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

Free just google it. Tropics Benchmark 1.3

 

i spent an hour at radioshack today looking through all their switches

i think i found one that will work...

SPST Heavy-Duty Slide Switch - RadioShack.com

 

You'll need to paint that one black. Let us know if it fits in the K-Lock and clears the socket. Looks too big to me but maybe it's the picture.

I'm looking too.

Bronsky

 

Should be at least 7K. Bios? ATI Driver 10.6?

Bronsky

New driver should be out any day now.

 

Hey guys, just double checking; to update my ATI graphics drivers I need to switch from switchable to discrete in the BIOS? Do I need to uninstall the current ATI drivers, restart, then install the new ones?

I'm asking since at first, to even install the ATI drivers after a win7 installation the BIOS option needed to be at switchable and it worked fine. When it was on discrete the ATI driver just didn't install properly at all.

 

Did a clean install of win 7 prof without any bloatware crap and now everything is working perfectly

I love this laptop so much already

 

Did you download the drivers from Acer's website? I'm trying to do that but I'm having issues installing some of them..

I can't figure which ones to install. Some just don't want to work.

 

Hmm, 1st thing I did was a complete backup and then I made my driver & app disc.

Just had to install the drivers from the DRV folder and everything worked perfectly

Btw, the temps and heat management on the Acer is superb. The only warm thing is the warm air coming from the vents ! The whole laptop is just cool to the touch

Ran 3d mark after my clean install and guess what ? Even better scores

 

Now your in the right range for a stock card.

Bronsky

 

Just in a few words.

The benchmark seems to be trash. (Tropic Island an Heaven)


Edit:

And keep in mind, what you are doing with "SetFSB"

 

Since I'm having problems installing drivers from Acer's website, I thought that I could use the drivers from my older harddrive. I thought that I could boot the old harddrive in my desktop pc but it seems like it does not work. Is there any application which makes a backup of the drivers only? Can I just copy some maps from the harddrive to the newer hard drive?

 

I also wanted to find out what I had in my comp so I had a look in the device manager. I found out what wireless card I had but when I clicked on the "screen tab" it only said PnP screen. Is there any other place I can look to find out what screen I have?

My question is, have I missed to install some screen driver (should you really need to?)

 

You have a new PM.

 

When you first click on the monitor device icon you see Generic PNP monitor. When you click on the Generic PNP monitor icon, you get a three tabbed window. Click on the "details" tab. Under "details", go to the bar under "property" and click on the arrow. When you click the arrow, you will see a dropdown menu. Pick Hardware ID. You should see your display ID (brand and model) in the "Value" section. You're not likely to be missing any driver if your display turns off and you can read it.

Bronsky

 

bronsky or hendrickson can we get a video of the backlit keyboard in action? i'd like a better idea of how it looks in real life. thanks if you guys can do it!

 

Backing up your drivers with Acer's eRecovery is described in this post. http://forum.notebookreview.com/6465732-post1613.html

I have the drivers from my system on a file sharing site. Here is the post with the links. http://forum.notebookreview.com/6481111-post1821.html

Bronsky

 

Thanks alot! It helped! I seem to have Phillips screen? Anyone else?


Kidding... AUO332c or something .

 

Here you go. YouTube - Bronsky's 3820TG Backlit Keyboard

Bronsky

 

Huh? What do you mean?

Seems when you want to game, no overclock is best. But for CPU intensive tasks like encoding videos etc the overclock is a nice free boost.

 

thank you very much! looks AMAZING

 

I'm thinking of getting a second power adapter to leave at uni since the 3820TG adapter is quite huge compared to my old ULV laptop.

I can't seem to find many in NZ that explicitly list 3820TG compatibility but would this one be adequate? It's 90V 4.74A which is the same as my one currently.

 

Here are the 100% brighntess comparsion, as promised.

Same here. I've found a HIPRO looking the same as the current one, although I remember one of the parameters did not match. Any idea what should be examined carefully on the an aditional adapter?

I think You've found the same:

http://www.laptophardware.hu/termek-adatlap/42/acer-extensa-4620-sorozat-acer-19v-474a-474a-19v-474a/

The main parameters seems to match except for the Input which is 230V (the HIPRO says 100-240V~1.5A - or are they the same, I have no clue), can it be considered as a decent adapter for the 3820TG?

