Acer TimelineX 3830/4830/5830 T/G

So guys for the past few days I've been having either VRM problems or power supply, guessing its the first, but I finally got it stable unfortunately at 1.01v, BUT now I have a stable core clock of 875 MHz lol. All props to Nedemai, as he did this for all of us and deserves all credit!

 

Hi Nedemai, okay thanks for informations.

Small question for you - about your modded bios with lower vbios voltage:
How much is reduction/degradation performance when using lower vbios voltage than default/original vbios voltage1.0? For example, for version 0.80 0.83 0.85 etc VERSUS original voltage? (you was measured this reduction performance with using undervolt vbios? this reduction is in class +- 1 percent for example or more percents?)

Thanks for the reply.

 

There's no performance degradation due to lower voltage. Lowering voltage can only affect stability- if you overdo it you system may hang/reboot at full load.
Otherwise the only effect is lower temperature.

 

to downloads: Hi, no performance degradation?

to All: small question -> bios 1.12 with menus VS bios 1.12 with menus and undervolt vbios:
in modded bios version 1.08 was situation:
with menus but without undervolt vbios -> start throttling only CPU temperature
but with menus and undervolt vbios -> start throttle according CPU temperature (example when I set in bios 90C,start throttle after attainment 90C) and according GPU temperature 75C
this isn't when I flash bios without vbios undervolt

This strange behavior is also in this new version bios 1.12 (with menus VS with menus and undervolt) or it is not? (As in version bios 1.08)

 

@ PepeCZ

Nope. Voltage has to be high enough to support high GPU frequency- if it's too low the card will hang.
But it's the GPU frequency that is responsible for performance.

Lowering voltage lowers cards TDP and as a result a heat output but not performance- undervolting is not underclocking.

 

Well managed to get as low as 0.65v on my machine... Am very surprised with these results! I've yet to try even lower...

 

What's the highest voltage that the 540M will use on its own? I've seen it go as high as 0.98v.

 

The defaults are P1: 0.83v P2: 0.83v and P4: 0.98v so by default its set to go to 0.98v at full load.

 

Okay thx.

So I finally decided to replace "1.12 Only With Menus" for "1.12 Menus With Undervolt".

But which option to choose? There are three to choose from and I do not know if it's good to go at any price on as low as undervolt.
(when compared reduction tdp and stability and everything around)

That it then in some situations does not cause some problems.

What undervolt variant is best? If it goes to say

 

The lowest undervolt that your system can run stable is the best. Unfortunately this will probably be different for each machine.

 

Hi Nedemai, thanks for your reply. But "different for each machine" why?
Parameters are the same if someone has the same cpu (example as I 2410m) and the same gpu (540m with 1gb memory).

How can I please test that is best for my 3830TG?
How test lower voltage is good 0.85 -> 0.83 -> 0.80.
How do I track stability? What tool do you use on this pls.
(like this: flash bios with voltage vbios 0,85 and if it is stable try lower 0,83 and if is stable too, try flash 0,80 and if is stable stay here but if 0,80 isn't stable flash back bios with vbios voltage 0,83. like this?)

 

Well the reason why it will be different for each machine has to do with manufacturing tolerances. Each GPU is designed to work within a tolerated range of voltages so that each one shipped will work as designed, however some GPU's will be able to operate outside of these tolerances, making them an exception much more then a normal thing to be expected. (this is usually due to better manufacturing some days vs others)

From what I've seen pushing the GPU below 0.80v starts to cause stability issues for most people. I am uncertain as to why I've managed to get my GPU as low as 0.65v personally but my this is an exception rather than a rule.

The only way to check if any or all of these mods work is to flash the bios, reboot the machine then try a 3d intense application. IF your computer hangs, or the application fails to start... or the application crashes repeatedly... then you know the applied mod is unstable. I suggest testing with a program called furmark. It should give you an indication if an applied mod is stable or not within 10 -15 minutes of running... but it will push the GPU to its max so watch the GPU's temperature as well just to be safe.

