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

Thanks for this, very useful information. If I can't figure out how to import my 3820TG successfully, I may have a replacement US keyboard for sale for very very cheap.

 

But only the lousy AUO dips

 

If I wasn't lovin' my display so much I would think about it. I was working outside early this morning and I had no problems. It's only when the sun gets higher that I have any outside issues. I would prefer matt, but $240 just to wind up with a matt verion of a display that might not be as good? I would probably be better off getting a matt screen protector.

Bronsky

 

OC-Freak how'd you get a silver 3820TG?

 

Looks good gaiz. Keep up the good (hard) work in your backyards

Edit: I love how online, smileys = punctuation

 

This is very helpful, I transfer all the information to Germany to see what they will do.

If all the canada buyer send them this information, maybe help for both

 

Good question, I didn't realize that most 3820TG are actually black alu style until you brought it up.

Maybe acer is changing the design slightly? My 3820TG has an assembly date of 10. June, so it's pretty fresh.

Silver style is better, at least for not showing fingerprints!

Edit: actually I bet they are selling so many that they ran out of screen covers and decided to use the old stock of 3810 covers

 

Thats why I upgraded to a intel wifi link 6200 and haven't looked back, much better than atheros and my signal imporved from 3 bars lid closed to 5 with the intel.

PS Bronsky (or others with the UTMS model) can you please tell me if the UTMS modules software allows you do do voice calls and send SMS? I'm about to pull the plug on a UTMS i5 450m model and forget about the i7 620m just O/C near i7 speeds.

And sell my current one, hopefully without loosing to much $$$.

 

That's probably more likely. Mine was made on May 22, 2010 and I have the dark charcoal cover. It's a fingerprint magnet but I like the color.

@hendrickson - I did not get the UMTS. They got it in stock a couple of weeks after I ordered mine. I'll be OC'ing my CPU this week and, if there are no surprises, I'll be staying with the 450M. Funny, if I had gotten the 430M that I originally ordered, I would be forced to do the upgrade to get the performance I need. I guess I should be glad they ran out of stock and cancelled my first order. I really like this unit. I seem to have gotten a good one.

I tether my notebook to my phone via bluetooth. Verizon has VZ access for an extra $15 a month and my company pays the Cell phone bill anyway. But, I need the phone even when I don't have the laptop. Plus, there's wireless almost anywhere I go. If I wanted to use a UMTS unit, I would have to pay for an extra $50-$60/month for broadband service.

Bronsky

 

Hey i checked out the 3820gt(5470) at staples.

It felt really good in my hands and had great build quality. I was surprised how light it was as well. Although the keyboard felt a little cramped it was fine after i typed on it for like 5 minutes.(the people at the store must of thought i was crazy as it was not turned on.) Can't comment on the screen, i was a little peeved they wouldn't let me turn it on to look at it a more. Anyways after all that i sucked it up and bought the Envy 14 sitting next to it.

 

Hey gang. I just purchased a 3820TG-3022 (core i5-430, ATI 5470) and I was wondering which programs you guys recommend I uninstall? I don't necessarily want to do a clean install (maybe another weekend), I'm not even sure how to do so on this machine, but I would love to reduce the bloat as much as possible (95 processes running after I installed Microsoft Security Essentials!).

Of the installed stuff, what should I keep, what should I update and how should I delete it (Revo Uninstaller as recommended by Lifehacker?)?

Thanks!

 

From what I'm reading about the Envy, you probably made a good move. It is a shame that Acer didn't have the HD5650 version of the 3820TG right next to the Envy to tempt you. I am really pleased with my new laptop.

 

OFF Topic

Sorry guys, I need Kiskapu's contact. (priv. mess. not avail.)

Szia Kiskapu! Sajnos itt kell Neked irnom, mert privat uzit nem engedelyezted. Egy kis segitseget szeretnek kerni. Irtam a notebookjournal.de oldalon levo profilodnak, privat uziben, de nem tudom, hogy azt meg olvasod-e. Ha elolvasnad es persze valaszolnal, az tuti lenne. Koszi!

