The Official Arrandale Timeline Thread

Don't worry, later today we will all be happy.

(This post was supposed to be #2000, but apparently SOMEONE ruined my plans. I posted seconds late ).

 

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Yea I've heard of them. On one hand they're rather ugly comparing to Timelines and look slightly thicker as well. On the other hand I'm a fan of msi because it's just so easy to mod/customize everything in them (that is in gaming machines, dunno about the rest).

Wonder what makes you think they'll have better screens tho. I couldn't find any info on this and as for the moment msi as one of the last manufacturers still refuses to put LED screens in their flagship line.

 

Hi all,

I have been lurking around in this thread for some time, I got the 4280TG about a month ago and have been using it to play Star Trek Online with max effects turn on.

I am using it together with a Zalman NC1500 notebook cooler.

During game play..

On the issue of sound, generally its hardly audible unless i'm in a really quiet room like a library, then you may hear a slight "whirring" sound but its not something that is distracting, personally...

On the issue of heat, although this observation may be skewed cos I'm using the notebook cooler, the left palm rest feels slightly warm but again its not something I find uncomfortable. But it is DEFINITELY cooler then a Dell M4400 with Core2 P8600 and Nvidia Quadro FX770M using the same notebook cooler and running the same game with less effects turned on.

 

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The PCI-E bandwidth issue isn't unique to the Acer 3820TG. The MSI GX640 with the HD5850 suffers from the same problem.

The PCI-E drops from x16 to x1 under certain situations. Sounds like problems with the Catalyst drivers.

 

Sounds like the i7 is a real cooker, I think I prefer to go with the i5 model.

 

On the GX640 I found that updating to 10.3 and keeping PowerPlay off ensured that the PCIe would stay at 16x.

 

So has anyone found a supplier that ships internationally and has an English keyboard with win 7 ENG and i5 / 5650 combo?

 

Are the 10.3 drivers generic? Don't think those will work on the 3820TG as the drivers have to support switchable graphics

 

That's true, the requirement for switchable graphics support might make this more of a problem. Nonetheless, disabling PowerPlay is worth a try, and there's also the power option in Windows 7 for PCI Express "Link State Power Management", which may or may not have some effect.

 

Yea.. yesterday's scary Engadget article on the i7 MacBook that was measured at 100 degrees C.
Means these CPUs get hot.
Acer, I'm sure has done a better job with heat dissipation.

BTW.. the 3820T i3 models have blossomed in the
downtown Taipei computer shops. They are everywhere.
Also fooled with a few 4810T machines with the entry level i5 cpu.

First simple impressions.. they seem big, thick:
not so elegant as the 3810 series.
Maybe its the squared off edges.
And the gaps between the keys seems so large, like 3/16".

 

My friend read an article from a website stating that the 3820T/TG screen is not as good as the MSI notebook comparing side by side. Someone in this thread also stated that the 3820TG screen is darker comparing with the 4820TG. But we will see how well the screens perform when both products release later.

 

FYI Acer sources their display from a variety of manufacturers.
They include AUO, Samsung, CMOS, LG.
What screen you get depends on where the laptop is produced.

 

I think for most applications, the I5-540M is probably the better choice. The I7-620M only outperforms the I5-540M if it can operate to its full potential without throttling. I have been skeptical of the test showing that the I5, under certain circumstances can outperform the I7 but they appear to be correct. The I7 core generates a signfifcant amount of heat that some very sophisticated notebooks are having trouble dealing with (Mac 17=100C|3820TG=89C). So far, only the Fijitsu seems to be able to keep the I7 core in an ideal operating temp range 81C. It might be worth looking at the way the Fijitsu is built to see why. Tests show the core maxing out at 84C on the Sony but some of that temp control may be because the core is throttling.

At this point, because the I7 core is so new, its hard to tell if the power of the chip can be harnessed without the debilitating heat. What has Fujitsu done that others have missed? I suspect that Intel is producing the the I7's with the same kind of thermal pad as the Desktop I7-930, instead of using thermal paste. Does anybody know this - one way or another? It would be interesting to see what happens when someone puts artic silver to aid in thermal transfer. Does it make sense to undervolt the core. What will be the effect on performance?

I am tempted to still order the I7-620M. Given the concerns about this core, I would not be surprised to see the I7 model in short supply. But, the demand may be low because of heat concerns, so it might not be that hard to get. I would hope that with some bios tweaks, undervolting and thermal transfer improvement, the power of the core can be stabilized. For most owners, the I5-540M is probably a better option.

