Where can I find all the drivers for this laptop? I'm planning on a fresh install.

3) Is there a way I can burn the backup images that is in the Acer backup program without a USB dvd drive?

4) How can I install a fresh copy of Windows 7 without a drive? Or what is the best option (network/USB etc)?

5) The Acer I have came with an LG monitor, does anybody have tweaked settings for make it look better? or what kind of tools should I use to tweak it myself?

Any other tips would be great...

 

Excellent questions cookie15.

I would like to add some too, "Things to improve a new 3820tg."
I know the following:
1)Disable powerplay
2)Use quiethdd

What else is there? Thanks!

 

anycolour, I'd say THIS sucks more, selfish speaking.

Well, I remember my own advice: if you bought a laptop, stop looking around and be happy...

 

Talking about the ones from NCIX.

LOLZ @ the sentence in grey color I wish it came out. They keep releasing the damn 4820tg but no 13in for some reason. NO IDEA WHY :/

 

Just got my 3820tg and was thinking about puting 8gb of ram in it but have heard that it if you put ddr3 with higher speed than 1066 mhz the computer will down clock the memory to 1066 mhz

 

I didn't manage to get it to work on 8.741. Somehow the latest driver 8.752 drops my SC2 framerate to 20-ish from around 55. Out of curiosity, do you have any performance issues with the 8.752 discreet driver?

Btw, the BIOS > Discrete mode trick, are you referring to the update procedure on page 1? And do you still retain switching capability after that?

Yes, it will clock down to the maximum interconnect speed supported by the cpu and/or chipset.

 

I don't appear to have performance issues with the 8.752 drivers. I usually play on low settings so that the frame rate rarely ever drops much, but even on somewhat higher settings, my frame rate doesn't drop down to the 20s unless there's a lot going on on the screen (i.e. big team battles). And yes, I am referring to the page 1 update procedure, and yes, switchable functionality still works after updating, with one caveat that I noticed. While usually it prompts you to confirm before switching graphics mode (the 300 seconds pop-up), once I updated to 11.1, there was no confirmation when switching from discrete to integrated, if I recall correctly. When something triggers a switch (either automatically by going on battery or manually switching it) in this direction, it'll switch without asking for confirmation (even if you never told it to never ask again). Hope that made sense.

Sorry, can't explain why it wouldn't work for you. I came up with this method prior to the release of the 8.752 drivers, so it worked with 8.741 for me. When you say it didn't work, do you mean it failed to install the drivers or is it that the problem with Windows Live Messenger crashing persists? If it's the latter, double check to make sure the Intel driver actually updated to 8.15.10.2189, and if it did, then I guess you could ask in the HP ENVY forums if users with these drivers installed (on the laptop these were meant for in the first place) have the same issue as you, as then it would more likely point to the driver being the culprit or perhaps something unrelated to the graphics driver even. My only test is IE9 beta working with GPU acceleration, haven't really tested anything else...

If my instructions screwed things up bad for you, the first two steps (1.) and (2.) should get you back to normal.

 

I just woke up and I'm going to try your instructions now. I'll let you know if I can manage to get them to install with the 8.752 drivers and if all my issues are gone. Thank you very much for the guide!

 

I downloaded a program called "Virtual CD" which can emulate an optical burner. With this program you can create isos using Acer Recovery Management. One of the isos you make contains all the drivers, handy for a fresh install.

 

Woohoo! Thank you so much PeterDLai! Finally Windows Live Messenger _and_ all Youtube movies with hardware acceleration enabled are working! One happy camper here! =) Thanks again!

 

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

 

I started with step 3, with the only difference of slipstreaming the Envy14 stuff into the 8.741 package instead.

Then as per step 4, I rebooted into safe mode, updated the Intel HD Graphics driver via Device Manager with the .inf file from the slipstreamed folder. Again, where C7102175.inf was i replaced it with the original Acer inf that came with the 8.741 package (taking especial care not to accidentally install the HP driver).

After rebooting back into normal mode, both graphics adapters failed to be recognized, and windows defaulted to the Standard VGA Adapter driver. I wasn't able to open either the Catalyst Control Center or the Intel Control Panel.

I created a restore point before I attempted the update, so everything's back to normal after a quick restore.