 

Can someone make a Cinebench R10 test on the Acer? Comparing to this table, the values the Envy got is way too high for me. It's higher than the 620M and almost as hight as the 720QM.
Notebookcheck: Mobile Processors - Benchmarklist

 

Yeah, I think yours is a refresh as I found something on a Malaysian forum where this Beouwulf is reportedly working for Acer, who mentioned a new revision for 4820TG:-

Acer Aspire TimelineX

 

I must inform that my 4810TG back-lit keyboard mod is complete.

Power was pulled right from the USB pins, and it can be turned on \ off with an external jumper switch, which means no sleazy device disconnects and worries about other stuff.
It could be more slick if I used some tiny switch, but I'd have to drill a hole on the chassis, which I'd rather not do for now.

Tip: if you want a dimmer back-light just put a 200-300 ohm resistor in the ground connection, should dim it just enough. I find it just fine with the full 5V.

Props to my friend Paulo, who did most of the hard work. We took some risks here, but it feels awesome now.

PS: the damn solderer tip was crappy as hell. With a decent solderer (and smaller tipped also) this would've been a lot easier.

Pics will be up soon

 

i kind of wish i had the silver, the black collects finger prints like a mofo

 

some pics of the screen.

the grainy effect and close up for how easy the pixels are visible making this grainy effect worse in diff levels of brightness


Even at such a distance you can see the grainy effect of the display, again pictures untouched.



some more for your entertainment.









I feel acer went cheap with the display. on my asus UL i didn't pay much though the side views are crap the initial on screen view is better.

 

I saw these pics on the 4820TG site. Does anybody else have these lines. I don't. I would sit on Microcenter's doorstep until they took it back.

Bronsky

 

Please do, I think I'm ready to do mine as well. Would love to see what you did. USB still work after you took power from it? I'm lookin for a good microtip for my soldering iron.

 

Lastdon, what model is that?

Oh, just a question to those that have been doing some overclocking:

You can overclock this to 5730 default clocks quite easily, right? If you do, what are your temperatures before and after? Does it perform more or less the same as the 5730 if you go 650/800 on it?

 

hey bronsky, i got it from staples in canada, i will be taking it back.

both that i have well took the one back to see if this was an issue and got a second one , had the same effect.

I will take it back tmrw.


Min2209 it's the 3820TG with the 5470 ati card in canada.



I mean okay the camera pics up more pixels when closer, but when turning down the brightness, sitting 2 feet away you can see somehting that makes the display not look smooth, seems like its pixellated. like something is there, it is hard to describe.

 

Oh a 13? That is clearly unacceptable on a 13. Mine is nothing like that. I would see if they would let you see the display in the store right after you buy it. If it looks the same, get your money back and try another store ... it might be a bad production batch.

 

Well, pics are up now. Knock yourselves out .

 

Staples, eh? I used to work at Staples. They aren't going to open a box, turn it on and let you take a look at it in store. Just go get another one, try it, if it still is bad then return it again. It should be on display at some locations, call the various locations and ask them.

 

maybe it is just how the display is supposed to be? on my envy and asus i really have to look hard for pixels pattern , just that it is more noticeable on the acer here. and like i said it was the first thing i noticed and complained about in other post right when i opened the laptop.

and trust me i've owned a lot of laptops since the 600mhz days!!!!!

 

So are these things available in California yet, dammit?

 

Dear expert,

i found some problem where voice chat in MSN or Skype, acer3820 suddenly cut my voice input (i still can hear my friend's voice, but he can't hear mine)... after a while (maybe 3-5 minutes) my voice enable back again.

i think is bcos of power management problem, any1 have the clue?

thanks.
CHEW

 

So the rest of the world is getting 3820TG refresh models, while we here in the States haven't gotten a unit with the 5650 yet. Bummer.

 

I travel often in the country and having the UTMS will be great. I use vodafone on a prepay basis. 19 Euros for a week of unlimited data isn't too bad.

Nice glad to see others installing the backlit mod like I first did. Do you find that 5volts isn't a bit too bright? Using it in teh dark when I first had the USB connection I found it too bright and the LED's also emitted a high pitch noises as if they were over powered. So for me 3.5v seemed a perfect brightness for me and no noise.

Its also personal preference as I don't like LED backlit keyboards to be super bright. Otherwise they reflect of the screen.