Bronsky

 

What I would like to see is someone make a proper graph of temperatures and clock speeds while running Prime95. Instantaneous results and min/max aren't particularly meaningful.
It seems doubtful that the CPU would throttle at 89C, though it could be that the 89C is a lowered temperature due to throttling.

 

There is a test you can perform to know if your laptop will ever overheat at all.
Download and Run Intel Burn Test + MSI Kombustor simultaneously while using HWMonitor to check on the temperatures.
If it overheats it may overheat in games that utilises high CPU and GPU usage.
If it stabilised to a temperature and doesn't exceed 80-90 degrees it will probably never overheat at all as all the heat can be dissipated easily.

 

Aren't the Intel Burn Test and the LinX based on the same Linpack stress test?

The i7-620M was hitting a max of 87C when LinX was running...

 

Thanks, can you please comment on the bottom of the laptop without the laptop cooler?

 

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He/she might have already had the cooler beforehand.

 

I agree that it would be nice to see a proper graph. Snapshots are hard to interpret. But, I am really not all that concerned about max temps of 87C under load. I think they can be dealt with and likely reduced a bit. I am glad to hear that the heat sinks are pushing hot air.

When I get my 3820TG, I will be glad to do a temp over time test and see if there is any actual throttling at max temps.

Bronsky

 

Legolin, can you give us the full specs of your 4820TG? I ask selfishly because this is the model I want to get (I want a built in optical drive).

Thanks.

 

I'm trying to decide between the 3820TG and the newly refreshed MBP 13.

I understand that the 5650 card in the Acer blows away the integrated card in the MBP, but might I experience a smoother overall experience with the MBP? I plan on gaming a bit, but that is certainly not what I will spend the bulk of my time doing. If I threw a 7200 RPM Hitachi drive in either one, would I see similar application performance or will the hardware/software integration of the MBP always win out?

How do the keyboards compare? Is the textured surface of the Acer keyboard superior to the MBP's chicklet keys?

And how reliable are Acer computers compared to MBPs? Could I expect to keep the Acer for the next four years?

Thanks,
Spencer

 

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The MBP also uses the older, slower Inter Core 2 Duo and not the newer iX chips(not too sure why Mac left them out of their revamped 13 in MBP????). This means the Acer will be much faster and much better at multi-tasking. All in all the Acer will be much more smoother than the MBP and although I have yet to use Windows 7, I hear is a much better product than Vista and will satisfy your needs in terms of an OS. With either a 5,400 or 7,200 HDD, the Acer will beat the MBP easily. You might consider using an SSD instead of the 7,200RPM HDD to get even faster performance.

In terms of keyboard, I have not read anything on it as yet but there should be a few people in this discussion group that own the 3820TG.

And in terms of quality, I have had my current Acer for 4 yrs now and have only had to change my hard drive (it burnt out on me). The build quality is a solid feel and I am looking forward to buying another Acer as soon as the TimelineX gets released in the US.

 

I personal think laptop coolers are a waste of time and money, if a laptop needs one to run without overheating its failed and has a design flaw in heat extraction. Not a laptop worth buying in my eyes.

 

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Agreed. A cooler defeats the purpose of a thin and light laptop. I wonder if the 4820TG and 5820TG will dissipate heat better because they're larger.

MarineX - have you found a suitable alternative that does not run hot and doesn't need a cooler? I've tried Envy, GX640, and was going to get one of the Acers, but they all seem like they will run hot.

 

Still most good laptops under heavy load stabilize around high 80s/low 90s nowadays. If youre plan on long gaming sessions regulary over the course of 2-3 years it's much healthier for your machine to run on a cooler. Also coolers are usually significantly quieter than laptop fans under load, thus making the system run quieter - good for officess and libraries.

Bottom line is that ther is only so much you can do, with for example 2,5 cm thick chasis of 4820tg, in terms of cooling. It will always be a battle fought just on the border of acceptable temps. In the end of the day I guess I could live with 3820tg and it's 8+ hrs of battery life even if I had to mount it to slimm USB cooler for a gaming purpose.

 

Do all of these run hotter than a MBP 13? If the 3820TG is going to overheat I may opt for the MBP, but I'm not too excited about using the Core 2 Duo processor for the next four years.

 

my envy 15 (specs in sig) hits mid to upper 60s under load (transcoding video) don't know why everyone says envys run hot (i7-quads may get warm, but that is not all envys) - don't know how how the MBP 13 gets, though.

 

I'm referring to temps of the casing, not so much the CPU/GPU. The bottom of my Envy gets unbearably hot when gaming, and uncomfortably warm even when just browsing the internet. I've already sent it back to HP -- we'll see how the temps are when I get it back.

I also have the GX640 which is going back. The GPU reached 110 C, and the bottom also gets extremely hot.