I hope that helps you and if you have more questions feel free to ask, I will answer them to the best of my ability.

 

So I know you've all been wondering about my temps and I haven't done them recently so I decided to test them after a run of 3DMark06 at locked 2.8/3.0 GHz on a cooler, I got max 69C GPU and 77 CPU.

 

I have found 3dmark06 never gave a reliable measure for temperatures because it's simply not cutting edge nor does it go long enough. I would get max 70c CPU from running 3dmark, but playing Borderlands 2 or X-com: Enemy Unknown for 2 hours would give a peak 92-95c.

 

I didn't do it for a real test, just to give you guys a example because I'm too lazy to do a full length temp test lol.

 

Ok, i flashed bios and now I can not start windows, I am getting blue screen all the time.
I own 3830tg and was flashing 1.12 mod.
Any suggestions?

Thanks

Sent from my GT-P7310 using Tapatalk 2

 

Hi, I use a modified version from Nedemai from versions bios 1.08 and no problem.
Now I has modded bios 1.12 with menus but without undervolt and without any problems. (3830TG with 2410m)
But tomorrow I will tested undervolt version.
Which version do you this?

 

Now i see that by mistake i flashed original Acer 1.10 version.
Before I had moded 1.10.



Sent from my GT-P7310 using Tapatalk 2

 

I was doing some digging around on the net and found this thread which has caught a significant amount of interest from me.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-inspiron-dell-studio/623006-n5110-bios-mod.html

I'm going to be ripping these files apart and hopefully figuring out how they work. In the least maybe I can make the OS think the GPU in out laptops is a 555m or a 630m or something fun like that, even without changing clock speeds.

Edit; should of read he was using a driver modification, which is fairly easy to do :S

 

These temps are likely wrong.

I say this because you previously quoted temps of 27C idle, which is what Throttlestop reported for me when I copied over the old Throttlestop folder I had from Win7, to Win8. After downloading a fresh copy of Throttlestop, the temps went back to what they recorded in Win7, which is 40-45C idle.

To be sure, I would download a fresh copy of Throttlestop along with the latest version of HWMonitor or RealTemp, checking to see that they both show the same temperatures.

 

That wasn't me.. lol

I was about to post something about temps, I finally took the time and cleaned and repasted her along with a few other small mods like adding thermal paste along places there was no solder and now I'm idling at low 40s GPU at .65v, gonna try lower since its just idle and I use my Intel GPU for everything but gaming, and mid 40s CPU and on the cooler low 30s GPU and high 30s CPU. I haven't tried load yet.

 

Dat idle.

I don't know how much lower I can go lol.

 

Man I don' t know why the hell yours can use half the voltage of mine :/

 

Lol its only for idle and it wasn't stable because clocking up was giving me problems so I went back to .65 which I think is the lowest I can go for idle or so.

 

If you turn off GPU Monitoring in Throttlestop(uncheck NVIDIA GPU), then you can get 38C or lower. Checking the NVIDIA GPU box makes Throttlestop turn on your GPU intermittently every second to check it's temp. If you turn on the GPU activity notification in the taskbar you'll see what I mean.

 

I have the notification on but I have never seen throttlestop use it.

 

I use MSI's Afterburner for all my monitoring besides core temp and from GPU-Z it doesn't turn on almost ever and I always have temps.

 

I agree with you. Throttlestop activates the GPU every second to check the temps (of NVIDIA GPU is checked).

 

Hmm... with 1.10 mod 0.85 i can run kombustor, with with 1.12 0.85 i can't.

maybe something missed in new modded bios?
3830tg vbios: 70.08.45.00.37

 

Have you tried any other 3d intense applications?

Ill give a look into this.

 

Hey guys.

