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

ABR beta handled my cert backup without a problem. Restore worked too. Do your product keys start with VQB...? I googled it and it seems that Acer uses it on all it's machines.

 

The site does not only apply to electronics so it is surprising that it does not include Canada/USA for import duty information.

 

After spending a night installing it, i have some problems:
1. How could I configure or open the PowerSmart management or the Launcher? I have both installed, but I cannot see any dialog where I could open them.
2. OSD works fine, except I have no OSD for display brightness

3. But the big one: this random display brighness fluctuation makes me crazy. Without anything at all, it goes down or up a few level, while I am working. It seems only happening on Ati.

 

2. I don't have the OSD for display brightness either on my 4820TG. This seems to be a normal thing. I'm using Acer's Windows 7 Home Premium.

3. Did you disable the dim settings in power settings? It will dim the display after a couple of minutes. Otherwise, I don't know what the problem is.

 

OK, so at least some part of Launcher seems to work fine. But how could I configure the buttons on the right? Both Launcher and PowerSmart have many exe files, but I cannot open any of them. Where should I see PowerSmart, in the control panel, or in the start menu or where?

I will record a video about it. Its the weirdest thing I have seen. It's like dimming, but while working, while on AC, and sometimes brightness goes up, sometimes down.

 

And it's not only brightness, it's a bit of a change between blueish and yellowish tint levels. Looks like something is bad with the LED's but it only happens when in use.

 

It only happens to me with the lowest brightnes settings, I've seen worse. BTW for how long does the 9 cell battery holds? Where did you buy it? Did you get it with 3yrs of warranty as well?

 

Just an idea, when 3820TG running in switchable mode,
on device manager, under display adapters, if we disable the HD5650, would it make it to run in Intel GMA always even plugged or unplugged? Any one want to try it?

 

Up, please...

 

More like an addiction or obsession for myself

 

Just try it and have a look at the PCB.
But don't cry if you destroy the motherboard.

 

Yes that works, but as soon as you insert the HDMI cable it enables the ATI card again.

 

What is the best way to write a support call to Acer regarding my display issue? I have written a call to north america support, but there they might not even know this model. Acer UK? Singapore?

 

So you mean, when plugged in power, it will stay with Intel, no switching to ATi?

 

I have a 4810TG, so the switch-able graphics should be working the same way. I configured it to ask every time I plug \ unplug the power cord, so it doesn't automatically switch.

It can be configured to automatically switch too.

 

How did you do it? Is it easy to implement?

 

Don't compare the 48 10 with the 38 20.

 

Why wouldn't the switchable graphics work the same way, despite the different laptop models?

 

wow thats fast shipping, i ordered it on sunday and my laptops coming today!! Im glad i ordered it via UPS!

 

You have to take a look inside the dsdt and the hardware design. The old models use another model to switch the graphic card as the new on.
Please have in mind, that the 4810 isn’t a CoreI notebook.

 

I see. Thanks!

 

Hey all,

I'm on the verge of buying an SSD bt was just curious as to what you've all been putting in yours. Mine is the lower spec 3820TG (i5, 5470)

I'm trying to maximize performance without overpaying!

Can even the fastest SSDs be handled by the 3820?

I am doing mainly browsing, medium gaming, office, Skype, torrenting, movies/tv, external monitor, and general multitasking.

I'm looking at the Corsair F120, Kingston SSDNow 128gb, and more in that size range. Intel seems a little expensive, is the general consensus that 4kb write is very important? (is it for my tasks?)

Finally, thanks for reading!

 

The 3820TG does not support Sata III as far as I know. If you can still get the Crucual M225 128GB, it was selling for $199.00. It is plenty fast and the price is great. As far as I know, you can only have it shipped to you in the US or Canada.

Bronsky

@hendrickson - I think I found a slide switch that will fit into the Kensington port without modification and you don't have to salvage it from another device. It is 6.7mm x 3.2mm x .7mm. It's made by Alps and I have the link on the backlit KB thread.

 

just got it and im battling the german language with my powerful weapon, the bronsky guide

 

Thanks Bronsky, I saw that sale, but unfortunately I don't see the same model on the website anymore

 

Microcenter has a OCZ Vertex 128 for sale until September 5, for $269 (I just got the circular). Not quite $199 but still not a bad price. If the Corsair is in that price range, they are good drives. Kingston would be my third choice of the three and it would have to be significantly cheaper than the OCZ for me to buy it.

Bronsky

 

Glad to be of help. Let us know if the certification back up program works for you. I let the creator know about the acer problem and someone said that it worked for them recently.

Bronsky

 

I put an OCZ Vertex 2 in mine, it has read/write speeds that are 220-240 mb/s (very fast). While I did buy the larger capacity one (240gb) they sell many sizes of vertex 2 ranging from 40, 50, 60, 120, 240gb. I am sure one of these will fit your price range. I have also had good luck with corsair p128 and p256 ssd drives. Good luck.

 

Thanks Zsero, I just ran GPU-Z and mine is also running on PCIE-16x. However when i moved my cursor over it, a popup appears describing that my card/driver supports up to PCI Express 16x 2.0 but it is only currently running at PCI Express 16x 1.1

Hence apparently, it ain't the latest drivers per se? what is the difference between version 1.1 and 2.0 anyways.

I did my system image "ghost" using driveimage xml. it creates two files, one a xml file image and a dat file image. I haven't tested the restore function though!

@bronksy
is the certification backup in your guide necessary for me? as I understand it, it only applies to users who bought the 3820TG from germany and need to re-install windows 7 english version

 

Why does my CPUID HW-monitor say that i have i5 520m-processor and CPU-Z i5 450m-processor? And do i need a key for SET-FSB to overclock?