But since you're saying there's no performance impact from 8.752, I'll give it a try again tomorrow after updating the drivers. Definitely worth a re-try, after all, it's pretty pointless owning a 13.3" long battery life notebook if you can't IM someone decently on the go. This time I'll start from steps 1 and 2, hopefully they help.

Btw, have you tried updating to 11.1 discreet driver after performing your Intel Gfx slipstream? Were you still able to retain switchable functionality?

 

Hi.

I'm playing SC2 Campaign on High/Ultra (texture stuff Ultra, GPU stuff high/ultra, CPU stuff MEDIUM).

Single player I actually found really CPU bottlenecked with 480M. I was hitting 50-70FPS in 1280x768 with a couple dozen of my units on screen. Soon as 3-4 groups / bases of CPU-controlled Protoss came into play (off the screen) my FPS dropped to around 35 on average.

Therefore I assume Multiplayer should run smooth in High/Ultra in native resolution, with a few tweaks here and there if necessary .

I'm playing with my GPU @ 800/1000 by the way which is a rather safe OC for that card - with a bit of luck you can go a lot higher. Just keep checking temps with HWMonitor and artifacts with ATiTool.

Hope this helps.

 

hi guys...
after several hard work days i´ve got my VLited version on win7 (1 giga less than original size) and it works well...
i´ve tho things to ask you:
1- where´s the option to fix the cpu multiplier to 22x on battery mode too??
2- where i may find a RAM vendor-model list for our lappy??
i wanna buy a 2x4 giga of 1333 ram kit to improve the OC stability and support... (at 166 x 22 ram works at 1333 so...)
thanks!!

 

Hello again!

Since I ordered this laptop and a backlit keyboard from eBay, now I have to buy a cheap soldering iron and a rosin core wire...

I soldered about 10 times in my life, and even being perfectionist I'm definitely not a pro. I'd like to know what would be the safest option for this job:

30 Watt Pencil Soldering Iron 30W Featherweight Iron (eBay)

15-Watt Soldering Iron with Grounded Tip (Radioshack)

The only source of the motherboard I want to use is the USB.

 

By "replaced it", you mean you just changed the step 4 instructions to use the C7107242.inf file from 8.741 instead, correct?

BTW, I forgot to mention a detail inside the step 4 instructions. I have since edited my original post, but basically I meant to say you need to replace the files ONLY within the "Intel" folder. That folder is found in the W76A_INF folder you created. Slipstream the files contained only within the "Intel" folder, leaving everything else outside of the "Intel" folder alone.

It still should have worked even with my initial instructions because I believe the B______ folder and the .inf, .cat, and .msi files inside W76A_INF are different among different driver versions, so it shouldn't replace any files besides the ones inside the "Intel" folder. But this makes things a little cleaner (doesn't copy over unnecessary files, which may or may not cause problems). This is why I speculate it still worked for Musho in the end.

Yes, steps (1.) and (2.) might be a good idea. I find that sometimes installing driver versions directly over older versions (without driver sweeping or uninstalling) may not do everything properly so remnants of the old drivers may exist somewhere somehow. Also, problems can arise when you uninstall the drivers and it rolls back to your previous driver, I've noticed (for example, CCC and the latest graphics driver gets uninstalled but Windows decides to revert to a previous driver that it saved in a repository somewhere, which may or may not have been affected after you installed over it). I'm not sure if your Acer came stock with 8.741 or if you updated to 8.741 without cleaning out the old driver, but steps (1.) and (2.) help to ensure nothing is left behind.

Yes, I was able to retain switchable functionality after updating to 11.1 (while in BIOS -> Discrete mode), even with the HP ENVY 14 Intel driver installed.

You're welcome. Glad it worked out for you.

 

This has got to be one of the best OC portable I've ever owned!
Just started pushing it bit by bit now and running totally stable with:

i5 480M @ 2.900 MHz
HD6550 @ 800/1100 MHz

This already gives a real nice 10.131 3DMARK06 score

Pretty sure there's still quite some room for improvement at temp don't even reach 80° yet ...

 

Wow, that puts you squarely into the ATI 5850's territory. how are the temps while you're running games for a while like that?

 

OK, starting to find the limits here:

With SetFSB, I can't get the i5 480M processor over 2.900 MHz without it blue screening me ... that's a bit of a low overclock as it isn't even 10% ... anyone any suggestions (already tried throttlestop to disable turbo and fix multiplier)?