I'm excited to find this thread so active. I got a 4830tg in September and it recently started doing the 'plugged in, not charging' (or plugged in, charging (but not actually charging)) thing which seems to ail a variety of modern laptops.

I've tried all the fixes I can find with no success, like literally about 15 or 20 hours so far. One common one, however, involves removing the battery. Since the battery reset button doesn't seem to work in a way that will let me run AC power while keeping the battery disconnected, looks like I'll be having to tear the whole thing apart just to try this one fix that might not even work.

I had a question about the modded BIOS I've seen mentioned; does the extra menu stuff involve anything battery or power related? Some other non-acer laptops apparently have options in the BIOS that could offer a fix, but the 1.12 I have is extremely limited. Is it worth a shot to install the modded BIOS?

Or any other advice?

 

Maybe. IIRC it fixed a Win8 problem of not detecting the battery.

 

This computer (4830TG) is just killing me. I updated the Nvidia drivers to 306.30 and now it won't switch to the Nvidia graphics. I am using Windows 7 64 bit. Can someone refer me to Nvidia Optimus drivers that work with my damn computer? Is something else broken?

 

Roll back the drivers. If you can't get optimus to work you may have to repair install.

 

"Roll back the drivers"... well, as I am now running the original shipping Nvdia drivers (267.21 dated 4/2011) and there is no such thing as "rolling back" unless you mean "install" and it did not help I will now attempt to parse the meaning of "repair install"...

Nope. Are you referring to a Windows 7 repair install?

Thanks

 

Uninstall all nvidia drivers, including deleting any folders named with nvidia, uninstall all intel drivers, and then download a older driver like 296 and intels newest driver and install the intel, then nvidia

Try flashing the 1.12 bios too to see if your battery problems stop. After that, hold the battery reset for awhile to see if you can reset the battery then before turning it on, plug it in and let it charge for at least a few hours then go from there.

 

Yes I'm talking Windows 7 repair install (you can force one by tricking it with an "upgrade" by editing one of the install ini's). I had the optimus problem last year, it suddenly stopped working for no reason and couldn't get it working again no matter how many times I cleaned all drivers out and reinstalled. Only doing the Win 7 re-"upgrade" install fixed it. Hopefully yours fixes itself more easily.

 

The Nvidia GPU won't be available for use if you have the machine unplugged. Is this the issue?

 

nedemai- it infuriates me that this is a fact. My old Asus UL80vt had software switchable graphics from integrated Intel to a Geforce 240M and if you decided to switch while on batteries then you did so knowing your batteries would be used up in a a hurry (about 2.5 hours of gaming). But at least I had the choice.

I have found that the Nvidia gpu is being used... sometimes. So far the only thing on my computer that uses it is the 3d graphics preview of the control panel. Honestly, that is it. Not even HD video from youtube gets to use the Nvidia gpu. But as soon as you unplug the laptop (even with "High performance power plan" set) the software shuts off the Nvidia gpu. You don't get a choice.

The only game I play is Silent Hunter 3, and apparently it is too old, or too something so Optimus decides it just doesn't need anything better than the Intel gpu. Even using the Nvidia control panel to "force" it to use the high performance graphics fails.

From searching online there are other games that don't get to invoke the discrete gpu either, but I don't play anything else. There is no indication from Nvidia that they are attempting to remedy the situation, although they are aware that there is a problem.

So basically Optimus is a flawed technology, and this stupid computer was a rip-off. My Asus was better, apart from having a slower processor and lesser gpu it actually worked. Switching from one gpu to the other was not quite seamless (the screen would go black for 1/2 a second when switching) but it did what I expected it to do. Also after one year the battery wear was only 11% and i could still get over 8 hours in economy mode, whereas this Acer is 7 months old and has 19% already and barely gets 6 hours of battery use.

