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

How did that work out for you?

My laptop is the same condition as your laptop was last Thursday, on a 747.

Was thinking of doing the US language MUI/Vistalizator trick so that I could register the unit with Acer before doing a clean install. Anything that might aid potential US warranty approval is worth a shot. Doesn't matter if it causes WAT problems, since it is only temporary, and clean install will correct WAT. This would also allow me to copy any folders or apps before formatting.

Did you happen to see if a USB stick was readable in English? How difficult do you think it would be to navigate through to the control panel in Chinese?

Thanks.

 

It wasn't too bad actually. A few clicks and then I was into the main desktop screen. I had to kill the registration program and the McAfee program as they both made it hard to navigate while running.

I did use my USB stick to run the ABR program, and it is in English. In fact, about 35% of the words are in English. I used those words, and the graphics symbols, to navigate the Control Panel (although very slowly).

In time, I'm sure I could quickly manage the Chinese Win7 OS by those words and the graphical symbols alone.

But I won't!

 

That sounds easy enough.
Thanks!

 

The 6300 needs a 3 wire antennae. You will have to thread it through the display probably ... no easy task. I suggest you go for the 6200.

 

You're correct. Thanks!

I plan on only hooking up the 2 antennas to the #1 and #2 connectors on the 6300. I read that others had done so and the card worked successfully.

Interestingly enough, I had bought the 6300 to upgrade the Intel 5100 card (2 antenna connectors) in my MSI GX640. As I was installing the 6300, I discovered that MSI had placed a 3rd antenna in the GX640! Talk about anticipating your customer's upgrade demands!

Regrettably, it sounds like Acer has not done the same for the 3820TG.

 

My battery recharge light never turns off.... is this normal?

 

It should always be on when your unit is plugged in. It should go from orange to blue when the battery is charged. When you're using the battery, it should turn off.

Bronsky

 

Part 7: These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

As I've been slowly using my laptop and prepping it, I decided to make a list of some of the little things that I really enjoy about it.

For most, these won't factor into their decision to buy the 3820TG. But for some, they may appreciate the little, finer things.

1. The Acer logo on the lid.



I really like how it's very classy and stylish in a subtle, understated way. The logo's light silver complements the lid's dark gray matte finish perfectly. It doesn't scream "LOOK AT ME" the way other logos do with their high-contrast colors.

2. The L-plug for the power adapter.



This shape is so much better and adaptable than the straight plug when it comes to accommodating however you should position your 3820TG. I don't know why more manufacturers don't implement the L-plug.

3. LED indictors



I really like this style of LED indicators. The apertures are rectangular slits, while the round ones are small and unobtrusive. The LEDs are crisp and bright, but not so much so that you can navigate a dark room with them.

4. The trackpad



I really like the trackpad's unibar design. At first glance, the unibar looks like it's a part of the trackpad, as it's seamlessly connected to it. However, unlike the HP Envy, the unibar's top surface does not move the cursor. It only functions as a mouse button. Even better, the unibar's clicks are soft and muted, as opposed to the Toshiba R705's mouse buttons, which sound loud, harsh, and clicky.

 

Bronsky,
You were right about ABR. Worked like a dream with a fresh reinstall of Win 7. Thanks for recommending it!

I'd rep you again for the Nth time, but then they'd think I was your shill!

 

Got my i5 540m today and for the last few hours have been installing it with the IC diamond 7 compound. Redid the GPU too. Temps are all good. The compound Acer used is so crap. A light grey paste that was already showing signs of drying out a bit. It doesn't look up to the job in the long run.

I defiantly recommend people redo there thermal paste if they are serious.

So far, max overclock is 156 fsb which is about 3.65Ghz turbo.Must be the ram holding me back as I've seen i5 540m's with better Gskill or OCZ ram hitting 170+ Mhz fsb / 3.9Ghz. Still not that 156 Fsb isn't bad!

Super Pi times:

• i5 540m stock super Pi 1mb = 15.5585
• i5 450m stock super pi of 17.69
• Overclocked i5 540m @ 156Mhz super Pi time is 13.268
• Overclocked i5 450m @ 169.3 = 13.60

Seems the higher the stock clock default on these new i5's and i7's the lower the overclock we can get. The i7's prove this. Does the ram make a difference or not? Or its just the chips? But it makes me wonder how I've seen a few i5 540ms on the same chipset that can do 170+ Mhz on OCZ ram. I guess maybe its worth a shot at better ram, if not I'll just sell it.

Interesting enough I ran the i5 540m on one stick of 2GB and it seems that I can get a higher overclock on one 2GB stick more than the other 2GB stick...Is that normal?

 

When properly applied, isn't the thermal paste supposed to be a light coating? Too thick of a coat will actual insulate the CPU, rather than dissipate the heat.

Did the Acer-applied thermal paste cover the entire CPU surface?

At least they didn't use thermal pads like some laptop makers.