I also have like 6 other laptops (Acer 5740G, Asus UL50vt, and others), and still have not found a laptop I like. I'm looking for a laptop with good GPU + lightweight + runs cool on the bottom. Is this too much to ask?

 

The MBP is a toy compared to the Acer. The discussion here is focused on the heat produced by the I7-620M under full load. The 620M generates a lot of heat. The I5-520M and 540M don't generate anywhere near the temps of the 620M and may avoid throttling becuase of their lower temps. If the dual heat sinks of the 3820TG can handle the 87C of the 620M, it will run ice cold with the 520M. The 520M/HD5650 will blow the doors off the MBP, which IMO is not in the same class as the Acer. It couldn't even hold the Acer's dongle.

The only good thing about so many people buying the MBP is that there will be less of them competing for the Acer when New Egg, Tiger or Amazon gets them in stock.

Bronsky

 

@fadegs

ah, gotcha.

 

how much did you may for your envy, where did you get it, and do you enjoy it?

im looking to find an alternative to the 3830tg, because i dont know if im going to be able to wait it out long enough due to time restraints

 

Sounds like Acer wins out big time. And I actually like Windows 7--it seems like Windows just about caught up to OS X with this version. But is there a chance that the US will get the 520M or the 540M instead of the 620M? I would prefer the 3820TG with the 520M/540M over possibility of overheating with the 620M.

 

why dont you just go for the core i5 520m then... it will bring the temps down...

i thought this thread was all about this laptop and how awesome it is and now the heat is suddenly a problem???

 

i got it from hp.com when they had the $450 off coupon - paid approx $1300 shipped after tax. i absolutely love it.

 

We have seen I5-430M/HD5650 versions in the rest of the world. There has not been a hint of hot operation temps on them. No 520M or 540M yet. It will be offered in those versions and I would assume we will see them in the states. It's all just a matter of time and patience.

Bronsky

Is it time to start a 3820TG owners lounge or a TimelineX owners lounge?

 

How would the new timelinex/travelmates compare to a Lenovo T410? I see Lenovo is offering a NVIDIA NVS 3100m which doesn't compare to the cards in the Acer. I would not be playing a lot of games, main use would would Adobe Lightroom. I like that the Lenovo has a matte screen (but aren't Lenovo screens usually kinda bad?) and I think I'd prefer the keyboard on the Lenovo also, plus it's available now. Anyone have any insight?

 

Talking about notebook coolers, most summers in Vancouver my laptop does fine but there was one summer like 2 years ago? HOLY.. it was so hot I think i smelled plastic burning LOL

And imo I think notebooks only fail if they need a cooler for regular things.. but for a regular (non-gaming) laptop to play games for a long time there's no shame in needing a laptop cooler

 

The Nvidia 3100m is not much of a graphics card. You will probably not find a better keyboard than the Lenovo. I don't think the Lenovo displays are all that different than the Acers. My wife has an Lenovo S12 Ion and her display is as good (or bad I guess) as my Acer 1410T.

If you're prepared to spend over a grand on a 14" notebook, why not get the Lenovo Y460? It has an I5-520M/HD5650/4GB DDR3/1366 x 768 display/500GB HD in the same price range as the T410. It has the same processor and GPU as the Acer 4820TG and is available now. I would check the Lenovo thread to see if there are heat issues with the Y460 as early reviews flagged them. I have heard nothing since then. That is the way I would go, if you want to go Lenovo.

Bronsky

 

nice! i was hoping i could capitalize on that deal, but i couldnt get the money before the deal ended. now all i can do is wait for these timelines to come out or wait for another deal like that one.

 

Lenovo smells... Acer is much better!
1) more ugly imo
2) looks mad thick
3) overheating problems!

 

Quick question: does the 3820TG have two-finger scrolling like the MBP? I have read something about "twirl to scroll," which sounds weird.

 

Yes it has two finger scrolling, the touchpad is Synaptics. Also the "twirl to scroll" (aka ChiralScroll) works better (for me) than the two finger scrolling.

 

Excellent! But does it work as well as the MBP's two-finger scroll?

 

however, i think the most important question is: will acer ship 3820tg with high spec in all countries?

 

I am sooooo tired of waiting...

I sold my Dell Studio XPS 13 a month ago hoping to buy something new. When looking aroud for an alternative i saw the 3820TG. Since then i couldn't take my eyes of of it.

Now i have to wait for god knows how much long. And i am stuck using my crappy office laptop. I am almost ashamed to mention it is a HP G7000 with a T2310, 1GB RAM and... Vista.

Did i mention this is a crappy laptop?