 

so... in your x830, pressing that 'p' button when on battery... will not give you same option, to override power plan? anyway, maybe it's better - i played yesterday black ops 2 on batteries... just 1.5 hours of playing
after all - 0. uninstall following; 1. install latest intel video driver; 2 - install latest nvidia video driver; 3. install that damn acpi driver (ePower Management Application) from acer; 99. enjoy the power of sucking battery dry in quarter of time playing games

 

codyrocco- my P button does work, I had no idea it over-rode the gpu powersaving setting as well. That makes things a LITTLE better. Still is a funky graphics system...

 

i still think it's a driver installation problem. even the order of installation must be respected...nevertheless the driver versions (once i encountered a stupid error, nvidia driver will not install..until i upgraded intel video driver also).
on the second hand, you must know that there it's a trick to force a certain executable to run with nvidia. let's say as an example, media player classic home cinema. this software will not run with nvidia, even you specify this in nvidia driver list of software. buuut...if you rename mpc-hc64.exe to nvidiampc-hc64.exe... you are good to go ! (which is a very bad idea - intel hd 3000 will handle perfectly dxva decoding, nvidia will be a really overkill)
when on battery, default state is to deny access to nvidia graphic card for executables which are entitled to; probably will put the pci-e link into a lower power state, but not ejecting the graphic card (optimus stuff). that 'p' button actually will override this, as i said.

 

I just got my 4830T-6678 and so far it's been a pretty bad experience. First boot attempt it freezes at the acer logo with lines through it. Second attempt it gets halfway through the windows first time settings stuff. Third attempt it just turns on for a few seconds, then off, then on, then off, until I remove the power plug. Anyone else run into this crap?

 

You should return it- there is some sort of a hardware problem.
If it's covered by warranty or any return policy- use it.

 

Just a few questions for other 3830tg owner/modders out there, since I'll be getting one in a couple days:

-Since throttling is such an issue I was wondering between, repasting, copper mods, BIOS mods, undervolting, and so on, what were the general results of each (temp diff. etc), since there are sooo many posts about this laptop..

-LCD panel.. shared by 3820tg, and any other laptops? Or model specific compatibility.

-Since I've seen a couple success stories, is it generally accepted 16GB is doable?

THANKS!!

 

I apologize if this has been covered already, but I have searched all over. I am going to sell my mint 4830TG and want to know what this button does in the picture? I press it and the button lights up and then turns off. As far as I can tell, that's all it does. I see the battery icon, but still.. nothing happens.

 

plain battery check. if is ok, will light blue, if not, orange.

 

So I press it, if it lights up blue it just means my battery is in good condition?

 

no - if is charged or not.i don't know exactly when (at which percent of battery) will light orange.. it's just a little toy - the battery charge led indicator is everywhere, this one will also check the status.

 

I have repasted my machine as well as modded the bios and video bios. With the modded bios I had turned off turbo completely (this can be done in software in the operating system) and I had also undervolted my video bios to 0.65 volts. Doing these three things has pushed down the peak temperatures by about 10-20C depending on application. Running prime95 for 1 hour yielded a processor temperature of 78C steady. Running Furmark for over 30 minutes yeilded a GPU temperature around 70C.

Running Skyrim however will push my CPU over 80C (I've seen it as higher as 85C) and my GPU to about 71 - 72C peak.

Now I've tried running games with the plastic cover off the bottom completely and managed to get a temperature drop even further by at max 5C, however i've not really payed too much attention to this. I've though about drilling holes directly were the fan sits in the plastic to provide more airflow too.

Keep in mind that the GPU will throttle the CPU if it sustains a temperature of 75C. The CPU will throttle on default at 85C but the modded bios will allow you to push it up to 90C... but I've honestly not been able to trip throttling based on the CPU temperature, just the GPU temperature.... I hope this information is informative.


@ericc191 the button is meant to check the battery level. If you press it and it shows blue, the battery has a full charge. If it is orange it means the battery needs a charge. When you have the machine plugged into the wall this indicator will stay continually lit with the same color indications.