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

i miss him! o man i hope the surgery went well. are we getting an answer if whether or not we can overclock the procie? although i have the i7... i hope the same goes with i5 if its capable of overclock.

 

@Bronsky:

Where in the US are you located? I live in the Los Angeles area. Everyone here seems to be from Asia or Europe.

 

Hello! I have a 3820TG too! Does anybody have a calibrated icc profile for this notebook? And if its'n not problem, I'd like to ask if somebody has that acer app for FN + HOME (Play) .. It's not working with a fresh Win 7. And that would be also nice to see the volume level when changing it
BTW, i recommend a program called Scrybe! It has the latest synaptics drivers and some more feature One more question? How much should be the maximum GPU temperature when it's overclocked? Is 75-79 too high? (It's hot here )

 

Half-way between Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey Shore Area. Everyone who lives here is trying to get out.

Bronsky

 

now im one of the proud owner of 3820tg i bought the model with i5 450m and 5650 i might gonna need to ask few questions in the following days

 

Congratulations! 9 cell?

Bronsky

Edit: It looks like I will not be getting the Envy 14 and will be waiting for the 3820TG with the specs I want to come to the US. I really want to try my hand at modding and upgrading the 3820TG. I'm replacing my 1410T with a new tablet that has sufficient dedicated graphics (HD 5450) to take care of some of my work needs. HP has confirmed that the TM2 will get an I5-430UM but I'm waiting to see if it puts an I5-540UM or I7-640UM in there. The TM2 should he released on the same day as the Envy 14. My thoughts on the TM2 are on the arrandale thread.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6341662-post3311.html

 

For upgrading the CPU in the 3820TG down the road, does anyone know if one can buy these i7-xxxM standalone CPUs somewhere, or are they just for OEMs?

 

ebay would be one of the place to search..

 

They are all over ebay for $250-$275. Price will probably come down later in the summer since I7-640M will be released in Q3.

Bronsky

 

Yeah, you are right. I just had a look on ebay.

I have my eyes on this laptop. But I am currently located in Taiwan. You would think that Acer would offer the best specs here, since it's a Taiwanese company. But no, a i5-430 is the best they can offer here in a 3820TG, sigh. So, maybe I should get it, and upgrade it later with a better CPU from ebay...

 

6cell and 320gb hdd i think the model with i5 430m 640gb 9cell one is discontinuied in sweden so i bought i5 450m 320gb hdd and 6cell which costs same, there is one modell with i5 450m 640gb hdd 9 cell but it costs about 10% more so i got this one and ofc i hate big 9cell as standard battery, i might buy one later but normally id like to have 6cell

 

The nine cell is really ugly. It ruins the design of the laptop IMO.

Bronsky

 

That is my plan. I would actually prefer they bring the 430M here instead of the 450M because I'm going to upgrade anyway. I am probably going to do it soon after I get the computer. I'm just going to run it for awhile to make sure there is nothing wrong with it. Even if I bought the I7-620M model (which is not for sale anywhere ATM), I would take the sink/cooler off the CPU and repaste it. I'm also going to fit a backlit keyboard but I would like to have a manual first to see if I can figure a way to plug it in rather than solder it.

Funny about you having trouble getting these in Taiwan.

Bronsky

 

Yeah, tell me about it. It's not just Acer. Even if you are located in the country where they literally make the notebooks (or China), it's hard to get the best and latest. Instead, that is prioritized for export to the U.S or Europe, or even other Asian countries around like Singapore.

 

Tomorrow I am going to the Gong Hua computer market here in Taipei to see what Acer models they have. From what I know the 3820TG comes in silver color here, and not black.

 

What made you decide on the 3820TG so thoroughly?
I had an ASUS C90S that i heavily modded. After the 8600M GT died, I replaced it with a HD3650, bored holes in the case, fabricated (bansaw, drill, threaded, polished) a fully copper heatsink, applied copper heat pads. All was well until my friend shorted the motherboard when he was trying to install a voltage regulator off the battery for a manual linear resistor fan control.

I can tell you modding is fun, but it got old the second my friend f!@#ed it up.

I really want something with the weight and power of the 4820 (size) I just wish the build quality was muchhhh better. Then again my C90s was 7-8lb so perhaps the Envy 14 will be "light".

 

sounds good, can you post a link to a Swedish website with 3820tg? thx matee

 

pc show today in singapore with 540m/5650 all over the place! grab yours now!

