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

Thank you. So display problems are random. Is screen flickering accpted reason for applying warranty? Will they chage it in case it will affect unit I will buy?

So you say basically I have great change to gaet unit with everything OK. No screen flickering right? (You know, I am scared to give my money for something that doesent work the way it should be)

Well, I found one more interesting thing. After I searched all major e-shops in my country, I found I can get two different models here:

3820TG-434G50MN and 3820TG-434G64MN

Whats the difference between the two? CPU, GPU, HDD, RAM is the same, and other specs arent so detailed to see for example whether one has different wi-fi or whatever. I searched Acer site and there is nothing about differences between models. And whats more strange I found that you cannot get the 9 cell or i3 versions inmy country as well.

 

the black screen between switching graphics on the ati switchable graphics is normal,

on every unit i owned of the 3820tg this happend to,

with the nvidia optimus this does not occur.

 

Not if you also included a $10 dollar note taped to the instructions.

Bronsky

 

OK, so is there a way to know which Wi-fi card is actually included in which model? Or is it completely random?

 

For those of you with Staples models with the I5-430M, TGoode has successfully OC'd his CPU with Clockgen ICS9LPRS355BGLF. http://forum.notebookreview.com/6679353-post32.html. If you have a 430M you might want to take note.

I have not yet encountered a TME bound PLL. I'm begining to think that you just have to find a workable clockgen and then tune it up if you can.

Bronsky

 

Thanks, noted!

 

I also have it OCing with the Asus G73JH clockgen.

 

I would suggest you to get a 460M model, they are the newest revisions and many things could be fixed since the 430M and 450M models.

I just sent in mine because of brightness shifting, I will post when I know anything about what they do on my laptop.

 

Obviously I was thinking he is having a long blank screen, a 1 second blackout is normal.

 

I have the same problem with my 3820TG-3022, from Staples. Anybody else? Is there a known fix? I have been searching the threads to no avail.

Thanks!

 

I installed the 240gb vertex 2 from OCZ followed by a fresh install of Win7 Ultimate. I did not encounter any problems. After the install I had 1 Blue Screen which was because none of the Acer drivers were installed yet. So far it has been running very well.


BTW: is there anymore first hand experience with the new backlit keyboard that states is does not use a second power cable? I think one person wrote in and said that it was a standard non-backlit keyboard.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-ACER-ASPIRE...33?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item2a08f09d8d

Thanks
Hox

 

hey zsero was your shifting like on greys and all colours are lower brightness levels?

 

Sorry, new to the thread. I am looking for any information on the benchmarks for the Core i3 version of this machine. Either the 2.16 or the 2.26. Looking to buy one from PCHome and am debating on the additional 200 cost on the i5 version. Been through about 50+ pages and can't seem to get a beat on others that own this with the lower end procs.

 

Seems to be a windows problem, have a look at the protocols.

Have you a second monitor attached?

 

Anyone? The fan on the right side of the laptop spins noticeably even when on lowest drain settings, but the one on the left exhibits more normal behavior.

 

Synopsis of the past 476 pages on this issue:

Cost is $100 more for the I5. I3 has a slower speed and a thermal limitation of 90C. The I5 can run all the way up to 105C. The I3 can throttle occasionally. That is why I think the I5 is worth the extra money.

Bronsky

 

I've had my 3820TG for 2 months and still can't hear the fans, even in my office when it is quiet.

Bronsky

 

No, I actually havent tried with a 2nd monitor yet. Any pointers on the windows protocols? Sorry, I am kinda simple...

 

The i3 machine with the 340M processor gets a WEI processor score of 6.2

A i5-430M gets 6.6, an i5 540M gets 6.8

It is a noticeable difference - Not an Intel Atom -> i3 difference though... More like a core2 duo -> core2 extreme difference.

 

awesome, that helps some =)

 

Thanks Bronsky!

 

Hi!

I just bought a Acer 3820TG, after I read on some forums about the traditional problems this computer has I was very suspicious when I started the computer and looked for problems.

One thing I noticed is that the fan on the right side is making small sounds even when it idles. Its a small fan sound that is "loose" or something and touches the heatsink.

However when I tip the computer on all sides when you lift it to look on the cdkey under. It makes a terrible sound and its loud. From the same side the right side and its the fan and flipping and touching the sink. The sound is like a chainsaw a metallic sound in the computer that the fan is making.

