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

Power saver has been giving me fits. It keeps shutting down my wireless card whenever it changes settings. I've had to set up a custom power stting and it fixes the problem most of the time. I hope Acer updates this program some day.

Bronsky

 

then its settled im going for the 3820tg +rep for you and bronsky

 

No, it didn't matter if power was plugged in or not, the signal strength sucked no matter what I tried (changing power profiles, setting power saving to "maximum performance" and so on).

Intel 6200 fixed it, so it was well worth the 32 USD it cost me.

 

I don't know about heat issues, but Optimus allows users to "whitelist" programs in a control panel such that the discrete GPU kicks in when that program runs.

 

Hi

I got my computer today

I changed the HDD to a Corsair Force 60GB SSD and installed a clean copy of Windows 7 Home.

But i need to know which drivers/applications i need to install so it works as it should.
Is there any list with like all drivers that i need?

Thanks

/A Sandberg

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6481111-post1821.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6465732-post1613.html

these might help

Also I was wondering, would it be possible to run a game from an external monitor while browsing the web on the laptop screen?

 

I think it would have to be a windowed game otherwise you wouldn't get the mouse over to the other window, and alt+tab would minimize the game. I would recommend installing X-fire because it comes with an in-game browser you can call up by pushing a key and won't minimize.

 

Thanks, but which do i need? I've installed the Intel turbo boost, chipset and AHCI drivers and Atheros LAN.

 

These are all the driver backups made directly from my machine. Plus you need at least 2 apps from the acer webpage: launch mgr and epower.

 

hendrickson or bronskey or anyone could you pin point me what software to use to findout the maximum clocks i can use with amdclock tool, one that scans for artifacts and helps find stable, highest clock xD cheers, also anyone managed to O/C i7-620m ? if yes what maximum oc is possible on it

 

I don't use tweaking programs, i just rerun game benchmarks and demos to look for artifacts while I'm adjusting clocks. Probably the best source for tweaking guides and programs is GURU3D.COM.

Aspire ant has OC'd his I7 up to 3.8ghz (FSB 145) but it is totally stable at only FSB 140 setting.

Bronsky

 

Ok i think everything works now, thanks everyone for your help

Edit: Which WLAN driver do i need?

 

Hey Bronsky,


why do you use the application epower from Acer?

 

The power features of the 3820TG are controlled by epower. Don't you use it? You just use the W7 power controls?

 

I try again...

Which WLAN driver do i need? There are like 4 different.

 

Like I said, I 've same prob but when it's on AC power, I could change the brightness lol

Weird glitch

 

Yes,

I am use only the windows power controls.

I have never found a configuration option for the epower tool and so I removed it.

 

The most of us have the Atheros card and so should you try also the Atheros one.

 

They are paired. I forget which is which. I think they don't install if they can't find an adapter.

@Just-a-nick epower does drive me crazy. I might uninstall it and see how windows works. Does the "P" switch get disabled when you uninstall epower?

 

I just tested it on battery and it switched between the graphiccard and the display brightness. I'm not able to test it on the power cord at the moment.

 

Thanks for the info for the Intel 6200, I will get one soon.
BTW I want to get a new hard drive, I want a SSD, but the cost/gb just is way over my budget if I want to get a good ~100GB drive. I have around $350 to buy some RAM and hard drive.
I am planning to get 8GB RAM which will cost around $230, but I am not sure will it make my computer go that much faster compare to a SSD, I don't even know do I need that much RAM.
And if I get 8GB RAM, I will put the rest of the money into a 500GB Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid Drive.
So do you guys think is better to get 8GB Ram or a good SSD+2GB Ram?

 

Hey guys, Quick message for anyone living in Hong Kong, Im off to Shenzhen tonight and have an afternoon in HK in 2days before my flight leaves, desperate to buy the 3820tg at a good price, anyone strolling around in HK and find a shop that has a good deal and sells the 3820tg?

 

I got my one for HKD$7100 came with a mouse, which is around USD$910. And I pay cash to get that price.

 

I posted sometime b4. I got it at:-

Wise Computer Tech. Co. Ltd 23323327

Shop 52, Golden Shopping Centre, 94 Yen Chow Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon


GL!

 

i would say Momentus XT as its speeds are not to far away ( YouTube - Seagate Momentus XT) from ssd speeds+plus its way cheaper and buy some ram if you ve got some money left xD

 

Would you mind sharing which shop is offering this at S$1300?

Thanks

 

I don't understand how people can compare the Momentus XT drives to SSDs, when it comes to notebooks. I can get the appeal for desktop systems (somewhat), but with a notebook, I don't want a mechanical drive, much less one that spins at 7200rpm and the energy consumption of the Momentus XT is way too high for my taste. I don't have the laptop as a data carrier, so the 80GB of Intel or 120GB of Sandforce SSDs are enough for Windows and 10 to 20 games. Yes, it costs much more, but I wouldn't do things half-assed.
If you are interested in SSDs, I would wait until Intel launches their 3rd generation this fall. They will have 25nm flash and really give this market a spin .

 

Epower is a pain alright, in my eyes it doesn't much. Nothing we cannot do ourselves like lowering the power state to power saving and brightness to the lowest setting.

I tried to uninstall it and I can't ?!?

 

Why 8 gigs? Unless you have a reason to upgrade the ram, I would leave it at 4. I have run matlab, CS5 and my satelite image editing software and the 4GB ram has been sufficient.

Look for a good deal on an SSD. I saw the 128GB Crucial M225 that I have in my 3820TG on sale the other day for $199.

Bronsky

 

But 120GB is for the one or other person simple not enough and SSDs with 256GB are not very cheap, or?

