Acer TimelineX 3830/4830/5830 T/G

Would 3830 series run quad core?

 

I'm pretty sure nobody knows that answer and the people who do, cannot tell. But if it is, I believe that would be the first 13" laptop to have a quad core processor. If the 3830tg has a quad processor, it will be the last pc I buy for like 5 years. I'm hoping for it, but I'm doubtful.

 

^Not really, there's HP DV3 with i7 740QM...

 

I'm pretty sure nobody knows that answer and the people who do, cannot tell. But if it is, I believe that would be the first 13" laptop to have a quad core processor. If the 3830tg has a quad processor, it will be the last pc I buy for like 5 years. I'm hoping for it, but I'm doubtful.

Edit:dang I posted it twice. And I was wrong, shows you how much if a noob I am. That's first I heard of a 13" quad..that's gotta be the only one though.

 

Did this unit ever make it beyond Singapore? I never understood something as powerful as the quad with an HD 5450 GPU. What is amazing, however, is that HP was able to keep the CPU fairly cool during operation in such a small space.

Bronsky

 

Quad =! best. This is the misconception with many. It all depends on what you use the laptop FOR. For the majority of casual (non-programming-dependent) usage, dual core is equal or better in performance compared to quad core, while staying cheaper, cooler, and more power-saving.

 

Wow, those models look disgusting, idk how you held on for so long. Though it seems thinkpad hasn't changed their style since 1992

Lenovo - ThinkPad - The history of ThinkPad

 

Yeah, I'm picky. That's why I haven't replaced them yet

The T40 was one of the better laptops made in the past 10 years. Built like a tank, great keyboard, battery life and power/graphics for its time. It actually is superior in power and graphics to current new netbooks. I find it very sad that people are spending money on new laptops that can't surpass 8 year old laptops...

But the internal battery really bothers me. How can you buy a laptop that will essentially stop working after 200 uses?

 

I doubt it'll be that bad. The 3830tg with 9.5+ hours battery life, should last years. I currently have a ASUS ul80vt (10 hours battery life). It's a bit over a year old (bought Nov 2009), gets drained probably 5 times a week, and still has 10 hours battery life on a full charge

 

internal battery =/= from non user replaceable. Its simple as that.

You'll have more problems replacing on the go, since youll need to unscrew the bottom chassis. But as I can see from the PCs that use this kind of battery (not the macs) they have a pretty simple unscrew mechanism, a great example is the envy 14, which for changing the battery you just need to remove a latch, and you are done.

If you want the T420 have come out and promise a good 30 HOURS of battery life, what is the kind measurement that they did for the amount of time, is pretty unknown.

 

As long as it is user replaceable and you can buy a replacement- I don't care if it is internal or external.

My newer 9 cell initially got me 8 hrs, now it is down to about 3 hrs (after 2-3 years.) Li batteries have limited lifespans. Bigger ones take longer to completely die- but they are a time-limited part.

 

Which is why they have a cult following (and why I'm getting one).

 

The X220 looks incredible. HD 3000 graphics with 3DM06 scores over 4,000 marks. Hopefully, the X220s won't be far behind. I love the X series style as well. It's Iconic. A great little business machine.

Bronsky

 

just question for Bronsky

You said you have two battery may i know from where you bought the 2nd one and if its 6600? my friend looking to buy extra one thanks in advance

 

Because Bronsky bought two 3820TG ?

 

Correct you are. I have one for spare parts. My first unit died in an accident but the battery survived and only needed a recharging. I got my second one in September. Good memory Lee.

Bronsky

 

Sorry for your lose

 

No worry, insurance paid to replace my first unit. So, my spare battery, my I5-540M CPU and BT module were free.

Looks like the new 3830TG will have a Nvidia GT 540M. Acer: Neue Timeline-X-Serie bald mit Sandy Bridge - Golem.de I would have preferred an HD 6730 GPU. I have never been able to keep my NVIDIA GPU's cool. This will be interesting to see. Looks like even less reasons to let go of my 3820TG.

Bronsky

 

I though I had read that the X830TG will be available with ATI or NVidia depending on the market (which admittedly sounds strange.)

I guess I will have to wait a while to see if the internal battery is user replaceable.

One laptop on my list that no one has mentioned is the Toshiba R830 as an alternative to the X220. I like having an optical drive- it just needs to ahve fixed to scalding heat/noise and cramped keyboard issues that plagued its R700 predecessor.

 

Looking at that last picture in the link you've posted, where the 540 is listed it says 2GB Is that truly 2GB dedicated Graphics memory? What benefits are there for having so much graphics memory?

Btw, thanks for the link/info.

 

Little to none benefits ? Marketing ?

 

I think the speed of the memeory (DDR3 vs DDR5) is MUCH more important than the amount.

BTW the keyboard on the R705 and R830 appear by pics to be identical. The cooling system has changed but is the same principle. have to wait for reviews...

 

All of us on the Acer Timeline threads wept in unison when Bronsky's 3820TG had the accident.

 

Thanks for responding guys. If it's 2 gigs graphics ram I'm going to assume it's not DDR5...sux.

 

In that range I doubt it needs DDR5. We are talking about midrange gaming graphics. The extra GB or speedier ram will still not take it to great heights...

 

if that is true, then this laptop is gone for me. I need linux.

 

Nevermind, looks like this was already put in first page..

 

Some say that Acer indicated at CEBIT that different GPU's would be used in different markets. It would be very unlike Acer to use a different motherboard in the same model.

Bronsky

Don't know about the rest of you, but I am skeptical that the single fan unit in the 3820TG will cool anywhere near as well as the 2 fan units in my 3820TG.