How did you go fitting the extra 1mm thickness of the keyboard? A file is good to file down where the clips connect. I also recommend some double sided tape to stop any flex issues.

Bluetooth V3, UTMS (Depends on the model) and the i5 450m, but the major improvement is a different PLL Clockgen that means the i5 450m can be overclocked to 2.8Ghz - 3.2Ghz turbo. MY i5 430m model allows no overclocking

 

I'm sold on a i5 450m 3G model that can be overclocked:



Notice the CPU score on 3dmark06 of an overclocked i5 450m @ 3.2 beats the i7 620m @ 3.3Ghz. That can't be right? But apparently it is....

The i7 620m gets 3047 according to notebookcheck.net

Completely scrapped my i7 620m upgrade idea. I'm getting another one from Acer Aspire 3820TG-5454G64Nks 3G - Notebooks - computeruniverse.net

This time I'll get UPS delivery its only 9 euros more than slow DHL mail.

 

I happen to have an i450. Am deliberating whether I should o/c, cuz I worry the battery life would be affected much. One of the main reasons I got this was for the battery life..

I have basically read all the pages in this thread but i am not sure if i have missed it: Does o/c'ing cut down the battery life by a lot? TIA!

 

any where to pick up this laptop on US yet?
estimate price?

 

wait.. what refresh model are you talking about?

 

Silver lid etc etc

 

@bolt.pt Thanks for the pics. The KB looks great.

Two questions about the USB power point. Any effect on the SB or it works fine. The jumper idea is a good one ... that could just as easily be a switch and possibly a rheostated switch. All you would have to do is cut that little bar in the center of the vent grid and you could probably fit a switch there. Time to go to Radio Shack. I may try to do the connections on the baord with conductive glue but these look like fairly accessible solder points. A tinted wire with heat applied to the wire alone should be able to make a joint without melting the board. Interesting that no one has used wire glue yet.

It seems like you did not have the fittment problems I had with the keyboard.
Or did you?

Bronsky

 

Second 3820TG ordered with i5 450m and UTMS (I'm crazy I know) But when I sell my current 3820TG it should be cheaper and than a i7 620 upgrade.

 

The only `TG available in North America to date is the one with ATI 5470 from Staples in Canada.

 

I have the feeling that on ebay you can get a 3820tg with a backlit keyboard..

By the way Hendrickson, why the UMTS? Isn't it handy to use the cell phone as a modem through the Bluetooth? In the end, just the umts is 50 bucks more..

 

Core i7-620m turbo steps:
2.66GHz "stock"
3.06GHz max boost with two cores loaded
3.33GHz max boost with ONE core loaded.

Core i5-450M turbo steps:
2.4GHz "stock"
2.66GHz max boost with TWO cores loaded.

Cverclocked i5-450M with 160 Bclk.
2.88GHz "stock"
3.2GHz max boost with TWO cores loaded.

So if both cores are loaded (which they most of the time will be when gaming/doing performance tests) the overclocked i5-450m will perform better than an stock i7-620m under ideal conditions.
The CPU seems to measure the workload/power usage/temps so it's not certain that it will always run at max boost. For example with prime95 the CPU usually doesn't boost at all (both clocked and stock).

That is why an overclocked i5-450 performs better.

 

this is a bit off topic - stroking the lid area on the 3820tg is quite enjoyable. there's a pleasant vibration from the brushed metal. (mine is silver, but this should also work on the black ones)

anyway, this i5 450M 5650 version with 2GB ram from Taiwan has the AUO322C panel as well. I get a little bit of vertical banding/pixelation ?? over whites on the screen at dim brightness, and the view angles are about on par with most other 13.3" I've seen. Real good performer, and it has a US keyboard layout with taiwanese zhuyin. idle/moderate temperatures of 40-44 celsius on turbo boost in a well-AC'd room. Headphone jack is surprisingly decent.

 

Okay ... this is a wierd one. My 3820TG wireless card connects to my home network when I'm on batteries but says "limited connection". As soon as I plug into power, it gets access to the network and the internet and the limited connection designatin goes away. Anybody else get this? I'm assuming it is in the power settings somewhere.

Also, do you donate to SetFSB in yen? I could not get paypal to donate in $.