As for the HD6550: THIS IS A BEAST!!!! Got it running at 820 // 1.150 now ... that's a 37% clock and a 28% memory increase ... simply INSANE !

In 3DMARK06, it goes from a nice 7.790 score to a splendid 10.423 after OC ... and that's a 34% increase .

Truly amazing so you won't hear me complaining (too much)

 

I'm not a pro myself, but having soldered an additional mini-PCIe slot I would say go for something a little higher powered. I own a 25W electric iron, and I found that the solder I used did not really flow properly. I had to touch the iron to the contacts for an excessively long time, and this worried me that I might damage the board.

Eventually I switched to a 200W-equivalent butane powered one, and a quick light touch was all that was needed to form a clean joint.

Did I mention solder flux helps a lot too?

 

After a one hour stress run, it puts my maximum CPU temperature at 74°C and my maximum GPU temperature at 79°C ... so within acceptable limits (for a short period of time). Won't be running at this speed constantly though

 

Hell, my 4820TG runs hotter than that by about 8 degrees without overclocking (CPU 84 GPU 86) so that's outstanding.

 

I think the dual cooling design of the 3820TG is great (if not one of the best out there) ... and I already read a few times on this forum it does beats the 4820TG and the 5820TG when it comes to cooling ... so it's kinda ... cool

 

All Core i5s and Core i7 600 series do not support 1333MHz. It throttles to 1066MHz. Don't waste your money.

 

Have you checked the TjMax? Open Hardware Monitor showing mine 5C lower than other monitor software..

 

Possible, but it always does show the same temp as throttlestop ... and right now, also as real temp (just dloaded it) though not stressing now (really have to go to bed now, it's 3.15 AM here).

 

It's kinda... the reason why I bought a 3820TG from Canada instead of a (cheaper and local) 4820TG.

 

I'm really afraid of using something too powerful and damage my mobo or USB connector. I didn't decide between those two yet because I don't really know if 30W is too much or 15W is too little. So would you tell me to go with the 30W?

I never heard about solder flux before, and I didn't understand really well the wikipedia explanation (language barrier). I understood about using it to avoid oxidation, but is solder flux a paste that you use exactly in the place you are going to solder before using the rosin wire? Do you think it worths to buy just to use in this mod?

Thank you!

 

I thought a safe overclock was 650/950.

Well, if 800/1100 works that's even better.

What's the max temperatures the 6550 gpu should reach?

baretsu, what tool do you use to overclock? Would be great if you could post the link to the exact one you use.

 

Even 820/1150 runs stable to temps do get a bit higher. 650/950 is even within AMD's limits so totally safe. I's say 700/1000 on daily bases shouldn't cause any problems (at least not on mine but maybe I just got lucky).
Theoretically, the maximum temp for the i5 480M is 105°C but I would NEVER push it that far. Don't think the rest of the portable would appreciate it.
For the GPU, you can go up to 110°C (but as with the CPU, don't count on it as it will freeze or shut down before ever reaching it).

For the CPU OC, I use SetFSB, the Registered version (don't be a cheap and just pay the 800 Yen, that's about 7 Euro's).

For the GPU, I use AMD GPU clock Tool which is free anyway.

The links are of the exact versions I use ...

 

Anyone successfully getting MLAA working with Catalyst 11.2? I tried editing registry (MLF_NA=0)but still not getting any option for that.

 

No it doesn't work and I advise against modding on your own.
I was able to make MLAA work in 10.12 via a lot of messing around in registry and modifying inf file (based on desktop version that had MLAA for HD6xxx).
So I enabled MLAA- the only problem was that it was always on (you couldn't disable it) and normal AA seemed to be on too.
So I ended up with either no AA or both AA & MLAA working at the same time.
I took me a lot of modding to disable it.

 

I did a clean install, so it was 8.741 throughout.

For the sake of thoroughness however, I uninstalled and cleaned 8.741 before installing 8.752. Still no luck with repeating your procedure with 8.752 (even starting from step 1)

At this point, I'm suspecting that the driver packaging could be slightly different on the various Acer support sites. I'm not sure how driver development works in big companies, but I downloaded my driver from the Acer Singapore website, if it makes a difference.

MD5=297ecaf2a6c5e911b3e1e938b8053d0d.