Anyone else who got this problem? However its a non acceptable sound from a new computer.

Best regards!

 

Well, thanks. I will buy 460M one. I considered Asus UL30, but it seems to have even more problems than Acer. So, thank you.

 

You could try oiling the fan. I've got rid of fan noises on my desktop PCs over the years this way.

 

Yeah ofc could i do that if my computer were older but its only 4 hours old hehe.

 

Just replace the unit.

 

Never use oil inside a computer.

 

If only there was a way to control the fans...

 

Thanks!
Btw, have you found out anything more about the drop in fps when overcloking the 450m? I dont think i'll buy a new one if i can overclock the one I have while gaming...

 

Forgot to quote you, sorry!

 

...and definately not if You send like a 540M OEM along with the thermal paste and ask for a CPU swap as well

Of course, if there's no warranty work to be done, "only" asking for a "warranty-proof" CPU swap would be a bit expensive.

 

For me, the right one is absolutely off when I am running on Intel.

 

Yes. If you go to CCC and set for example gamma to 0.8 and click reset, the shifting was very similar. And it was not only brightness, the white balance was shifting a bit too. Sometime it went a bit yellowish and then a bit blueish.

 

I would suggest a quick return. Fan should be quiet and wooooosh kind of sound, nothing metalic or clicking.

 

Unfortunately SpeedFan doesn't work, not even in advanced mode.

On my first Thinkpad I made a similar fan-switch to the ones on this forum for backlight keyboard, years before the sophisticated fan control utilities existed for Thinkpads. At least IBM/Lenovo uses similar control chips in all Thinkpads, what makes it possible to make fan control utilities. I bet even in just the 3820TGs Acer uses different chips, just like for clockgens, displays, keyboards, fans, etc. depending on a weekly basis.

 

Yes, but for an alternative route, I am thinking about that since my computer has been opened already in the service depot, and it comes without any warranty labels, I can just open mine and do the swap any time, as there is no way to proove that I opened it.

For anyone who played with the CPU / heatsink part: is there any way to recognize that someone opened the laptop at home, after it has been serviced in a service center? So far no one has seen any warranty labels inside? I hope they don't put labels after the repair.

 

So - I finally got around to formatting my laptop

I had a copy from school of windows 7 pro so i installed that.

now...

I am a bit confused.. for the drivers, i should of written these thiings down..

in the drivers cd i have multiple wlan drivers
? which one anyone know? I have the Atheros stock card, can you guys check?

Also for Ethernet Controller....




AND the last question: what software controls the brightness?

i haven't installed anythign yet but i can't control the brightness.

 

non-tamper proof paper barcode stickers that are easily removed and replaced.

 

Hey so Bronsky I was wondering... for step 3 do i just do it like step 4 except click the top option to make a factory image? And I can do both step 3 and 4 on usb too?

And I was wondering what the point of step 5 was? Cause with my other laptop I would just boot windows 7 from drive.. and just wipe everything out of my partition and just insert the key on the back of the laptop. I was just wondering what the point of backing up the key meant. Thanks.

 

Here are my network adaptors. I don't think it's much help to you. You might try to id the card in Device manager.


Brightness is controled by a slide in power (battery in tray). It can also be controled by the FN < > keys. If yours don't work load launch manager application.

Bronsky

 

Yea ... you use the top on step 4.

The key on the back of the laptop will not self authenticate. If you enter the key on the W7 sticker on your 3820TG, you can only authenticate your unit by using the telephone activation. When your laptop is made, Acer uses a different key (OEM Key) which will authenticate your copy of W7 without going on-line at all.

The OEM Key needs an OEM Certificate to be installed with it. The ABR program extracts that Cert and Key and then reinstalls it. It is very quick and easy.

I used DVD's to back up. But, I think you can get a program that makes your USB drive a virtual DVD.

Bronsky

 

You cannot activate a Professional with HP license, you should have deleted ei.cfg from the DVD. You will run out in 30 days. I don't know, maybe it's possible to revert to HP even after installation.

Search for the driver names, I have written them about a hundred pages ago...

Brightness will work after ATI drivers.

 

This is one long-a*s thread.

