Acer TimelineX 3830/4830/5830 T/G

I'm waiting for the 4830tg here in sweden, does any one know if a Intel Core i7 2630QM will work instead of the Intel Core i5 2410M?

 

Acer finally considering upgrading its displays? Acer said to be using LG Shuriken display in upcoming laptop -- less bezel, less thickness, more awesome -- Engadget Hope for the next gen Ivy Bridge Timelines?

Edit: More from digitimes - http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20110425PD208.html 14" display with the footprint of a 13.3" display unit.

Bronsky

 

Thanks so far. Check your Private Messages

 

@Numero - This does not look like a heat issue. Maybe a bios issue?

Bronsky

 

Can you try Intel Latest Chipset Driver from Intel and overwrite the default Acer?
Install it by opening a Command Prompt with Admin Rights.
Then Change Directory with the cd command.
eg (cd C:\Users\(Your Username)\(extracted foldername))
Then type setup.exe /overall
It might change chipset power behaviour.
Of course it will overwrite the Storage Driver so download it again from Intel and install it back to restore Rapid Storage Driver.

This is something I picked up from HP Subforum.
Always good to learn new stuff.

 

Function over form. If it doesn't offer superior technical attributes, it is useless at best. Fanciful names doesn't impress me.

**Shucks spoke too soon LG Ninjas are at my door! Help!

 

Acer can call it whatever they want if they make it higher contrast and better resolution. I am assuming that Acer will follow LG's strategy with the G-Slate and put a higher resolution/contrast display than its competitors.

Bronsky

 

You mention turbo; are we talking about a drop from 2.6 GHz to 2.3 GHz ( source), or are we talking about, based on previous posts, a drop from 2.6 GHz to 1.2 GHz? If the CPU only drops 0.3 GHz, then the heat issues seem to be not such big of a deal and buying the 3830TG instead of 3820TG is not such a bad idea after all. Am I right, or am I missing something?

FYI: I'm waiting for the 3830TG in Sweden, it arrives in stores 28th of April and will cost 8000 SEK = 1314 USD.

 

numero - How are you running these CPU throtting tests? Are you exiting the game and then looking at the CPU speed? Because your CPU will always have lower temperature/lower multiplier/lower CPU speed when you ALT+TAB, press the Windows Symbol or exit a game. Most likely because of Intel SpeedStep.

Recording it in real-time with a program like Everest will show you if your CPU throttled throughout the whole test.

I'm just curious because you said the program you were using is a Trial Edition and did not have the capability to record any CPU throttling.

 

Well, in all fairness the price is $1051 if we subtract our insane VAT of 25%.

 

Any info on throtteling on the 3830TG ?

 

Yeah, we're dying to know if there are in fact issues with the CPU clock dropping when under load. If there is: can anyone recommend another laptop with specs like the 3830TG (SB, no DVD, 13.3'')?

 

So are the max ram for 3830TG still 8GB? I'm looking at the Toshiba R835 and they're showing 16GB max even though they're no 8GB PC10600 SODIMM yet.. but at least it'll be more future proof..

 

You can get 2x8gb ram chips in the new m11x, and they're 1333mhz. Dell charges a bomb though, it's like a $1100 upgrade from 2x2gb (in Australia) :/.

EDIT: $1300 upgrade*

 

i think the chipset determines how much ram it can take. if other laptops of the same chipset can support 16gb chances are this one will too

heck, i have an ancient toshiba satellite a100 which they claim on their website can only take 2gb ddr2 ram max, i tried putting in 2x2gb and bios can still recognize it

in other news, pricing for 3830t is released in stores in hong kong....dang, a 13inch model is only like 20-30usd cheaper than a 14inch model (6800hkd for 3830 vs 7000hkd for 4830 to be exact). i personally find the 14inch model a tad on the heavy side but u only save 30usd for losing a dvd drive and slightly smaller screen....