 

oooh!!! thats the perfect combo, if that one were for sale in sweden it would be mine i a second! Gief.

 

I'm still here, just had limited access to internet. Traveling through Spain

My backlit mod went well, you can expect to loose 30 minutes battery life. I have been traveling with my 3820TG and can report that the battery life I got was around 6 hours maybe 6hrs 15mins max. This is using wifi or 3G usb modem. And the screen brigthness way down. I'm happy with the result.

When I have time I will try and get up a backlit keyboard mod post up. Also the setfsb developer claims it cannot be overclocked and the chipset is
SLGxxxx and doesn't have the function that changes FSB.

Can someone else please send him an email with the following:

Also we really need someone to confirm the ICS chipset ID 100% its correct. I might do this later if I decide to get a i7 620m and upgrade.

 

Komplett.se - Acer Aspire TimelineX 3820TG 13.3"HD LED

this site sells both i5 450m 320gb 6cell and i5 450m 640gb 9cell ofc both of them with 4gb memory and 5650hd

btw i ran 3dmark06 and got 7604 score ill try to overclock it a little bit

 

It is correct.

 

Trust me ... it did not happen overnight.

To begin with I was looking at the Sony Z. I had the need for a laptop with good to great graphics power, CPU computing power in a small light package that can be used as a presentation unit as well as an editing unit (teathered to a 24" LG). The 3820TG caught my attention and I have been following it since January. It's specs are second to none. I currently have an Acer 1410T so I am familiar with Acer build quality and their keyboard. I like the build quality and have adapted to my keyboard after some adjustments.

What I also like about the Acer is that, unilke Sony, they don't mess mush with manufacturers' drivers and the like. The 3820TG also has had some very cleaver engineering in the design of its dual heat sink/fan. In all, the 3820TG is the most powerful 13" notebook on the market ATM. I only feel that way about the 13" model however. I think there are better options as the display size increases. I would buy the Envy 14 over the Acer 4820TG any day.

I would have been mad at your friend too. Once I start surgery , nobody will touch my patient until the operation is complete.

Bronsky

 

^ noticed you removed the backup plan (envy) on your sig! truly a dedicated 3820tg mate. nice!

 

@bronsky and aspireant you guys i can help you get 3820tg from singapore if you want

 

^already got mine mate and its from singapore, look at my sig

 

Thanks, I might take you up on it later if I can't get a 5650 3820TG. Since it is already June 11, I am probably going to wait a couple of weeks to see what comes in. I would prefer buying from a US retailer if I can for warranty purposes. If the 3820TG does not appear in the next 2 weeks, I will probably get an HP TM2 first and then the 3820TG when it is available.

I came within hours of ordering from Singapore but decided to wait because of the warranty issuesl. I do appreciate the offer though.

Bronsky

 

What kind of battery life are you getting on your i7 version aspireant?

Envy vs. 3820tg, I think I'd ideally go for 3820, but I'm getting so impatient, the bcb and discounts might just send me towards the envy.

 

around 5 to 6 hours of battery on power-saving mode and 2 to 3 hours on high-performance. the 8+ hours that acer or even m11x is promising is pretty much just a marketing strat, in real life, this is as much as you can get.

 

I would have gotten this laptop if it were out, but I was getting tired of waiting and got Lenovo Ideapad Y460 instead.

It has got almost the same spec, just 0.7 inch bigger screen.

 

What's the price in Singapore for the i7620m/5650 combo? Can you convert that to roughly what it would cost here in the US?

Thanks

 

I'm from the US, I would like to know where I can purchase the 3820tg (i7-620/5650 version)?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6343873-post3320.html

 

Thanks for the info. I should've specify this earlier. I don't mind a grey market product.

Also, do they have one that includes a SSD in it?

 

The only I7-620M versions of the 3820TG were in Singapore and i believe they are sold out now. If you look back in this thread, the information for Firdouse in Singapore is listed. You could call them and check on availability. There is an I7 version of the 4820TG in Germany with an SSD.

Bronsky

 

guys i got couple of questions i think i found pretty stable gpu clock at 660 1050 3dmark score 9049 so now i want to set it in bios, can anyone give me some guide how to do it? i tried to find but it was more in general and for desktops mabye someting different in laptops and what program to use.

well the laptop itself feels solid and nice, so far so good and low temps and noises compared to my former big 17inch hp which i hated so much that i decided not to get any hp laptops in the future. eventhough the quality of laptops varies between models.