Bronsky

 

Well, I got the 3810 replacement keyboard in the mail today (it was this one on eBay) and put it in. Taking the original one out didn't go as easily as I had hoped. I had a hell of a time pushing the tab on the right side. Not sure if I was supposed to unscrew anything on the bottom as per the instructions I read for the 3810 or not. Anyway the new keyboard popped in very easily. If there's supposed to be a difference between the original and new one I can't see it. They look the same down to the bevel on the up and down arrow keys. The bad news is that the arrow keys work exactly the same too, i.e. dead zones on the right side of the left/down/right arrow keys and the left side of the up arrow keys. I guess it's not a problem for most people, maybe it's the way I'm used to typing. My wife seems to like the laptop though so she's gonna be using it instead. I guess I'm gonna have to look somewhere else... maybe in the business laptop category.

 

HP license? uh?

No i have msdn access i have about 7 windows 7 license from school,
So i am using the professional version instead , already actived.

and Yes like bronsky its' one loss arse thread, i've tried search and coming up with various results .

 

The keyboard was very easy to install, no modification necessary. I bought it from here :

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Acer-Aspire...46?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item1c1512e97e

The quality seems to be as good or better than the original keyboard, but maybe slightly stiffer keys.[/QUOTE]

Yes, the cigarette on the laptop always cracked me up, I thought this is what a laptop that surfs too much adult websites might look like if it's satisfied at the end of it's session...needs a smoke

The whole ComputerUniverse lithium battery nonsense nightmare is just a bad dream now. Initially, they didn't refund me the shipping cost of about 60 Euros either, so I wrote a letter of disbelief and dissatisfaction of the whole debacle and they promptly refunded the remaining amount.

I bought an open box 3820TG from Staples for $665.95 plus tax, which I must admit was a great deal and tempting to keep. The only hangup I had was the 5470 GPU was ranked too close to my stolen laptop's 9600MGS 1GB GPU... I wanted to upgrade, not stay the same or downgrade.

I made English recovery DVD's from the computer and then returned it.

PChome shipped my order on August 13 and I had my laptop within 4 business days. It was delivered by Canada Post and had no Canada Customs to pay. The laptop arrived with no damage anywhere on the shipping boxes. My total cost was $1190 Canadian. This included the Acer laptop carrying bag, Porter bag, and the extra 2GB memory module.

I'm pretty pleased with this laptop so far. The screen is pretty good, it's an AUO322.

I haven't had much extra time for my new computer due to Summer activities. It took me forever to catch up on this forum thread after being away from the computer for two weeks on vacation. Winter will be here soon enough and I can experiment with SetFSB or maybe backlit keyboard.

 

Well I fixed the black screen problem, finally.
The problem was that when I switched to the ATI, the PC crashed.
for some reason, the problem mutated after a system restore, making it so ONLY the ATI worked, and if I booted the PC with switchable graphics on, it would crash.
So after many failed driver manipulation attempts, I decided to restore the windows installation.
That failed at first, I was still getting the boot crash. Until for some reason the Windows repair tool apparently worked for the first time and fixed the problem (i didnt actually see it happen though, so it might have been divine intervention). I jumped at the chance and downloaded a clean Windows 7 installation and installed that.
No problems with either video card since. Enjoying the BS-free installation quite well, too.

 

Hi all, new to the thread and i have been following it closely, plenty of info.

I received my 3820tg from germany just 2 days ago and its the best all round laptop i've ever used and performance to boot.

Just a question out of the blue regarding overclocking using setfsb...

I find when i overclock my CPU. My crysis benchmarks get slower progressively the higher i overclock it - regardless of how cold the laptop is and weather or not i've OC'd the ATI.

Even though i can see my cpu performance increasing (SuperPi 1m = 13seconds instead of 17seconds). Is this just a problem with the Crysis / Crysis Tool 1.05 benchmark?

PS Highest FSB i've gone its 160Mhz.

Cheers
Wes

 

Agreed.

Shouldn't we open "Part II" the time we reach the 500th page?

 

This is a common issue, the overclocking on the CPU increases everything CPU wise. But the GPU performance seems to slow down some what. So if your gaming don't OC the CPU, only the GPU.

But your encoding movies or just using the CPU and want a boost. Overclock.

Maybe one day we can fix this issue.