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

Go to the thread titled "North America purchase options for the 3820TG" or something to that effect.

Go to middle of the thread around page 25 or so and start reading. The best option to date is to order from PCHome (Taiwan). You need Google's Chrome web browser, as it's the best at translating Mandarin Chinese.

The biggest thing to be aware of is 1) there's basically no warranty on the product (but you can try asking for one anyway); 2) you need a PayPal account (verified). The good news is that you can link your credit card to the account.

 

Isn't a laptop's battery life dependent on everything that the laptop is doing at the time?

 

You might find the answers to your problem on page 5 of this thread.
Check your ATI Overscan settings.

 

sure it is - just wasn't expecting to be able to burn through it quite that fast. Still way better than my last machine so I'm not complaining
Now do I open a bottle of red and spend a couple of hours installing a fresh copy of win7 ultimate and the various drivers or go to bed.
Decisions decisions

edit: wine and installing it is

 

Bronsky,
Was this the laptop sleeve that you bought at Target? Thanks.

Target Laptop sleeve?

 

I'd like to do a particular mod to my 3820TG I grabbed last week and just want a vote of confidence from everyone here before going ahead with it (please feel free to tell me if you think I'm crazy as well ).

I'm thinking about following the instructions posted here and soldering a mini pci-e adapter to the motherboard, just above the WiFi adapter (see images I've included for reference). I presume that is the location where a 3G WWAN card would go if you were to purchase such a model of the 3820T series. Doing this would allow me to add an additional mini pci-e device.

Then I'm going to pick up a mini pci-e SSD to use as my boot drive for Windows 7, and keep the 500GB drive that came with the laptop as my storage drive. I'd love to get an actual SSD in place of the 500GB drive, however it's rather expensive and really I only need a small amount of storage to handle the OS and applications I regularly use. Examples of mini pci-e SSDs can be found here.

All in all I'm aiming to get the benefits of an SSD at a lower cost by sticking to a lower capacity SSD in the form of a mini pci-e card, without sacrificing the 500GB hard drive that I already have in there.

So what do you think? Am I crazy or should I go for it?
(Disclosure: I have experience disassembling laptops, however I've never soldered anything before, so this would be a "first" for me in that area.)

 

fiddled about with those for about an hour or two, still no luck. It just wont pick up 1680x1050 over the ATI card but it'll do it over the intel one but the image shrinks for some reason... I hate VGA... Im gonna try upgrading the graphics drivers again.

 

Hmm i dont know if this is a problem or a glitch but usually my 3820tg runs on idle around 45 degrees, but recently i noticed that it went up to 70 degrees when i was just doing some web surfing with no major workload. what could be causing this? is this normal at all?

 

Thanks for the update. All I really care about are the SMbus pins on the connector. If they are available, I would use them to power a SMbus switch to turn on/off the backlight on the keyboard. The part I found has two outputs, so I should be able to get four voltage levels to the backlight. Hopefully I can make a small program that will toggle between the levels with a hotkey.

 

Yea, but I got it for $25. Dam Apple driving the price up.

 

At that inflated price, I opted for the Zeroshock III (Black) on eBay instead (almost same price, with shipping included).

 

Not much suspense here ... I knew the ending all the time.

 

You have to close the lid to your laptop.

first go to power options and select "Do Nothing" when you close laptop lid.
secondly, go to screen resolution and select display, do not duplicate.
that should work

 

Nice idea, yes that is where my 3G modem mini pcie card is.

Also on a good note I finally fitted a switch to my backlit keyboard. So now I have an on and off in the kensignton lock space.



I will post the switch and details later in the backlit mod thread.

 

Very nice and congratulations!

But isn't it time you removed the protective plastic stickers now?

 

Flickering. I'm gonna do the search. But writes this first. My screen flickers. I have the powercord in so I assume that the processor and graphic card is on the highest levels. But the screen flickers every now and then, a couple of times per minute. Anyone?
:cry:

Anyone got rid of the flickering?
I suppose this is gonna be a DOA.

 

perhaps it's trying to communicate with you in Morse code? just kidding!

 

I had the same thing on my first machine - took it back and got a new one that is fine.
The left click below the trackpad is slightly mushy on this one but I really can't be bothered to take it back again since everything else is working like it should and I have a bad feeling about acer QA - who's to say what would be broken on the next unit

 

Indeed
Well the machine is much nicer - and noticably snappier - after getting a clean install on to it.

 

Haha. Maybe. I learned a little morse code in the army. My computer says:
"Flickering is the sh*t". Don't know what that means...