 

So are you saying that the i5-450M can be overclocked higher than the i5-540M?

 

yep, your right on this

thermal paste should only be like a rice grain nothing more. as they can turn in the opposite of working to help cool.

a very small grain of rice in the middle and the heatsink will spread it, nothing more

 

thats odd that you can do a btter overlock on one stick of ram than the other, unless something is wrong with the ram slot.. which might be a slight possiblity? i've seen ram slots on desktop mobo's not do well.

i am thinking or just going with one 4gb ram chip as dual channel sometimes offers minimal performance gain

 

Yes in my case the i5 450m maxes at 169.3 Mhz where as the i5 540m hits 156Mhz FSB. The i5 540m is slightly faster due to higher multiplier. Unless OCZ or Gkill ram lets me overclock like others the i5 540m is not worth it if your overclocking. Stay wit the i5 450m for now .

Yes its applied fine by acer, however the compound itself was already showing signs of drying out. And clumping together!

Sorry I mean a difference between the two ram sticks. One 2GB stick by itself Vs another 2GB on its own on separate occasions. 1 of the sticks held at 162Mhz where as the other could not do more than 156Mhz. Leads me to believe some faster RAM will let me O/C more.

Am I not pushing the ram faster than its rated (1066Mhz) by overlocking the FSB?

 

The "Rice Grain" is squeezed onto a tinted surface which has already been impregnated with the paste (tinted). The film has to be thin, but still thick enough to completely fill the gap in the mated surfaces when the unit is locked down. How big is a rice grain anyway? I'll bet everyone of us would probably squeeze out a different amount.

When you take a GPU-CPU/Sink face apart, you can see a crappy job. It's not unexpected on the Acer given the company's production volume. Line employees are probably slapping the CPUs and GPUs in place and moving these units down the line.

BTW, I have a vague recollection that the Taiwaneese unit that had its paste changed had a thermal pad on the GPU. I could have just imagined it though.

Bronsky

@Hendrickson - Does SetFSB permit the I5 to utilize RAM speeds over 1066? Are you putting 1333 sticks in? I just saw your question at the bottom of your post.

Still waiting to hear about the motherboard. A new one from Germany is 300E ... too much and I'm concerned that they will try to match the production series - they want my motherboard's ID information. I'm going remanufactured. More chance of a random clockgen and a fair roll of the dice. I'm fortunate to be going second again.

 

I don't think it's the RAM, it's just that your 450M is of a better sample than the 540M. Think about that for every chip generation the yield improves over time, so for example while the average of the first batches could only do 2.8 Ghz, a year later the average could do 3.4 Ghz. And QS and ES samples are the very first batches, they were produced while manufacturing still hasn't finalised.

RAM speeds doesn't make sense as the same RAM's prooved to be stable even at 169 Mhz, why would they not be stable at 150 Mhz?

 

Hendrickson,
Well, thank you again for researching these CPU chips and overclocking. I'll continue to watch your progress with eager anticipation.

 

Bronsky, Hendrickson:

Please report your CPU and GPU temps after you've applied your thermal paste and allowed it to dry/cure. Maybe you could run 3DMark06 and then measure the temps with something like HWInfo (or whatever utility you choose to use, just let me know please).

If the improvement in temps is substantially better than my stock, then I'll have to summon my courage and look into doing the same to my CPU and GPU. I still have some leftover that came with my Prolimatech Meganehalem CPU heatsink (Desktop PC).

 

Bronsky,
I remember you mentioning that ePower would turn off your wireless card when it wanted to save power.

Did you uncheck "Allow the computer to turn of this device to save power" for the Atheros WiFi card? I think doing so will prevent ePower from disabling your WiFi card to save power.

You probably did, but in case you didn't:

This option can be found in:
Control Panel / Device Manager / Atheros Card Wireless Network Adapter

right click on that and select Properties.
Then select the Power Management Tab

The option is located there.

 

Does anyone know which of the 4 supplied Foxcomm/Atheros drivers is the correct one to use for the 3820TG's Atheros AR5B93 Wireless Network Adapter?

The strange thing is that the version number of the 4 supplied Foxcomm/Atheros drivers are all identical (9.0.0.173).

Also, where can I get the 1.3 MP webcam driver (v. 6.1.7600.16385)? It's not in the Acer Drivers CD.

thanks.

 

My battery wear level is 1,7%.

I don't ave any reference.
Is this good or bad?

 

Don't worry. It's an intentional design feature used to prolong the longevity of batteries. The wear varies from company to company.

Toshiba R705 has 8.5% wear. My old MSI GX640 had 10%.

 

I understand. Sorry to give false hope!

How much is the best deal in the US at the moment by the way?

 

The webcam driver is on the acer homepage.

Please change your style to answer to the bottom style. Th top style is very annoying.

 

Acer isn't selling the 3820TG in the US. I think the best deals for the US are from PCHome (Taiwan). However, you may or may not get a warranty. Lastdon did get one. I hope to as well.