 

In Switzerland both the 3830tg and the 4830tg cost the same.
The 3830tg would be available, but I will wait with the order until i know if there's a real throtteling issue.

 

Yes, 3830TG now available in Switzerland. 1099 CHF = approx 1250 USD

digitec online shop

 

still not a single 3830tg on stock in CZ or SK, price fluctuates between 850 - 950 €, all listed models are with 120GB SSD, which is on the smaller side, last info about availability is next week ( first week of May )
So if everything goes as listed, you can have either 500GB standard drive or 120GB SSD for virtually same price

 

This distribution pattern is identical to last year. The EU sites were selling Timelines by May. I bought mine from Computeruniverse in June and the 4820TG showed up in the US while my unit was slowly making its way toward the US on the SS Rotterdam. The Canadian 3820TG's started appearing in July/August.

I would expect that the 4830TG should be showing up in the US in a month or so. Was it Centex that was the Canadian distributor? Anybody check there for new model #s? Interesting to hear that models are showing up with solid state drives.

Bronsky

 

Hi all .. Sorry for 'disappearing'. Gotta work late and also I did a fresh installation of Win 7 and sadly the system is still throttling. I use Aida64 to monitor and log ... turbo boost came on only when the system is loading SC3.

Game played: SC3
Ambient Temp (room): 26C

Download log_2011-04-27_22-26-30_log.pdf for free on Filesonic.com

 

Thanks a ton numero! So the conclusion is that the CPU frequency drops to 1.2 GHz when the temperature is approaching 80 degrees C, which in turn means that this computer is a bad buy! Anyone interpret this data differently?

So, time to look for other laptops with same specs but a better heat management. Does anyone know one on top of their heads?

 

I wonder if this can be fixed with a BIOS update. With my 4820TG modded BIOS, I was able to change the 85C CPU throttle temperature to 90C on my Core i3-350M.



numero - thanks for the log.

 

Speed (frequency) drops from 2.694 ghz to 1.197 ghz when the multiplier locks down from x27 to x12. While that happens at 77-78C, I'm not sure there is a cause and effect relationship there. It could just as easily be triggered by power usage by ePower or something like that. That was ruled out with the clean install if ePower was not reinstalled. If it was, I would disable it and see what happens.

It could be a bios or controller problem on the SB 2410M (anyone else reporting this on another brand?). My bet would be Acer's bios is the culprit. Acer better fix this fast.

Last year, the initial release had issues with the PCIe bus being locked at X1. I think that was a bios issue as well.

Bronsky

 

May needs to hurry up! My old Acer is on its last leg!

What other options do we have for a Sandy Bridge 13-14" USB 3.0 portable that is sub $1000?

 

There's still the upcoming Asus U36SD. It's just that the 3830TG seemed to have really good specs for a really good price and the other laptops lack something, like the U36SD for example comes with a Geforce 520M, which is not as good as the 540M (according to notebookcheck: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-540M.41715.0.html), or other differences with other laptops.

Gosh, I wish that this is a BIOS issue and the Acer can fix it fast.

 

I was wondering... Is it possible to replace the i5 with an i7 by yourself or the CPU choice is limited somehow by Acer BIOS?

 

There must be a problem in the bios or management.
Becaus throteling at 75°c is much to early. My 4820tg runs at 90°c perfectly and thats nearly the maximum but not to much for a mobile cpu.
And i am also wondering why the laptop keeps throteling at 65°c because thats a perfect temperature.

 

Thanks a lot! Turbo Boost also fails a bit? I think this is a bigger problem with the throttling than expected... I hope Acer fix that fast...

I wonder how a Core i7 will deal with that

 

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Notebooks- ASUS U41SV

 

In the 14" class, I'd go with the Lenovo Y470 instead with its GT550M.

 

Maybe the issue is with the second generation core i5, Sandy Bridge?

 

I would doubt that. It took a single user to uncover the problem in about a day of moderate/casual testing.