 

No benefits really for such a weak card. If you had three monitors running off two cards in SLI (NVIDIA cards do not support three monitors from one GPU) and cranked up the settings then 2GB would be useful (necessary, in fact).

For example, Civilization V on my desktop uses 1014MB (out of 1024) when running in 1920x1080 in 3D on max settings. If I wanted to go up to 2560x1600 I would need more RAM, but the GT 540M wouldn't even run that at 5fps so yeah.

 

Her are new news about the nem Timeline laptops
Acer Aspire TimelineX im Test Neue Acer TimelineX auf der CeBIT auf notebookjournal.de

I think they look nice but the very sad thing is that all models will have an integrated battery.
And the GT 540 isn't that bad for Windows users because you have Optimus, Cuda und a little bit better performance than the 6550.

 

It is bad because Optimus doesn't work on Linux.

 

I've seen posts in the M11x forum on how to get it to switch to the IGP, but I'd rather just avoid it and use what I know works, i.e. the ATI switching tech

 

I'm really liking the blue, because that shade of blue is my favorite color. The Notebookjournal video's show the lids aren't too strong.

 

I wouldn't be so quick to judge a notebook that hasn't been released yet.

I did some quick Google search and, apparently, it depends on how hardware manufacturer (Acer in this case) implemented graphics switching technology. You can have it so that it is both Optimus (and can be disabled in BIOS like on certain ThinkPads (T510)) and Switchable.

As far as I can tell there are three ways dual-graphics can be implemented on hardware level:
- Switchable (MUX). Works on Linux via vga_switcheroo. Like in 3820TG. It is a soft switch done via ACPI calls (DSDT and SSDT tables have all the needed info).
- Hybrid ( true Optimus). No support on Linux, but via BIOS tweaks it may be possible to disable nVidia and keep Intel.
- "MUX Optimus". May work on Linux (more research needed). When hardware manufacturer implemented both Hybrid (Optimus) and Switchable (MUX). Optimus can be turned off via BIOS option or mod. Like on ThinkPad T510.

Don't quote me on this though.

More on the topic: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lin...e/473915-no-support-nvidia-optimus-linux.html

 

"The bottom is not removable battery. Accurate information we could not be named, but the new technology is the battery life cycles counted fourfold increase in"

I got that from (translated of course): Acer Aspire TimelineX im Test Neue Acer TimelineX auf der CeBIT auf notebookjournal.de

Does that mean the battery will last 4x as long (life wise)?

 

I assumed in terms of charge cycles..

 

They dont mean four times more cycles. They say that the battery will"survive" much more laoding cycles before it dies.
The Laptop will run up to 9 hours.

 

are batteries similar in 4830 and 3820 in these reviews? (itc.ua is very slow for me ATM)

edit:
http://itc.ua/articles/acer_aspire_3820tg_timeline_2_teper_bez_culv_44570 3820tg 4400mah
http://itc.ua/articles/obzor_acer_aspire_timelinex_4830t_51999 4830t 6000mah

 

Looks awesome.
Also USB 3.0 , better keyboard and Sleep&Charge!

Damn it, my 3820TG looks a bit rusty now...even though not 1 year old.

The notebooks are getting updated faster and faster now.

 

Not really. If you take a step back and look at it- what does it have in terms of upgrade? GPU that's slightly faster than a year old mid-range AMD, USB 3.0 and SB. Only Sandy Bridge seems to be really worth something.
The keyboard looks and battery are not definitely-better- some like it, some don't.
I hope next generation of mid-range GPUs will be significantly better and that better screens will end up in mid-range laptops.

 

Well maybe the GT540 is only slightly better than the 5650/6550 but thats nut the fault of Acer because the new generation of mid range Gpu aren't that much better than the old. And acer cant create some new
Ok maybe than can but that would take time
And i think the GT 540 will have the same performance like the new Radeon 6650 so its not a big deal. Only for Lunux users its bad .
And the integrdatet battery is very bad but you also get the new sandy bridge, USB 3 and more battery run time so in my oppinion the x830 Time line serie is an advantage.

 

My guess is Nvidia offered their GPU on the cheap to Acer so they took it
Nvidia seems to be a more desperate situation to sell their chips as they have no x86 processor to package with their GPU.
Anyway the deciding factor if I will break my principle of replacing a still working laptop is the pricing.
If Acer's pricing is right I am just throw away my principles.

 

I cant depend on unproven things, I need linux support. Its too bad I was really looking up to this laptop, specially the 3830tg

 

Isn't that what I said?

Presumably alleviating some of the non user replaceable battery concerns.. well short term anyway?

 

I like the looks of the refreshed TimelineX line, the keyboard looks good as well.

 

Don't know if you saw that:
YouTube - Acer TimelineX 3830T Hands on - CeBIT 2011
This guy press it like it was cheap plastic.

 

If the price is right it is ok, my current Acer Lid flexes as well.
Who knows it could be a force/shock absorbing feature(not to be taken seriously).

 

I can press on most ultralight lids like that and get the same result. My 3820TG probably flexes as much. But, the sides and body of my 3820 are solid. This new one seems to have some flex even there. Hmmmmm.

Bronsky

 

The Lid "flex" is normal considering it's a thin one, remember, Vaio Z had a more fragile looking lid.

...but the "chassis-flex" is something to worry about, it should be more solid, like Bronksy stated.

BTW the new TimelineX generation carries Vaio looks.

 

Nah I would say the look was derived from the Acer Ethos. The big 18/17" inchers shrunk down to 13"