 

Hi zsero!

Could You please post the link of the shops's webpage? They can't be found anymore on Argep or Olcsobbat and I don't remember the page neither do I have it in my browser.

Thanks in advance!

 

I wonder what this means for GPU accellerated programs?

Bronsky

Both of those power bricks will work. The 100-240v rating is the equivalent of the 230v rating.

 

Thanks!...again

 

Neither I. I think all the 430M models have disappeared since they have sold out all models from the wholesale warehouses. Now it's only the new model. I think we need to wait about 1 more week before the cheap shops start selling it.

 

kiskapu, thanks

 

@hendrickson

Been lookin' at switches for the backlit. Active Robots - Components - Buttons, Switches & Relays - UK some interesting ones here. The SPST pushbutton looks small enough.

Bronsky

 

amazing news
Hong Kong has 3820TG in stock now priced at just under $7000 HKD (less if you pay cash) or they throw in an extra 2gB of RAM for free. (With i5-420M)

Just one month ago the sales rep said, "No they wouldn't carry 3820TGs in Hong Kong"

Now they're in stock. I dont know if you should reignite your hopes of seeing the model released in US/CAD, but if HK is any sign, then the late release may still be coming.

I am seriously on debate about buying this model now.

Bronsky how do you like yours? Any problems updating drivers etc etc?

 

Sorry to bust your chops, but HK been having the 3820TG. lao3hero got his 3820TG in HK a while back.

Also, I personally don't believe the "throwing in extra ram for free". It's just a marketing gimmick, the extra ram is already installed inside the laptop.

 

Couldn't be happier with my computer. Wish Acer would sell parts for them. I still can't order a speaker and I would think that these are fairly replacable parts. But, the computer performs flawlessly every day at work. Granted, it has only been 2 weeks. Here's my latest update. http://forum.notebookreview.com/6510080-post2270.html Looks like shipping from Asia is a practical alternative to Germany. Tiawan looks good and they use delivery services like UPS or FedEx who can get your computer here in a couple of days. It might even solve the Li Battery on aircraft problem. I think the 3820TG will find its way here eventually, but I would not hold out too much hope that we will get them soon. The 4820TG is still only being sold by Microcenter.

Bronsky

 

The silver 3820tg 450M 5650 with 2GB ram from Taiwan I have does not have errors in setFSB. It has a very similar model # to the HK model with identical specs - hinthint. (PFF lottery go!)

 

I went back and checked the posts and it looks like lao3hero got his around 7/21/2010. Last time I checked was back in June and the store did not have HD5650 3820TGs, so I guess they stocked them in in the last WEEK or so. I asked around a few stores so I know for sure the HD5650 is relatively new. If you look around most major department stores they still only have the HD5470 available.

I will warn you though the specs for the HK 3820TG is 2gB RAM. I mentioned the "throw in extra RAM" because Broadway was offering that deal for the Y460. It may not be true for the 3820TG.

The only thing holding me back is that crappy 1366x768 display. How is your display? Bearable? or should I wait for Sandybridge and possibly better 14" panels. ( I actually wanted a 14").

 

I got it on 26 Jun and I think indeed it was a new arrival then cuz that guy was telling me i could go around and won't find it elsewhere, as they are official licensed Acer retailer

 

Blah, I got 3dmark06 working yesterday but then I didnt have an internet connection. Now I do but then i get an error when trying to post the score to futuremark... I hate this program.

EDIT: Did 3dmark06 run for you guys "outta" the box so to speak or did you have modify any files to get it working?
EDIT 2: Goddamn Chrome was causing the problems regarding "posting" the results on Futuremarks site. Changing browser to IE sorted this.

 

The 720p resolution is fine for a 13.3" display. If you look at the pictures comparing Kiskapu's 14.1" Dell E6410 (1280 x 800) with his 13.3" Acer 3820TG, the Acer comes out on top IMO. http://forum.notebookreview.com/6512980-post2324.html My display is great. I don't have the problems with blacks and grays that others seem to have. It is plenty bright and when I edit colors on the display, they print the right color in the photo. So, its pallet can't be that far off. The problem is, I think, the variability of the displays. Some are very good, some, not-so-good.