 

So we're sure the CPU in this test was running at 100% and wasn't throttling down because it just didn't have any more work to do? If you run some kind of CPU only benchmark, does it still throttle at those temps? Wish I had on in my hands to play with.

 

Wrong!

Notebookjournal

In the comments, 2 german users also have the throttling problems!

 

A stress test on 3830tg:

- Aida64 runs for 16 minutes, CPU=83°C, no throttling
- running furmark for 18 minutes, GPU=87°C
- running Prime95, Aida64, furmark, max CPU=91°C, GPU=93°C

Google Translate

 

GPU cooling doesn't look that great. 91C after 16 minutes and 93C after 18. I have seriously stressed my GPU, including the burn test and prime 95 at the same time and temps have never climbed beyond the low 80's C.

I wonder if the 3830TG cooling is the same as the 4830TG.

Bronsky

 

surface temperature and noise during this tests would be interesting
dual fan design clearly wins over new one fan solution

 

Didn't the BIOS show that the cpu was set to throttle at 85 degrees? Seems odd to me.

All these problems are making me want to grab a 3820 while they are still available.

 

You misunderstood me. The implication of my comment was that if one user can discover throttling issues in one day of casual testing, then Intel would have located the same problem themselves before beginning mass manufacturing of the chips...

 

I agree with that ... this is likely an Acer problem, not an Intel problem. It could, however, be a batch of bad chips. The 3820TG tests on the Chinese site show no CPU throttling. If it was a bios issue, it would likely be evident across the timeline platforms. It's hard to tell what this is. (smiles lovingly at his 3820TG )

Bronsky

 

Notebookjournal now reviewed the 15,4 inch version and discovered the same throttling problem. It only occurs when the nVidia-chip is active.

Acer Aspire TimelineX 5830TG-2414G75Mnbb Notebook im Test Blaumann außer Puste auf notebookjournal.de

Btw, they didn't write anything about the reason of the problem or suspected the BIOS, the cooling system or so. I'm waiting for a notebookcheck-review, they usually write really in-depth reviews.

 

More videos..
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Thanks for posting the videos, seems like the build quality isn't the best!

 

Looks decent to me. The palm rest looks like it is mounted on top of the aluminum KB frame. I don't know of any thin display that doesn't flex. The display looks better than I expected. The viewing angles are probably a bit better than the last gen display. Now, if Acer can solve the throttling issue.

Bronsky

 

^4830TG use the same CMO1457 from 4820TG..

 

Yes, my guess is that it's the same panel all over. It's sad that Acer haven't grasped the concept of it's that the presentation that sells the product. The screen is the most important part theese days, as you see in Apple and Vaio's.

 

The best way to get a system to throttle via benchmarks is to run IBT (intel burn test) and furmark together for a good 20 minutes. That should allow the temperatures to stabilize. Monitor the CPU speed with CPUID and temps with HWMonitor.

 

I did that already in one of my posts ... I ran stress test and furmark and the CPU still throttle to 1.2Ghz.

However i must add and emphasize that I didn't see any noticeable lag / difference when it was throttling. SC3 ran smooth as butter as well as when I was raiding in WOW. Apparently Turbo Boost 2.0 in Sandy Bridge CPU is an improvement over the 1st gen and supposedly very 'smart' and efficient. In fact if you were to goggle for sandy bridge throttling ... you will see the same feedback from users of the desktop version.

 

It Throttles to half its multiplier, the frequency halves and there is no noticable difference in real world performance? No frame loss in a game? That makes no sense to me. Maybe I'm missing something. Like a degree in quantum physics. Somebody needs to benchmark this phenomenon to show that there is no impact on program performance.

Bronsky

 

If a game is not CPU dependent it might be hardly visible but that's not the point.
Notebook that throttles under load is completely useless and there's no way it can be twisted around. Hopefully it's something like too low throttle limit in BIOS that can be set properly in a BIOS update.