Just in the moment I have got ~120GB on my drive and it will grow fast in the next few month. A few virtual machines, simulations files and ...

Not all persons use the 3820TG only for games.

 

I have formated my hdd and the tool never installed again.

I can't help you. Sorry.

 

why when i startup win7 it uses over 1.5gb of ram with almost no programs at startup ? It used to be like 1gb, what is your ram consumption after startup ? I heard there is a problem with windows media player or smtng consuming much of it but cant find where it is...

 

My ram usage is 1GB at startup :O

 

I wouldn't go with a 13" notebook if I used stuff like that. I would need a bigger screen with higher resolution, thereby introducing a 2nd HDD bay (or an ODD-HDD caddy).
But yes, if you need the space, you need to either spend more or go for less battery life and speed.
That wasn't my main point though. I was mostly saying how I don't understand equalling the Momentus XT and an SSD, as they are nothing alike when it comes to their place in notebooks. Sure, the XT is very similar in performance (but still worse, and the defragmantation bit is just weak). But it is still a mechanical drive with 7200rpm and it comsumes much more power than good SSDs. I personally don't have a system partition with more than 100GB on any of my PCs and I do a lot of video coding have a big Steam folder etc. If one uses 120GB for Windows and professional software, I would hope that the work pays well enough to also buy a large SSD. Doesn't a good VM software cost more than a good SSD already?

 

It depends on the use case... you stated your's already:

My notebook is my main system. I don't have a desktop at home and I don't feel comfortable with carrying an external HDD with me.

I didn't bench it yet, but I don't feel a big difference in battery life. Even power consumption depends on the use case.

 

I was using anandtech for the power consumption:
Seagate's Momentus XT Reviewed, Finally a Good Hybrid HDD - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News
The XT has twice (idle) to three times (load) the power consumption of the currently best SSD line. For my system (Travelmate 8172) it would increase the power consumption of the system about 10% in idle and 10-15% in load. That would euqal 30 minutes to 45 minutes of battery life.

How come you are not comfortable with carring an external HDD? Where do you do your backups? If my laptop was my main station, I would need one for backup in any case, so why not go with a 640GB one and use it for data as well.

 

My backups are on external drives and in the cloud. But I don't want to attach a external drive if I'm on the train or elsewhere. All that cable stuff and I may drop it easier than the whole notebook...

I don't see an advantage in battery life by using a internal SSD for OS + apps and a external drive for large amounts of data...

 

The momentus is probably a decent option for business users. I have the 128GB SSD and I tend to shuffle large data files around onto an external HD (500GB 7200rpm for now but I want a 1TB). I don't take that on the road either. I am just waiting for SSD prices to drop so I can get 300GB internal SSD. That should suffice.

Bronsky

How many of us are business users? I don't game at all on my 3820TG. The graphics power is for business purposes.

 

@bronsky and hendrikson please tell me how to do dxva in 5650?

i trield haali splitter cccp mhc-pc still no use my 2 yr old+ 8600m gt can do it why not 5650? i followed all methods no use

 

Huh, Sorry I dont understand your post Riddhy.

 

i cant do this

Accelerate x.264 1080p movies over the GPU Guide

i tried other methods as well

 

I need help asap.
I can't format the 320GB that was in the computer (i replaced it with a Corsair Force 60GB). I'm gonna use it as a external, but when i plugg it in i says i have to format it before i can use it, but when i press format it says that i can't be formatted.
I can see the hdd in device manager but not in Computer.

Please help me :O

 

If you're talking about DXVA video accelleration. Catalyst 10.7 supports DXVA in Windows 7. You should not have a problem. Try the troubleshooters on this site. Watching h.264 videos using DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA) >> My collection of short anime reviews They should tell you if your are having a problem. My bet would be that the Video you are trying to use does not have a proper codec. Are you an anime fan?

Bronsky

 

Have you tried to format the external disk from a dos prompt?

 

When I replace the original HDD with an SSD an install a clean Windows 7 on it, do I need all drives from the Acer support side?

I'm asking, because, for example, there are 4 different drivers for the W-LAN module and I've no idea which one I have to install.

How can I find out which drivers I need? Is there an installation guide?

 

I don't know what that is But i'll try google it and see if it works. Thanks

 

perhaps SC2 being a strategy game uses the CPU more? afterall pathfinding seems to me uses complex calculations, along with other game features like building etc etc.

By the way, how does one find out the model of the wifi card? through device manager?

 

Ok i don't really get it... Can someone make a quick dos format newbie guide for me please?

 

Hey, I'm not sure if you saw my previous message - would you mind sharing which store is offering the 3820TG at S$1300?

 

No way!

Wish I was in the US these times, 200 bucks for the 128 GB Crucial is just really nice.
EDIT: made a quick search crucial is available here for 387 USD.

I'm aslo considering replacing the HDD with the entry level Kingston 128 GB SSD, OK it's an entry level one but while it's slower than other SSDs (not to mention Indilnix based ones) it's still faster than HDDs and it costs 309 USD, hesitating a bit though 'cause every owner praises the Momentus XT Hybrid, and it would cost like 160 USD.

Storage space is not a dealbreaker for me as far as we're talking about 120 GB, so the Kingston would be OK I guess - the crucial You've mentioned would be a best-buy, the immediate one sadly it's not an option - however, the following benchmarks made me hesitate.

Seagate Momentus XT 500GB ST95005620AS Review Page 6 - Testing: Crystal Disk Mark - Overclockers Club

Kingston SSD NOW V Series 128GB Review Page 7 - Testing: Crystal Disk Mark - Overclockers Club

According to these, the Momentus XT beats the Kingston SSD when it comes to 512K writing.

Would I notice battery life improvement if I changed to SSD?