 

That's pretty much what I get now with my LED mod. I can get just over 6 hours if I use the screen on the lowest setting. This is with Wifi on surfing the net.

Also I have a OCZ vertex SSD so I'm not sure if this help a little?

 

Backlit keyboard mod how to is up:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ace...-3820tg-backlit-keyboard-mod.html#post6346198

Sorry its a bit of a rush job.

 

If somebody has a manual for the 3820TG - can you please confirm that the CPU resides in a PGA 988 socket or an LGA 1156 socket but not a BGA 1288 socket? I think it is the LGA 1156.

Bronsky

@Hendrickson - guide looks great. Where did you get that little plastic tool that you used to lift the clips on the keyboard? Did it come with the replacement keyboard? Looks easire to use than a credit card (my old method ).

EDIT: When you look up the socket would you also look to see if the GPU is MXM 3.0 compatable?

 

Got my 3820TG yesterday, happy with it so far. However, there is a quite noticable flickering on the left of the screen especially at higher brightness settings. The flicker persists whether I'm on the intel graphics or ATI. Anyone else have this problem? Is there a fix for this?

 

I was thinking Intel X25-M. How do you like the OCZ? 120?

 

Funny, I was sure You'd void the warranty the moment You get Your hands on Your unit.
I've heard roumors abut the 1.08 not controling te fans properly, could someone please confirm?
The BIOS's readme says the BIOS can be flashed via Windows, though german users said it shuld be done in puire DOS enviroment. I've never done a BIOS refresh before, could someone please confirm?

 

I will probably run the unit for a few days to make sure it's operating correctly. I will then stress test the crap out of it to make sure it doesn't throttle in any way. Then I'll void the warranty. The only issue with me was that I wanted a retailer close so that I can return the unit to without paying hundreds of dollars each way if my initial inspections revealed any issues that I did not like. Since I am going to put a lot of work into this 3820 I want to make sure I start with a unit that is as near to perfect as I can get.

You can flash the bios either way. Purists suggest putting the upgrade on a USB and flash in dos. Others say it's all bs and that windos is fine. Since I normally wear belts and suspenders ( I really wear neither usually ) I have gotten into the habit of flashing bios updates from DOS.

Bronsky

 

@hendrikson do you plan on upgrading proc? i see your games scaling nicely

what about hardware acceleration and day to day tasks? whats the cpu usage?

does i5 430m beats core 2 duo p8800/t9550??

 

Does a bios upgrade breaks the warranty? And how can i upgrade? Can i copy the files from the BIOSCDRC19.iso (from the acer website) to an sd card and boot from it? (I've installed win7 from a micro SD )

 

You push the clips in, lifting them would break them A credit card would also work. The tool is something I had from a Nokia N95 screen replacement.

Oh and I did have a photo somewhere in this thread of the socket markings.

OCZ vertex is great. very quick. Reads at 250mbs and writes at 150mbs.

I'm thinking about it, if we can overclock the CPU. I won't upgrade it. The i5 430m is faster than my old Extreme Core Duo X9000 @ 3.0Ghz. So I'm impressed with it. Quicker than a p8800/t9550 for sure!

No that would not break the warranty. I downloaded it extracted the files and run it from my desktop in Windows 7 64bit. Not a problem.

 

Oh you use the tool to push the clips ... I use the corner of a credit card to push the clips and the edge to lift the keyboard on my 1410T. I would assume that all Acer keyboards are the same. That is a really handy tool. I used a pen knife in the past to push the clips but i like the card edge better.

I had looked at the photo. I'm just trying to make sure I can order the right CPU. I think it is a PGA 988 socket (I wrote the wrong number in the original post - too late out playing cards last night ) and just trying to confirm that in the manual. The Acer Timeline is not listed on the retailer's list of known applications for that part.

Nice speeds. I'm going see which is the better deal when I'm ready to put one in: Intel or OCZ.

Still no flex in the keyboard?

Bronsky

 

Intel 80GB X-25M G2 is the bargain (best bang for buck) right now at ~$200.
The SandForce 1200 OCZ Drives outperform the Intel drives at the moment and probably until Intel decides to refresh its fabrication process. For performance go for the SandForce drives (for now).

 

Anyone know if the US will release the i7-620 + 5650 model?

 

Bronsky