Yes I will return it. Anyone from Sweden ever returned to Komplett? Can I walk in to the delivery store in Sthlm with the machine? 7 days hasn't (haven't?) gone yet...

 

Hi everybody!

This seems to be the the place in the web, with the highest level of 3820TG knowledge, so I thought I'd have a go with my seemingly simple, yet extremely frustrating problem. Any help is highly appreciated..

I got my notebook yesterday morning, and immediately proceeded with the guide found on the forum, to remove the pre-installed OS and re-install a clean Win7 Home Premium 64-bit. However, just before doing that, I booted the pre-installed OS, just to check it out, and entering the Win7 desktop, I tried out a few functions. One was to turn on/off the wireless and bluetooth adapter. I couldn't seem to get a signal from my AP, so I decided to check out the adapter status in Control Panel - Network Adapters, and noticed it was "disabled". Thus, I decided to "enable" it. After which it mysteriously disappeared. Later, I rebooted - and got a BSOD. Then Windows Startup Repair, which fixed nothing. Then ALT+10 to re-install the pre-installed OS. And still nothing. I did notice though, that the adapter seems to be "on" as it enters the desktop, and then after about 5-10 secs, it disappears. I thought "well, maybe my enabled/disabling the device during the auto-install procedure f***** something up, or the software is (f***** up)." And then embarked on the Win7 clean install procedure.

The certificate and the key came out fine, and all was good activating Windows. I did however notice that I accidentically formatted the Acer Recovery partition - which is really unfortunate, if the adapter hardware turns out to be faulty. But anyways, status is now this:

- I have attempted installation of all the by Acer supported 3820TG WiFi adapter drivers
- The launch manager (OSD) shows the WiFi to be "on", but the device manager cannot see it
- When I enter the desktop, Windows appears to be attempting to connect to a WiFi connection (I see the bars symbol tray icon for a while), only to stop and show the LAN disconnected symbol

I have of course tried to install the WiFi drivers one at a time, but with no luck.

My questions are therefore:
- Is there a specific procedure for installing the (Broadcom) WiFi adapter drivers?
- Is there any Acer Nplify software that is needed/downloadable? Or other software needed to get a WiFi connection up and running?

- And finally, since I have accidentically formatted and thus deleted the Acer Recovery partition, is there ANY way of getting the pre-installed OS backup, in case the adapter is faulty?

Thanks for any help in advance.

Greetings from Denmark

Oops: Forgot to include hardware details:
Acer Aspire Timeline X 3820TG 5454G50n

 

IGP works on power too, and the system is much more quiet. For me, it's a very important feature, that I can silently browse the internet, read books/PDFs and do many things I did on my IGP Thinkpad before. It's not about green, it's about that one fan is totally off.

 

Hi,

a question about the fans. My fans are on all the time. It wasn't like that when I first bought it. I've only had it for like 15 days.
Also the one fan keeps making a buzzing sound like it's hitting something or loose.

 

Have a look at my video about my flickering:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKfzDjdMAhI

Is it like that? I returned my laptop because of this. I hope if everyone returns their flickering screen on the first week then it means some kind of "feedback" for Acer.

 

It's exactly like that. I ran it first in fullscreen so I couldn't tell if it was your movie flickering or my own laptop flickering. Ha ha.

 

That looks great! Which one did you use? I heard from shark technologies and am ordering the motherboard today, as well as the speaker, paste, switches and possibly a CPU. That was the perfect spot for the switch. Can't wait to see your write-up, but if you could let me know which switch you used as soon as possible I would appreciate it. BTW, great work, as usual.

Bronsky

 

Just wait a few days because an user reporteted, that his soldered pcie port is not working.

Is it your first soldering, buy a few chaep smd ic and pcbs to learn first.

Can you please post the link to the switch? Thanks.

Just replace it as defect device.

Nice work

 

Yes I will when I finally finish removing the keyboard for the last time as it can scratch. The i5 450m may or may not be going back in. Once I'm 100% finished I will remove the plastic.

@Bronksy, It was a larger 5mm switch. I can't confirm it as I don't have the bag infront of me. (I'm not at home)

But it was one of these: 1
RoHS: Compliant1
688-SSSS916400
5mm Std SPDT Horiz 08/18/10 1 0.701 0.70

2
RoHS: Compliant1
688-SSSS91B600
5mm Std SP3T Horiz 08/18/10 1 0.817 0.82

3
RoHS: Compliant1
688-SSSS91B900
5mm Std SP3T Horiz

Its switch is a cream / white colour so I had to paint it black. Maybe you can find a black one?

 

Was that no major load reported by Task Manager? If not, then it could be web pages. For example, CBS Sportsline has a commwire on by default in Fantasy Football section, and I just discovered that it causes some CPU's to run at 100% or whatever they have left, I'm sure other web sites can be just as bad.