Bronsky

 

in just 12 to 36 hrs my i7 620m/5650 3820tg will be in my hands cant wait hopefully i will have the stock highest 3d mark score lol

 

Both of the units I've got the displays are good. I guess like bronsky says it depends on which ones are used.

Maybe the reviews that said the display was poor had a different display. I'm fussy with my display and this AUO panel is just fine. Good all rounder and the view angles are fine. It lacks a bit of contrast. The blacks aren't as dark as they could be but thats being picky. All in all its one of the best laptops I've even owned as and all rounder does anything kind of notebook.

Overclocking at this stage is just for boosting anything non 3D as the overclock lags the bus bandwidth making the GPU loose same fps. I'm fine with that as its a nice free bonus thats good for video editing, encoding MP3's etc

 

Has anyone tried an anti glare screen protector like this one: Anti-Glare Screen Protector 13.3" Acer TimelineX 3820TG - eBay (item 260591384046 end time Aug-21-10 20:58:35 PDT)

Might be good for cutting down on the outdoors glare from the screen?

 

I'm just thinking to replace the display.

But there are no test reports for the display inside the 8372TG and the display is at the moment not available.

 

amazon has the 4820tg i3/5650 now

 

Bongy recommended one in this thread. http://forum.notebookreview.com/6510139-post2276.html. Did see this post about the switch? http://forum.notebookreview.com/6513212-post2330.html As soon as I find my left speaker, I'll order the rest of the parts to finish my 3820TG. Then, I'll wait and see what the fall brings on prices for the I7-620M.

Bronsky

 

Compared to what? A good display in most peoples' opinions will have fairly accurate colors, decent contrast, and not color/contrast shift much if you go to wide viewing angles. Most people would consider a display closer to "great" if it's performance is on par with any decent LCD television - while they aren't the best, they are a HUGE improvement over the crap that's put into laptops today.

An HP zd8000 that I used recently had a good display, even if it's contrast was somewhat lacking. Blacks were near black and viewing angles were like "178/178". Backlight bleed was bad at the bottom but that laptop's screen and speakers best laptops today that have an msrp of <$1500. Too bad the old, power hungry hardware and weight (17") made it not very portable.

If the display on this thing is an improvement over what Asus puts in its laptops, especially the ultraportables, then it's bearable. I think the UL20/30/50/80 are good to compare against since many people here have seen/used one before.

 

Nice find. Looks like it is still out of stock but I assume we will see both units there before long. Amazon.com: Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4820TG-5637 14-Inch HD Laptop - Black Brushed Aluminum: Electronics

Bronsky

 

I've compared it to my Acer 11.6" 1410T 720p, my desktop LG 1080p,m a Dell Precision M4500 1080p and the display im my Acer holds up well. It is a better display than the one in my brother's Asus U30JC. I have also been doing a fair amount of infrared photoediting and the colors on the display are extremely close to those on the final photographs that are printed 24" x 36".

Bronsky

 

im shocked MC has been able to sell it exclusively for so long now!! hope it gets on amazon and other retailers asap.

 

Whats better about that display, just matte and not the glossy type right? I think I will try a non glare protector first Less hassle.

Comparing it with all notebooks I own or have owned of course. Its decent enough, I said it was good, not better than a E14 screen or anything .

Do you see many people complaining about there screens here? If i compared it to my LG M227WDP 22 inch Widescreen monitor it doesn't stand a chance. Matte finish, Contrast, brightness and color that would blow it out the water. Thats the screen i use 99% of the time. Only when I'm out and about do i use the laptops display.

 

Anyone been able to successfully use and HDMI cable to a tv with 1080p resolution and GET THE FULL resolution? Im only able to get 1680x1050 maximum.

EDIT: SOLVED once again. I do not know how so dont ask .

 

Hey Bronsky,

maybe you can help me!

Is it possible to undo the graphics card switch when plugging in the AC?
I mean, what must i do to prevent te automatic switch?

thanks in advance

 

Yes and no.

The main point is the non glare but I also hate the bad view angle.