Thanks for the webcam driver location.

Any thoughts on the WiFI card driver?

Is this bottom posting better? LOL! We used to top post back in the day....

 

Webcam needs no driver, it's included in Win 7.

From the DVD:
WLAN_LVWAF008 - Atheros driver
WLAN_LVWBF109 - Broadcom driver
WLAN_MBWX02WW - Intel driver
WLAN_MBWX04WW - Intel driver (don't ask me why two)

 

As far as I remember, the webcam is listed under apps, because it doesn't need a driver, it's just an app where you could make screen captures and video captures (Crystal Eye). There was no unknown device in device manager even without Crystal Eye app.

 

9 cell ?

wait... is that the mythical 9 cell battery?

 

It's not mythical, it's just huge. I really hope I can get my replacement laptop with a 6 cell. It weights a ton and sticks out 2-3 cms from the bottom.

 

Would you say your 9-cell battery weighs more than 0.5 lbs? 1 lb?

 

bankergolfer

try this for the web cam?

http://global-download.acer.com/GDF...7903&Step1=Notebook&Step2=Aspire&Step3=Aspire 3820TG&OS=722&LC=en&BC=Acer&SC=PA_4

 

I just forgot to weight it before returning it, but if we can believe to Computeruniverse (it says 1.7 - 2.2 kg), it's about 0.4 kg or 0.9 lbs. It felt like that.

 

Thank you!

That sounds about right. If we assume that the 6-cell weighs about 0.5 lbs, and the 3820TG with its 6 cell weigh 3.9 lbs, then the 3820TG with the 9 cell would weigh about 4.4 lbs.

That's still a very good weight for a thin and light with even longer battery life (8+ hrs?).

 

Yea ... they were all unchecked. ePower overroad them.

 

Yes, I thought you probably did, as thorough as you are.

Stupid ePower!

 

Hows the battery life on this one?

 

Confirmed.

I had taken a screen pic of the webcam driver before my reinstall on Windows 7. It matches up with the webcam driver that Windows 7 automatically gave it.

 

I downloaded both the "VGA ATI" (202 MB) and "VGA Intel" (40 MB) stock drivers for the 3820TG from the Acer Europe website.

I first installed the "VGA ATI" driver.

Then, when I went to install the "VGA Intel" driver, I noticed that the setup menu, screens, and drivers looked identical to what I had already seen when I installed the "VGA ATI" driver.

I exited the setup and went directly to the Device Manager in the Control Panel.

I looked at the "Display Adapters" and saw that both the "ATI HD 5650" driver and the "Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD" drivers had been installed (apparently by the "VGA ATI" driver).

Am I missing something here? If the "VGA ATI" driver installed both the dedicated and integrated GPU drivers, why is there a "VGA Intel" driver in the first place?

 

The Atheros does not have WiDi -- the Intel 6300 does, I think.

Wireless Display - Intel

click on 'Learn more about Intel Wireless Display Requirements'
-- the 6300 is listed. If you can get the WiDi software, it should work, I think!

 

@bankergolfer, because if you try see 3820T driver list and 3820TG driver list, they are the same, so they kinda mix all the available driver for the series....

 

Thanks! I'll expert with the WiDI after I install the Intel 6300 wireless card. But before I do that, I want to make sure I've got all the stock drivers installed correctly first.

Thanks! It's nice of Acer to confuse us like that!

 

does the battery stick out?

 

Bronsky,
Just to confirm,

1. if I do NOT install ePower, will the 3820TG revert to its default graphics settings (integrated GPU only when the 3820TG is on battery power; discrete GPU only when it's attached to the power adapter)?

2. And the only override is in the BIOS, where the laptop can be set to run on discrete GPU only all the time?

3. And there is no override option in BIOS, where the laptop can be set to run the integrated GPU only all the time?

Thanks.

 

No, the 6-cell battery is completely flush with the back edge of the laptop.

The 9-cell battery extends downward towards the floor (perpendicular to the rest of the laptop). It helps prop up the back end of the laptop when its on a table.

 

Bronsky,
I didn't see that anyone answered your question (at least not within 4 pages of your posted question).

Here is what I found out about the Intel Management Engine (ME):

Intel Active Management Technology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It basically looks useful for corporate IT managers who want to remote monitor laptops.

Did you end up installing this software?

 

Hello, I saw the photos of your 3820, in the lower left where you see the card reader I noticed that there is connected a 4 pin connector that is probably the BT module. My 3820 hasn't the BT and I would add, you would not have pictures of where the module is installed? and what brand and model?

 

New owner checking in

 

What memory uses acer 3820tg? I found in one shop's description that it's ddr3 1333mhz, but it seems that core i5 allows only ddr3 800/1066...

 

They uses 1333MHz memory because it clocked down to 1066MHz and is cheaper to buy at the moment.