 

Then it's a push on/off and not a slide switch? Hmmmmm.

I'm interested to see what you decide on the CPU. My board will be here in a week or so but I think the speaker will take a week or two longer. I'm waiting to do everything at once.

Given that I don't know if the new Motherbaord will OC, I am seriously considering upgrading to, at least the 520M to get the AES accelleration. Then the question is 540M? 620M? With a more powerful CPU, even if the board does not OC, I still have workstation like power. If it does OC though, I really think that the 450M would be more than enough power for my needs. Tough decision.

Bronsky

 

Nope, still doesnt work, although i noticed that 60hz 1680x1050 isnt on the "list of modes"

 

Hey guys, I brought my new 3820T home yesterday and i'm really satisfied so far I just have a question, will it fit in a Macbook (pro) 13 laptop sleeve? because i really like stuff that incase makes.
Thanks

 

I have the Incase 13" MBP sleeve and it fits perfectly. Congratulations.

Bronsky

 

THANKS DUDE

 

Hey,

what is your problem?

i'm using an Samsung T220 with the same resolution on my 3820TG without any problems. It runs well in the analog mode on the intel and amd graphikcard and per hdmi only on the amd.

 

Digi-Key - LTC1710CS8-ND (Manufacturer - LTC1710CS8)

Each output can do 300mA. Putting a different resistor on each output and then connecting them to the keyboard backlight supply should enable 3 brightness levels + off.

 

I'm wondering if anyone here tried deleting the hidden restore partition, and merge it with one of the primary partitions? I've tried several programs, and none of them can merge it - it almost behaves as if it is a separate hard drive. It is around 12.7 Gb of space, and is tied to this 100 mb SYSTEM RESERVED partition. I tried a search of the thread but couldn't find anything.

 

wow. first of all. thanks for that amazing thread.
i got a 3820TG /ati5650.
i am trying to overclock the i5 m430 cpu with setfsb (v 2.3.150.116).

i tried that asusG73JH clockget like HEDNRICKSEN described. but it wont work for me. setfsb say :" PLL ID Error"

what am i doing wrong ?

thanks in advance.

 

That means your is not OCable with G73Jh...
Try the freeware version, and use ICS9LPRS365BGLF
if also pll id error, then you are out of luck....

 

If you got a PLL error ... your unit is not OC'able. It has a clockgen with TME.

Bronsky

 

it wont display 1680x1050 60hz over VGA on the ATI graphics card. I might have to just get a DVI to HDMI adaptor

 

Could someone please upload the Acer screensaver program that came with the 3820TG? One of it's images had a shimmering light that became the word "Acer". Other images were of the laptop itself.

I thought it would be on the backup CD of programs/drivers, but it is not.

Thanks.

 

The switch I used was ALPS Slide Switches, 5mm Std SPDT Horiz



P/N SSSS916400.

I removed the metal kensington lock bracket and plastic upper part to make it fit. Then its super glued in place. Its a basic on and off switch and from the out side looks part of the design. More in the backlit keyboard swap thread.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ace...20tg-backlit-keyboard-mod-13.html#post6620058

 

Hey all,

Is this the only solution to getting full resolution?

I'm using an HDMI cable to connect to my 23" LG HD Monitor and can't get the full resolution either...

I need to use my keyboard to type since I don't have an extra one.

Thanks!

 

I simple don't know where are the problems I'm useing the internal display and the external 1680*1050 without problems.

Just don't use fn+F5. Use the window key with the p key (win)+p and you can switch through the options.

 

I had asked but I had not been answered ...
You would know what to say to me maybe?

 

Hello, I've just tried to settle the pci-e slot, but the system does not recognize me. If you have news about passamele I feel

 

I have now overclocked my 3820TG with SetSFB and seem to run very stable 2.958 Ghz @ 164Mhz bus speed (I could probably overclock it even more and run stable). But I wonder how you activate the turbo in the processor? Does the computer do this automatically or can you use some turbo mode to get it faster? I saw Hendrickson's post at page 249 where he writes: "I run a stable 3.36Ghz ( Turbo) @ 168Mhz bus speed". So how you get the turbo working? I have the i5 450 processor.

 

will there be ever a setfsb version with wich i can oc my 3820 TG?

or is there another way to oc ?

 

Its automatic, if you run CPU-Z and do some benchmarks you should the multiplier jump into turbo. 164Mhz is a good OC, I take it your on the i5 450m ?

If you get the PLL error no, your clockgen is locked and only a *risky* pin mod would work.