 

Mine does the same thing. It's just a glitch. Does anybody know if the CPUID monitor battery wear level is accurate. It says mine is 1%. Anybody have any other reading on that? Sounds low.

Bronsky

 

If you're not changing the language or doing a clean install, you don't need to back up and restore your cert and key.

 

I have same wear and my laptop is been used for 3 days.
Anyone know if my processor is clockable?

And is BIOS 1.13 the newest one?

 

Yes, congratulations your CPU is OCable. I think the clockgen you are using is shareware so you might have to donate to the owner ($5) to make it work. There is a freeware version that might work on your unit, but I would just support the creator of the program. You have the latest bios. I hope the wear figure is accurate, my unit is already 2 months old.

Bronsky

 

The battery monitoring is all right,

 

hmm ok..I intend to do a partition of my hdd, do I need a clean install for that? My mind is still in the old windows xp days where you can partition only when you are re-formatting.

In addition, don't I need the backup cert and key for any future re-formats? i.e. corrupted hdd due to virus etc etc..

 

Use BatteryBar (free) to evaluate your actual battery wear.

If it's still showing wear, then it's intentionally done to prolong the life of your battery (by preventing it from charging to its fullest extent).

The downside is that you won't get the full maximum battery life possible, but it's worth it to prolong the life of the battery.

 

Just run ABR backup on a USB flash drive and ABR restore when you finished the clean install. If you are doing a clean install, you need to backup the cert.

You might need it in the future too.

 

Anyone know the shareware version of SET FSB which can OC this cpu?

 

After spending a whole night figuring out my problem, clean installing windows, downloading all the newest drivers, then reinstalling the factory image from DVDs, I can conclude:
- Neither Power Managment, nor Launcher has any dialog or setting what you can start or configure, both in the factory image or in the clean install. How could you set the multimedia buttons to control something like foobar2000? How do you set anything in the eSmart Power Managenent settings? Or I should not install the Power Management app at all?
- My brightness level fluctuations are from a hardware problem, it happens no matter what OS or driver I use. I took a video with a digicam, I will share it soon.

>> I took back my laptop to the shop where I bought it, they said that if they can see the problem, I get a new machine in a few days.

 

If you can click GetFSB in the demo version, then you can click SetFSB in the full version.

 

Thanks Zsero and Bronsky, I did the cert backup, just in case.

I take back my words, I do have the powersmart program but I don't even use it, its not giving me any trouble anyways. So I say uninstall it and see what happens

 

@zsero, for the foobar2000, if you mean by using the play/pause/stop fn combination to control it, you can set it on foobar2000, under keyboard shortcuts, you can assign the fn combination to it and set it as global keys....

 

If you're doing a clean re-install, the activation code is all that you need (on the sticker on the bottom of the laptop).

 

oh my clear ignorance: I got this from the pre-loaded acer user guide:

This computer has a built-in power management unit that monitors system
activity. System activity refers to any activity involving one or more of the
following devices: keyboard, mouse, hard disk, peripherals connected to the
computer, and video memory. If no activity is detected for a period of time
(called an inactivity timeout), the computer stops some or all of these devices in
order to conserve energy.
This computer employs a power management scheme that supports the
advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI), which allows for maximum
power conservation and maximum performance at the same time. Windows
handles all power-saving chores for your computer.
Acer PowerSmart key
Note: This feature is only available on certain models.
The Acer PowerSmart key uses the power-saving features of your computer's
graphics sub-system to reduce overall power consumption. When you press the
Acer PowerSmart key, the screen brightness is reduced and the graphics chip
switched to a lower speed; PCI and WLAN switch to power-saving modes. Press
the Acer PowerSmart key again to return to your previous settings

the key is the P button on the keyboard. Perhaps zsero's laptop has a problem with the P button? this power management program runs in the background, there isn't anyway to re-program it apparently, unless from the bios? where you can select discrete or integrated or switchable.

 

That is somewhat incorrect. The best way to activate after a clean install is to use the OEM Certificate and the OEM key. You do not use the key on your unit. If you use the key on your unit, you are limited to phone activation. It is much easier to activate off-line using the OEM information. That is the reason for using the program that backs up the OEM stuff and reinstalls it when your clean install is done.

Bronsky

@Cire - I do not use epower management because it is so glitchy and keeps resetting my custom settings. It is easily disabled and there is no need to go into the Bios to do so. I would just disable it and not bother uninstalling it. I think Hendrickson had trouble with that.

 

Easier, yes.

But my way is still as legitimate a way to activate the Win 7 OS. And the phone call takes only 5 minutes anyway (I've done it on 2 separate occasions).

 

What types of "custom settings" are you referring to? Overclocks of the GPU and CPU? Anything else?

If one did not overclock the CPU or GPU, would you recommend leaving ePower running? Or is it glitchy in other ways besides resetting your modifications?

 

I'm a proud and happy owner of a TimelineX 3820TG with a 9-cell battery. I now need a nice case for my baby and I'm really interseted in the ZeroShock III protective case, but I don't know if the 9-cell 3820TG will fit with the battery.

Have any of you guys tried to fit in the 3820TG with a 9-cell battery in the ZeroShock III case and know if it fits?

If it doesn't fit can anyone recommend any other good case that fits?

 

That's the case I'm looking to get as well. Just spoke to the eBay seller that everyone is using to confirm it.

Your 9-cell laptop version will fit fine. The padding inside the Zeroshock is memory foam. It'll conform to the laptop's profile easily, without any bulging from the sides of the case.

How heavy is your 9-cell battery laptop in pounds?