@hendrickson - Did you use DHL again or opt for a faster carrier.

Bronsky

BTW, is there a real refresh or are we only seeing different color lids? Link?

 

I use 3G internet when traveling. So having the Sim card in the 3820TG is just less hassle. No need to connect via bluetooth, just go to the Wireless manager on the task bar and click Dial up and VPN and hit connect.

 

SetFSB 500 yen payment and it converts from USD. No its not an issue. So worth it for such a nice increase.

No this time I opted for UPS, its already been picked up and tracking number issued I guess I made the morning pick up.

So the overlocked i5 450m has two cores at 3.2Ghz? Not just the one at 3.2? Its so nice to see that overclocking is better than a stock i7 620m. Also on the topic of overclocking has anyone tried a higher spec ram to see if they can push past 160Mhz bus? The ram could be where its failing and locking up.

I would also love to see what a i7 620m overclocked could get

 

Actually no, I found the 5V to be just about the perfect brightness, and there are no actual reflections that I noticed. I messed a lot with its brightness by putting different resistors on the GND line, and found that if you really want it dimmer just putting a resistor between 200-300 ohm would make it fit your needs.

Also there's no high pitched sound at all, and I'm fairly sure I'd notice if there were because I tend to hear all those annoying sounds. For example I can notice there's a TV turned on in the house because I hear the high-pitched noise they make across the whole house.

The keyboard... the damn keyboard...

Well, it's not that hard to get it down once you know what's wrong. Just trim all the clipping holes almost to the plastic level, trim a bit the down tabs and it'll fit without many problems.

I don't have any double-sided tape, I'm gonna try to find some really thin one soon. It has a noticeable flex, unlike the original one.
Damn fatty .

As far as I noticed there's no side-effect at all. The only thing that it does it steal some amperage from the USB connector, but as long as you don't go over the 500mA USB 2.0 limit you should be fine.
The LEDs shouldn't draw much more than 20mA, but it would be nice if someone with an ammeter could check it.

As for the switch, we thought about it. We didn't have any decent tiny switch at the moment, and the only way to fit a switch there would probably require a chassis cut. The jumper is fairly safe and it's super easy to use. Also it's stuck to the chassis so it can't be lost ^^.

If I find a really cool and safe switch option I might switch to it (pun intended).

Well, if you have conductive glue, why not? Just make sure it works before you start gluing the motherboard though, the solder points are really tiny and you don't want it to get messy.

As we just used whatever materials we had right there with us, there weren't as many options as we'd like. It turned out good though, even though glue would probably be safer.

As for the keyboard, check my response to Hendrickson above.

Cheers

 

Yea ... I came to exactly the same conclusion about the KB. I took a few pics of filing the slots down. I think you have to be careful here because if you file them down too much, the KB will stick up. I just kept taking a micron off at a time and trying to refit the KB. It took forever. I also had to square-off the tabs so they slid all the way into the holes. I used scotch poster tape (double sided) on my 1410T and it is still working well.

You can also use just normal double sided Scotch tape, it's in a yellow container. The BL keyboard is bouncy.

Bronsky

Edit: donated to SetFSB. How long does it take to get the key? I have some work to do that will keep the CPU busy and would like to check out the OC.

 

Mine came pretty fast, an hour or two. Guess it depends on where you hit the bloke in his sleep/work cycle

Mac

 

I don't think it's memory holding it back I more think it could need a bit more voltage to reach higher speeds, either that or the mainboard can't take further bclk increase. at 160 bclk the 1333MHz RAM is still only running at 1280MHz (running at 1066MHz at stock clocks).

and yes would be interesting to see an i7-620 overclocked.

 

And I'm still only using the freeware version to overclock

I don't like/trust paypal, and paypal doesn't like my credit card either:

Translated: Credit card refused, paypal couldn't validiate the card. Check information or try another card.....

So for now I have to rely on the freeware version for my overclocking needs.

 

These shots are taken as close to the display as I could get my blackberry. As you can see, none of those effects you mention. I ran through every backlit setting and every resolution. I don't see those things, even at very low resolutions. My resolution lines actually look remarkably good. Something wrong with that display, IMO.

Bronsky